Nanotechnology
&
Medicine
Nanoscience
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The prefix “nano”is a Greek word for “dwarf”
One nanometer (nm) is equal to one-billionth of a
meter
About a width of 6 carbon atoms or 10 water
molecules
A human hair is approximately 80,000 nm wide
Red blood cells is 7000 nm wide
Atoms are smaller than 1 nanometer
Molecules and some proteins are between 1 nm and
above
Nanoscience
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The concept of nanotechnology was first coined by
Richard Feynman in 1959 in his lecture “There’s
plenty of room at the bottom”
Manipulating material at a scale of individual
atoms and molecules
Imagining the whole Encyclopedia Britannica written
on head of a pin
Nanoscience
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At IBM in the US, a technique called electron beam
lithography was used to create nanostructures and
devices as small as 40 to 70 nm in the early 1970s
Nanotechnology in Medicine
Nanotechnology is a new field with many possible
uses, medicine being one of them
Nanotechnology
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“The manufacturing technology of the 21st
century"
The study and manufacture of devices of
molecular dimensions, in the range of nanometers
or one-billionth of a meter
Most of industrial manufacturing processes are
based on top-down technologies -- i.e., they take
larger objects and make them smaller yielding
products of fairly high precision and complexity
Nanotechnology
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Most products of living organisms are constructed by
tiny molecular machines, such as cells and organelles,
working from the bottom up.
By organizing individual atoms and molecules into
particular configurations, these molecular machines
are able to create works of astonishing complexity
and size, such as the human being
BODY SYSTEMS
CELL
Plasma membrane
Organelles
Nucleus
Cytosol
75 TRILLION CELLS
Nanotechnology
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Nature (Allah) shows that molecules can serve as
machines because living things work by means of
such machinery
Enzymes are molecular machines that make, break,
and rearrange the bonds holding other molecules
together
Muscles are driven by molecular machines that haul
fibers past one another
Nanotechnology
DNA serves as a data-storage system,
transmitting digital instructions to molecular
machines e.g., the ribosomes, that manufacture
protein molecules.
Illustrated Figure
GOLGI COMPLEX
Electron Micrograph
THREE DIMENSIONAL ILLUSTRATION OF CELL STRUCTURES
VISIBLE UNDER AN ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
ANATOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
ERYTHROCYTES (RBCS)
An old red blood cell
White blood cell
PHAGOCYTOSIS
AN OLD RBC
BEING
ENGULFED BY A
WBC
Nanotechnology
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Using special bacterium-sized "assembler" devices,
nanotechnology would permit on a programmable
basis exact control of molecular structures that are not
readily manipulated by natural molecular machines
and molecular techniques presently available.
With nanotechnology, atoms will be specifically
placed and connected, all at very rapid rates, in a
fashion similar to processes found in living organisms
HEAT
METAL
IONS
A future application of Cornell's molecular motor research: With the integration of
biomolecular motor devices and cell-signalling systems -- by engineering a secondary
binding site tailored to a cell's signalling cascade -- researchers plan to use the cell's sensory
system to control nanodevices implanted in living cells. Nanoscale Biological Engineering and
Transport Group/Cornell University.
Nanomedicine
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Some medicines are made through biotechnological
processes, for example those using recombinant DNA
(human hepatitis vaccine)
Under these processes the DNA of living creatures
(usually bacteria) is altered
Nanotechnology represents a similar approach to the
manufacture of pharmaceuticals and other goods.
Nanorobots: Medicine of the Future
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What are they?
Nanorobots are nanodevices that will be used for the
purpose of maintaining and protecting the human
body against pathogens.
They will have a diameter of about 0.5 to 3 microns
and will be constructed out of parts with dimensions in
the range of 1 to 100 nanometers
Nanorobots
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The powering of the nanorobots can be done by
metabolizing local glucose and oxygen for energy
Other sources of energy within the body can also be
used to supply the necessary energy for the devices
They will have simple onboard computers capable of
performing around 1000 or fewer computations per
second.
Nanorobots
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A navigational network may be installed in the
body, which may provide high positional accuracy
to all passing nanorobots
This will enable the physician to keep track of the
various devices in the body
Nanorobots
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These nanorobots will be able to distinguish
between different cell types by checking their
surface antigens
When the task of the nanorobots is accomplished,
they can be retrieved by allowing them to exfuse
themselves via the usual human excretory channels
Application of Nanotechnology in
Medicine
Therapeutic
Diagnostic
- Imaging
- Quantum dots
- Microscopic sampling
- Detection of airway
abnormalities
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Delivering medication to the exact
location
Killing of bacteria, viruses &
cancer cells
Repair of damaged tissues
Oxygen transport
Skin and dental care
Augmentation of immune system
Treatment of Atherosclerosis
The clottocyte concept
Brain enhancement
Diagnostic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
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Improved imaging of the human (or any) body
Nanoprobes (miniature machines) can attach
themselves to particles in the body (e.g., antibodies)
and emit a magnetic field.
Probes that aren’t attached to anything don’t create
a detectable magnetic
Nano-tracking may be able to detect tumors that are
a few cells in size. (Alivisatos, 2001)
Diagnostic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
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Another way to use nanotech as tracking devices is to
use “quantum dots”
These tiny semiconductors are able to emit
wavelengths of light (colors) that depend on their size.
If quantum dot A is twice as big as quantum dot B, it
will emit a different color.
Quantum dots are better than conventional dyes:
 They
last much longer
 More colors can be made available.
“A microscopic
machine roaming
through the
bloodstream,
injecting or taking
samples for
identification and
determining the
concentrations of
different
compounds"
A single
inhaled
nanorobot
reaches,
deeply
inspired into
the lungs,
enters an
alveolar duct
and attaches
to the tissue
surface.
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
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Nanotech is capable of delivering medication to the
exact location where they are needed – hence
lesser side effects
 Organic
dendrimers - a type of artificial molecule
roughly the size of a protein- would be ideal for the
job of delivering medicine
 Hollow polymer capsules - gold-coated glass beads
that are near infrared light sensitive
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
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Destruction of harmful eukaryotic organisms /
cancer cells by interrupting their division process
 Certain
proteins are capable of doing this (e.g., Bc12
family of proteins)
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
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Nanoprobe can be made to generate radiation,
that could kill bacteria, viruses and cancer cells
Nanoprobe comprising of a single caged actinium225 atom would detect (using antibodies) and enter
a cancerous cell
Location and destruction of cancer cells by acoustic
signals
Normal cells
Cancer cells
COMPARISON OF NORMAL AND CANCEROUS
CELLS IN RESPIRATORY AIRWAY OF THE LUNG
Cancer cell
Lethal holes
A CYTOTOXIC
T CELL
DESTROYING A
CANCER CELL
Cytotoxic T cell
Mechanical
drilling of a
small tumor
mass by a
nanorobot
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
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Nanotechnology also theoretically allows the
mimicking of natural biological processes e.g., repair
of damaged tissues
 Using
nanotech to build scaffoldings of artificial
molecules that bone cells often adhere to and grow
bones on
 Broken bones would heal much faster.
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Transport of oxygen within the body by creating an
artificial red blood cell
A simulated view of a blood sample that might be taken from some
future trauma patient who has received approximately seven
therapeutic respirocyte doses at an accident scene. Each single
respirocyte in the scene can control nearly the same amount of
available oxygen as all eight red cells present in the scene,
combined.
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
To cure skin diseases, a cream containing
nanorobots may be used it may:
- Remove the right amount of dead skin
- Remove excess oils
- Add missing oils
- Apply the right amounts of natural
moisturising compounds
- Achieve the elusive goal of 'deep pore cleaning'
by actually reaching down into pores
and
cleaning them out.
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
A mouthwash full of smart nanomachines could
identify and destroy pathogenic bacteria while
allowing the harmless flora of the mouth to
flourish in a healthy ecosystem
Dental
Robots
Four remote-controlled nanorobots examine
and clean the subocclusal surfaces of a
patient's teeth, near the gumline.
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
Medical
nanodevices could
augment the
immune system by
finding and
disabling
unwanted
bacteria and
viruses.
Virus Finder
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
Devices working in the bloodstream could nibble
away at atherosclerotic deposits, widening the
affected blood vessels.
This would prevent most heart attacks
A NANOROBOT NIBBLING ON AN ATHEROSCLEROTIC DEPOSIT IN A
BLOOD VESSEL
DNA
Repair
Therapeutic Applications of
Nanotechnology in Medicine
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Emergency Management:
 The
clottocyte concept
 Clot-inducing medical nanorobots with fully-deployed
netting capable of embedding growing clot with red
cells and fibrin strands
CLOT-INDUCING MEDICAL NANOROBOTS ARE SHOWN IN
VARIOUS STAGES OF CLOT-NETTING DEPLOYMENT.
AN ARRAY OF NINE CLOT-INDUCING MEDICAL NANOROBOTS ARE
SHOWN WITH THEIR CLOT-NETTING FULLY DEPLOYED AND
INTERLACED.
MEDICAL NANOROBOTS WITH FULLY DEPLOYED NETTING ARE
SHOWN EMBEDDED IN A PATCHLIKE GROWING CLOT WITH RED
CELLS AND FIBRIN STRANDS INVOLVED.
CLOT-INDUCING MEDICAL NANOROBOTS WITH FULLY-DEPLOYED
NETTING ARE SHOWN EMBEDDED IN A PATCHLIKE GROWING CLOT
WITH RED CELLS AND FIBRIN STRANDS INVOLVED (A CLOSER LOOK)
A REAL LIFE PICTUER OF ERYTHROCYTES
TRAPPED IN THE FIBRIN MESHWORK OF A CLOT
“Stinger"
nanorobot
grabs a sick T
lymphocyte
and injects a
glucocorticoid
designed to
induce
cellular
apoptosis.
The blue, octopus-like nanobot is one of billions of brain cell
enhancers. The central sphere houses a computer, with a
storehouse of information equal to many large libraries
NANOTECHNOLOGY
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GOALS
Construction of a nano-assembler
A
machine capable of building nanoprobes on a grand
scale
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The next step would be self-replication of
nanoprobes- mitosis
Rough estimates say that this will be reached in
about 10-20 years
NANOTECHNOLOGY
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PREDICTIONS
Predicting the future of nanotechnology is much like
trying to predict the remainder of a motion picture
from a single frame
Although the future of medicine lies unclear, it is
certain that nanotechnology will have a significant
impact