It is obvious that nanomedicine is poised to revolutionise medicine for treating a host of disorders that have no easy, or long-term, curative answers
Nanomedicine, a fascinating branch of medicine, makes use of nanotechnology for disease prevention, monitoring and intervention by way of new modalities - for imaging, diagnosis, treatment, repair and regeneration of biological systems. The goal of nanomedicine research is to amplify the patient's health and their quality of life.
Nanomedicine derives its scientific capability, or competence, from the scale on which it operates (1-100nm) - the size of molecules and biochemical functions. The term nanomedicine emerged, in 1999, as enabling the creation of nanobot devices (nanoscale-sized automatons) that would navigate the human body, probing for and clearing disease. Put simply, nanomedicine accentuates the fundamental quest of doctors - to search and destroy diseased cells, or use nanomachines that substitute biological parts. This revolutionary paradigm remains integral to nanomedicine - the cutting-edge new field.
The emergence of advanced nanotechnology-based tools, methods and materials has brought about a medical revolution - it has taken diagnosis to a new level, while minimising the amount of biological samples. This has had a healthy cascading effect - on our environment and sustainability - thanks to a huge drop in the use of reagents, disposables and other lab paraphernalia. The good repertoire of nanosensors, instruments and nanomonitoring devices allow access to our body for diagnosis and therapy with a significantly reduced degree of invasive flourish.
Nanomedicine researchers aver that new nanomaterials now available, or in the works, are excellent vehicles as diagnostic markers and drugs, because they are endowed with a new-fangled, advanced form of therapeutic ability and functionality. Besides, they are more resilient and biocompatible than conventional implants, while limiting the most likely side-effects of modern drugs and surgical interventions.
It is suggested that nanoparticles of 20-50nm can enter healthy cells and the central nervous system (CNS); particles smaller than 70nm can, likewise, enter the pulmonary system. When nanoparticles are, by design, formulated and 'coached' to specifically use their capability of penetrating biological barriers, they can overcome apparent obstacles. This should be deemed as a big advantage for drug delivery and a hazard for inflammatory and other processes. Yet, on the other hand, it may hamper drug delivery and human physiology, including the natural ability of the body to heal itself - from the inside-out - with a little help from medical treatment.
It is obvious that nanomedicine is poised to revolutionise medicine for treating a host of disorders that have no easy, or long-term, curative answers. To highlight some examples - myocardial infarction and stroke, cancer and inflammatory disease, among others. Remember - hospital admission and treatment are too protracted and not always beneficial for such patients and their care-givers. The potential that nanomedicine offers for their early diagnosis and treatment will, therefore, be a boon. It will not only transform monitoring of patients in critical conditions in intensive care units (ICU), but also usher in the use of 'customised,' tailor-made therapies that specifically target the diseased organs and cells.
Vaccine delivery with nanomedicine is yet another new frontier - it 'engineers' a stronger and more powerful immune response. Research is on too to direct the release of insulin with the aid of a sponge-like matrix that contains a peptide hormone as well as nanocapsule with therapeutic enzymes. This is how it works - when blood sugar levels shoot up in diabetics, the nanocapsule releases hydrogen ions. The ions bind to fibres making up the matrix; they also defy each other and generate openings, in the matrix, through which insulin is released.
The arrival of a new 'chill pill,' a nanoparticle, that could be taken orally and can also pass effortlessly through the lining of the intestines into the bloodstream is yet another exciting therapeutic tool. The advance will allow drugs that must now be delivered with a shot in an easy-to-swallow pill form. New research is on to develop nanoparticles that can deliver drugs across the brain barrier to treat neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, too. Research is now in progress to 'mounting' a nanoparticle to beat viruses, or viral incursions. The nanoparticle is not aimed to literally destroy viruses. It is 'filled and armed' with an enzyme that delivers the 'knock-out' punch - while eliminating the replication of virus molecules in the patient's bloodstream.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are two major concerns vis-à-vis the use of nanoparticles as drug carriers. The first relates to phagocytosis, or foreign body removal by the immune system. To making things work better, nanoparticles are usually coated by polymers - this technique prolongs circulation time and bioavailability of drugs. However, on the downside, it may lead to the risk of over-accumulation in organs and tissues. Two, the distribution of nanoparticles within our body is, by and large, uninhibited and their effects on different tissues and organs are not yet fully understood.
Jie Zheng, a professor of chemistry and his research team at The University of Texas at Dallas, considers that he's turned such hurdles into a bridge for nanomedicine use. He and his team have established that nanomedicines can be designed to interface with a natural detoxification process in the liver to improve disease targeting, while minimising possible, or potential, side-effects. It proposes that one of the liver's natural toxin-removal processes could be used to augment the 'transfer' of nanomedicines, while making them safe. This process - glutathione-mediated biotransformation - excludes 'off-target' nanomedicines, so they do not harm the body.
Nidamboor is a wellness physician, independent researcher and author
