Nanotechnology in MedicineStefan WandtkeENGR 1050

Objectives:• To have more effective delivery of medicine.• Early detection and correct diagnosis of disease.• Effective targeting of Cancerous or malignant cells.• Improvement in quality of life!

Where We Are At Now• Many of the promising integrations of Nanotech into the

medical field are available only commercially and as prototypes with lots of testing remaining.

• Google is currently working on a proactive approach to detecting cancer and disease. The idea is to have an ingestible pill that would deploy nanoparticles into the patient’s bloodstream that have been engineered to detect these types of cancer or diseased cells. The nanoparticles would then be able to communicate with a type of wearable such as fitness watches and applications to give a very specific diagnosis.

Targeting Cancer Cells/How it Works• The engineered nanoparticles can serve several functions.

They can be engineered to attach to malignant cells for detection, or be designed to enter the malignant cell to deliver toxin to kill the specific cell, or use radiation to target the particle and destroy the cell.

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Nano Medical Tools• Nanoparticle medical tools would be a huge advancement in

the wearable electronic industry. It would allow for the consistent monitoring of the body’s systems, tissues, and chemical balance throughout the body. This would not only benefit health gurus, but everyone. An individual would be able to monitor their intake of food, drink, and balance it with either exercise or consuming other products. This could lead to increase in quality of life, higher life expectancy, and another step of progression in the medical field.

References•  • Current Medical Applications –

http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/medicine/apps/• • Cancer Rates Around The World [Infographic] Global patterns reveal the myth of a

"disease of affluence" By Emily Elert Posted 12.17.2012 at 5:20 pm http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-12/cancer-rates-around-world-infographic

• • Asian J. Exp. Sci., Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008, 45-50 Nanotechnology and Cancer 

Treatment.  Om Pal Singh and R. M. Nehru.  Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Niyamak Bhavan, Anushakti Nagar Mumbai - 400 049, India

• • Google is Developing a Cancer and Heart Attack-Detecting Pill; Samuel Gibbs;

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/29/google-cancer-heart-attack-detecting-pill

• • Bio-inspired 'Nano-cocoons' offer targeted drug delivery against cancer cells Oct 14,

2014 by Matt Shipman http://phys.org/news/2014-10-bio-inspired-nano-cocoons-drug-delivery-cancer.html#jCp