nanotechnology and its applications in medicine

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Presented by: Sridhar Shenoy Jain University [email protected] Nanotechnology and Its Applications in the Field of Medicine

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Page 1: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Presented by:Sridhar ShenoyJain [email protected]

Nanotechnology and Its Applications in the Field of Medicine

Page 2: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Medicine Through the Ages

• Medical technology has advanced tremendously in the recent past.

• From synthesising the antibiotic Penicillin in 1928, eradicating smallpox, eradicating polio in all but 3 countries, medical science has impacted us humans on an unimaginable scale.

Page 3: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Statistics of the Impact of Medical Science

Infant Mortality Rate and Life Expectancy

Substantial decrease in infant mortality rate over the 50 years, from 1950 - 2003

Increase in Average Life Expectancy over 180 years

Page 4: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Statistics of the Impact of Medical Science

From 400,000 estimated cases in 1980, complete eradication of the disease is believed to happen by 2018.

Polio Over the Years

International Polio cases by Year

Year Estimated Recorded

1980 400,000 52,000

2015 - 74

Page 5: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

The risks and challenges faced by conventional medicine on such a large scale call for new solutions.

Approach

Biological challenge

User Diversity

Collateral Damage

Challenges Faced by Modern Medicine

• Current methods predominantly aim at suppressing a symptom rather than eliminating the root cause of the disease or the issue.

• Antibiotic resistance is on the rise, and genetically mutated bacteria are immune to certain antibiotics.

• Patient uniqueness is ignored and everyone with the same disease is treated the same way.

• Adverse effects caused by most medications that are in use often distressing.

Page 6: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Cancer Treatment and Side Effects

• There has been remarkable improvement in the field of Oncology. Diagnosis and treatment for cancer has improved over the years and even cures have been found ( For stage 1 & stage 2 cancer).

• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are two of the most effective treatment approaches for cancer.

• But the shortcomings of cancer treatment lies in the side effects caused by the treatment approaches. They include: fatigue, nausea and vomiting, anaemia, hair loss, organ damage, infertility, etc.

• Radiation therapy also causes the damage to healthy tissue surrounding the cancer.

Page 7: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

What are the characteristics of good medication?• Primarily, it should pass drug trials.

• It should be “quick-acting” and provide relief from symptoms.

• It should have minimal or no side effects.

• It should be ethically sourced, and economically viable.

• What would make medication more effective is if it was specific and targeted in its mechanism of action.

Page 8: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

New Age Solution: Nanotechnology

• Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at a molecular scale.

• It’s a hybrid science combining engineering, chemistry and to a certain extent, biology.

• Nanotechnology is diverse and has its footprints in the filed of energy, medicine, electronics, computing and material sciences.

Page 9: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Futuristic Medical Technology: Nanomedicine

• Today, perhaps, medicine is the area in which we need nanotechnology and other technological developments the most.  Diseases, illnesses, and disorders are not limited or confined to certain areas of the population or the world; they cross all geographical, social, and economic boundaries.

Page 10: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Futuristic Medical Technology: Nanomedicine• Nanotechnology in medicine is ground-breaking because it treats

diseases on a cellular level. Suffice to say, it is one of the top disruptive technologies of modern day and age!

A targeting nanoparticle

Page 11: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Applications of Nanomedicine: Drug Delivery

• Nanotechnology can be used to deliver medicine or drugs into specific parts of the human body (called “disease targeting”), thereby making the medicines more effective and less harmful to the other parts of the body.

• When there is an illness or a disease in a specific part of the body, medicine is given.  The chemicals inside the medicine, although good for the ill part of the body, may spread (through the circulatory system) to other parts of the body where they are not suitable and by reacting, can cause various side effects. 

Page 12: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Applications of Nanomedicine: Diagnostics

• Being able to treat diseases on a cellular level gives us the potential to detect diseases earlier and increase the accuracy of the diagnosis.

• Diagnostic information can be delivered more quickly and cost efficiently. Advanced imagery tools can be developed to see the human body better.

Page 13: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Applications of Nanomedicine: Miscellaneous Applications• With nanorobotics, accurate

imaging of the human body will help us better understand how exactly the body works. The workings of cells, bacteria, viruses, etc. can be better explored. Better imagery means better treatment, and more room for a better technical understanding.

• We could make strides in regenerative medicine using appropriate nanostructures to repair cells, tissues, skin, bones or organs and get them back in working order.

Page 14: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Advantages of Nanomedicine

• Fixing the building blocks of the human body, the cells, with utmost precision is what makes nanomedicine as effective as it is. It allows:

1. Faster diagnosis2. More precision3. Specific targeting of cells

Page 15: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Unanswered Questions About Nanomedicine• Just how many nanotechnology implementations in the human body (to protect

against diseases and to offer “enhanced immunization”) would it take for a human to no longer remain human?

• Who will have control over nanomedicinal technology?  Will everyone have control (as open-source perhaps)? Or only doctors, surgeons and other medical practitioners who seem like the probable controllers? Perhaps the holders of the nanomedicine patents? Or a few elite persons with complete control?

• Will nanomedicine in its initial stage be available only for the rich?

• Will the poor get equal access to nanomedicine and other nano-medicinal technologies?

• What if the nanorobot guiding system malfunctions (due to lack of proper care from the manufacturer, for example) and the drug enters the spinal cord?  What if nanorobots present in the body start attacking the good cells instead of tumours?

Page 16: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

ConclusionThere certainly are more questions than adequate answers.  We must remember, that every technology made till date has been made in hopes of improving or benefiting human life.  However, it is only misuse of technology that impacts humankind in a negative way. And hey, science has always progressed through asking the right questions, hasn’t it!?

As gadgets get smaller and smaller with gradual advancement in science, nanotechnology is the science of the future. And development in the scientific world is good for all, the engineers, the doctors, and…well, you.

Page 17: Nanotechnology and its Applications in Medicine

Acknowledgement Thank you for listening. I sincerely hope that all of you found this presentation informative.

Sources:1. nanomedTV – YouTube channel. 2. Nanomedicine: The future of Medicine –

www.associates-degree-in-nursing.org3. Nanotechnology in Medicine – www.nanomed.yolasite.com4. Google images for the Statistics.