Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine: The Future of Healthcare
Earlier nanotechnology was only restricted to external usage products like Sunscreen and Antimicrobial bandages but now it is making its way into the core-medicine world, namely ‘Nanomedicine’.
Nanomedicine is the amalgamation of nanotechnology, which is the alteration of atoms and molecules up to 100 nanometers in size and clinical applications, such as medical devices, diagnosis or tissue engineering.
“Nano-medicine can be defined as the monitoring, repair, construction and control of human biological systems at the molecular level, using engineered nano-devices and nano-structures,” said Dr P K Julka, Sr. Director, Max Cancer Centre.
In an era of personal care, nanomedicine will usher for patients by helping in various healthcare areas. From early diagnosis to targeted and personalised therapeutics, nanomedicine can play a major role in all of this. It might take a while to be practiced in India, but researcher, Joy Wolfram and her team is already there.
After the death of her dear friend and with the promise of nanomedicine, Wolfram is working on a project of nanomedicine for cancer diagnostics. The nanoparticles of cancer can move to other organs in the body and infect the same with cancer for metastasis (an early stage of cancer apart from the primary cancer site). The research in nanotechnology will help in predicting the patients with the likelihood of metastasis by detecting these nanoparticles in the blood samples early. This will aid the early detection and treatment of cancer.
Researchers are approaching this technology by growing cancer cells on a silicon chip and testing the possible drugs to identify the best available treatment for individual patients. Adding to it, Dr Julka said, “Sensor test chips containing thousands of nano-wires, able to detect proteins and other biomarkers left behind by cancer cells, could enable the detection and diagnosis of cancer in the early stages from a few drops of a patient’s blood. By irradiating the area of the tumor with an infrared laser, which passes through flesh without heating it, the gold is heated sufficiently to cause the death of the cancer cells.”
Talking about the technology, he said, “As it comes to India, we shall be able to diagnose and treat cancers in a much better way with greater efficacy and lesser toxicity. Once popularized in India, the cost might come down to an affordable range for maximum population benefit.”
There are certain challenges in this technology like clinical trials. Yet this could be a boom in the healthcare industry of India. The drop in recent Union Budget allocation in the health sector especially in research and innovation to Rs.350 crore has raised a question for this technology to facilitate and result in a breakthrough. But if nanomedicine succeeds, humans will be able to get cure from a year-long disease or maybe we might be able to regrow various body parts in future.
