A Brief Review on Role of Nanotechnology in Medical Sciences - Proceedings of All India Seminar on Biomedical Engineering 2012 (AISOBE-2012) - page 51

defined. However, it is possible that nanomedicine in future would play a crucial
role in the treatment of human diseases and also in enhancement of normal human
physiology.
Keywords Diagnostics Drugs Nanomedicine Nanotechnology Therapeutics
Quantum dot
Introduction
''Nano'' means very small, and it comes from the Greek word ''nanos'', meaning
dwarf. It is also used as a prefix to indicate size in the series kilo-, milli-, micro-,
nano-meter. A nanometer is one thousand millionth of a metre, 10 -9 m.
Nanoscale is generally considered to be at a size below 0.1 lm or 100 nm.
Nanoscience can be defined as the study of phenomena and manipulation of
materials at atomic, molecular, and macromolecular scales where properties differ
significantly from those at a larger particulate scale. Nanotechnology is then the
design, characterization, production and application of structures, devices, and
systems by controlling the shape and size at the nanometer scale.
Nanotechnology is considered an emerging technology with enormous potential
in a range of applications. In addition to various industrial uses, great innovations
are foreseen in metrology, electronics, biotechnology, medicine, and medical
technology. It is anticipated that nanotechnology can have an enormous positive
impact on human health. The potential medical applications are predominantly in
diagnostics, monitoring, the availability of more durable and better prosthetics,
and new drug delivery systems for potentially harmful drugs.
Nanoparticles and Nanostructures
Nanoparticles and nanostructures can be prepared either by the ''top down''
technique starting with large particles and making things smaller by grinding or
pulverizing, or the ''bottom up'' technique making things larger by building atom
by atom or molecule by molecule. The limit to making things smaller seems to be
reached, while making nanostructures by synthesis has just started. In the latter
case, avoiding random reactions and thus the control of the process is critical for
the production of nanostructures. The development of enhanced microscopy
techniques such as, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy,
has facilitated the use of the bottom-up process. Some uses of nanotechnology
include: Nanomaterials used in nanostructured materials, coatings, electronics, and
active surfaces. Most of the time such nanoparticles will be fixed within or on the
surface of materials.