Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ease of use to patients while minimizing swelling, toxicity and other side effects.
Various kinds of nanomaterials are currently being developed for various nano-
chips, nanoimplants, and even for stem cell regeneration 119,28-47 . These vari-
ous applications of nanomedical devices are being developed for more accurate
diagnosis and more efficient therapeutics that will benefit the human quality of
life. 3,5-7,14,20,23,25,48-51 To date, majority of the NMs applications in medicine are
still in the research stage, and only a a few are already in full blast clinical use.
This chapter is dedicated to the various applications of nanomaterials for the
creation of various nanomedical devices. 33,52-62
6.2 NANOROBOTS
The technology of creating nanosized machines is called nanorobotics. This
term, nanorobotics, refers to the section of nanotechnology that involves engi-
neering, designing, and building of nanorobots. Nanorobots are devices ranging
in size from 0.1 to 10 µm that are composed of nanoscale or molecular com-
ponents. These devices can be injected into the patient to perform diagnosis or
treatment on a cellular level. Such diagnosis or treatments involve the nanoscale,
molecular, or atomic level. Treatments with nanorobots may involve alterations
in structure and composition in the molecular or submolecular level.
The various applications for nanorobots in medicine include early diagnosis
and targeted drug delivery for cancer therapeutics, nanosized biomedical instru-
ment for surgery, pharmacokinetics, disease monitoring, and improving the
affectivity and efficiency of health care. 4,11,63 These various areas of applica-
tions of nanorobots leverage the unique properties of materials and devices in
the nanoscale dimensions.
6.2.1 Nanosurgery
Nanosurgery is the term that refers to surgery that uses fast laser beams which
are focused by an objective microscope lens to exert a controlled force to
manipulate organelles and other subcellular structures. 12 This precise technique
allows for the destruction of a single cell without damaging adjacent healthy
cells. It allows precise ablation of cellular and subcellular structures without
compromising cell viability and with minimal damage to nearby cells. 64
Conventional nanosurgery uses optical tweezers that consists of beams of
laser light. 12 The narrowest point of the laser beam contains a strong electric field
gradient at the center that attracts dielectric particles such that they move along
the gradient toward the enabling the particles to be moved from one location to
another, without ever touching them. The optical tweezers can be applied to bio-
logical substructures such as cell nuclei and chromosomes. In combination with
a scalpel, the optical tweezers allow for even greater precision during surgery.
Ultrafast laser nanosurgery provides a high flux of photons that can be
absorbed nonlinearly by the electrons. 64 The short duration of the absorption
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