Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 6.2
Comparative sizes of nanomaterials with proteins, cells, tissues, etc.
(For color
version of this figure, the reader is referred to the online version of this topic)
mobility for microvascular surgery, organ transplants, molecular repairs on
cells, and eliminating cancerous cells have also been envisioned.
5,15
In another context, nanorobots can come in the form of tiny engineered
nanomaterials that are best suited for early diagnosis and targeted delivery for
diseases such as cancer.
11,97,98,101,110
Disease-specific receptors on the surface of
cells provide useful targets for nanoparticles because nanoparticles can be engi-
neered from components that (1) recognize disease at the cellular level, (2) are
visible on imaging studies, and (3) deliver therapeutic compounds.
104
Advances
in nanotechnology are in the process of discovering new methods for delivery of
therapeutic compounds, including genes and proteins, to diseased tissue. A vari-
ety of nano-enabled and nanostructured drugs with effective site targeting are
being developed by combining a diverse selection of targeting, diagnostic, and
therapeutic components. The use of immune target specificity with nanomateri-
als introduces a new type of treatment modality, nano-immunochemotherapy.
111
6.3 NANOCHIPS AND NANOIMPLANTS
Understanding the structures of natural tissues is important in designing nanoma-
terials for nanochips and nanoimplants.
112
The size and structure of nanomateri-
als are very important in understanding the relationship between such structures
and natural tissues at various levels. In
Figure 6.2
, the relative scales of proteins,
cells, tissues, etc., in biological systems that nanomaterials attempt to mimic
