Nanotechnology in Biology - Book Report/Review Example

Nanotechnology in Biology Scientists making Cancer Hunter Roam the Body Although several cancer preventing precautions are advised by experts, the disease remains to be unpredictable. The cause may be rooted from heredity, lifestyle or just plain part of your system. Such factors are huge contributors in developing cancer cells. There are self-check techniques that may help a person detect if he has a cancer or not; however, the range of accuracy is very limited since other types of cancer do not manifest its symptoms until the higher stages. As what oncology experts contend, early detection is the best step in fighting cancer. Recently, a group of Welsh scientists are studying a way on how to have accurate early detection of cancer cells (Turner 1). Using nanotechnology, such process would require ultra small “hunter sensor” that would roam around the body to search for cancer cells. An estimated “trillions of dollars will be made by 2015” using this kind of technology in the U.S. Further process entailing the study’s development will be done in Swansea Center wherein important nanotechnology devices are produced such as equipments for “revolutionary printing and industrial coating techniques” (Turner 4). A university spokesperson said that this technology is most helpful in early detection, much accurate than conventional ones, and would make a dramatic decrease of mortality rate related to such kind of disease. Chemotherapy has always been available for cancer patients. However, toxic effects are inevitable since the therapeutic agents in this medical procedure do not only kill tumor tissues, but also the tissues from healthy organs. Using nanotechnology, “biomedical implants” are made “to control the release of drugs into the human body” (Turner 4). Nanotechnology has provided science another leap. The Tiny Bombs That Can Blast Away Cancer; Cancer: Tumours like These Will Soon Be Targeted by Nanoparticles The 21st century sickness, cancer, has brought several fears as it jeopardizes an individual’s health. Researches have been conducted to completely revolutionize its treatment. The steps were not as easy as producing conventional medicine since it deals with a very complex disease. The concept of nanotechnology was fortunately feasible in several medical innovations such as the treatment of cancer. One study has stated that nanotechnology would help fight cancer cells by specifically targeting tumor tissues. The problem with using chemotherapy is that it also damages other healthy cells resulting to a deteriorating health. Whereas with “nanobombs,” it is made up of fat that once induced in the body by injecting, the anti-cancer drug will penetrate more deeply into the cancer tumor compared to the chemotherapeutic agents (Hagan 7). While it is being tested on mice, results show that it increases the survival time and decreases the drug side effects in the future. Dr. Owens, from the Cancer Research Institute stated that nanotechnology has a great potential in curing cancer patients with a possibility of reducing the side effects from chemotherapy drugs. Gone are the days that cancer beats up a huge portion of the population; nanotechnology is on its way of producing a more efficient means of treating cancer problems. However, nanotechnology is still subject to further studies, so it can create a revolutionized system of treating other diseases. Works Cited Hagan, Pat. “The Tiny Bombs That Can Blast Away Cancer; Cancer: Tumours like These Will Soon Be Targeted by Nanoparticles.” The Daily Mail 17 July 2007: 44. Print. Turner, Robin. “Scientists making Cancer Hunter Roam the Body.” Western Mail 10 Jan. 2006: 11. Print. The Tiny Bombs That Can Blast Away Cancer; Cancer: Tumours like These Will Soon Be Targeted by Nanoparticles. Byline: PAT HAGAN TINY 'nanobombs' that penetrate deep into a tumour and release powerfulchemotherapy drugs could help fight cancer. Scientists have developed a way of sneaking toxic anti-tumour medicine insidecancerous growths by hiding it inside particles so small they are invisible tothe naked eye. Once inside the tumour, the bombs 'explode', releasing the potent drug toattack cancer cells. They are expected to work on any solid tumour, such as those in the breast,prostate or ovaries. These solid tumours make up an estimated 85 per cent ofall cancer cases. The new technology, developed at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, isat an early stage and it could be three to four years before it is available inthe UK. But experts believe it could solve one of the biggest problems withusing chemotherapyhow to get the drug deep inside the tumour, where it can be most effective. Chemotherapy drugs work by poisoning cancer cells. But they can also damagehealthy cells in the process and, because of the size of their molecules, oftenfail to reach malignant cells deep inside a tumour. Side effects can includecomplete hair loss and extreme fatigue. Some patients also becomehypersensitive to the drugs, often suffering reactions such as flushing of theface, skin rash and shortness of breath. These occur mostly because the drughas to travel through healthy tissue in the body before it gets to itscancerous target. Scientists hope nanobombs will make treatment more effectiveand save thousands of patients from unpleasant side-effects. One of theproblems with tumours is that when they produce new blood vessels to keep themfed with vital nutrients, they do so in a haphazard way. Unlike elsewhere inthe body, the network of vessels leading to a tumour can be a tangled mess,made up of lots of narrow passages going off in different directions. Thismeans chemotherapy drugs often get stuck, or fail to reach their intendedtarget because they are too big to navigate through the web of blood vessels.Even if they succeed, they still have to penetrate the wall of the cancer cell,get inside and poison it. But concealing tiny quantities of a drug calleddoxorubicin inside thousands of nanoparticleseach one just ten millionths of a millimetre in diameter could be the answer. EACH particle is made of fat and designed to dissolve within a few hours ofbeing injected. Once it has disappeared, the anti-cancer drug is left to do itswork. In tests on mice, the 'nanobombs' were found to increase survival timeand reduce side-effects. The Chinese team injected half their mice with theminiature particles and the other half with ordinary chemotherapy drugs. Theresults, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showedthose given even a low dose survived 40 days or longer. In contrast, half thosegiven conventional treatment died within 30 days. When the researchers tried ahigher dose of the nanobomb treatment, 90 per cent of the mice were still aliveat 40 days. Dr Ning Tang, who led the study, said the tests showed the nanoparticlesattacked a higher percentage of cancer cells and penetrated deeper inside them.He said the technique would transform crude chemotherapy into a more targetedweapon. 'May the days of pharmacological missiles that miss their target, andfriendly fire that kills patients, soon be over,' he said. In a similarbreakthrough, experts at the University of Utah have devised drug-fillednanobubbles which are injected into a tumour and then detonated by firingultrasound at them. The tiny bubbles gather inside the tumour, where they join together to formlarger bubbles. Sound waves are then fired through the body to 'pop' thebubbles and release the chemotherapy drug. In tests, the techniquesubstantially slowed the rate of tumour growth. Dr Joanna Owens, from Cancer Research UK, said: 'Nanotechnology has thepotential to improve the effectiveness of cancer treatments and reduce theirside effects in future. 'The idea of packaging cancer drugs into tiny particlesand delivering them specifically to cancer cells is exciting. 'But this work isat a very early stage and is a long way from being used to treat cancer.' Scientists Making Cancer Hunter to Roam the Body. Byline: By ROBIN TURNER Western Mail Welsh scientists are working on a revolutionary treatment for cancer involving an ultra-small 'hunter sensor' which roams through the body seeking cancerous cells. And the researchers' home - a multi-million-pound nano- technology centre at Swansea University - will be officially opened today by the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Sir David King. Nanotechnology means working on a tiny scale where scientists manipulate atoms to produce new products. It promises to revolutionise our lives with US experts estimating trillions of dollars will be made by 2015 from new nanotech-based materials and products. The Swansea centre will be used to produce microscopic electronic devices, biomedical implants to control the release of drugs into the human body, revolutionary printing and industrial coating techniques and other developments. The centre, with the city's Medical School, is currently developing a nanoscale sensor that would sit in the body to detect cancerous cells' growth in high-risk patients and monitor post-treatment relapse. A university spokeswoman said, 'The ability to detect the presence of such cells at an early stage, at a level of sensitivity far beyond con- ventional diagnostic techniques, would greatly contri- bute to reducing mortality rates in such cases.' Other potential developments using nanotechnology include: A military fleet of fly-sized 'spies in the sky' to monitor men and equipment without being seen; Self-cleaning windows using energy from UV light to remove stains; Intelligent clothing to monitor our breathing and heart rate; Carbon nanotube fuel cells to power vehicles and computers; Photovoltaic film to turn light into electricity, and Nano-particle paint to treat corrosion. Based in the University's School of Engineering, the centre - whose name is the Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre - brings together more than 30 experts in engineering, medicine, physics, biology and chemistry to develop projects that go beyond traditional areas of study to create whole new technological applications. A nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre - to put this in perspective, an average human hair is between 50,000-80,000 nanometres in width. Professor Steve Wilks, MNC's head, said, 'Engineering at this scale is one of the greatest, most exciting challenges facing modern science and has the potential to revolutionise the way we live, from creating miniaturised Star Trek-like electronic gadgets through to delivering medicines to specific sites within the human body. 'The MNC has already earned an international reputation in many new fields that stretch traditional engineering concepts to the extreme and the potential medical, scien- tific and commercial benefits of the work we are doing are immense.' Sir David said, 'The MNC is leading the way in developing key technologies of the future which will have truly global impacts. The visionary work carried out here helps keep the UK at the forefront of science and innovation.' The university's Vice Chancellor Professor Richard Davies said, 'The history of this part of the UK is linked inextricably to heavy industry, metallurgy and petrochemicals. It is fitting the university, whose strong science and technology owes so much to this history, is now able to give leadership over the industrial technologies of tomorrow.' Read More