Nanotechnology today and tomorrow

Less than 1 nm

The magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles enable these particles to be used in numerous applications, belonging to one or more of the following groups: (i) Magnetic contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); (ii) Hyperthermia agents, where the magnetic particles are heated selectively by application of an high frequency magnetic field. (e.g. in thermal ablation/hyperthermia of tumors); and (iii) Magnetic vectors that can be directed by means of a magnetic field gradient towards a certain location, such as in the case of the targeted drug delivery.

Nanoshells have a core of silica and a metallic outer layer Nanoshells have a core of silica and a metallic outer layer. These nanoshells can be injected safely, as demonstrated in animal models. Because of their size, nanoshells will preferentially concentrate in cancer lesion sites. This physical selectivity occurs through a phenomenon called enhanced permeation retention (EPR). Scientists can further decorate the nanoshells to carry molecular conjugates to the antigens that are expressed on the cancer cells themselves or in the tumor microenvironment. This second degree of specificity preferentially links the nanoshells to the tumor and not to neighboring healthy cells.

Scientists can then externally supply energy to these cells Scientists can then externally supply energy to these cells. The specific properties associated with nanoshells allow for the absorption of this directed energy, creating an intense heat that selectively kills the tumor cells. The external energy can be mechanical, radio frequency, optical - the therapeutic action is the same. The result is greater efficacy of the therapeutic treatment and a significantly reduced set of side effects.

Nanoscale cantilevers, constructed as part of a larger diagnostic device, can provide rapid and sensitive detection of cancer-related molecules.

Nanoscale cantilevers - microscopic, flexible beams resembling a row of diving boards - are built using semiconductor lithographic techniques. These can be coated with molecules capable of binding specific substrates-DNA complementary to a specific gene sequence, for example. Such micron-sized devices, comprising many nanometer-sized cantilevers, can detect single molecules of DNA or protein. As a cancer cell secretes its molecular products, the antibodies coated on the cantilever fingers selectively bind to these secreted proteins. These antibodies have been designed to pick up one or more different, specific molecular expressions from a cancer cell. The physical properties of the cantilevers change as a result of the binding event. Researchers can read this change in real time and provide not only information about the presence and the absence but also the concentration of different molecular expressions.

Nanoscale devices have the potential to radically change cancer therapy for the better and to dramatically increase the number of highly effective therapeutic agents. In this example, nanoparticles are targeted to cancer cells for use in the molecular imaging of a malignant lesion. Large numbers of nanoparticles are safely injected into the body and preferentially bind to the cancer cell, defining the anatomical contour of the lesion and making it visible. These nanoparticles give us the ability to see cells and molecules that we otherwise cannot detect through conventional imaging. The ability to pick up what happens in the cell - to monitor therapeutic intervention and to see when a cancer cell is mortally wounded or is actually activated - is critical to the successful diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Nanoparticulate technology can prove to be very useful in cancer therapy allowing for effective and targeted drug delivery by overcoming the many biological, biophysical and biomedical barriers that the body stages against a standard intervention such as the administration of drugs or contrast agents.

تحقن المواد المغناطيسية النانومترية (magnetite) فى جسم المريض المراد فحصه باستخدام الرنين المغناطيسى. تدخل المواد النانومترية و تحيط بالخلايا السرطانية لتعطى درجة تباين ووضوح فى صورة الرنين فى مراحل السرطان المبكرة جدا ( بعد اسبوعين من الاصابة) و هذا أفضل من الرنين المغناطيسى التقليدى.

 10 nm

Why Nanotechnology in Cancer? Nanoscale devices are somewhere from one hundred to ten thousand times smaller than human cells. They are similar in size to large biological molecules ("biomolecules") such as enzymes and receptors. As an example, hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in red blood cells, is approximately 5 nanometers in diameter. Nanoscale devices smaller than 50 nanometers can easily enter most cells, while those smaller than 20 nanometers can move out of blood vessels as they circulate through the body. Because of their small size, nanoscale devices can readily interact with biomolecules on both the surface of cells and inside of cells. By gaining access to so many areas of the body, they have the potential to detect disease and deliver treatment in ways unimagined before now. And since biological processes, including events that lead to cancer, occur at the nanoscale at and inside cells, nanotechnology offers a wealth of tools that are providing cancer researchers with new and innovative ways to diagnose and treat cancer.

Tests on the resulting nanoparticles showed that those containing small amounts of manganese produced a magnetic signal approximately six times stronger than that produced by the iron oxide nanoparticles typically used in MRI studies. The investigators also found that the 12-nanometer-diameter particles generated a magnetic signal that was about 75 percent stronger than the 6-nanometer-diameter particles.

To determine if these manganese-containing iron oxide nanoparticles could better detect cancer cells using MRI, the investigators labeled the nanoparticles with the human cancer-targeting antibody Herceptin. Herceptin, which is used to treat breast cancer, binds to a specific protein, known as HER2/neu that is over expressed on certain breast and ovarian tumors. For comparison’s sake, the researchers also prepared Herceptin-labeled conventional iron oxide nanoparticles. The researchers then added these labeled nanoparticles to a variety of human cancer cells growing in culture.

Devesh Misra, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette first prepared magnetic nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanocrystals coated with the biocompatible polymer polymethacrylic acid (PMAA) Drug delivery experiments demonstrated that the nanocrystals slowly and steadily released doxorubicin over 200 hours. However, when the investigators applied a magnetic field to the nanocrystals, drug release rates increased dramatically, with the particles releasing 2.5 times more drug in the first two hours and over the next 24 hours. After 60 hours in a magnetic field, the nanocrystals released approximately 75 percent of their drug payload.

Kirrane BM, Nelson LS, Hoffman RS. New York City Poison Control Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. bmkirrane@msn.com Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2006 Nov;99(5):358-9

5 grams

-النانوتكنولوجى وعلم الوراثة: يستخدم النانوتكنولوجى فى تشخيص الأمراض وتعتمد الفكرة أساسا على ادخال قطب حساس صغير جدايسمى نانوبروب nano probe مصنوع من مواد نانومترية . يوضع هذا المجس الحساس على المناطق المختلفة من شريط ال DNA مما يساعد على تشخيص المرض ومعرفته اذا كان وراثيا أم لا وبالتالى يمكن الكشف عن المرض مبكرا جدا وعلاجه قبل أن يصبح المرض مشكلة . وعرض شريط ال DNA حوالى 2 نانومتر وبالتالى أن يكون القطب الحساس أقل من ذلك. ومن هنا تحضير النانوكابسول عملية سهلة ويدخل تحت مسمى العلاج بالجينات . ويمكن استخدام هذه الأقطاب المصنعة من الجزيئات النانومترية فى الكشف المبكر عن الحمل وبطريقة سهلة جدا. وباستخدام النانوتكنولوجى يمكن عمل بطاقة جينية لكل شخص توضع فى صورة شريط مغناطيسى من مواد نانومترية يحتوى على التاريخ المرضى للشخص وأيضا لأسرته.

1 - Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) for displays 2 - Photovoltaic film that converts light into electricity 3 - Scratch-proof coated windows that clean themselves with UV 4 - Fabrics coated to resist stains and control temperature 5 - Intelligent clothing measures pulse and respiration 6 - Bucky-tubeframe is light but very strong 7 - Hip-joint made from biocompatible materials 8 - Nano-particle paint to prevent corrosion 9 - Thermo-chromic glass to regulate light 10 - Magnetic layers for compact data memory 11 - Carbon nanotube fuel cells to power electronics and vehicles 12 - Nano-engineered cochlear implant

NANOSCALE CONCRETE The 20-nanometer-thick surface layer acts as a semipermeable barrier that allows water to enter the cement grain and calcium ions to leach out. However, the larger silicate ions in the cement are trapped behind this layer. As the reaction continues, a silicate gel forms there, causing swelling within the cement grain and eventual breakdown of the outermost layer. The surface disintegration then releases accumulated silicate into the surrounding solution, where it reacts with calcium ions to form a calcium-silicate hydrate gel, which binds cement grains together and sets the concrete.

Nanotechnology goes underground to boost oil production Geoscientists believe that more oil and gas can be extracted by improving their understanding of the chemical and physical characteristics of existing oil and gas reservoirs. Using current technology, typically 60 percent of oil remains underground after primary, secondary and in some cases even tertiary recovery methods. The consortium's primary goal is to develop intelligent subsurface micro and nanosensors that can be injected into oil and gas reservoirs to help characterize the space in three dimensions and improve the recovery of existing and new hydrocarbon resources. By leveraging existing surface infrastructure, the technology will minimize environmental impact.

النانوتكنولوجى و صبغات الشعر

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