The use of nanotechnology and nanorobotics

The use of nanotechnology and nanorobotics in biomedical sciences –  is an emerging new frontier which may still at the experimental and theoretical stage. The possibility of nanorobotics and nanotechnology was first proposed by Nobel prize winner Richard Feynman.

While many definitions of nanotechnology exist, the one most widely used is from the US Government’s National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). According to the NNI, nanotechnology is defined as:

“Research and technology development at the atomic, molecular and macromolecular levels in the length scale of approximately 1 — 100 nanometer range, to provide a fundamental understanding of phenomena and materials at the nanoscale and to create and use structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size.”

The size domains of components involved with nanotechnology are similar to that of biological structures. In comparison, representative structures and materials found in nature are typically referenced to have the following dimensions:
Atom 0.1 nm
DNA (width) 2 nm
Protein 5—50 nm
Virus 75—100 nm
Materials internalized by cells 100 nm
Bacteria 1,000—10,000 nm
White Blood Cell 10,000 nm

The enormous potential in the biomedical capabilities of nanorobots and the imprecision and side effects of medical treatments today make nanorobots very desirable. Medical treatment today involves the use of surgery and drug therapy. Surgery is a direct, manual approach to fixing the body. However, no matter how highly trained the specialists may be, surgery can still be dangerous since anesthetics, infections, organ rejection, and missed cancer cells can all cause failure. Surgeons lack fine-scale control. From the perspective of a cell, a fine surgical scalpel is as crude as a blunt tool. Invasive surgery wounds peripheral tissue and causes unnecessary harm to the patient.

Drug therapy affects the body at the molecular level. Drug molecules are dumped into the body where they are transported by the circulatory system. They may come into contact with un-targeted parts of the body and lead to unwanted side effects. Nanomedical robots, however, will have no difficulty identifying cancer cells and will ultimately be able to track them down and destroy them wherever they ma~ be growing. This is why the medical profession is looking towards the use of biomedical, nanotechnological engineering to refine the treatment of diseases.

PRINCIPAL NANOROBOTIC APPLICATIONS

The availability of advanced nanomedical instrumentalities should not significantly alter the classical medical treatment methodology, although the patient experiences and outcomes will be greatly improved. Treatment in the nanomedical era will become faster and more accurate, efficient and effective.

A. DRUG DELIVERY

Nanotechnology provides a wide range of new technologies for developing customized solutions that optimize the delivery of pharmaceutical products. Nanotechnology can offer new drug delivery solutions in the following areas.

1. Drug Encapsulation

One major class of drug delivery systems is materials that encapsulate drugs to protect them during transit in the body. Drug encapsulation materials include liposomes and polymers (i.e. Polylactide (PLA) and Lactide-co-Glycolide (PLGA)) which are used as microscale particles.

2. Functional Drug Carriers

Another class of drug delivery systems where nanotechnology offers interesting solutions is in the area of nanomaterial that carry drugs to their destination sites and also have functional properties. Certain nanostructures can be controlled to link with a drug, a targeting molecule, and an imaging agent, then attract specific cells and release their payload when required.

B. DRUG DISCOVERY

Nano and micro technologies are part of the latest advanced solutions and new paradigms for decreasing the discovery and development times for new drugs, and potentially reducing the development costs. Traditional trial-and error methods have contributed to a discovery process lasting 10 years or more for new drugs to reach the market. In recent years, a number of new and complementary technologies have been developed which considerably impact the drug discovery process.

Nanotechnology can new offer new solutions for tissue repair and replacement in the following’ areas.

C. IMPLANTABLE DEVICES

Nanotechnology offers sensing technologies that provide more accurate and timely medical information for diagnosing disease, and miniature devices that can administer treatment automatically if’ required. Health assessment can require medical professionals, invasive procedures and extensive laboratory testing to collect data and diagnose disease. This process can take hours, days or weeks for scheduling and obtaining results. Some medical information is extremely time sensitive such as finding out if there is sufficient blood flow to an organ or tissue after transplant or reconstructive surgery, before irreversible damage occurs.

Example applications are as follows.

1. Retina Implants : Retinal implants are in development to restore vision by electrically stimulating functional neurons in the retina

2 Cochlear Implants : A new generation of smaller and more powerful cochlear implants are intended to be more precise and offer greater sound quality.

D. SURGICAL AIDS

1 Operating Tools

Medical devices that contain nano and micro technologies will allow surgeons to perform familiar tasks with greater precision and safety, monitor physiological and biomechanical parameters more accurately, and perform new tasks that are not currently done.

2 Surgical Robotics

Robotic surgical systems are being developed to provide surgeons with unprecedented control over precision instruments. This is particularly useful for minimally invasive surgery. Instead of manipulating surgical instruments, surgeons use their thumbs and fingers to move joystick handles on a control console to maneuver two robot arms containing miniature instruments that are inserted into ports in the patient. The surgeon’s movements transform large motions on the remote controls into micro-movements on the robot arms to greatly improve mechanical precision and safety.

E DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS

1 Genetic Testing

Nano and micro technologies provide new solutions for increasing the speed and accuracy of identifying genes and genetic materials for drug discovery and development, and for treatment-linked disease diagnostics products.

2. Ultra-sensitive Labeling and Detection Technologies

Several new technologies are being developed to improve the ability to label and detect unknown target genes. At Genicon, gold nanoparticle probes are being treated with chemicals that cling to target genetic materials and illuminate when the sample is exposed to light.

3. Killing cancer cells.

The device would circulate freely throughout the body, and would periodically sample its environment by determining whether the binding sites were or were not occupied. Occupancy statistics would allow determination of concentration. Today’s monoclonal antibodies are able to bind to only a single type of protein or other antigen, and have not proven effective against most cancers. The cancer killing device suggested here could incorporate a dozen different binding sites and so could monitor the concentrations of a dozen different types of molecules. The computer could determine if the profile of concentrations fit a pre-programmed “cancerous” profile and would, when a cancerous profile was encountered, release the poison.

4. Providing oxygen

A second application would be to provide metabolic support in the event of impaired circulation. Poor blood flow, caused by a variety of conditions, can result in serious tissue damage. A major cause of tissue damage is inadequate oxygen. A simple method of improving the levels of available oxygen despite reduced blood flow would be to provide an “artificial red blood cell of about a day by about a liter of small spheres.

5. Artificial mitochondria

While providing oxygen to healthy tissue should maintain metabolism, tissues already suffering from ischemic injury (tissue injury caused by loss of blood flow) might no longer be able to properly metabolize oxygen. In particular, the mitochondria will, at some point, fail.