Nanotechnology: Advantages in Medicine

Advantages of Nanotechnology in Medicine

The use of nanotechnology is ever-expanding in today’s technologically advanced world. This form of technology has many advantages over existing ones in many fields and medicine is one of them. There are numerous devices and mechanisms developed with the aid of nanotechnology that can help cure diseases/disorders in a much better and more efficient manner. The usefulness of nanotechnology can especially be seen in the treatment of cancer. Radiation therapy used in cancer treatment requires accurate targeting of affected cells. Today, nanotechnology is transitioning through the nascent stages of development; however, it is also making rapid progress in the field of medicine. Many different medical advantages of using nanotechnology can be found below.

Repairing Body Cells Becomes Easy
Nanotechnology is used in the construction of miniscule devices and robots (nanobots) capable of entering the human body and performing a variety of operations; cell repairing one of them. These miniscule devices, developed with the help of nanotechnology, are also referred to as molecular machines. These machines can efficiently carry out repairing of cells, since they can distinguish molecules of one type of body cell from those of another. Earlier, it was not possible to repair body cells individually, however, nanotechnology has made it possible. Damaged heart tissues can be repaired using nanobots. Another heart-related treatment that can be undertaken through nanotechnology is that of unclogging cholesterol-filled arteries. It is seen that healing of bone injuries takes quite a long time. In conventional techniques, scaffolds are tools used for assisting the process of bone healing. However, with the use of polymer scaffolds containing stem cells, speedy recovery of bone injuries becomes possible.

Efficient Drug Delivery
The conventional drug delivery systems are such that they need to be controlled manually. Oral intake, injections, and other such modes of manual drug delivery are, however, subject to human error. Medicines have to be consumed in a timely manner. Nanotechnology can be used for timely delivery of medicines; the existing techniques are thereby improved. The drug delivery system meant for a particular patient can be customized and pre-programmed in order to make it effective. Devices used for implementing the delivery of drugs are known as ‘nanovehicles’. Some examples of nanovehicles are microchips, layer-by-layer assembled systems, microneedle-based transdermal therapeutic systems, etc. Similar devices (polymer micelles, dendrimers, liposomes, etc.) of a bigger scale were conceptualized way back in the 1960s, however, with recent developments in nanotechnology, it is possible to create their miniature forms.