Applications of Nanomaterials in Medical and Healthcare industries

These are the major Applications of Nanomaterials in Medical and Healthcare industries.

Absorb and move quickly:

Nanoparticles have a significant surface-area-to-volume ratio due to their nanoscale size, which allows them to absorb vast amounts of medications and move quickly throughout the bloodstream. Their increased surface area gives them distinct capabilities, allowing them to be used in more pharmaceutical applications.

Quantum dots to enhance biological imaging:

Quantum dots are semiconducting nanocrystals that can enhance biological imaging for medical diagnostics. When illuminated with ultraviolet light, they emit a wide spectrum of bright colors that can be used to locate and identify specific kinds of cells and biological activities. These crystals offer optical detection up to 1,000 times better than conventional dyes used in many biological tests, such as MRIs (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and render significantly more information.

Drug delivery and nanobots:

Nanobots for targeted drug delivery are meant to reach hard-to-access parts of the body. Traditional drug treatments, for example cancer chemotherapy, can come with toxic compounds that indiscriminately damage healthy tissues. Nanobots could circumvent this issue by protecting the drug until it’s delivered to the intended target. Nanobots can also be used to clear the blockage in arteries.

Early diagnosis of plaque in arteries:

Nanotechnology has been used in the early diagnosis of atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque in arteries. Researchers have developed an imaging technology to measure the amount of an antibody-nanoparticle complex that accumulates specifically in plaque. Clinical scientists are able to monitor the development of plaque as well as its disappearance following treatment.

Use of gold nanoparticles:

Gold nanoparticles can be used to detect early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Gold nanoparticles can also be used for the detection of targeted sequences of nucleic acids, and can be clinically investigated as potential treatments for cancer and other diseases.

To detect molecular signals:

Molecular imaging for the early detection where sensitive biosensors constructed of nanoscale components (e.g. nanocantilevers, nanowires, and nanochannels) can recognize genetic and molecular events and have reporting capabilities, thereby offering the potential to detect rare molecular signals associated with malignancy.

Research enablers:

Such as microfluidic chip-based nanolabs capable of monitoring and manipulating individual cells and nanoscale probes to track the movements of cells and individual molecules as they move about in their environments.

Treating Glaucoma:

Blindness can be prevented by treating glaucoma using nanoparticle eye drops. Nanomaterials can incorporate the drugs in two ways: through encapsulation inside the nanomaterials or conjugation on the surface of nanomaterials. The encapsulated drug is released as the nanomaterial disassembles at the target site, while the nanomaterial-conjugated drug is released after the bond between the nanomaterial and drug is cleaved at the target site.

Bone Regeneration:

Nanoparticles can be used to facilitate bone regeneration in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Cancer nanomedicine:

Cobalt oxide nanoparticles have a lot of usage in cancer nanomedicine due to their wide variety of biological uses.

Repair of spinal cord:

Researchers are studying ways to use graphene nanoribbons to help repair spinal cord injuries.

COVID-19:

Recently, researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have demonstrated that they can identify SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the air by employing a nanotechnology-packed bubble that ruptures when it comes into contact with the virus. Also, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna used lipid nanoparticles for the development of COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines namely the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 respectively.

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