Nanoforum consortium

Nanotechnology and its Implications for the Health of the EU Citizen.

Type of publication: Report, Nanoforum publication

Abstract: Healthcare is affected by a large number of social and economic factors. The global healthcare markets are worth several hundred billion euros per year, with pharmaceuticals accounting for the majority of this (approximately $400 billion US in 2002). This report focuses on those areas in which nanotechnology is having a direct impact and includes diagnostics, drug discovery and delivery, surgery, tissue engineering and implants. Nanotechnology investment is increasing world-wide and the market for products utilising nanotechnology is forecast to be worth over a trillion euros within the next 10 to 15 years. Nanotechnology is already featuring within the healthcare market as the following examples illustrate: 1. Atomic force microscope (AFM) technology (which can move single atoms about) is being used to create smaller and more sensitive microarrays for use in diagnostics and drug discovery. AFMs can also be used to nanostructure surfaces, and for example make them more biocompatible. 2. Nanoparticles such as fullerenes (molecules based on a 60 carbon atom cage) and quantum dots (complexes of semi-conductor material that have unique fluorescent properties) are being exploited in many areas including imaging (e.g. enhancement of magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and ultrasound) and drug delivery (e.g. a modified fullerene is entering clinical trials as an anti-HIV agent). Formulating drugs with nanoparticles can also improve their solubility (many drugs are not marketed because they are not very water-soluble), increase their resistance to stomach acid and enzymes (allowing better uptake from the small intestine), and allow controlled release (e.g. over days rather than minutes and hours). Nanotubes represent another mechanism for drug delivery, both as a “container” and potentially a system for “nano-injection” into cells. 3. Nanocomposites of titanium alloys, for example, can be used to improve the biocompatibility and longevity of surgical devices and implants. 4. Nanostructuring surfaces can improve cellular attachment (e.g. etching surfaces with nanoscale grooves or using instruments such as an AFM to imprint surfaces with cell attachment molecules), and direct cells to grow into defined structures. By incorporating biodegradable polymers to act as a scaffolding, these structures can be assembled into 3-dimensional “tissues”. Nanostructuring can also be used to provide an anti-microbial coating on implants. What does the future hold? Nanotechnologies will allow us to rapidly sequence an individual’s DNA (nanosequencing) and thereby determine genetic susceptibility to disease, drug intolerances and drug metabolism rates (all of which comes under the area of pharmacogenomics). We will be able to target molecules to individual cells within the body for drug delivery or imaging purposes. Patient illnesses will be diagnosed more rapidly through advancements in lab-on-a-chip devices, and at the same time a patient’s vital signs could be monitored more closely through similar devices. Damaged body parts could be replaced through advances in tissue engineering (with physiological tissues and organs grown in the clinic in bioreactors) and improved implants will allow patients to regain sight and hearing. This report gives an overview of the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors of the healthcare market and the impact that nanotechnology is having. Future developments utilising nanotechnology are discussed and links supplied to European funding sources, web and literature resources, and companies that are actively using nanotechnologies to develop products for healthcare.

Downloads:

• Nanotechnology and its Implication for the Health of the EU Citizen (18.12.03).pdf (4711419 Byte)

  Third Nanoforum report

  downloaded 542 times since 1 December 2005

Last changed: 18 December 2003

Comment on this nanoforum publication