Recent advances in nanomedicine

Nanoparticles small things which make bigger effects are not a new phenomenon. It already exists in nature, for example the lotus leaf’s nano-size ridges and wax coated hairs make it difficult to get them wet and nanoscale setules on Geckos’ feet help them to stick on smooth surfaces. There are plenty of examples of nanoscience before us in day-to-day life, one such example is milk (colloid) which is a natural nanomaterial. Almost all the cellular events are in the nanoscale. We can acquire the idea from nature and try to mimic the same to solve most of the human problems.

According to a recent scientific report, 90 per cent of drugs presently in the market are effective in only ~50 per cent of individuals. This emphasises the need for personalised medicine where the prescription of treatment is best suited for a single patient. The main objective of personalised medicine is to deliver the right drug to the right patient at the right time to increase drug efficiency, and thereby minimise dose side effects, and enable quick patient recovery. With the progression of nanotechnology, personalised medicine can overcome the drawbacks associated with the conventional treatment.

The applications of nanotechnology are gaining overwhelming response in almost all the fields. Especially in healthcare sector, tremendous developments have been achieved. For example, cancer diagnosis and therapy, medical implants, tissue engineering etc. In case of medical implants, materials which shows nanometer topography, resemble native environment which leads to better tissue regeneration and thus such implants are highly biocompatible. By using nanoscale modification we can control the cellular response to materials. In tissue engineering, the success rate mainly depends on the suitable scaffold (support) to grow the cells. By using nanofibers we can mimic the cell’s native micro environment where more cells can attach and proliferate. Artificial tissues/skin can be grown on nanofiber based 3-D environment to repair the damaged tissues.

At present, we can detect the cancer at the late stage only where we have to mainly depend on surgery, radiation or chemotherapy as the only means of treatment. In the near future due to the advancement of nanotechnology, cancer prognosis or early diagnosis might be possible where we can prevent the cancer invasion at an earlier stage. In the recent years many researchers’ focus have been on developing theranostic nanoparticle where a nanoparticle can simultaneously detect cancer and deliver the anticancer agents. Nanoparticles can be targeted specifically to cancer cells by functionalising it with cancer specific binding antibodies or peptides. Most of the cancer cells express multiple markers; hence multifunctional nanoparticle with multiple cancer specific antibodies/peptides would enhance the targeted therapeutic effect. Another advantage of nanoparticles-based cancer therapy is that, it overcomes the drug resistant nature of cancer cells.

Nanotechnology is progressing towards the development of artificial cells. It is in course with the same kind of success that has been achieved in developing red blood cells (RBCs) substitutes. The major advantages of artificial RBCs are it don’t have any blood group antigen so it can be given to any person irrelevant of his/her blood group. They also have high oxygen carrying capacity, longer half life and one need not worry about the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or any other microbial infections. The artificial RBCs are made through encapsulation of haemoglobin in a biocompatible polymeric membrane. This RBC substitutes can act as a life saver in many circumstances including surgery, accidents that cause severe bleeding, and hemorrhagic shock. The major advantage of artificial RBCs is that they can be freeze dried and stored as dried powder, which can be reconstituted with the appropriate salt solution just before its use. Another remarkable advancement of nanomedicine is nano-vaccine. The traditional vaccine development process use the whole or modified pathogens which presents many challenges to researchers in terms of personal safety, overall time and cost. Nanoparticle based vaccine is a promising approach for developing low cost nano-vaccine. Biomimetic nanoparticles offer an easy approach to develop multi-functionalised nanoparticles with multiple antigenic parts of various pathogens that act as multi-vaccine. This nano-vaccine can reduce the production, storage and transportation costs.

In the personalised medicine field, 3-D organ printing technology plays a vital role and assures that one day we will be able to print organs on-demand. Latest breakthrough in 3-D printing technology is printing new bones on patient. Research team at the University of Wollongong in Australia created a BioPen loaded with ‘stem cell ink’ using which one can make new bone. If someone loses parts of bone in an accident, this BioPen would be a valuable tool to repair the damaged area. Another research team at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine developed artificial kidney using 3-D printing technology, once it is functional it will be a boon for patients waiting for organ transplantation.

Recent advancement in personalised nanomedicine is nanorobots/ nanobots, a tiny machine designed to perform a specific task with precision at nanoscale dimension. In future, nanobots may act similar to or better than our immune response. Lot of research is going on to develop nanobots for breaking blood clots, removing pathogens, breaking kidney stones, and also for cancer and diabetes treatment. In case of diabetes treatment, the nanobots can act as a smart delivery system and release the insulin according to the body’s glucose level. It is a great relief for diabetes patients who have to take insulin injections daily. However, despite ample enthusiasm, nanobots technology is still science fiction and an unfamiliar territory.

Nanotechnology is a double-edged sword. Particular care must be taken in nanomedicine because the novel properties which make nanoparticles so attractive, make them potentially toxic too. The clinical applications of personalised nanomedicine have a long way to go. Hope is that soon, personalised nanomedicine may be available to all at an affordable price.