NANOMEDICINE: A MAGICAL HOPE FOR THE MEDICAL WORLD

Emerging nanomedicine technologies could dramatically transform medical science as we know it today with their potential to address unmet medical needs and provide targeted therapy. Nanomedicine technologies could find an increasing place in various areas and applications of the healthcare sector including drug delivery, drug discovery and development, diagnostics and medical devices. The advent of nanomedicine and techniques for the early diagnosis of diseases could usher in a new era of superior prophylactic or preventive medicine. By using preventive medicine, treatment for diseases could be initiated even before preliminary symptoms appear. Prophylactic interventions might help postpone or even avoid diseases altogether. Nanomedicine could therefore have a huge impact on people’s lives, substantially improving their physical health and quality of life. Nanocrystal technology, for instance, is being used in drug formulation and the new chemical entities screening in the discovery phase of drug development. Quantum dot particles are being applied in high-content drug screening and in the detection of breast cancer cells among others. However, as with other new technologies, nanomedicine also faces its own set of issues. Scalability is one of its biggest technological challenges. While large-scale production makes better economic sense, this is likely to be a complex task, especially when manufacturing three-dimensional nanostructures as compared to stand-alone or two-dimensional layer-shaped nano surfaces. This perceived difficulty is attributed to the fact that manufacturing standards for nano materials and components are yet to evolve. Therefore, there is an urgent need for standardized manufacturing techniques; only then can nanotechnology become ubiquitous in everyday applications. Nanomedicine – Global Developments and Growth Opportunities, part of the Healthcare Vertical Subscription Service, studies the emerging field of nanomedicine and the exciting possibilities it offers. It discusses prospective therapeutic and diagnostic applications of nanomedicine, focusing on path-breaking research developments and trends that have helped bring it to the forefront.