Tiny Particles, Big Solutions: A Brief Overview of Nanotechnology in the Medical Field
February 2024
By Daniel Del Carpio
Edited by Dannah Altiti
Introduction
Everybody knows that nanotechnology deals with the small, but at what level does one think that it operates? Do we compare it to the operations at the human cellular scale, or do we use the bacterial scale which is 10x smaller? In reality, nanotechnology operates at a level over 5000x smaller than the bacterial level, with each structure being about 1 to 1000 nm in size. So, what is it that these particles are capable of? In 1959, Richard Feynman asked himself this same question when he published his book “There’s Always Room at the Bottom” where he imagined a world where scientists could dictate what happens at the microbial level (Bayda, Adeel, et.al 2020). It wasn’t until the work of Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer in 1986 with their TEM microscope that scientists could work at the atomic level (Robinson, 1986). Since then, the applications of nanotechnology have skyrocketed with it being crucial to drugs, their delivery systems, and even being used for genetic modification of DNA.
Drug Modification and Delivery
Nanotechnology has been widely studied and utilized in the production and design of drugs. By controlling the drug’s profile and properties, such as solubility, release profiles, and bioavailability, these properties are optimized to meet the needs of the drug's intended release site. The significance of these accomplishments in nanotechnology lies in their ability to streamline the delivery methods for these medications (Patra, Das, et.al, 2018). Issues such as toxicity and adverse reactions have significantly reduced, thanks to the enhanced compatibility the drug now exhibits with its target cell. Additionally, nanotech is pivotal in targeted delivery systems for drugs. Through processes such as active targeting and passive targeting, nanotech works in conjunction with the body’s biological pathways to precisely deliver drugs into the intended sites. Through active transport, nanotech directly modifies the surface of the ligand that recognizes the cell and ensures direct delivery to that infected cell (Farokhzad, Langer, 2009). In passive transport, nanotech uses diffusion, a process that moves particles from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration, to navigate the drugs to the desired areas. These processes were only possible through the modifications that nanotech made on the drugs by modifying their chemical properties (Patra, Das, et.al, 2018).
Nanotechnology in DNA
Recently, nanotechnology has made significant advancements in the field of DNA, most notably through DNA origami. DNA origami is a technique that causes the folding of long and complex strands of DNA into a predetermined shape (Göpfrich, Keyser 2019). Nanotech facilitates this process by precisely adding strands of DNA to the original DNA strand for the desired folding to occur. This newly folded DNA structure can be used as a biosensor and specifically target and bind to toxins (Park, 2022). Additionally, this same process of DNA origami is crucial for vaccine development (Trafton, 2024). By configuring the DNA to resemble the shape of the desired toxin, it is possible to create vaccines that bolster our immune system (Park, 2022).
In conclusion, although nanotech works at the smallest level, its applications hold the solutions to some of the biggest challenges faced in the medical field. It has already revolutionized the field of drug delivery and introduced a new field in DNA origami. From being able to enhance the compatibility of a drug, increase precision in target cells, and develop vaccines, nanotechnology stands at the forefront of medical innovation.
Sources to learn more about nanotechnology:
The History of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: From Chemical-Physical Applications to Nanomedicine – Bayda, MDPI https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/1/112
Nanotechnology: A Revolution in Modern Industry – Malik, NIH https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9865684/
References:
Bayda, S., Adeel, M., Tuccinardi, T., Cordani, M., & Rizzolio, F. (2019). The History of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: From Chemical-Physical Applications to Nanomedicine. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 25(1), 112. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25010112
Farokhzad, O. C., & Langer, R. (2009). Impact of nanotechnology on drug delivery. ACS nano, 3(1), 16–20. https://doi.org/10.1021/nn900002m
Göpfrich, K., & Keyser, U. F. (2019). DNA Nanotechnology for Building Sensors, Nanopores and Ion-Channels. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 1174, 331–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9791-2_11
Park, J. A., Amri, C., Kwon, Y., Lee, J. H., & Lee, T. (2022). Recent Advances in DNA Nanotechnology for Plasmonic Biosensor Construction. Biosensors, 12(6), 418. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12060418
Patra, J. K., Das, G., Fraceto, L. F., Campos, E. V. R., Rodriguez-Torres, M. D. P., Acosta-Torres, L. S., Diaz-Torres, L. A., Grillo, R., Swamy, M. K., Sharma, S., Habtemariam, S., & Shin, H. S. (2018). Nano based drug delivery systems: recent developments and future prospects. Journal of nanobiotechnology, 16(1), 71. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-018-0392-8
Robinson, A. L. (1986). Electron Microscope Inventors Share Nobel Physics Prize: Ernst Ruska built the first electron microscope in 1931; Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer developed the scanning tunneling microscope 50 years later. Science (New York, N.Y.), 234(4778), 821–822. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.234.4778.821
Trafton, A. (2024, January 30). DNA particles that mimic viruses hold promise as vaccines. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://news.mit.edu/2024/dna-particles-mimic-viruses-hold-promise-vaccines-0130
