nanotech in cancer

8/2/2019 Nanotech in Cancer

1/18

Growing applications of Nanopharmaceuticals in drug and health industries has opened the doors for

pharma professionals to enter or grow their career. The expected world market for nanopharmaceuticals

will be $16.6 billion in 2014 from $406 million in 2004. Here is a list of various

Companies/Laboratories/Institutions where pharma professionals can apply. These companies are also

working on nanopharmaceuticals. List contains the companies in India as well as outside India.

o Ranbaxy Laboratories

o Dr. Reddys Laboratories

o Cipla

o Sun Pharmaceuticals

o Dabur Pharma Ltd.

o Lupin Labs

o Aurobindo Pharma

o Glaxo SmithKlineg

o Cadila Healthcare

o Aventis Pharma

o Ipca Laboratories

o Biocon Limited

o Parexel International (India) Pvt. Ltd.

o Vision M.S. (Specialized in Pharma, Bulk Drug,

Biotech & Sp. Chemical Placement)

o Themis Medicare

o National Institute of Immunology (NII), New

Delhi

o National AIDS Research Institute [NARI], Pune

o Surya Pharmaceutical Limited, Chandigarh

o Apple Hospital, Surat

o Piramal Life Sciences Limited

o HLL Lifecare Limited

o E.S.I. Hospital, Tirunelveli (Tamilnadu).

o Bengal Chemical & Pharmaceutical Works

Ltd.(BCPW), Kolkata

o Sunder Deep Group of Institutions

o Intas Pharmaceuticals, Ahmedabad

o Sahajanand Medical Technologies, Surat

o Macleods Pharmaceuticals

o Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Orchido Alpha-Pharma, Mumbai

o Sequus Pharmaceutical

o NeXstar Pharmaceutical (Boulder, Colorado)

o The Liposome Company (Princeton, New Jersey

o Wyeth/Elan (Madison, New Jersey)

o Merck/Elan (Whitehouse Station, New Jersey)

o Abbott (Abbott Park, Illinois)

o PAR Pharmaceutical (Wood Cliff Lake, New

Jersey)

o American Biosciences (Blauvelt, New York)

o BioSante (Lincolnshire, Illinois)

o Merck, Elan

o SkyePharma,

o Pfizer

Bottom of Form
http://www.nstc.in/programs/pharmafaqs.htmlhttp://www.nstc.in/programs/introscholar.htmlhttp://www.nstc.in/programs/pharmafaqs.htmlhttp://www.nstc.in/programs/introscholar.htmlhttp://www.nstc.in/programs/pharmafaqs.htmlhttp://www.nstc.in/programs/introscholar.html


2/18

Nanotechnology In Diagnosis And Treatment

Of Cancer

By - 05/20/2007

in

Latest Reviews

Vol. 5 Issue 3

2007

Login or register to post comments

2580 reads

Nanoparticle

targeted drug actually leaving the bloodstream, being concentrated

in cancer cells,

and having a biological effect on the animals tumour has been now well e

stablished and well accepted .

Most of the study is based on use of Folate Molecule bounded on the Nanoparticle

used to bind receptors present on tumor cell membranes and has shown considerable le

vel of success .

- Diagnostics tools like

a)Nanowires

b)Cantilevers

in addition to tools used for drug delivery like; that is delivery tools

a)Nanoshells

b)Nanoparticle

has taken Nanotechnology based cancer treatment to great heights.

Introduction
http://www.pharmainfo.net/latest-reviewshttp://www.pharmainfo.net/volumes-and-issues/2007/vol-5-issue-3http://www.pharmainfo.net/volumes-and-issues/2007http://www.pharmainfo.net/user/login?destination=comment%2Freply%2F16618%23comment-formhttp://www.pharmainfo.net/user/register?destination=comment%2Freply%2F16618%23comment-formhttp://www.pharmainfo.net/user/register?destination=comment%2Freply%2F16618%23comment-formhttp://www.pharmainfo.net/user/login?destination=comment%2Freply%2F16618%23comment-formhttp://www.pharmainfo.net/volumes-and-issues/2007http://www.pharmainfo.net/volumes-and-issues/2007/vol-5-issue-3http://www.pharmainfo.net/latest-reviews


3/18

Nanoscale devices are somewhere from one hundred to ten thousand times

smaller than human cells. They are similar in size to large biological molecules (Bio-

molecules) such as enzymes and receptors. Because of their small size nanoscale devices

can readily interact with biomolecules on both the surface of cells and inside of the cell

s . By gaining access to so many areas of the body they have the potential to detect

diseaseand deliver treatment in ways unimagined before now.

Nanoscale devices small than 50 nm can easily enter most cells, while those smaller than

20 nm can move out of the blood vessels as they circulate through the body. And since b

iological processes including events that lead to cancer, occur at the Nanoscale, at and ins

ide cells, nanotechnology offers a wealth of tools that are providing Cancer Researchers wi

th new and innovative ways to diagnose and treat cancer.

Exploring Nanotechnology In Cancer

Nanotechnology offers the unprecedented and paradigmchanging opportunity to study and interact with normal and cancer cells in real time, at

the molecular and cellular scales, and during the earliest stages of the cancer process. T

hrough the concerted development of nanoscale devices or devices with nanoscale materia

ls and components will facilitate integration within the existing cancer research infrastruct

ure.

Nanotechnologies

Work is currently being done to find ways to safely move these new research tools into cl

inical practice. Today, cancer-

related nanotechnology is proceeding on two main fronts: laboratory-

based diagnostics and in vivo diagnostics and therapeutics.

Nanotechnology and Diagnostics

Nanodevices can provide rapid and sensitive detection of cancer-

related molecules by enabling scientists to detect molecular changes even when they occur

only in a small percentage of cells.


4/18

Nanotechnology and Cancer Therapy

Nanoscale devices have the potential to radically change cancer therapy for the better and to

dramatically increase the number of highly effective therapeutic agents. Nanoscale constructs

can serve as customizable, targeted drug delivery vehicles capable of ferrying large doses of

chemotherapeutic agents or therapeutic genes into malignant cells while sparing healthycells, greatly reducing or eliminating the often unpalatable side effects that accompany ma

ny current cancer therapies.

Diagnotic tool the Cantilever

Cantilevers

Nanoscale cantilevers -

microscopic, flexible beams resembling a row of diving boards are built using semiconduc

tor lithographic techniques. These can be coated with molecules capable of binding specifi

c substrates-DNA complementary to a specific gene sequence, for example . Such micron-

sized devices, comprising many nanometer-

sized cantilevers, can detect single molecules of DNA or protein.

As a cancer cell secretes its molecular products, the antibodies coated on the cantilever fin

gers selectively bind to these secreted proteins. These antibodies have been designed to pic
http://www.pharmainfo.net/keywords/targeted-drug-delivery-systemshttp://www.pharmainfo.net/keywords/targeted-drug-delivery-systems


5/18

k up one or more different, specific molecular expressions from a cancer cell. The physica

l properties of the cantilevers change as a result of the binding event. Researchers can rea

d this change in real time and provide not only information about the presence and the ab

sence but also the concentration of different molecular expressions.

Nanoscale cantilevers, constructed as part of a larger diagnostic device, can provide rapidand sensitive detection of cancer-related molecules.

Delivery tools The nanoshells and The nanoparticle

Nanoshells

Nanoshells have a core of silica and a metallic outer layer. These nanoshells can be inject

ed safely, as demonstrated in animal models. Because of their size, nanoshells will preferentially concentrate in cancer lesion sites. This physical selectivity occurs through a phenome

non called Enhanced permeation retention (EPR).

Scientists can further decorate the nanoshells to carry molecular conjugates to the antigens

that are expressed on the cancer cells themselves or in the tumor microenvironment. This

second degree of specificity preferentially links the nanoshells to the tumor and not to nei

ghbouring healthy cells.

As shown in this example, scientists can then externally supply energy to these cells. The

specific properties associated with nanoshells allow for the absorption f this directed energy, creating an intense heat that selectively kills the tumor cells. The external energy can b

e mechanical, radio frequency, optical -the therapeutic action is the same.


6/18

Nanoparticles

Nanoscale devices have the potential to radically change cancer therapy for the better and

to dramatically increase the number of highly effective therapeutic agents.

In this example, nanoparticles are targeted to cancer cells for use in the molecular imaging

of a malignant lesion. Large numbers of nanoparticles are safely injected into the body an

d preferentially bind to the cancer cell, defining the anatomical contour of the lesion and

making it visible.

These nanoparticles give us the ability to see cells and molecules that we otherwise cannot

detect through conventional imaging. The ability to pick up what happens in the cell , to

monitor therapeutic intervention and to see when a cancer cell is mortally wounded or is

actually activated , is critical to the successful diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Nanoparticulate technology can prove to be very useful in cancer therapy allowing for effe

ctive and targeted drug delivery by overcoming the many biological, biophysical and biome

dical barriers that the body stages against a standard intervention such as the administratio

n of drugs or contrast agents.

The Vilcro Effect

Nanoparticles Rely on Velcro effect to Target Tumor cells.

One of the basic tenets of targeted nanoparticles drug delivery is putting multiple targetin

g molecules on a nanoparticle surface will improve the ability of Nanoparticle to stick to

their targeted cell and deliver their drug cargos to the appropriate diseased cell.

Velcro owes its incredible sticking power to the power of large number of weak interactio

ns any one hook on one piece of Velcro forms a weak connections to any one loop on its
http://www.pharmainfo.net/nanoparticleshttp://www.pharmainfo.net/nanoparticleshttp://www.pharmainfo.net/nanoparticleshttp://www.pharmainfo.net/nanoparticles


7/18


8/18

Principle: A standard glass electrode is first coated with chitosan, a complex sugar obtained

from crab and shrimp shells, and then with gold nanoparticles. The bold nanoparticles prov

ide a electrically conductive surface upon which cancer cells can stick without damaging th

e cells. The cancer cells can be taken from the patient and suspended in a suitable growth

solution.

After cells are allowed to bind to the electrode, two monoclonal antibodies are added to the

assay solution. The first antibody binds to P. glycoprotein, which the second cause an ele

ctrochemical reaction to occur only if the first antibody has bound to any p-

glycoprotein. The electrochemical reaction triggers an of cells with p-

glycoprotein present on their surfaces.

b) Gold Nanoparticles to defect prostate and breast cancer:-

An ultrasensitive technology based on gold nanoparticles and DNA that can detect prostatespecific antigen (PSA) when present at extremely low levels in a blood sample. This prom

ising new protein detection method could be used to monitor prostate cancer patients follow

ing surgery and to detect the early signs of breast cancer. Biomarkers, like PSA, are know

n for hundreds of diseases. Using these protein targets, the new method could detect the ri

se in PSA in earliest stages when they are present in extremely small concentration.

Future goals through Nanotechnology in cancer diagnosis and treatment:-

Imaging agents and diagnostics that will allow clinicians to detect cancer in its earliest sta

ges.

Systems that will provide real time assessments of therapeutic and surgical efficacy for ac

celerating clinical translation.

Multifunctional targeted devices capable of by-

passing biological barriers to deliver multiple therapeutic agents directly to cancer cells an

d those tissues in the microenvironment that play a critical role in the growth and metasta

sis of cancer.

Agents that can monitor predictive molecular changes and prevent precancerous cells from

becoming malignant.

Novel methods to manage the symptoms of cancer that adversely impact quality of life.

Research tools that will enable rapid identification of new targets for clinical development

and predict drug resistance.

Conclusion:


9/18

Nanotechnology has made the diagnosis and treatment of cancer easy, safe, and efficient. S

cientist believe that with nanotechnology it would be possible to turn cancer

(life threatening disease) into a chronic and manageable disease.

References:

1. GennaroAR , ed. Remington: The Science and Practice

of Pharmacy. 20th ed. USA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2000; 20:314,918-919,924.

2. G Schmid , Nanoparticles from theory to application,WILEY-

VS;2004; 252,272,278,281,371,373.

3.

Swarbrick and J. Boylan , Encyclopedia of pharmaceutical technology, 2 nd ed. Dekker ;

2002 ; 1864-1879.

4. G. S.Banker and C. T.Rhodes, Modern pharmaceutics;2nd ed.Dekker;1990; 661,662.

5.

N.k Jain, Progress in controlled and novel drug delivery system,1st

ed. CBS publication;

2004; 51,52.

6. S. P .Vyas and R. K. Khar ,Targetted and controlled delivery,1 st ed.CBS publication; 2002

;331 to 386.

7. www.nonotechproject.org

8. www.nanovalley.us

9. www.nano.cancer.gov/news

10.www.azonano.com

11. www.medicalnewstoday.com

Welcome to Annual Reviews. We are proud to publish authoritative, analytic reviews in 34

focused disciplines within the Biomedical, Life, Physical, and Social Sciences. Annual Reviewspublications are among the most highly cited in scientific literature.

Below is an abstract of the article you've requested. Access to the full text requires an individual

or institutional online subscriptionto the current volume in this Annual Reviews journals. You

may also purchase the full text of this article on apay per view basis. (If you believe you shouldalready have access to this article, please visit ourtroubleshooting pagefor help.)
http://www.nonotechproject.org/http://www.nanovalley.us/http://www.nano.cancer.gov/newshttp://www.azonano.com/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/http://arstore.annualreviews.org/http://arstore.annualreviews.org/http://arstore.annualreviews.org/http://arstore.annualreviews.org/http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.bioeng.9.060906.152025http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.bioeng.9.060906.152025http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.bioeng.9.060906.152025http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/page/ecommerce/access.jsphttp://arjournals.annualreviews.org/page/ecommerce/access.jsphttp://arjournals.annualreviews.org/page/ecommerce/access.jsphttp://arjournals.annualreviews.org/page/ecommerce/access.jsphttp://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.bioeng.9.060906.152025http://arstore.annualreviews.org/http://arstore.annualreviews.org/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/http://www.azonano.com/http://www.nano.cancer.gov/newshttp://www.nanovalley.us/http://www.nonotechproject.org/


10/18

Abstract

Annual Review of Biomedical EngineeringVol. 9: 257-288 (Volume publication date August 2007)

(doi:10.1146/annurev.bioeng.9.060906.152025)

First published online as a Review in Advance on April 17, 2007

Nanotechnology Applications in Cancer

Shuming Nie, Yun Xing, Gloria J. Kim, and Jonathan W. Simons

Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University and Georgia

Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30322; email:[email protected]

Abstract Cancer nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary area of research in science, engineering, and

medicine with broad applications for molecular imaging, molecular diagnosis, and targeted therapy. The

basic rationale is that nanometer-sized particles, such as semiconductor quantum dots and iron oxide

nanocrystals, have optical, magnetic, or structural properties that are not available from molecules or bulk

solids. When linked with tumor targeting ligands such as monoclonal antibodies, peptides, or small

molecules, these nanoparticles can be used to target tumor antigens (biomarkers) as well as tumor

vasculatures with high affinity and specificity. In the mesoscopic size range of 5100 nm diameter,

nanoparticles also have large surface areas and functional groups for conjugating to multiple diagnostic

(e.g., optical, radioisotopic, or magnetic) and therapeutic (e.g., anticancer) agents. Recent advances have

led to bioaffinity nanoparticle probes for molecular and cellular imaging, targeted nanoparticle drugs forcancer therapy, and integrated nanodevices for early cancer detection and screening. These developments

raise exciting opportunities for personalized oncology in which genetic and protein biomarkers are used to

diagnose and treat cancer based on the molecular profiles of individual patients.

Nanotechnology: Roadmap to Early Diagnosis of Disease

http://scicasts.com/specialreports/134-nanotechnology/1999-nanotechnology-roadmap-to-early-diagnosis-of-disease/

Written by Dr. Laleh Safinia, Research Analyst Drug Discovery Technologies, Frost & Sullivan 19 August 2008View Comments

History of Nanotechnology
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://scicasts.com/specialreports/134-nanotechnology/1999-nanotechnology-roadmap-to-early-diagnosis-of-diseasehttp://scicasts.com/specialreports/134-nanotechnology/1999-nanotechnology-roadmap-to-early-diagnosis-of-disease/#disqus_threadhttp://scicasts.com/specialreports/134-nanotechnology/1999-nanotechnology-roadmap-to-early-diagnosis-of-disease/#disqus_threadhttp://scicasts.com/specialreports/134-nanotechnology/1999-nanotechnology-roadmap-to-early-diagnosis-of-disease/#disqus_threadhttp://scicasts.com/specialreports/134-nanotechnology/1999-nanotechnology-roadmap-to-early-diagnosis-of-disease/#disqus_threadhttp://scicasts.com/specialreports/134-nanotechnology/1999-nanotechnology-roadmap-to-early-diagnosis-of-diseasemailto:[email protected]


11/18

Richard Feynman is usually credited with first conceiving the idea of nanotechnology in the speech he made in 1959

to a meeting of the American Physical Society at Cal Tech: I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each

other, which are manufacturing simultaneously...The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against

the possibility of manoeuvring things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in

principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big.

From 1970s onwards, Eric Drexler published many scientific journals including his first book Engines of Creation

(1986), introducing the term nanotechnology and ways to manufacture extremely high performance miniaturized

machines. Today, the Institute of Nanotechnology in the U.K. expresses it as science and technology where

dimensions and tolerances in the range of 0.1 nanometer (nm) to 100 nm play a critical role.

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary science involving the creation and utilization of materials, devices or systems

on the nanometer scale. This term can be applied to many areas of research and development, from medicines to

manufacturing to computing and even to textiles and cosmetics. Nanotechnology plays a critical role in various

biomedical applications, not only in drug delivery, but also in molecular imaging, biomarkers and biosensors. Target -

specific drug therapy and methods for early diagnosis of pathologies are the priority research areas where

nanotechnology would play a vital role.

Nanotechnology has attracted over $3 billion in funds from governments globally, which is being applied to a broad

range of disciplines including pharmaceuticals, drug delivery, aerospace/defense and food (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Distribution of the R&D budget on the application of nanotechnology in different

sectors. Source: Frost & Sullivan

Nanotechnology Applications in the Pharmaceutical Industry


12/18

There are two approaches to adopting nanotechnologythe top-down approach and the

bottom-up approach. The top down approach aims at miniaturizing current technologies in

which materials are processed to fabricate microscopic objects. The bottom up approach builds

structures on an atom-by-atom basis through bonding and intermolecular forces to assemble ananostructure. Nanotechnology is already filtering through the pharmaceutical system, with the

adoption of nanotools such as nanoarrays and lab-on-a chip (LOC) assays throughout the R&D

process to aid high-throughput screening of drug candidates, identify new drug targets and

biomarkers for preclinical and clinical studies, and to develop diagnostic and imaging agents

(Figure 2).

Figure 2. Application of nanotechnology in the pharmaceutical industry. Source: Frost & Sullivan

Screening Diagnostics

Nanotechnology may enhance the drug discovery process through the miniaturisation of

screening assays, helping to reduce volume and the use of expensive reagents, increased

automation and reduction in inter and intra assay variability, providing additional information on

cellular and molecular interactions e.g. protein-protein interaction and helping identify and

validating new chemical entities and drug targets. An area of drug discovery where microfluidic

lab-on-a-chip has been applied is in genomics and proteomics, where conventional analysis

devices are expensive and labour intensive and where fast and low-cost analysis techniques

are in great demand. Microchip electrophoresis (MCE) of DNA samples is one of the leading

applications of microfluidics in genomics. MCE has many advantages such as smaller

dimensions, lower sample consumption, high-throughput ability and ease of automation. In

addition, microfabrication systems have the potential to control and automate dozens of the

sample processing steps that are used in proteomics and offer new possibilities that are not

readily available in the macroscopic world. One of the applications of microfluidics in proteomics

has been chip-based separation in conjunction with mass spectroscopy or laser-induced

fluorescence as the detection method.


13/18

The first microfluidic chip was designed in 1991, and by 1994 the chip concept was patented.

The first LOC device was launched byAgilentTechnologies,Agilent2100 Bioanalyzer, is a

desktop microfluidics-based platform designed to analyse DNA, RNA, proteins and cells. Sincethen numerous companies have launched LOC technologies, integrating the chip into the labs,

such as Affymetrix (product: GeneChip), BioTrove (product: Open ArrayTM RapidFire), Caliper

Life Sciences (Product: LabChip 90 and 3000 drug discovery system) and many more. In July

2003, Caliper Technologies acquired Zymark Corp. This combination bridged the interface

between micro- and macrofluidics. It combined Calipers detection platform with Zymarks

experience in nanoliter liquid handling to feed a microfluidics platform and interface existing

mutiwell plate architecture. Today, Caliper Life Sciences is working with others-includingAgilent

Technologies, Bio-Rad, QIAGEN and Affymetrix to establish microfluidics products in a range of

applications.

By eliminating variations in sample preparation, reaction conditions and detection methods,

microfluidics has the potential to enable the efficient screening of more drugs in less time and

drastically cut down the costs of drug development. Platforms for cell culture and single cell

studies that chips can provide will be helpful in proteomics research, which in turn will

accelerate target identification. Microcytometry and cell sorting and the generation and handlingof small liquid volumes also find applications in structure-based drug discovery, protein

crystallisation, and screening of compound libraries, which can aid in lead identification. Further,

LOCs can be used for testing the efficacy of drugs, pharmacological profiling, and toxicity

testing by studying the effect of drugs on living cells. Realising the potential of microfluidics tools

for studying target selection, lead identification and optimisation and preclinical test and dosage

development, both pharmaceutical and life science companies are gearing up to implement it in

their drug discovery pursuit. However, despite the growth of microfluidics in the past few years,

a number of challenges still need to be addressed, especially in the context of versatility and

application in both academic and industrial pharmaceutical laboratories. Also, more studies

should be conducted to determine the reliability of microfluidic chips over thousands of samples

and months of constant use. Thus, advances need to be made to further enhance the use of

microfluidics in addressing the challenges of drug discovery and development studies.
http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/


14/18

Figure 3. Structure and size of Qdot nanocrystals. Qdot nanocrystals are roughly protein-sized

clusters of semiconductor material. Source: Invitrogen.

Imaging Drug Delivery Diagnostics

Another area where nanotechnology has made a significant impact is in the delivery of

therapeutics agents through the application of nanoformulations or nano-enabled delivery

systems. Advances in nanomaterials, nanostructures (e.g., quantum dots, dendrimers,

nanotubes and fullerenes) and nanosystems are expected to drive the value of the global

nanotechnology market to over a trillion dollars by 2015. Today, researchers are focussing on

introducing specially designed nanoparticles, composed of tiny fluorescent quantum dots thatare bound to targeting antibodies. These antibodies can bind in turn to diseased cells, after

which the quantum dots fluoresce brightly. This fluorescence can then be picked up by new,

specially developed, advanced imaging systems, enabling the accurate pinpointing of a disease

even at a very early stage. Qdot nanocrystals from Invitrogen are an example of nanometer-

scale fluorophores (Figure 3).

Invitrogen is amongst a number of providers of nanospheres, microspheres, magnetic beads

and nanocrystals for myriad applications in the life sciences, including imaging, separation, flow

cytometry, microscopy, diagnostic test development, blood flow analysis, instrument calibration

and many others (Figure4).

Manufacturer Product Range

Antibodies Incorporated Biomedical QDot conjugated antibodies

Crystalpex Fluorescent market for R&D

Evident Technologies QDot for in vitro and in vivo applications

Invitrogen Conjugated QDots


15/18

Nanoco TechnologiesQDot for semi-conductor and metallic

materials

NanoFluorescent

Materials Ltd

Fluorofors for high-sensitive fluorescence

analysis

NN-LabsColloidal nanocrystals for LEDS, solar cells

and biolabels

Ocean Nano TechQDots and magnetic nanoparticles synthesis

and production

Sigma-Aldrich Supplier of nanomaterials

Figure 4. Examples of leading manufacturers of QDot. Source: Frost &

Sullivan

In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers at

Georgia Institute of Technology are currently looking into magnetic nanoparticles, which are just10 nanometres or less in diameter, having cobalt-spiked magnetite at their core. On the surface

of the particle is a peptide, designed to attach to a marker that protrudes from most ovarian

cancer cells. To test this technology, researchers first injected cancer cells and then magnetic

nanoparticles into the abdominal cavities of mice. The cancer cells were tagged with a green

fluorescent marker and the nanoparticles with a red one. When a magnet was brought near the

mouses belly, a concentrated area of green and red glow appeared just under the skin,

indicating that the nanoparticles has latched onto the cancer cells and dragged them towards

the magnet. It is thought that this technology has the potential to diagnose and detect cancer

cells in the future.

Imaging Diagnostics

Another growing sector within nanotechnology is the application of inexpensive and reliable


16/18

nanotools to scientists and engineers in academia and industry. Using nanotools such as atomic

force microscopy (AFM) (Figure 5), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning near field

optical microscopy (SNOM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), surface enhanced raman

scattering (SERS), surface plasmon resonance (SRP) and fluorescence resonance energytransfer (FRET) can be used for nanoscale detection and analysis of nanostructures.

Manufacturer Product Range

Agilent

Technologies

AFM instruments, along with other instrumentation

for genomics and proteomics research

Impact Analytical Provider of contract AFM services to researchers

Nanoscience

Instruments

Combination SEM and AFM in one instrument;

AFM probes and accessories; low-temperature

AFM and Raman spectroscopy AFM

instrumentation

Novascan

Technologies

AFM instruments, tips and probes with particles,

microspheres and beads

Omicron

NanoTechnologyAFM instruments and accessories

Park SystemsAFM instruments for biological, semiconductor and

polymer-science applications

Physik InstrumentePiezoelectric materials, nanopositioning and

scanning stages, and micropositioning products

Figure 5. Examples of companies supplying AFM to scientists and

engineers in academia and industry. Source: Frost & Sullivan
http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/http://www.agilent.com/


17/18

The earliest commercial nanotechnology used for pharmaceutical applications was the atomic

force microscope (AFM). Using a silicon-based needle of atomic sharpness, this approach was

first used to image the topography of surfaces with atomic-scale precision. The ultra-fine tip

scans the sample and creates a three-dimensional image of the surface. The AFM is fast

becoming the principal technology that scientists and researchers use, allowing them to directly

view single atoms or molecules and manipulate samples at the nanometer scale. While AFM is

invaluable for imaging objects at the nanoscale in various areas (such as life science, materials

science and polymer science), until recently, they have been used in techniques to better

understand the chemical dynamics of how cells react to stimuli, which may prove particularly

significant for drug discovery. Covalent biding of bio-ligands to AFM tips converts them into

monomolecular biosensors by which cognate receptors can be localised on the sample surface

and fine details of ligand-receptor interaction can be studied.

Concluding Remarks

The current drug discovery paradigm constantly needs to progress, increasing efficiency and

reducing time to market. The post-genomic era has unveiled many potentially important targets.

However, to exploit their value in full, the efficiency of screening and validation processes must

be improved. Many governments are keen to apply nanotechnology across pharmaceuticals,

drug delivery and healthcare monitoring in an effort to reduce R&D costs and enhance levels of

productivity.

Regulatory authorities are supporting nanotechnologies that can improve the development of

pharmaceutical and diagnostic agents, with many regulatory policies currently being reassessed

to ensure innovation and safety when utilising nanotechnologies. In vitro diagnostic use of

nanomaterials and nanoparticles does not pose any safety risks to people but there is a concern

over the in vivo use of nanoparticles those < 50 nm in size, which can enter the cells and there

are still many unanswered questions about their fate in the living body. The FDA/EMEA

approval is essential for clinical applications of nanotechnology and substantial regulatory

problems could be encountered in the approval of nanotechnology-based products.


18/18

The application of nanotechnology in life sciences, nanobiotechnology, is already having an

impact on diagnostics and drug delivery, with nanoscale assays contributing significantly to

cost-saving in screening campaigns. In addition, the advent of nanotechnology-based products

such as nano-arrays and dendrimers (novel class of three-dimentional, nanoscale and core-shell structures) is anticipated to revolutionise the early detection of disease such as cancer

improving the chances of cure. Also, nanotechnology enables not only the testing of relatively

small volumes but the nanoscale particles, used as tags or labels increase the sensitivity, speed

and flexibility of selected substance. The realisation that the nano-scale has certain properties

needed to solve important medical challenges and cater to unmet medical needs is driving

nano-medical research. Increasingly, research is focusing on the novel chemical and physical

properties of nano-sized materials to develop new applications that improve human health.

nanotech in cancer

Documents