Nanomedicine 1959 – Reducing Dimensions to One Ten-Thousandth

Throughout the history of medicine, researchers have developed tools to examine and manipulate the human body in greater detail. For example, ancient Egyptians used linen and animal intestines to close wounds, whereas today wounds can be closed with adhesive liquids or sutures thinner than the diameter of a human hair. 

Taking this trend much further, nanotechnology involves manipulating structures between 1 and 100 nanometers (nm) in size. For comparison, a human hair is approximately 10,000 nm wide, while the diameter of a DNA double helix is about 2 nm.

The concept of nanotechnology was inspired by American physicist Richard Feynman's 1959 talk "There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom". American engineer Eric Drexler also drew attention to nanotechnology's vast potential in his 1986 book "Engines of Creation".

The medical application of nanotechnology, nanomedicine, is still a very new technology. One area of active research involves using nanometer-scale particles to deliver specific medicines to particular cells. Nanoparticles are also used to produce high-contrast images and make tumors light up. 

In Kanzius RF (radiofrequency) treatment, devised by American inventor John Kanzius and tested at the Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2005, metallic nanoparticles bind to cancer cells. Radio waves heat the particles, destroying the cancer cells. 

American bioengineer Jennifer West and colleagues have worked on gold-coated"nanoshells" covered with antibodies targeted at cancer cells. 

American physician James Baker has researched anticancer drugs using dendrimers, which are branching molecular structures. These dendrimers attract cancer cells with vitamin receptors by using folic acid vitamins attached to some of their hooks as "bait."

Description of the Article Image: The image is an artistic depiction of a nanorobot repairing blood cells.

Historical Figures Mentioned in This Article: Richard Phillips Feynman (1918–1988), John S. Kanzius (1944–2009), Kim Eric Drexler (b. 1955)

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