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“Nanoscience and Nanotechnology have seen exponential growth in research and applications in recent years. There is growing hope that nanotechnology, when applied to medicine, will lead to major advancements in disease detection and treatment. Drug delivery, diagnostics, cell therapy, and the manufacture of biocompatible materials are all expected applications in medicine. The front pages of scientific top journals are made up of examples and dreams. But when will we be able to master its capacity and the associated risks so that the patient will begin to benefit?”

Nanotechnology is concerned with the manipulation and fabrication of materials from the ground up. We are increasingly becoming capable of constructing highly organised molecules with very specific properties using concepts that often imitate natural processes. Nanotechnology is fascinating because it combines physics, biology, and chemistry, and it necessitates open minds from researchers and technology developers in this field. It is not an easy application to use the concept of DNA copying in a cell to develop fast calculations, but it is proving to be very effective for IT.

Nanotechnology is described as a "highly powerful emerging technology" that has the potential to have a major effect on medical technology. Nanobiotechnology, a branch of nanotechnology, is a burgeoning field of medical science, with numerous breakthroughs being made around the world. Its implementation in medical science is regarded as "a watershed moment on the path to ground-breaking technologies implemented for the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases that were once thought to be fatal." Nanotechnology is widely regarded as a potential solution to a variety of important health issues, including cancer, which would undoubtedly result in significant improvements to the current health-care system.

While this technology has been used in a variety of products such as cosmetics, food, pesticides, and so on, its direct use for medical purposes is still mainly in an experimental stage on animals, with the exception of use as a contrast agent for MRI images and as a drug carrier in a very limited manner. However, it is concerning that a successful animal experiment does not guarantee that the same system would be safe in humans. Similarly, a possible risk evaluation based on bulk material requirements for a given product could not be an exact match for the same substance's safety issues when used at the nanoscale.

Nanotechnology has the ability to revolutionise healthcare by enabling breakthroughs in disease detection and control, implants and regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and drug development and biomedical science study methods.

Furthermore, advancements in healthcare technology can alter social relationships in ways that raise ethical concerns. For example, technological advancements may alter the relationship between patients and doctors, blurring the line between experts and patients. They may also cause more complicated changes, such as prioritising illnesses and determining who has access to treatments, as well as changing our perception of what it means to be human through the application of novel technologies.

Nanobiotechnology's medical applications and the need for control

Since the dawn of time, human societies have been working to develop health care facilities all over the world. Improvements in the preparation of medicines and the performance of medical procedures are inextricably linked to the advancement of science and technology. Important advances in the field of scientific investigations have been recorded as dividends for investment in health care, and further advancements are usually often on the horizon.

A non-therapeutic transport vehicle is used to carry drugs.

The conventional drug delivery technique is considered to be ineffective since it is accomplished either by medication that is swallowed by the patient or by injections into specific body sections of the sick person, enabling the drug to freely circulate around the body, carried by blood, instead of delivering the remedy to precisely the affected cells. As a result, conventional methods of delivery naturally yield both advantages and drawbacks for the patient in that the drug inexplicably affects healthy cells, causing permanent or temporary harm.

In contrast, by delivering drug molecules selectively to cancer or diseased cells, nanoparticles can prevent harming the patient's healthy cells; therefore, drug delivery is actually one of nanobiotechnology's top concerns.

Nanomedicine formulation and growth

Nanomedicines, as described by the European Commission strive to enhance "traditional medical approaches of diagnostics and therapeutics by bringing them to the cellular and molecular level with nanotechnology." A variety of nanomedicine products, such as miniaturised nanofluidic devices and systems, can efficiently move fluids to the target area while avoiding turbulence and mixing. With increased sensitivity and precision, as well as enhanced efficacy, such a medication could successfully enter the target cells, such as cancer cells.

It also helps to reduce the risk of side effects that may have been caused by a medication that did not contain nanomaterials. Nanomedicines, also known as nanorobots, have the potential to deliver and efficiently spread drugs to targeted cells in human bodies, which could be a game-changer in the treatment of many complex diseases including cancer.

Device for detecting and tracking diseases

Nanorobots can be used to improve diagnosis of a variety of pathological disorders, as well as to minimise intrusiveness and improve the fidelity of findings by examining target cells when they are still involved in the host environment. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved “immunoassay,” a nanotechnology-based test that can detect or measure such harmful toxins or other foreign substances like antigen and antibody bindings. Gold nanoparticles may be used to perform this test.

Pharmaceutical preparation

Separate chemical components of a nanomedicine that may be incapable of clinical use in humans are mixed together to produce a new nanoscale medicinal product of therapeutic value. In terms of absorption and administration, this new formulation has an advantage over its conventional counterpart. This preparation method, for example, is used to engineer certain vaccines. Nanoparticles are made to resemble viruses in the preparation of these vaccines, and these particles are made up of a lipid envelope that has undergone surface modification.

“These nanoparticles are functionalized with the surface proteins of a virus such as influenza, which confers therapeutic activity to the nanoparticles by allowing them to fuse with target cells and induce an immune response,” according to the researchers. Epaxal, a hepatitis A vaccine that is aluminum-free, is an example of this form of medication.

Several impediments, such as the complexity of clinical trials and safety issues, as feared by stakeholders, including the government, which persuasively invite regulation of this sector, can stymie the enormous potentials stated above. However, formulating and enforcing this regulation in a meaningful way, while ensuring public safety and encouraging creativity, is a difficult job. The problems are particularly difficult to overcome because possible threats are still poorly known by researchers and will be for several years. The threats are undeniably unpredictable at best, and unknown at worst, which renders dealing with the possible harm a difficult and daunting task.

Regulation of nanotechnology-based biomedical technologies is needed

Although we look for the advantages of nanobiotechnology, we must also accept its possible drawbacks; otherwise, the benefits will be short-lived. The possible harm that nano-biomedical advances can cause is the impetus for such a call for regulation. Nanomaterials are able to fly through human bodies by their very existence, defeating or evading any normal defences. In general, regulation necessitates an evaluation and determination of a material's or procedure's intrinsic harmfulness or toxicity.

“The peculiar physiochemical properties of nanomaterials include their unique bio-availabilities and other features that make them potentially harmful to humans,” according to some Australian scientists. As a result, beneficiaries of unforeseeable or indeterminate damage may be fearful of nanomedical interventions.

The risks of a given medicine or medical procedure may vary depending on the nanomaterials used. Gold, silver, carbon, diamond, iron, and silica are some of the materials that can be used to make engineered nanoparticles for drug delivery. Gold nanoparticles have been found to be more powerful than other conduits for drug delivery because “when gold nanoparticles are exposed to infrared light, they melt and release drug payloads attached to their surfaces.” Nano-silver, on the other hand, is said to be the safest, but it may not be absolutely secure. Nanomaterials can pollute the atmosphere, contaminate food, taint cosmetics, and so on, in addition to the harm that nanomedicine and medical procedures using nanobiotechnology can cause. However, the consideration and guidelines in this article are limited to the use of nanotechnology for biomedical purposes, though they may be relevant to other adverse effects of this technology as well.

Major Market Highlights:

As of 2019, 75 cancer nanomedicines were under clinical review, according to a study published in the American Chemical Society. There are 91 Phase 1 trials (48 completed), 78 Phase 2 trials (59 completed), and 21 Phase 3 trials (11 completed) among the ongoing and completed clinical trials. Phase 1 experiments have had a high success rate (approximately 94 percent).

• Furthermore, the market is being driven by the regular launches of cancer medicines based on nanomedicine technology. A few of the country's major market players are creating new products and innovations to compete with existing ones, while others are acquiring and collaborating with other market leaders. Nano-X Imaging and SPI Medical have agreed to distribute and introduce Nanox's innovative X-ray systems in Mexico starting in 2020. Nanox ARC replaces cathode ray tubes in conventional devices with nanotechnology and semiconductors.
• Nanomedicine was also discovered to play a crucial role in the production of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists and industry players in the area are ramping up experimental studies in the hopes of finding appropriate and promising therapeutics to combat the highly contagious COVID-19 virus. Precision NanoSystems will receive USD 18.2 million from the Canadian government in October 2020 to produce an RNA vaccine for COVID-19. Using lipid-based drug delivery systems and nanomedicine, this investment will promote the creation of a cost-effective COVID-19 vaccine.
• The results of two nanoparticle-based vaccines were announced by BioNtech and Pfizer. In addition, Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced in May 2020 that it will invest USD 384 million in the production of Novavax, a nanoparticle-based COVID-19 vaccine.
• LeadInvent, an Indian start-up based in the United States and Kerala, has developed a nanoparticle-based gel that can destroy cancer cells that remain after surgery in patients with brain cancer, especially glioblastoma.

Conclusion: Nanotechnology as the game changer in the healthcare field

Nanomedicine has infinite potential for improving health. In order to optimise progress in person and community health, public health skills must be included. This impact on nanomedicine growth will aid in identifying the most pressing areas for technical advancement, determining how to better distribute resources, and shaping policies to protect humans and the environment.

Expanding cross-disciplinary training for researchers, medical care practitioners, and public health professionals employed in business, government, and academia is an important part of advancing nanomedicine. Taking a collective approach to nanomedicine research and education would effectively advance the state of the science, resulting in a higher return on public health investment. Human health will be transformed around the world as a result of research and development of new nanomedicine technologies that are integrated with public health values.