Medical applications of nanoparticles and nanomaterials

Current clinical diagnostics and therapeutics platforms are often limited by borderline sensitivity or efficacy levels. These limitations result from low or minimal specificity for the intended target cell or organ, span a multitude of physiological disorders and result in nominal success rates for diagnosis or treatment in many cases. Diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer or viral infections require next generation medical methods. Nanotechnology has the potential to significantly address diagnostics and therapeutics sensitivity and resulting unwanted side effects by providing extremely precise reagents and tools that allow for unparalleled detection and treatment at the clinical level. This is accomplished through extremely controlled nanofabrication methodologies which result in the generation of molecularly defined nanoscale materials and devices that harbor known physical properties unique to each material in question and useful for particular medical applications. The further precise targeting of these materials to specific sites within the body allows for an added layer of accuracy and potency. Research in this area is quickly advancing to the point of providing a comprehensive portfolio of nanotechnology-based diagnostic and therapeutic platforms that will be unparalleled in sensitivity, specificity and elimination of unwanted side effects.