Current status of nanomedicine and nanosurgery

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that covers a vast and diverse array of devices derived from physics, biology, engineering, and chemistry. Applications of nanotechnology to medicine and physiology imply materials and devices designed to interact with the body at subcellular (i.e., molecular) scales with a high degree of specificity. There is considerable useful information about nanotechnology available and already in use. However, at present, it is very incomplete and scattered. We realized many doctors are unaware of nanotechnology used during surgery and its future prospects in patients. Though most medical products that use nanotechnology are still in the research and development stage, there are a few which are commercially available. Nanotechnology has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years; applications of this technology in the field of medicine and surgery have been an important spin-off. Many biological structures are at nanometer scale used by surgeons in orthopedic, dental, and neurosurgeries. This article starts with the basics of the nanotechnology and how it is utilized through most medical products. This important article, which is felt to offer high educational value for the doctors, have been selected from an extensive search on the internet, and elaborately discussed. In this review, the scientific and technical aspects of nanotechnology are introduced, and some of its potential clinical applications are discussed.