Nanotechnology in Medicine

Drug Delivery

• One application of nanotechnology in medicine currently being developed involves employing nanoparticles to deliver drugs, heat, light or other substances to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells).
• Particles are engineered so that they are attracted to diseased cells, which allows direct treatment of those cells.
• This technique reduces damage to healthy cells in the body and allows for earlier detection of disease.

Diagnostic Techniques

• Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are using antibodies attached to carbon nanotubes in chips to detect cancer cells in the blood stream.
• The researchers believe this method could be used in ....