1. Nanomedicine

Category Archives: Nanomedicine

Nanomedicine Market is Expected to Reach USD 177.60 Billion in 2019

Posted on by

Albany, NY (PRWEB) February 07, 2014

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Nanomedicine Market (Neurology, Cardiovascular, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-infective, and Oncology Applications) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share,Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019," the market for nanomedicine was valued at USD 78.54 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach a value of USD 177.60 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2013 to 2019.

Browse the full report with complete TOC at http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/nanomedicine-market.html

The advent of new applications and technology in the field of nanomedicine will be one of the major growth factors for the global nanomedicine market. In addition, increase of funding aimed at boosting the research activities pertaining to nanomedicine by the government as well as private institutions will expedite the process of commercialization of new products and hence will drive the market. Other driving factors include rising base of geriatric population, presence of high unmet medical needs and rising worldwide incidences of chronic diseases.

The global nanomedicine market by applications was dominated by the oncology market with a market share of approximately 38.0% in 2012 on account of the presence of high number of commercialized products in this segment. Development of nanomedicine products enabling drugs crossing blood brain barrier and targeting the tumor in brain and at other sites in the body will prove to be a significant future growth driver for this market.

Related Report: Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Devices Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/gastrointestinal-endoscopic-devices.html

However, the global cardiovascular market for nanomedicine is the fastest growing application segment. Factors such as the presence of large patient prevalence coupled with rising demand for nanotechnology enabled drugs and devices catering to this segment, attribute to its high growth rate.

North America dominated the market in 2012 and is expected to maintain its market position till 2019. However, theAsia-Pacific market is estimated to grow at a faster pace (CAGR of 14.6% from 2013 to 2019).Europe is expected to grow at a relatively higher rate compared to North America owing to constantly improving regulatory framework and the presence of an extensive product pipeline portfolio.

Some of the key players in the global nanomedicine market include GE Healthcare, Merck & Co Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Pfizer Inc., Nanosphere Inc., Mallinckrodt plc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celgene Corporation, Novavax, Inc.; Life Technologies, MagArray, Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc. and others.

Blog: http://www.tmrblog.com/ Blog: http://www.culrav.org/pr/author/tmrrelease

Read more from the original source:
Nanomedicine Market is Expected to Reach USD 177.60 Billion in 2019

In Vitro Innovation: Testing Nanomedicine With Blood Cells On A Microchip

Posted on by

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise Designing nanomedicine to combat diseases is a hot area of scientific research, primarily for treating cancer, but very little is known in the context of atherosclerotic disease. Scientists have engineered a microchip coated with blood vessel cells to learn more about the conditions under which nanoparticles accumulate in the plaque-filled arteries of patients with atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of myocardial infarction and stroke.

In the research, microchips were coated with a thin layer of endothelial cells, which make up the interior surface of blood vessels. In healthy blood vessels, endothelial cells act as a barrier to keep foreign objects out of the bloodstream. But at sites prone to atherosclerosis, the endothelial barrier breaks down, allowing things to move in and out of arteries that shouldnt.

In a new study, nanoparticles were able to cross the endothelial cell layer on the microchip under conditions that mimic the permeable layer in atherosclerosis. The results on the microfluidic device correlated well with nanoparticle accumulation in the arteries of an animal model with atherosclerosis, demonstrating the devices capability to help screen nanoparticles and optimize their design.

Its a simple model a microchip, not cell culture dish which means that a simple endothelialized microchip with microelectrodes can show some yet important prediction of whats happening in a large animal model, said YongTae (Tony) Kim, an assistant professor in bioengineering in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The research was published in January online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This work represents a multidisciplinary effort of researchers that are collaborating within the Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The team includes researchers at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan, and the Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.

Kim began the work as his post-doctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the lab of Robert Langer.

This is a wonderful example of developing a novel nanotechnology approach to address an important medical problem, said Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is renowned for his work in tissue engineering and drug delivery.

Kim and Langer teamed up with researchers from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Mark Lobatto, co-lead author works in the laboratories of Willem Mulder, an expert in cardiovascular nanomedicine and Zahi Fayad, the director of Mount Sinais Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute.

Read the original here:
In Vitro Innovation: Testing Nanomedicine With Blood Cells On A Microchip

High Unmet Needs in Therapeutics to Spur Growth in the Market for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, According to New …

Posted on by

San Jose, California (PRWEB) January 20, 2014

Follow us on LinkedIn Pharmaceutical industry represents one of the early beneficiaries of advancements in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology holds the potential to dramatically alter the fields of drug delivery, drug discovery, in vivo imaging, in vitro diagnostics, tissue engineering and implants. Of all the areas of nanomedicine, drug delivery remains the most researched and commercialized areas for nanotechnology in medicine. Nanoscale delivery systems hold potential to reduce undesirable effects of medication while improving therapeutic efficacy. Advancements in this area is expected to result in re-investigation of molecules whose development was earlier shelved due to lower pharmaceutical activity but were known to be biologically active. Also, nanoscale delivery systems can help improve efficacy of certain drugs that are already on the market.

Business interests in the application of nanotechnology is fast rising, driven by rising intensity in research work in this area and growing competition within the general drug delivery technologies. The pharmaceutical industry is witnessing increasing demand for novel drug delivery technologies, as companies seek to minimize drug side effects, reduce quantity of costly active therapeutic agents, and endeavor to differentiate their products from competition as well as from commoditization. In this regard, nano-milled/nano-sized/nano-crystallized products and nanocarriers, such as liposomes, among other approaches are providing a new set of tools to address these issues. Nanomaterials provide novel functions and features that are not delivered by other drug delivery technologies. In addition to enhancing therapeutic efficacy and improving safety profile of existing drugs, nanotechnology has the potential to deliver an all important means of developing next generation drugs. The ability of dendrimers and micelles to act as imaging agents as well as therapeutic agents is a significant progress in this direction, assisting clinicians in imaging as well as treating tumors.

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery is being seen as a revolution in protein and gene therapy, for delivering biomolecules such as DNA and siRNA, enabling researchers to overcome several hurdles that are found in these therapies using conventional delivery systems. Given the harm caused by chemotherapeutic agents to healthy tissues alongside diseased cells, there is growing interest and efforts to deliver anti-cancer agents directly to tumors, using nanotechnology based delivery systems. In addition, efforts are underway to develop oral formulations of various therapeutic agents. While several drugs delivered orally breakdown in the stomach, nanotechnology-based drug delivery is being explored to ensure smooth passage of a medication through the stomach such that they enter the intestines and are absorbed by the intestinal walls and passed on to the blood stream.

As stated by the new market research report on Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, the United States represents the largest market worldwide. Growth in the country is driven by various factors such as a strong pharmaceutical industry with robust expertise in related sciences, high focus on R&D, and narrowing drug pipelines of major pharmaceutical companies, among others. Asia-Pacific led by China is forecast to grow at the fastest CAGR of 70% over the analysis period. China is making rapid strides in the area of healthcare and pharmaceuticals. In recent years, the country has made healthcare improvement a domestic priority, with a special focus on introducing advanced medical technology. Nanocrystals dominate the market worldwide, supported by shorter development time and lower cost of production. Nanocarriers, such as liposomes, dendrimers and micelles are expected to witness strong growth in the coming years.

Major players covered in the report include Access Pharmaceuticals Inc., Alkermes PLC, Aquanova AG, Camurus AB, Capsulution Pharma AG, Celgene Inc., Flamel Technologies SA, Lena Nanoceutics Ltd., NanoBio Corporation, and NanoCarrier Co. Ltd., among others.

The research report titled Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery: A Global Strategic Business Report announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, drivers, challenges and strategic industry activities of major companies worldwide. The report provides market estimates and projections in US dollars for all major geographic markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Rest of World. Product segments analyzed for the global market include Nanocrystals and Nanocarriers.

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit http://www.strategyr.com/Nanotechnology_in_Drug_Delivery_Market_Report.asp

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a leading publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company currently employs over 800 people worldwide. Annually, GIA publishes more than 1300 full-scale research reports and analyzes 40,000+ market and technology trends while monitoring more than 126,000 Companies worldwide. Serving over 9500 clients in 27 countries, GIA is recognized today, as one of the world's largest and reputed market research firms.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Telephone: 408-528-9966 Fax: 408-528-9977 Email: press(at)StrategyR(dot)com Web Site: http://www.StrategyR.com/

More:
High Unmet Needs in Therapeutics to Spur Growth in the Market for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, According to New ...

Researchers measure minuscule particles with ‘tiny diving boards’

Posted on by

Suspended nanochannel resonator (SNR), a high precision instrument, can now measure masses of particles as small as one millionth of a trillionth of a gram, say MIT researchers.

Researchers from MIT can now measure masses of particles as small as one millionth of a trillionth of a gram.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

The suspended nanochannel resonator (SNR), a high precision instrument devised by researchers, can determine the mass of particles with a resolution better than an attogram one millionth of a trillionth of a gram, according to a press release by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

With the help of the SNR, researchers can now determine the mass of minuscule-sized viruses, protein aggregates, and other naturally occurring and engineered nanoparticles (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter), which were earlier difficult to measure due to their small size, according to the findings that were published in a paper for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Now we can weigh small viruses, extracellular vesicles, and most of the engineered nanoparticles that are being used for nanomedicine, said Selim Olcum, one of the paper's lead authors.

The SNR builds upon the suspended microchannel resonator (SMR), an earlier technology developed by Scott Manalis, an MIT professor of biological and mechanical engineering.

The SMR was used to track cell growth and measure density of cells, according to the MIT press release.

The SMR consists of a fluid-filled microchannel in a tiny silicon cantilever, a beam secured at one end. The particles are made to flow through the channel, one by one, and the mass of the particles changes the vibration frequency of the cantilever.

Link:
Researchers measure minuscule particles with 'tiny diving boards'

Global Nanomedicine Market is Expected to Reach USD 177.60 Billion in 2019: Transparency Market Research

Posted on by

Albany, New York, USA (PRWEB) January 15, 2014

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Nanomedicine Market (Neurology, Cardiovascular, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-infective, and Oncology Applications) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share,Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019," the market for nanomedicine was valued at USD 78.54 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach a value of USD 177.60 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2013 to 2019.

Browse the full report with complete TOC at http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/nanomedicine-market.html

The advent of new applications and technology in the field of nanomedicine will be one of the major growth factors for the global nanomedicine market. In addition, increase of funding aimed at boosting the research activities pertaining to nanomedicine by the government as well as private institutions will expedite the process of commercialization of new products and hence will drive the market. Other driving factors include rising base of geriatric population, presence of high unmet medical needs and rising worldwide incidences of chronic diseases.

The global nanomedicine market by applications was dominated by the oncology market with a market share of approximately 38.0% in 2012 on account of the presence of high number of commercialized products in this segment. Development of nanomedicine products enabling drugs crossing blood brain barrier and targeting the tumor in brain and at other sites in the body will prove to be a significant future growth driver for this market.

However, the global cardiovascular market for nanomedicine is the fastest growing application segment. Factors such as the presence of large patient prevalence coupled with rising demand for nanotechnology enabled drugs and devices catering to this segment, attribute to its high growth rate.

Related Report: Oxygen Concentrator Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/oxygen-concentrator-market.html

North America dominated the market in 2012 and is expected to maintain its market position till 2019. However, theAsia-Pacific market is estimated to grow at a faster pace (CAGR of 14.6% from 2013 to 2019).Europe is expected to grow at a relatively higher rate compared to North America owing to constantly improving regulatory framework and the presence of an extensive product pipeline portfolio.

Some of the key players in the global nanomedicine market include GE Healthcare, Merck & Co Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Pfizer Inc., Nanosphere Inc., Mallinckrodt plc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celgene Corporation, Novavax, Inc.; Life Technologies, MagArray, Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc. and others.

Browse All Market Research Reports: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Follow this link:
Global Nanomedicine Market is Expected to Reach USD 177.60 Billion in 2019: Transparency Market Research

Nanomedicine – Nanorobots in Medicine – UnderstandingNano

Posted on by

Future applications of nanomedicine will be based on the ability to build nanorobots. In the future these nanorobots could actually be programmed to repair specific diseased cells, functioning in a similar way to antibodies in our natural healing processes.

Developing Nanorobots for Medicine

Design analysis for a cell repair nanorobot: The Ideal Gene Delivery Vector: Chromallocytes, Cell Repair Nanorobots for Chromosome Repair Therapy

Design analysis for an antimicrobial nanorobot: Microbivores: Artifical Mechanical Phagocytes using Digest and Discharge Protocol

A Mechanical Artificial Red Cell: Exploratory Design in Medical Nanotechnology

Nanorobots in Medicine: Future Applications

The elimination of bacterial infections in a patient within minutes, instead of using treatment with antibiotics over a period of weeks.

The ability to perform surgery at the cellular level, removing individual diseased cells and even repairing defective portions of individual cells.

Significant lengthening of the human lifespan by repairing cellular level conditions that cause the body to age.

Nanomedicine Reference Material

Continued here:
Nanomedicine - Nanorobots in Medicine - UnderstandingNano

Nanotechnology in Medicine – UnderstandingNano

Posted on by

Nanotechnology in medicine (sometimes referred to as nanomedicine)involves techniques already being used or currently under development, as well as longer range research into the use of manufactured nano-robots to make repairs at the cellular level .

Nanomedicine could revolutionize the way we detect and treat damage to the human body and disease.

Companies are developing customized nanoparticles that can deliver drugs directly to diseased cells. When perfected, this method should help avoid the damage treatments such as chemotherapy currently inflict on healthy cells. Other research includes supplying insulin without daily injections; curing viruses; delivering drugs directly to arterial stents to prevent blockage from reocurring; delivering drugs directly to arterial plaque; and even repairing damaged heart tissue.

Read more about Nanotechnology in Medical Drug Delivery

Researchers are developing nanomedicine therapy techniques to deliver treatments such as heat directly to diseased cells, minimizing the damage to healthy tissue that occurs when using radiation therapy or surgery. With targeted heat treatment nanoparticles are attracted by diseased cells and transform infared light into localized heat that destroys the targeted cells. Another method being developed generates sound waves that are powerful and tightly focused for noninvasive surgery. Other researchers are using nanofibers to stimulate the production of cartilage in damaged joints.

Read more about Nanotechnology in Medical Therapy Techniques

Nanotechnology-based diagnosis techniques under development may provide two major advantages:

Read more about Nanotechnology in Medical Diagnostic Techniques

Resercher are attempting to use nanotechnology-based techniques to develop new methods for fighting bacterial infections. Nanoparticles can help fight Staph infections, burns, and other conditions eradicating or avoiding bacterial infection. It's possible that these nano-techniques could remove bacterial infection in minutes, rather than in weeks as is currently the case with antiobiotics.

Read more about Nanotechnology Medical Anti-Microbial Techniques

Read more from the original source:
Nanotechnology in Medicine - UnderstandingNano

Nanomedicine – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posted on by

Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology.[1] Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials (materials whose structure is on the scale of nanometers, i.e. billionths of a meter).

Nanomedicine research is receiving funding from the US National Institutes of Health. Of note is the funding in 2005 of a five-year plan to set up four nanomedicine centers. In April 2006, the journal Nature Materials estimated that 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems were being developed worldwide.[2]

The biological and medical research communities have exploited the unique properties of nanomaterials for various applications (e.g., contrast agents for cell imaging and therapeutics for treating cancer). Terms such as biomedical nanotechnology, nanobiotechnology, and nanomedicine are used to describe this hybrid field. Functionalities can be added to nanomaterials by interfacing them with biological molecules or structures. The size of nanomaterials is similar to that of most biological molecules and structures; therefore, nanomaterials can be useful for both in vivo and in vitro biomedical research and applications. Thus far, the integration of nanomaterials with biology has led to the development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools, physical therapy applications, and drug delivery vehicles.

Nanomedicine seeks to deliver a valuable set of research tools and clinically useful devices in the near future.[3][4] The National Nanotechnology Initiative expects new commercial applications in the pharmaceutical industry that may include advanced drug delivery systems, new therapies, and in vivo imaging.[5] Neuro-electronic interfaces and other nanoelectronics-based sensors are another active goal of research. Further down the line, the speculative field of molecular nanotechnology believes that cell repair machines could revolutionize medicine and the medical field.

Nanomedicine is a large industry, with nanomedicine sales reaching $6.8 billion in 2004, and with over 200 companies and 38 products worldwide, a minimum of $3.8 billion in nanotechnology R&D is being invested every year.[6] As the nanomedicine industry continues to grow, it is expected to have a significant impact on the economy.

Two forms of nanomedicine that have already been tested in mice and are awaiting human trials that will be using gold nanoshells to help diagnose and treat cancer,[7] and using liposomes as vaccine adjuvants and as vehicles for drug transport.[8][9] Similarly, drug detoxification is also another application for nanomedicine which has shown promising results in rats.[10] A benefit of using nanoscale for medical technologies is that smaller devices are less invasive and can possibly be implanted inside the body, plus biochemical reaction times are much shorter. These devices are faster and more sensitive than typical drug delivery.[11] Advances in Lipid nanotechnology was also instrumental in engineering medical nanodevices and novel drug delivery systems as well as in developing sensing applications.[12]

Nanotechnology has provided the possibility of delivering drugs to specific cells using nanoparticles. The overall drug consumption and side-effects may be lowered significantly by depositing the active agent in the morbid region only and in no higher dose than needed. This highly selective approach would reduce costs and human suffering. An example can be found in dendrimers and nanoporous materials. Another example is to use block co-polymers, which form micelles for drug encapsulation.[13] They could hold small drug molecules transporting them to the desired location. Another vision is based on small electromechanical systems; nanoelectromechanical systems are being investigated for the active release of drugs. Some potentially important applications include cancer treatment with iron nanoparticles or gold shells. Targeted drug delivery is intended to reduce the side effects of drugs with concomitant decreases in consumption and treatment expenses. The increased efficiency of delivery results in overall societal benefit by reducing the amount of drug needed in an equipotent preparation of said therapy, and thus reduced cost to the consumer.

Nanomedical approaches to drug delivery center on developing nanoscale particles or molecules to improve drug bioavailability. Bioavailability refers to the presence of drug molecules where they are needed in the body and where they will do the most good. Drug delivery focuses on maximizing bioavailability both at specific places in the body and over a period of time. This can potentially be achieved by molecular targeting by nanoengineered devices.[14][15] It is all about targeting the molecules and delivering drugs with cell precision. More than $65 billion are wasted each year due to poor bioavailability. In vivo imaging is another area where tools and devices are being developed. Using nanoparticle contrast agents, images such as ultrasound and MRI have a favorable distribution and improved contrast. The new methods of nanoengineered materials that are being developed might be effective in treating illnesses and diseases such as cancer. What nanoscientists will be able to achieve in the future is beyond current imagination. This might be accomplished by self assembled biocompatible nanodevices that will detect, evaluate, treat and report to the clinical doctor automatically.

Drug delivery systems, lipid- or polymer-based nanoparticles,[13] can be designed to improve the pharmacological and therapeutic properties of drugs.[16] The strength of drug delivery systems is their ability to alter the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of the drug.[17][18] However, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nanomedicine is highly variable among different patients.[19] When designed to avoid the body's defence mechanisms,[20] nanoparticles have beneficial properties that can be used to improve drug delivery. Where larger particles would have been cleared from the body, cells take up these nanoparticles because of their size. Complex drug delivery mechanisms are being developed, including the ability to get drugs through cell membranes and into cell cytoplasm. Efficiency is important because many diseases depend upon processes within the cell and can only be impeded by drugs that make their way into the cell. Triggered response is one way for drug molecules to be used more efficiently. Drugs are placed in the body and only activate on encountering a particular signal. For example, a drug with poor solubility will be replaced by a drug delivery system where both hydrophilic and hydrophobic environments exist, improving the solubility.[21] Also, a drug may cause tissue damage, but with drug delivery, regulated drug release can eliminate the problem. If a drug is cleared too quickly from the body, this could force a patient to use high doses, but with drug delivery systems clearance can be reduced by altering the pharmacokinetics of the drug. Poor biodistribution is a problem that can affect normal tissues through widespread distribution, but the particulates from drug delivery systems lower the volume of distribution and reduce the effect on non-target tissue. Potential nanodrugs will work by very specific and well-understood mechanisms; one of the major impacts of nanotechnology and nanoscience will be in leading development of completely new drugs with more useful behavior and less side effects.

It is greatly observed that[who?] nanoparticles are promising tools for the advancement of drug delivery, medical imaging, and as diagnostic sensors. However, the biodistribution of these nanoparticles is still imperfect due to the complex host's reactions to nano- and microsized materials[14] and the difficulty in targeting specific organs in the body. Nevertheless, a lot of work is still ongoing to optimize and better understand the potential and limitations of nanoparticulate systems. For example, current research in the excretory systems of mice shows the ability of gold composites to selectively target certain organs based on their size and charge. These composites are encapsulated by a dendrimer and assigned a specific charge and size. Positively-charged gold nanoparticles were found to enter the kidneys while negatively-charged gold nanoparticles remained in the liver and spleen. It is suggested that the positive surface charge of the nanoparticle decreases the rate of opsonization of nanoparticles in the liver, thus affecting the excretory pathway. Even at a relatively small size of 5nm, though, these particles can become compartmentalized in the peripheral tissues, and will therefore accumulate in the body over time. While advancement of research proves that targeting and distribution can be augmented by nanoparticles, the dangers of nanotoxicity become an important next step in further understanding of their medical uses.[22]

View original post here:

Nanomedicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nanomedicine, bionanotechnology | NanomedicineCenter.com

Posted on by

A lot of patients suffering from colon cancer might well present no symptoms or signs during the earliest stages of the condition. When symptoms do eventually present, they can be many and varied, and can very much depend upon the size of the affliction, how far it has spread and also its actual location. It might be that some symptoms that present are as a result of a condition other than cancer itself, ranging from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and occasionally diverticulosis. Also, such problems as abdominal pain or swelling can be symptomatic of colon problems and may well require further investigation.

You may also notice that, upon going to the lavatory, you have some blood in your stools, and this can be a symptom of cancer. Of course, having black poop doesnt ultimately mean that cancer is present. It can, however, also be indicative of other conditions and problems. For example, the kind of bright red blood that you may see on your toilet tissue could be as a result of hemorrhoids or anal fissures. It should also be remembered that various food items can also result in red poop, and these include beetroot and red liquorice. Some medications can also be culprits, and some can also turn the stools black-including iron supplements. Irrespective, any sign of blood or change in your stools should prompt you to seek advice from your GP, as it is always best to be sure that it is not a sign of a more serious condition, and with any cancer,early detection and treatment is essential to a successful recovery.

You should also note-if you are currently concerned-any change in the regularity of your stools-including whether or not they are more thin or irregular than usual-especially over a period of several weeks. Also, be mindful if you have diarrhea for several days in a row or, conversely, constipation.

You might also experience pain in your lower abdomen-including a feeling of hardness. You may also experience persistent pain or discomfort in your abdominal region, and this can include wind and cramps. You may also get the sensation that, when evacuating your bowels, that the bowel doesnt empty fully. Another symptom that you might recognize is colored stool mainly black stool, but could be green stool too. Also, if you have an iron deficiency (or anemia), it may be an indication that there is bleeding in your colon. Also, as in most cases and types of cancer, you should seek medical advice immediately if you experience any sudden and unexpected or unexplained weight loss, as this is one of the principal red flags. Also be aware of more vague, seemingly incidental symptoms, such as fatigue. IF you have a couple of symptoms and also feel fatigued for days in a row inexplicably, then this is also another warning sign and you should seek medical advice. It is important not to panic, but just to be aware of what might be going on.

Remember, cases of colon cancer account for around 90% of all cases of intestinal cancers, and also account for more deaths every year of men and women from cancer. Early treatment is an absolute must.

More:

Nanomedicine, bionanotechnology | NanomedicineCenter.com

Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine – Official Site

Posted on by

The mission of Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine (Nanomedicine: NBM) is to promote the emerging interdisciplinary field of nanomedicine.

Nanomedicine: NBM is an international, peer-reviewed journal presenting novel, significant, and interdisciplinary theoretical and experimental results related to nanoscience and nanotechnology in the life sciences. Content includes basic, translational, and clinical research addressing diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, prediction, and prevention of diseases. In addition to bimonthly issues, the journal website (http://www.nanomedjournal.com) also presents important nanomedicine-related information, such as future meetings, meeting summaries, funding opportunities, societal subjects, public health, and ethical issues of nanomedicine.

The potential scope of nanomedicine is broad, and we expect it to eventually involve all aspects of medicine. Sub-categories include synthesis, bioavailability, and biodistribution of nanomedicines; delivery, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics of nanomedicines; imaging; diagnostics; improved therapeutics; innovative biomaterials; interactions of nanomaterials with cells, tissues, and living organisms; regenerative medicine; public health; toxicology; point of care monitoring; nutrition; nanomedical devices; prosthetics; biomimetics; and bioinformatics.

Article formats include Communications, Original Articles, Reviews, Perspectives, Technical and Commercialization Notes, and Letters to the Editor. We invite authors to submit original manuscripts in these categories. The journal website (http://www.nanomedjournal.com) also presents important nanomedicine-related information, such as future meetings, meeting summaries, funding opportunities, societal subjects, public health, and ethical issues of nanomedicine.

The mission of Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine (Nanomedicine: NBM) is to promote the emerging interdisciplinary field of nanomedicine.

Nanomedicine: NBM is an international, peer-reviewed...

Read the rest here:

Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine - Official Site

Nanomedicine Fact Sheet

Posted on by

Nanomedicine Overview

What if doctors had tiny tools that could search out and destroy the very first cancer cells of a tumor developing in the body? What if a cell's broken part could be removed and replaced with a functioning miniature biological machine? Or what if molecule-sized pumps could be implanted in sick people to deliver life-saving medicines precisely where they are needed? These scenarios may sound unbelievable, but they are the ultimate goals of nanomedicine, a cutting-edge area of biomedical research that seeks to use nanotechnology tools to improve human health.

Top of page

A lot of things are small in today's high-tech world of biomedical tools and therapies. But when it comes to nanomedicine, researchers are talking very, very small. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, too small even to be seen with a conventional lab microscope.

Top of page

Nanotechnology is the broad scientific field that encompasses nanomedicine. It involves the creation and use of materials and devices at the level of molecules and atoms, which are the parts of matter that combine to make molecules. Non-medical applications of nanotechnology now under development include tiny semiconductor chips made out of strings of single molecules and miniature computers made out of DNA, the material of our genes. Federally supported research in this area, conducted under the rubric of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, is ongoing with coordinated support from several agencies.

Top of page

For hundreds of years, microscopes have offered scientists a window inside cells. Researchers have used ever more powerful visualization tools to extensively categorize the parts and sub-parts of cells in vivid detail. Yet, what scientists have not been able to do is to exhaustively inventory cells, cell parts, and molecules within cell parts to answer questions such as, "How many?" "How big?" and "How fast?" Obtaining thorough, reliable measures of quantity is the vital first step of nanomedicine.

As part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund [nihroadmap.nih.gov], the NIH [nih.gov] will establish a handful of nanomedicine centers. These centers will be staffed by a highly interdisciplinary scientific crew including biologists, physicians, mathematicians, engineers and computer scientists. Research conducted over the first few years will be spent gathering extensive information about how molecular machines are built. A key activity during this time will be the development of a new kind of vocabulary, or lexicon, to define biological parts and processes in engineering terms.

Once researchers have completely catalogued the interactions between and within molecules, they can begin to look for patterns and a higher order of connectedness than is possible to identify with current experimental methods. Mapping these networks and understanding how they change over time will be a crucial step toward helping scientists understand nature's rules of biological design. Understanding these rules will, in many years' time, enable researchers to use this information to address biological issues in unhealthy cells.

Go here to see the original:

Nanomedicine Fact Sheet

Nanotechnology and Medicine – Nanomedicine and Disease …

Posted on by

Nanotechnology refers to the use man-made of nano-sized (typically 1-100 billionths of a meter) particles for industrial or medical applications suited to their unique properties. Physical properties of known elements and materials can change as their surface to area ratio is dramatically increased, i.e. when nanoscale sizes are achieved. These changes do not take place when going from macro to micro scale. Changes in physical properties such as colloidal properties, solubility and catalytic capacity have been found very useful in areas of biotechnology, such as bioremediation and drug delivery.

The very different properties of the different types of nanoparticles have resulted in novel applications. For example, compounds known to be generally inert materials, may become catalysts. The extremely small size of nanoparticles allows them to penetrate cells and interact with cellular molecules. Nanoparticles often also have unique electrical properties and make excellent semiconductors and imaging agents. Because of these qualities, the science of nanotechnology has taken off in recent years, with testing and documentation of a broad spectrum of novel uses for nanoparticles, particularly in nanomedicine.

The development of nanotechnologies for nanomedical applications has become a priority of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Between 2004 and 2006, the NIH established a network of eight Nanomedicine Development Centers, as part of the NIH Nanomedicine Roadmap Initiative. In 2005, The National Cancer Institute (NCI) committed 144.3 million over 5 years for its Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer program which funds seven Centres of Excellence for Cancer Nanotechnology (Kim, 2007). The funding supports various research projects in areas of diagnostics, devices, biosensors, microfluidics and therapeutics.

Among the long term objectives of the NIH initiative are goals such as being able to use nanoparticles to seek out cancer cells before tumors grow, remove and/ or replace broken parts of cells or cell mechanisms with miniature, molecular-sized biological machines, and use similar machines as pumps or robots to deliver medicines when and where needed within the body. All of these ideas are feasible based on present technology. However, we dont know enough about the physical properties of intracellular structures and interactions between cells and nanoparticles, to currently reach all of these objectives. The primary goal of the NIH is to add to current knowledge of these interactions and cellular mechanisms, such that precisely-built nanoparticles can be integrated without adverse side-effects.

Many different types of nanoparticles currently being studied for applications in nanomedicine. They can be carbon-based skeletal-type structures, such as the fullerenes, or micelle-like, lipid-based liposomes, which are already in use for numerous applications in drug delivery and the cosmetic industry. Colloids, typically liposome nanoparticles, selected for their solubility and suspension properties are used in cosmetics, creams, protective coatings and stain-resistant clothing. Other examples of carbon-based nanoparticles are chitosan and alginate-based nanoparticles described in the literature for oral delivery of proteins, and various polymers under study for insulin delivery.

Additional nanoparticles can be made from metals and other inorganic materials, such as phosphates. Nanoparticle contrast agents are compounds that enhance MRI and ultrasound results in biomedical applications of in vivo imaging. These particles typically contain metals whose properties are dramatically altered at the nano-scale. Gold nanoshells are useful in the fight against cancer, particularly soft-tissue tumors, because of their ability to absorb radiation at certain wavelengths. Once the nanoshells enter tumor cells and radiation treatment is applied, they absorb the energy and heat up enough to kill the cancer cells. Positively-charged silver nanoparticles adsorb onto single-stranded DNA and are used for its detection. Many other tools and devices for in vivo imaging (fluorescence detection systems), and to improve contrast in ultrasound and MRI images, are being developed.

There are numerous examples of disease-fighting strategies in the literature, using nanoparticles. Often, particularly in the case of cancer therapies, drug delivery properties are combined with imaging technologies, so that cancer cells can be visually located while undergoing treatment. The predominant strategy is to target specific cells by linking antigens or other biosensors (e.g. RNA strands) to the surface of the nanoparticles that detect specialized properties of the cell walls. Once the target cell has been identified, the nanoparticles will adhere to the cell surface, or enter the cell, via a specially designed mechanism, and deliver its payload.

One the drug is delivered, if the nanoparticle is also an imaging agent, doctors can follow its progress and the distribution of the cancer cell is known. Such specific targeting and detection will aid in treating late-phase metastasized cancers and hard-to-reach tumors and give indications of the spread of those and other diseases. It also prolongs the life of certain drugs that have been found to last longer inside a nanoparticle than when the tumor was directly injected, since often drugs that have been injected into a tumor diffuse away before effectively killing the tumor cells.

See original here:

Nanotechnology and Medicine - Nanomedicine and Disease ...


  1. Nanomedicine