Abstract
This chapter aims to provide an overview of recent studies in the field of biomedical nanotechnology, which is described as the combination of biology and nanotechnology. The field includes innovations such as the improvement of biological processes at the nanoscale, the development of specific biomaterials, and the design of accurate measurement devices. Biomedical nanotechnology also serves areas like the development of intelligent drug delivery systems and controlled release systems, tissue engineering, nanorobotics (nanomachines), lab-on-a-chip, point of care, and nanobiosensor development. This chapter will mainly cover the biomedical applications of nanotechnology under the following titles: the importance of nanotechnology, the history of nanotechnology, classification of nanostructures, inorganic, polymer and composite nanostructures, fabrication of nanomaterials, applications of nanostructures, the designs of intelligent drug delivery systems and controlled release systems, bioimaging, bioseparation, nano-biomolecules, lab-on-a-chip, point of care, nanobiosensor development, tissue engineering and the future of biomedical nanotechnology.
TopBiomedical Nanotechnology
Biomedical nanotechnology, which is defined as the combination of biology and nanotechnology, includes innovations like the improvement of biological processes in nanoscale, the development of specific biomaterials, and the design of accurate measurement devices. The design of intelligent drug delivery systems and controlled release systems, tissue engineering, nanorobotics (nanomachines), lab-on-a-chip (LOC), point of care and nanobiosensor development are areas that are focused on the field of biomedical nanotechnology (Gazit, 2013).
How Small is Nano?
The word “nano” comes from the Greek word “nanos” which means “dwarf”. A nanometer (nm) refers to one billionth of a meter. To understand the nanoworld better, the units of measure have been defined in Table 1 (Jones, 2005). Size comparisons between very small objects and various examples have been given to clarify the nanoscale (Table 2). For example, a water molecule is about 0.2 nm, DNA is about 2 nm in diameter, proteins are about 1-10 nm, viruses are 10-100 nm, red blood cells are 6000-8000 nm, and a hair is about 100.000 nm.
Table 1. | Unit | Symbol | Explanation |
| Meter | m | - |
| Millimeter | mm | 1 m = 1,000 mm |
| Micrometer | µm | 1 m = 1,000,000 µm |
| Nanometer | nm | 1 m = 1,000,000,000 nm |
| Picometer | pm | 1 m = 1,000,000,000,000 pm |
| Object | Approximate average size |
| Tennis ball | 100,000,000 nm |
| Ant | 5,000,000 nm |
| Pencil tip | 1,000,000 nm |
| Beach sand | 500,000 nm |
| Human hair | 100,000 nm |
| A sheet of paper | 75,000 nm |
| A red blood cell | 7,000 nm |
| Bacteria | 5,000 nm |
| Viruses | 50 nm |
| Proteins | 4 nm |
| The diameter of the DNA helix | 2 nm |
| A glucose molecule | 1 nm |
| A water molecule | 0.3 nm |
| The atomic radius of carbon | 0.077 nm |
| The atomic radius of hydrogen | 0.032 nm |
Key Terms in this Chapter
Core-Shell Nanostructures: Nanostructures composed of an inner core and an outer shell made of at least two different materials.
Nanotechnology: Manipulation of matter at nanoscale.
Top-Down Approach: The method for fabrication of micro- or nanostructures in which large particles are broken up or milled
Nanobiosensor: Nanostructured devices that measure a biological event using optical, electronic and magnetic technology.
Liposome: A spherical vesicle consisting of at least one lipid bilayer.
Quantum Dots: They are small semiconductor particles of a few nanometers in size with different optical and electronic properties than large materials.
Polymer: Long chain molecules formed by the addition of relatively small molecules called monomers to each other.
Lab-on-a-Chip: Micro/nanochips on which one or more laboratory processes are performed simultaneously.