Nanotechnology is transforming the world and the way products are designed, including medicines and health products. On December 29, 1959, American physicist Richard Feynman, at the American Physical Society's meeting at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), gave a lecture titled: “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom.” Many authors consider this lecture to be the inspiration and starting point for the development of Nanotechnology. (What is Nanotechnology in Simple Terms) Dr. Feynman envisioned the techniques that would allow us to manipulate atoms and molecules individually, using precision tools that would enable the design and creation of new, smaller tools, gradually scaling down to the nanoscale and gaining the ability to manipulate atoms and molecules.
What is Nanotechnology
It is the branch of technology that allows the manipulation of materials at a molecular scale, enabling changes in their intrinsic properties, thereby generating new properties and extraordinary applications. To give you an idea of the scale we're talking about, a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, and a nanoparticle is about 100 times smaller than the diameter of a hair. Nanotechnology and its microscopic universe offer gigantic possibilities for contemporary science and industry.
What Benefits Does Nanotechnology Offer
We may not have noticed it yet, but we are in daily contact with significant advances made possible by Nanotechnology. (What is Nanotechnology in Simple Terms) An example can be seen in smartphones, which now have greater storage capacity, faster processing, and longer battery life due to batteries that not only charge faster but also hold that charge for much longer—all of this developed in recent years. Nanotechnology is present in many of their components. The creation of more efficient processors, which have multiplied the capacity for data handling and storage thousands of times, has driven the development of another significant technology: artificial intelligence. Nanotechnology is changing the world, and it’s not just electronics that benefit; the energy sector, textiles, environment, food, and of course, health, are all impacted.
Nanotechnology in Health
Nanotechnology has enabled extraordinary advances in health, from disease prevention to better diagnostic methods and more effective treatments. Let’s take a closer look at what Nanotechnology (What is Nanotechnology in Simple Terms) has meant for certain treatments. The advantages that a therapeutic substance can gain from Nanotechnology are numerous but depend on the substance. For example, by encapsulating a substance in nanoparticles, it can gain greater stability. A highly sensitive substance that might be affected by temperature, humidity, or oxygen, when protected by the nanoparticle, will have increased stability. Nanoparticles can also be used to protect the substance if it’s administered orally, from the acidic pH it will encounter in the stomach. In the case of a volatile substance, which evaporates easily, nano-encapsulation can prevent it from volatilizing. This is very useful for aromas and is widely used in cosmetics. Another possibility studied and utilized with these nanoparticles in pharmaceuticals is to control the release of the drug. That is, these nanoparticles can transport the drug to the part of the body where it is needed, and once it reaches that target area, release it at a controlled speed. This is very useful because it helps to improve the effectiveness of treatments and also reduce side effects. In cancer treatment, numerous studies are exploring the use of nanoparticles, including encapsulating the anticancer drug within the nanoparticle, and attempting to direct that nanoparticle specifically to the tumor cell, so that the anticancer drug is released only in that cell. Another example is in the treatment of very important diseases like stroke or neurodegenerative diseases. Most drugs used in treating these conditions cannot cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the brain. However, by encapsulating the drug within certain nanoparticles, they can “trick” the blood-brain barrier and carry the drug to the brain where it can exert its effect. Pharmaceutical nanotechnology is not only about encapsulation or transport processes but also involves physical-chemical processes like the production of emulsions at the nanoscale, remembering that an emulsion is a homogeneous mixture of two substances that usually do not mix (like water and oil). With both substances present, an emulsion can mix in aqueous or lipid media. This is fundamental for an antioxidant supplement, (Why Take Antioxidant Supplements) since our cells and tissues contain both aqueous and fatty components, and oxidation occurs in all of them. For example, vitamin C mixes very well in aqueous media but not in lipid media; the opposite is true for vitamin E.
