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Every now and then you hear the term ‘nanotechnology’. A technique that makes it possible, for example, to tackle tumors more precisely and better. But what is it?
Nano comes from the Greek word nanos, which means ‘dwarf’. Nanotechnology makes it possible at the very smallest level, that of molecules and atoms, to research, disassemble and possibly rebuild materials in a different way.
How small is small?
A nanometer is 0.000000001 meter, or one billionth of a meter. A ten euro cent coin is twenty million nanometers in size. A pinhead is one and a half million nanometers. A human hair one hundred thousand nanometers. And your fingernails grow five to ten nanometers per minute. To see and process materials at the nano level, you need a special kind of microscope.
What can you do with nanotechnology that cannot be done with other technology?
The fact that researchers can sort through (dead and living) materials down to the level of molecules and atoms helps them to understand how things work. Take the leaf of a lotus flower, from which water and dirt slide off without leaving a trace.
Nanotechnology has been used to discover how such a leaf works. Scientists then used that knowledge to create self-cleaning windows.
In a similar way, nanotechnology provides more and more information about how the human body functions. Viruses or mistakes in the DNA that cause diseases, all take place at the nano level. If doctors understand what is happening there, they can do better about it.
But there’s more. Using nanotechnology, existing products can be made smaller and more efficient. Mobile phones and computers, but also medical equipment: they are all full of chips at the nano level. For example, nanotechnology also ensures that solar panels or batteries for electric cars can supply more energy at a lower cost in the future.
The most special thing is that materials that are rearranged at the nano level start to behave in a different way. This allows scientists to create new materials with properties that do not occur in nature. For example, rolling up atoms from charcoal like a roll of chicken wire creates tiny ‘tubes’ that are not only light and flexible, but also a hundred times stronger than steel.
Are there already products available with nanotechnology?
Almost all electronics contain nanoscale chips. There is also, for example, sunscreen with transparent nanoparticles that ensure that no white layer remains on your skin when you apply it. There is dried soup with nanoparticles that prevent lumps from forming when dissolved. And how about anti-sweat socks with nanoparticles that break down bacteria? Also for sale.
The Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority estimates that there are currently between one hundred and two hundred products with nanotechnology on the market in the Netherlands.
Where can you already find nanotechnology in healthcare?
In all kinds of places. Nanotechnology helps to detect diseases earlier and to make more accurate and/or faster diagnoses. It ensures that medicines can do their work in a more targeted way. And it contributes to the fact that more and more care can take place outside the hospital.
Nanoparticles that search for germs – is that the future?
That is already happening. Some nanoparticles act as a very sensitive antenna. It allows you to recognize substances in the blood that are not picked up by traditional tests. In this way it can be determined whether someone is suffering from a certain disease while he is not yet aware of it. At least if you know which substance to look for, because that is not yet clear for many diseases.
Another thing is that, for example, blood tests and semen tests can be performed faster, so that you no longer have to wait for days for the results and a doctor can quickly proceed with the right treatment. Furthermore, nanotechnology makes it easier to perform medical tests at home.
How can nanotechnology help patients even more?
Nanotechnology makes it possible to package medicines in such a way that they are delivered in only one place and do not pass through the bloodstream throughout the body. For example, the drug is put into nano-spheres that have difficulty penetrating into healthy tissue, but easily into diseased tissue, such as tumor cells.
Another method is to send a pill with a tiny computer chip and antenna to the diseased place in the body and have its contents delivered there. As a result, the rest of the body is spared from the (often poisonous) stuff, resulting in fewer complaints, while the unhealthy cells are combated in a targeted manner. Incidentally, such a ‘chemo bomb’ has so far only been tested on mice. It is expected that it will take at least another five to ten years before cancer patients can benefit from this treatment method.
This also applies to most other nano-applications in healthcare. Such as the iPill, a tiny device that takes measurements in the body and communicates wirelessly. That may make some nasty investigations unnecessary in the future. Scientists are also already able to grow new tissue using nanotechnology, for example for a transplant or to allow wounds to heal faster. In short, the possibilities seem endless.
Is nanotechnology safe?
For almost every new technology, any risks are only discovered later, including nanotechnology. It is up to politicians to carefully weigh the pros and cons of each new application. Information from the RIVM is used for this. Since 1 January 2008, this government organization has been mapping the potential risks of nanotechnology for employees, patients, consumers and the environment. Until now, manufacturers are not obliged to put ‘with nanoparticles’ on the packaging. The House of Representatives and the European Parliament are working on introducing such a notification requirement.
When it comes to human health, we look at the toxicity of certain particles, but also whether the body is exposed to them at all. The nanoparticles are ‘stuck’ in many products, such as socks or car paint. The chance that you will ingest them is minimal – so is the possible danger.
This is different with nanoparticles in food or medicines, for example, or with nanoparticles that are released during the production of certain items. They can get into the body. It is essential to know if they are doing damage there. Nanomedicines and medical instruments with nanotechnology are only allowed on the market if they comply with the very strict national and international safety regulations that apply to healthcare.
Is nanotechnology undisputed?
The use of nanotechnology raises all kinds of ethical questions, especially in healthcare. For example, when it comes to instruments with which you can measure your health at home or even make a diagnosis. Can you expect a patient to understand all that data well and make the right choices based on that? And what about privacy? Are the data only available to the doctor and the patient, or are others also looking over their shoulder, such as insurers? Is it actually desirable to know everything about your health? Even when it comes to ailments for which little or nothing can be done? That may be more stressful than reassuring. Before new nano-applications are introduced on a large scale, such questions must first be answered satisfactorily.
Nano news
Lab-on-a-chip
Scientists have developed a tiny laboratory the size of a postage stamp. This ‘lab-on-a-chip’ is expected to give patients who have to have their blood checked regularly more freedom of movement in the future. After all, they can perform the test themselves anywhere. Moreover, it is less annoying than the traditional blood prick in the arm. In 2010, the first commercial version of the lab-on-a-chip was launched, the Medimate.
Burning away tumor cells
Tests are currently being carried out with a form of thermal irradiation. A cancer patient receives special nanoparticles (iron oxide) in
injected into the tumor. The nanoparticles respond to magnetic radiation by giving off heat to their immediate surroundings. Tumor cells are not very good at this; they die at temperatures between 41 and 70 degrees. The rest of the body is not affected.
Finger on the pulse
Prior to the Nijmegen Four Days Marches in 2006, a number of
The workers took in a chip that was connected to a central computer. While walking, their heart rate and body temperature were monitored wirelessly, among other things. This allowed the organization to follow ‘live’ whether a day’s stage was physically demanding and whether the participants did not run into problems.
Such a chip can also be implanted under the skin, for example in the chronically ill. In the future, their physical condition could be checked regularly without them noticing.
The sooner the better
With the help of nanotechnology, blood values can be measured not only faster but also better. An example. If someone has had a heart attack, the dead heart muscle tissue produces certain protein enzymes. Previously, these were difficult to find, with the result that doctors sometimes wrongly sent patients home with heart complaints.
However, with the nano-measurement method, those enzymes can be traced, even within a few minutes. A heart attack will therefore be able to be detected and treated earlier in the future. With less permanent damage as a result.
Thanks to Ira van Keulen and Bart Walhout of the Rathenau Instituut, an independent science institute of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine