What is Nanomedicine?
Molecular Imaging and Therapy for cancer treatment
This illustration was made for the Opensource Handbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, created by Kristian Molhave.
It includes activities that teach the students about healthy and cancerous cells, what aptamers are and why they might be useful and how they can be utilised to deliver targeted drug treatment to cancer cells.
Nanomedicine is a new and dynamic part of medicine that involves using nanoparticles, nanostructures and nanomaterials to improve diagnoses accuracy, treatment side effects and potentially cure diseases. They offer so much potential to do this. Because of their super tiny size (nano size) they can interact and work with many biologically crucial molecules and structures in the body such as DNA and cells which are a cornerstone of body functioning.
This section on nanomedicine will focus in on Dr Sarah Shigdar, an expert on aptamers – a form of nanotechnology that could potentially treat and cure cancer by improving current drug treatments.
References:
UNSW Sydeney, (n.d.), “What is Nanomedicine”, http://www.acn.unsw.edu.au/what-is-nanomedicine .