Advances in Nanotechnology That Might Cure HIV
One of the frequent scourges that affect mankind is the problem related to the human immunodeficiency virus that is more popularly known as HIV. Affecting Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia, and some parts of Europe, the HIV problem is of pressing need to man and governments because of its impact to health. This is why researches for the development of cures for HIV has been in feverish pitch since the disease was first discovered in the early 80s. However, despite all these, cures for HIV are something that is still elusive. That was the case until nanotechnology came along and gave mankind its first real hope of winning against this dreaded disease. Today, various products of nanotechnology that might cure HIV are seriously pursued in the hope that it will put an end to man’s worrying of the disease.
Approaches to the Treatment of HIV
Using nanotechnology that might cure HIV comes in various forms. Most of these are still in the laboratory testing stages and are not yet available for mass treatment. Nonetheless, feedbacks have been very encouraging to the point that experts regularly call their efforts already a success even with the absence of actual testing on HIV patients. The following are some of the most common approaches in using nanotechnology that might cure HIV:
Neutralization of the HIV virus. Because HIV virus has been so resilient and tough to crack, one of the keys to a successful treatment of HIV cases is to neutralize the very virus that causes it. In this, scientists have developed nano particles that attack the virus. Because nano particles are very small, they are not easily detected and neutralized by the virus. Instead, they are able to penetrate the mantle of the virus, thus rendering it harmless.
Another approach in nanotechnology that might cure HIV is the strengthening of a person’s immune system. This is made possible with the use of nano particles that are injected into a person’s body. Such particles boost the immune system and help the body to repair damaged tissues, which is something very common among HIV patients. On the other hand, because they are very minute particles, they easily mix in with the bloodstream and distributed in the body.
Combination therapy is one of the techniques using nanotechnology that might cure HIV. In this, the therapy of attacking the HIV virus is paired with the strategy of enhancing the immune system. Because of this, patients who would have died from an HIV infection now have a better chance to survive the virus instead. Moreover, the immune system is boosted and rejuvenated, which not only improves the chances of a person surviving HIV but also a chance for a better health.
Despite the very promising and rosy picture all these products of nanotechnology that might cure HIV brings, the reality is that these are all still in the planning board. Scientists themselves acknowledge that plenty of researches have to be done before these treatments will be available on a mass basis.
In essence Nano medicine is the application of Nanotechnology in Medicine, which can also be termed Medical Nanotechnology.
Nano Meidcine describes the highly specific treatment of disease at the molecular level.
Nanotechnology has many perspective applications in Medicine ranging from nano-silver paint for bacterial growth prevention to medical imaging and treatment of disease.
There are very exciting new techniques being developed to utilize nanotechnology to treat a multitude of diseases. Notably there is a large amount of research being conducted into techniques for targeted drug delivery.
Nano medicine is the next step in medical advancement allowing the treatment of disease at the cellular level. This would allow treatments to be as non-invasive as possible whilst at the same time only affecting diseased areas of the body.
Bright green/yellow showing cancer drug entering a cancerous cell from purdue.edu There are still many problems to be addressed in terms of disease treatment. Nano medicine provides a new avenue for developing ways of combating these stumbling blocks. For instance for many ailments surgery is an inevitability, but surgery can be very damaging to the body. Many patients may have complications after surgery or reductions in quality of life. With Nanotechnology it may be possible to treat disease in a non-invasive way. A prime example of this is the treatment of tumors with a reduction in side-effects, through the development of targeted drug delivery systems negating the need for the poison, slash and burn techniques currently used in medicine for their treatment.
Nano Medicine is a hugely interdisciplinary field with the need for collaboration between many disciplines in science to aid the implementation of novel Nanotechnologies in medicine.
Alzheimer’s Disease Detection With Golden Nanoparticles
A novel development from researchers at Jackson State University utilizes gold nanoparticles to detect a biomarker implicated in Alzheimer’s disease to a 100 fold sensitivity level to anything else that has been developed so far. This could pave the way for incredibly early detection of the neurodegenerative disease Alzheimer’s.
The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease has abnormally high levels of a highly phosphorylated protein known as tau. Tau is a protein which is involved with microtubule stability.
The role that tau plays in Alzheimer’s is not fully understood but what is known is that is always found highly phosphorylated in brain tissue of Alzheimer’s sufferers. It is hypothesized that it will form aggregates with other tau molecules and possibly cause inflammation in the brain leading to the associated memory loss found in Alzheimer’s disease.
The technique is based on a monclonal antibody (anti-tau), which is conjugated with gold nanoparticles. The monoclonal antibody-nanoparticle complex will aggregate in the presence of the phosphorylated tau. It can then be readily detected by a color change unearthed by detection through two-photo light scattering.
This technique allows far more rapid, reliable and early detection of Alzheimer’s. As it affects currently an estimated 26.6 million people this could be an amazing breakthrough for Alzheimer’s treatment. It will become even more important as the incidence of Alzheimer’s will increase over the next forty years.
This technique coupled with the new genes identified for Alzheimer’s disease could form a potent partnership for new treatments of Alzheimer’s disease which so far have very little to offer.
