Nanomedicine: Techniques, Potentials, and Ethical Implications

Abstract

Nanotechnology is concerned with materials and systems whose structures and components exhibit novel physical, chemical, and biological properties due to their nanoscale size. This paper focuses on what is known as nanomedicine, referring to the application of nanotechnology to medicine. We consider the use and potentials of emerging nanoscience techniques in medicine such as nanosurgery, tissue engineering, and targeted drug delivery, and we discuss the ethical questions that these techniques raise. The ethical considerations involved in nanomedicine are related to risk assessment in general, somatic-cell versus germline-cell therapy, the enhancement of human capabilities, research into human embryonic stem cells and the toxicity, uncontrolled function and self-assembly of nanoparticles. The ethical considerations associated with the application of nanotechnology to medicine have not been greatly discussed. This paper aims to balance clear ethical discussion and sound science and so provide nanotechnologists and biotechnologists with tools to assess ethical problems in nanomedicine. INTRODUCTIONSignificant technological advances across multiple scientific disciplines continue to be proposed and validated. A revolution in health care and medical technology looms large on the horizon on the basis of the discipline of nanotechnology. Reports and articles often distinguish between nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanoscience refers to the fundamental study of phenomena and the manipulation of matter at the atomic, molecular, and supramolecular level, where properties differ significantly from those at a larger scale. As such, nanoscience forms the knowledge base for nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to the design, characterisation, production, and application of structures, devices, and systems that have novel physical, chemical, and biological properties by controlling shape and size at the nanometre scale. Integration with other length scales will often be important to technological applications. In this paper we use the term nanotechnology as a collective term encompassing the various branches of both nanoscience and nanotechnology.Nanotechnology research has progressed rapidly over the last few years. Nanotechnology has become an interdisciplinary science where the disciplines of physics, chemistry, molecular biology, health sciences, and engineering collaborate, share knowledge, and build up a research culture across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Funding for nanotechnology has increased dramatically and nanotechnology has become a buzz word and is currently very visible compared to other fields of research. The vision of nanotechnology is to advance broad societal goals, such as improved comprehension of nature, increased productivity, better health care and to extend the limits of sustainable development and human potential [1]. A lot of developments in nanotechnology take years, but researchers and politicians claim that the process itself can lead to a new industrial revolution [2]. This paper fo...

Scientists’ Perception of Ethical Issues in Nanomedicine: A Case Study

“…While it has been suggested that nanomedical ethics as a field has not received much attention [15] it certainly cannot be alleged that the topic has not been charted analytically (e.g. [3][4][5][16][17][18]). In addition to these mainly theoretical discussions of potential ethical issues, the general public perception has been mapped through public consultations (e. g. [19] who study and monitor the environmental materials that are created by the 'upstream' scientists [7].…”

The Question of Ethics in Nanomedicine

“…Currently, the ethical considerations involved in nanomedicine are related to risk assessment in general, somatic-cell versus germline-cell therapy, the enhancement of human capabilities, risk management of engineered nanomaterials, research into human embryonic stem cells and the toxicity of nanoparticles and nanomedicine, uncontrolled function and self-assembly of nanoparticles [12,17]. For instance, recently, the identification of cytotoxicity of nanoparticles toward mammalian gremline stems cells has aroused great concern over the biosafety of nanomaterials [18].…”

siRNA transfection by dendritic core–shell nanocarriers

“…Initially, the dsRNAs are cleaved into siRNAs by a ribonuclease known as a 1 Introduction Dicer. [40] The siRNA is double-stranded, and the length usually varies between [21][22][23] nucleotides. The siRNAs gets incorporated into ribonuleotide protein components called RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and by unwinding the duplex, triggered through Argonaute 2, the catalytic core within RISC, the complex becomes activated RISCs.…”

“…Since gene therapy in germline cells affect not only the individual cells that develop from it, but also their offspring and successive generations, gene therapy on germline cells is forbidden. [22][23] The successful application of gene therapy is still a great challenge in ongoing research, since the most difficult obstacles to overcome have been the inability to transfer the 1 Introduction appropriate gene to a target, prolonged gene expression, and to obtain low toxicity. [24][25] Gene transfer of a nucleic acid to somatic cells can take place either in vivo or ex vivo and the process by which genes are transferred into cultured mammalian cells is called transfection.…”