Nanotoxicology in NanoBioMedicine

Introduction

NanoBioMedicine is emerging as a potential solution for many medical science problems and will change the face of cancer therapy, diagnostics, imaging, tissue grafting, therapeutics, Immunotherapy and drug delivery in the very near future. Thus, scientists, medical specialists and individuals with interest in nanotoxicology and nanotechnology will be able to get firsthand knowledge in this field of specialization. The information provided in the book is very concise, crisp and help to grasp the material with ease.

The book entitled “Nanotoxicology of NanoBioMedicine” will be an essential guide and attract audience from academia, industry, and government from a broad field including student of medicine, dentistry, veterinary, biology, toxicology, agricultural scientists, food packaging industrialists, nanotechnologists, as well as nanomaterial scientists and individuals with interest in nanotoxicology and nanotechnology.

The book across 10 chapters presents key concepts of nanotoxicology in biomedicine. Each chapter is concise and crisp that will help the readers to gain a depth understanding of the subject of nanotoxicology in nanobiomedicine. Chapter 1 provides extensive coverage of general information, including basic concepts, definitions as relevant to polymer nanoparticles, nonpolymer nanoparticles, nanodevices, hybrid nanomaterials, nanocomposite, nanobiomedical science and so forth. Chapter 2 deals with historical development from early period to modern nanotechnology including regulations and future trends of nanobiomedicine. Chapter 3,  exclusively highlights mechanism of nanomaterial toxicity including pathogenetic pathways activated by oxidative and non-oxidative stress leading to cell death. Chapters 4 and 5 provide overview of factors affecting nanomaterial toxicity, organ and non-organ-directed nanotoxicity including behavior of NPs in human health and disease, testing strategies and assessments of potential hazards associated health risk assessments. Chapters 6-8 deal with nano based drug delivery systems, applications of nanotechnology in dentistry, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, nanotoxicity of materials used for neurodegenerative disorders, tuberculosis, ophthalmology, respiratory diseases and various forms of surgical operations in health and disease including their biocompatibility, toxicity and safety aspects that are important implements to exert control over and monitor the factors that influence drug-laden nanocarriers. Chapter 9, highlights recent advancements regarding tumor targeting, controlled release strategies and the toxic paradigms of chemotherapeutic drugs and NPs used in cancer therapy. Finally, chapter 10, summarizes use of nanomedicine to improve the ability of immunomodulatory molecules to reach diseased tissues, immune cells, or their intracellular compartments, in the context of chronic immune disorders and adverse effects associated with their use. Each chapter is well supported with concise tables, illustrations, diagrams, and important images whenever necessary.

Thus, the book will benefit multiple levels of education including undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals in various fields. Since this is a cross-functional subject, physicist, material scientist, chemist, biologist, toxicologist, nanotechnologists, biotechnology, medicine including medical practitioners, in various industries such as pharmaceutical, agriculture, chemical, cosmetics and consumer product industries will be the audience for this matter. Of course, this book will also be a good reference for the academic laboratories and students of various disciplines. The currently structured contents of the book would provide the broad knowledge needed to introduce individuals to the field of specialization.

Overview

Nanotechnology is rapidly developing, which leads to the need for safety assessment with regard to both human health and environmental impacts. Materials in the Nanoscale can behave differently from larger materials, even if the basic material is the same. Nanoscale Materials can have different chemical, physical, electrical and biological properties. The nanotechnology industry is experiencing challenges in both environmental effects assessment and therefore risk assessment. Nanotechnology is the study and control of material which has one or more dimensions in the Nanoscale. Nanotechnology is a very multifaceted technology ranging from the extensions of conventional physics to the new approaches and the developing of new materials and devices that have at least one dimension in the Nanoscale. Nanotechnology also deals with the exploration of whether material in the nanoscale can be directly measured. Nanomaterials are not a homogenous group of materials but encompass a magnitude of various types and forms of materials having sizes in the range of 1-100 nm. The adverse effects of engineered NMs on living organisms, is a rapidly growing discipline aimed at identifying and characterizing nanomaterial toxicity that will serve—in combination with exposure data—the ultimate goal of performing a meaningful risk assessment. Many engineered NMs exhibit unique and desirable catalytic, optical, structural, or electronic properties that make them attractive in diverse technological areas, including multiple manufacturing industries and environmental and medical applications. Therefore, concerns have been raised regarding potential acute and chronic adverse effects due to their physicochemical properties in combination with nanostructures, the continuing introduction of nanoscale materials into consumer products, such as TiO2 in sunscreen creams, antibacterial Ag in textiles, quantum dots in televisions, multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNs) in sports equipment together with increasing numbers of publications reporting toxic responses mostly observed in in vitro studies, has led to increasing concerns and more public awareness about potential adverse health effects. Thus, questions should be raised regarding actual versus perceived risk of nanotechnology applications, what is hype, what is reality? To provide answers it is necessary to understand nanomaterial toxicity in human beings and their environment.

 Future Trends

Small Systems, Big Applications

While smart pill technology is not a new idea — a “pill cam” was cleared by the FDA in 2001 — researchers are coming up with innovative new applications for the concept. For example, MIT researchers designed an ingestible sensor pill that can be wirelessly controlled. The pill would be a “closed-loop monitoring and treatment” solution, adjusting the dosage of a particular drug based on data gathered within the body (e.g. gastrointestinal system). An example of this technology in action is the recent FDA-approved smart pill that records when medication was taken. The product, which is approved for people living with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, allows patients to track their own medication history through a smartphone, or to authorize physicians and caregivers to access that information online.

Beating the Big C

Nearly 40% of humans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime, so any breakthrough in cancer treatment will have a widespread impact on society. On the key issues with conventional chemotherapy and radiation treatments is that the body’s healthy cells can become collateral damage during the process. For this reason, researchers around the world are working on using nano particles to specifically target cancer cells. Oncology-related drugs have the highest forecasted worldwide prescription drug sales, and targeting will be a key element in the effectiveness of these powerful new drugs.

Scientific Trends in Medicine

Improving the ability of nanotechnologies to target specific cells or tissues is of great interest to companies producing nano medicines. This area of research involves attaching nanoparticles onto drugs or liposomes to increase specific localization. Since different cell types have unique properties, nanotechnology can be used to “recognize” cells of interest. This allows associated drugs and therapeutics to reach diseased tissue while avoiding healthy cells. While this is a promising area of research, very few nano medicines exist that successfully utilize nanotechnology in this manner. This is due to ill-defined parameters associated with pairing the correct ratio or combination of NPs with the drug of interest. Currently, research efforts are focused on trying to understand how to release diagnostic molecules and drugs from liposomes with heat, and microbubbles using ultrasound. Last but not the least, it will be important to understand how nanomedicines behave when encountering different physiological characteristics of patients and their disease states.

Further Reading

Gupta PK (2022). In: Fundamentals of Nanotoxicology. Ist Ed Elsevier USA ISBN 9780323903998

Gupta PK (2023). Nanotoxicology of Nanobiomedicine. Ist Ed Springer nature Switzerland pg 1-179