Downloads

Nanotechnology in medical applications: state-of-the-art in materials and devices

Nanotechnology is an extremely powerful emerging technology, which is expected to have a substantial impact on medical technology now and in the future. The potential impact of novel nanomedical applications on disease diagnosis, therapy, and prevention is foreseen to change health care in a fundamental way. Furthermore, therapeutic selection can increasingly be tailored to each patient's profile. This report presents the state-of-the-art in the area of promising nanotechnology approaches for medical technology. In particular, relevant applications are reported in surgery, cancer diagnosis and therapy, biodetection of disease markers, molecular imaging, implant technology, tissue engineering, and devices for drug, protein, gene, and radionuclide delivery. Many medical nanotechnology applications are still in their infancy. However, an increasing number of products is currently under clinical investigation and some products are already commercially available, such as surgical blades and suture needles, contrast-enhancing agents for magnetic resonance imaging, bone replacement materials, wound dressings, anti-microbial textiles, chips for in vitro molecular diagnostics, microcantilevers, and microneedles.

Nanotechnology in medical applications: possible risks for human health

While products based on nanotechnology are actually reaching the market, sufficient knowledge on the associated toxicological risks is still lacking. Reducing the size of structures to nanolevel results in distinctly different properties. As well as the chemical composition, which largely dictates the intrinsic toxic properties, very small size appears to be a predominant indicator for toxic effects of particles. Based on these conclusions, the development of specific guidance documents at a European level for the safety evaluation of nanotechnology products applied in medical technology is strongly recommended and the need for further research in the field of nanotoxicology is clearly identified.For medical applications, immobilized nanostructures inside or on surfaces of medical devices such as surgical implants are expected to pose a minimal risk as long as they remain fixed. Release due to continuous chemical processes and/or mechanical stress at the interface of implants and surrounding tissues might yield potential risks, however. For medical applications utilising free nanoparticles or nanostructures, for example novel drug delivery systems, the specific toxicological properties have to be investigated. It is insufficient to rely on knowledge of the classical toxicity testing of chemical(s) and materials when the risks of nanoparticles and/or nanostructures have to be assessed. From a regulatory point of view, a risk management strategy is already a requirement for all medical technology applications. With regard to applications utilizing nanotechnology this is considered sufficient, as long as manufacturers, notified bodies and competent authorities are made aware of the need to carry out a dedicated (nano)toxicological risk assessment.

Ethical Aspects Of ICT Implants In The Human Body

Opinion of the European group on ethics in science and new technologies to the European Commission

Expert Survey: Envisioned Developments in Nanobiotechnology

This report present an overview of results of a worldwide expert survey conducted within the Foresight and Strategy workpackage (WP5) of the EU network of excellence “Nano-to-Life” (N2L). Main goal of the survey was to provide a useful perspective on future developments in Nanobiotechnology (NBT) and to contribute to a shared vision regarding the future of NBT research, taking into consideration barriers, ethics and public acceptance, commercialization prospects and the state of basic and applied research. The report was prepared by Aharon Hauptman and Yair Sharan from Interdisciplinary Center for Technology Analysis and Forecasting (ICTAF) at Tel-Aviv University.