Is nanotechnology a better treatment than chemotherapy?
A nanogear
Photo courtesy NASA, Ames
Background Info
Nanotechnology is a field in science dealing with matter at the atomic level or a hundred nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter or the width of a hydrogen atom. Some nanoparticles include the nanosphere, nanorod, and the fullerene (buckyball).
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells, which leads to a tumor. Cancer cells divide more rapidly than normal cells and interfere with healthy cells. Your body won't kill cancer like bacteria because it can't tell the difference between health cells and caner cells. Therefore, cancer cells can keep on dividing.
Current treatment is chemotherapy, which kills all cells that are dividing with chemicals and radiation. The problem with chemotherapy is that all cells that are dividing are killed such as hair cells, red blood cells and white blood cells. This makes a person lose their hair and feel weak.
Nanotechnology can deliver cancer-killing drugs to only the cancer cells and not the healthy cells. The downside is that nano sized objects can be dangerous. Studies show that if nanoparticles are inhaled, they can damage the lungs. Also, when nanoparticles are in the body, they cause inflammation, which blocks the drugs that kill cancer. Until nanoparticles can be safe and have no side effects, chemotherapy is the best treatment.
How Nanotechnology Works
The Nanosphere- The drug is inside the nanosphere and is released when the nanosphere is inside the cancer cell. The nanosphere will only enter cancer cells and not touch the normal cells.
The Nanorod- The long tube like structure collects at cancer sites so when light is shined on the body, cancer sites illuminate. This makes finding a tumor to remove in surgery easy. Also, the tubes absorb laser light, so cancer cells can be killed with a safe amount of laser that does not harm normal cells.
The Nanodiamond- Nanodiamonds have a structure similar to a diamond but do not have the negative side effects of most nanoparticles. If the nanodiamonds are clustered together, they can safely carry a chemotherapy drug to a target site. There, the drug is released and diamonds are left.
“The nanodiamond cluster provides a powerful release in a localized place -- an effective but less toxic delivery method,” said Eric Pierstorff a research scientist.
