NANO PARTICLES: A NEW PROMISING THERAPY FOR CANCER

Nanotechnology promises a very wide variety of solutions to many aspects of cancer detection and treatment. The technology is new, with most research currently in the animal trial phase, but very promising. In the field of tumor detection, nano-scale transistors can detect marker proteins at concentrations of only .025 pg/ml, nano-pore gene sequencers can read 1,000 base pairs per second, and super paramagnetic nanoparticles can be used to measure levels of enzymes that signal malignant forms of cancer. In the treatment category, nanoparticles can be engineered which contain payloads of drugs surrounded by proteins which bind predominantly to cancerous cells, thereby targeting the medicine to just the areas where it is required. Also, microchips with reservoirs for drugs have been engineered which can deliver specific dosages for specific lengths of time from within the body, when remotely triggered.