NANOMEDICINE TODAY

One of the great promises of nanotechnology is increased control over our personal health.
Nanomedicine is a natural application for bionanotechnology. Drug designing Corrective therapies MBT
413 Nano Biotechnology Lecture 27 Nanomedicine today Computer-Aided Drug Design Has Produced
Effective Anti-AIDS Drugs Rational drug design is a major triumph of current nanomedicine. Steps in drug
designingStep 1- A target is chosen in the pathogenic organism Step 2- the target is characterized at the
atomic level Step 3- using this nanoscale information, a team of scientists engineers a molecule that
specifically attacks the target, blocking its action. The team typically includes a biologist, who performs
the characterization of the target and tests trials a chemist, who synthesizes drugs; and a computational
chemist, who designs and optimizes drugs to bind to the target. Through successive cycles of design,
synthesis, and testing, drugs are discovered, perfected, and then used in therapy. MBT 413 Nano
Biotechnology Lecture 27 Nanomedicine today Computer-Aided Drug Design Has Produced Effective
Anti-AIDS Drugs HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) is a successful example of rational drug
design. AIDS has changed from a uniformly deadly disease to a manageable disease in many cases,
because of the nanoscale design of effective antiHIV drugs. Several of the enzymes involved in the life
cycle of HIV have been characterized and used as targets for drug design. MBT 413 Nano Biotechnology
Lecture 27 Nanomedicine today Computer-Aided Drug Design Has Produced Effective Anti-AIDS Drugs
The reverse transcriptase, which copies the viral genome into a form that is read by the infected cell,
was the first to be characterized and the first that was subjected to drug therapy. Because it acts on
nucleic acids, early drug design efforts focused on modified nucleotides, which are added to a growing
nucleic acid strand but which have modifications that prevent further growth. Thus they prematurely
terminate the copying of the viral genome, creating defective copies. Drugs such as AZT and DDI fall into
this category. MBT 413 Nano Biotechnology Lecture 27 Nanomedicine today crystallographic structure
of HIV protease - true nanoscale design Began Specific inhibitors based on the natural function of the
enzyme were designed. It normally cleaves the viral proteins, clipping them into the proper sizes needed
for viral reproduction. Inhibitors were designed to mimic this reaction by creating a short peptide with
an uncleavable bond at the site that is normally broken. The side chains on this peptide were designed
to provide maximal binding strength to the protease active site. The drug molecule mimics a peptide,
but once it binds it sticks tight and blocks the action of the enzyme. MBT 413 Nano Biotechnology
Lecture 27 Nanomedicine today When used in combination with inhibitors of reverse transcriptase, they
form the powerful triple cocktail of HAART therapy. HIV mutates rapidly and quickly develops drug-
resistant mutants that evade therapy. MBT 413 Nano Biotechnology Lecture 27 Nanomedicine today
Immunotoxins Are Targeted Cell Killers Nanomedicine - more specific approach, designing toxins that
target a single cell type, such as the cells in a tumor. a hybrid molecule that links a specific antibody,
such as a tumor targeting antibody, to a cell-killing toxin. an immunotoxin that will seek out cancer cells
and kill them, while passing up healthy cells. Immunotoxins are suicide nanorobots, designed to perform
their single function one time, killing the target cell and being destroyed themselves in the process. MBT
413 Nano Biotechnology Lecture 27 Nanomedicine today Artificial Blood Saves Lives Whole blood has a
short shelf life and must be carefully matched for blood type. possibility of viral contamination Purified
hemoglobin has many potential advantages as a blood substitute No blood typing Can be sterilized for
pathogens Stored for 1 yr. highly toxic to the kidneys Hemoglobin is normally a tetramer but dissociates
into dimers when free in the blood. These dimers are rapidly filtered by the kidney, where it
accumulates to toxic concentrations. MBT 413 Nano Biotechnology Lecture 27 Nano medicine today
Artificial Blood Saves Lives Researchers have also explored encapsulation of hemoglobin within artificial
containers, effectively building a custom, no immunogenic red blood cell. Hemoglobin has been
successfully enclosed in liposomes. use of biodegradable polymers Antioxidant enzymes such as
superoxide dismutase, catalase, and meth reeducates maybe included inside the capsule. Hemoglobin is
reactive and continually generates toxic oxygen radicals. MBT 413 Nano Biotechnology Lecture 27 Nano
medicine today General Medicine Is Changing into Personalized Medicine a new paradigm of
personalized medicine Based on the genetic makeup of each individual patient, therapies may be
tailored - To prescribe the most effective forms of treatment and To minimize potential side effects with
the particular variants of enzymes found in each person’s cells

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

 One challenge of working at the nanoscale is how to prevent contamination of the materials
being characterized or fabricated.
 Cleanrooms are special facilities designed to keep airborne particles out.
 Special instruments are needed for characterizing and manipulating materials at the nanoscale
scanning tunneling microscopes and atomic force microscopes

NANO BIOTECH IN CANCER TREATMENT

Interaction between biological and non-biological devices??? – Interactions with biological as well as
non-biological substrates – Toxicity – How does nature