A portrait of nanomedicine and its bioethical implications

Harnessing nanotechnology for cancer treatment

Nanotechnology has become a groundbreaking innovation force in cancer therapy, offering innovative solutions to the limitations of conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. By manipulating materials at the nanoscale, researchers have developed nanocarriers capable of targeted drug delivery, improving therapeutic efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity. Nanoparticles like liposomes, dendrimers, and polymeric nanomaterials have shown significant promise in delivering chemotherapeutic agents directly to tumor sites, enhancing drug bioavailability and minimizing damage to healthy tissues. In addition to drug delivery, with the utilization of tools such as quantum dots and nanosensors that enables more precise identification of cancer biomarkers, nanotechnology is also playing a pivotal role in early cancer detection and diagnosis. Furthermore, nanotechnology-based therapeutic strategies, including photothermal therapy, gene therapy and immunotherapy are offering novel ways to combat cancer by selectively targeting tumor cells and enhancing the immune response. Nevertheless, despite these progressions, obstacles still persist, particularly in the clinical translation of these technologies. Issues such as nanoparticle toxicity, biocompatibility, and the complexity of regulatory approval hinder the widespread adoption of nanomedicine in oncology. This review discusses different applications of nanotechnology in cancer therapy, highlighting its potential and the hurdles to its clinical implementation. Future research needs to concentrate on addressing these obstacles to unlock the full potential of nanotechnology in providing personalized, effective, and minimally invasive cancer treatments.

The application of nanomedicine in clinical settings

As nanotechnology develops in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, information and communication, and medical care, it has shown great promises. In recent years, medical nanorobots have made significant progress in terms of the selection of materials, fabrication methods, driving force sources, and clinical applications, such as nanomedicine. It involves bypassing biological tissues and delivering drugs directly to lesions and target cells using nanorobots, thus increasing concentration. It has also proved useful for monitoring disease progression, complementary diagnosis, and minimally invasive surgery. Also, we examine the development of nanomedicine and its applications in medicine, focusing on the use of nanomedicine in the treatment of various major diseases, including how they are generalized and how they are modified. The purpose of this review is to provide a summary and discussion of current research for the future development in nanomedicine.

Nanotechnology applications in rheumatology

Nanomedicine (NM) is the medical use of nanotechnology (NT). NT is the study and control of nanoscale structures (between approximately 1 and 100 nm). Nanomaterials are created by manipulating atoms and molecules at the nanoscale, resulting in novel physical and chemical properties. With its targeted tissue delivery capabilities, NT has enabled molecular modulation of the immune response and underlying inflammatory responses in individuals with rheumatic diseases (RD). NM has enabled targeted drug delivery, reduced adverse effects on non-target organs, raised drug concentration in synovial tissue, and slowed the progression of immune-mediated RD such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Thus, NM has evolved in rheumatology prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. Animal models have proven superior outcomes to conventional techniques of treating specific illnesses. Nanodiamond (ND) immunomodulatory applications have been proposed as an alternative to traditional nanoparticles in the diagnosis and treatment of RA due to their small size and ability to be removed from the body without causing harm to the patient's organs, such as the liver. However, human clinical NM needs more research. We conducted a literature review to assess the present role of NM in clinical rheumatology, describing its current and future applications in the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases.

Nanoparticle Based Combination Treatments for Targeting Multiple Hallmarks of Cancer

Treatment of cancer remains one of the most challenging tasks facing the healthcare system. Cancer affects the lives of millions of people and is often fatal. Current treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapies or some combinations of these. However, recurrence is a major problem. These treatments can be invasive with severe side effects. Inefficacies in treatments are a result of the complex and variable biology of cancerous cells. Malignant tumor cells and normal functioning cells share many of the same biological characteristics but the main difference is that in cancer cells there is in an overuse and over expression of these biological characteristics. These pertinent characteristics can be grouped into eight hallmarks, as illustrated by Hanahan and Weinberg. These characteristics include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, activating invasion and metastasis, reprogramming energy metabolism, and evading immune destruction. In order to provide a noninvasive, effective treatment, delivery methods must be explored in order to transport cytotoxic agents used for targeting the hallmarks of cancer in a safer and more effective fashion. The use of nanoparticles as drug delivery carriers provides an effective method in which multiple cytotoxic agents can be safely delivered to cancer tissue to simultaneously target multiple hallmarks. By targeting multiple hallmarks of cancer at once, the efficacy of cancer treatments could be improved drastically. This review explores the uses and efficacy of combination therapies using nanoparticles that can simultaneously target multiple hallmarks of cancer.

Rethinking risk assessment for emerging technology first-in-human trials

Recent progress in synthetic biology (SynBio) has enabled the development of novel therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of human disease. In the near future, first-in-human trials (FIH) will be indicated. FIH trials mark a key milestone in the translation of medical SynBio applications into clinical practice. Fostered by uncertainty of possible adverse events for trial participants, a variety of ethical concerns emerge with regards to SynBio FIH trials, including 'risk' minimization. These concerns are associated with any FIH trial, however, due to the novelty of the approach, they become more pronounced for medical applications of emerging technologies (emTech) like SynBio. To minimize potential harm for trial participants, scholars, guidelines, regulations and policy makers alike suggest using 'risk assessment' as evaluation tool for such trials. Conversely, in the context of emTech FIH trials, we believe it to be at least questionable to contextualize uncertainty of potential adverse events as 'risk' and apply traditional risk assessment methods. Hence, this issue needs to be discussed to enable alterations of the evaluation process before the translational phase of SynBio applications begins. In this paper, we will take the opportunity to start the debate and highlight how a misunderstanding of the concept of risk, and the possibilities and limitations of risk assessment, respectively, might impair decision-making by the relevant regulatory authorities and research ethics committees, and discuss possible solutions to tackle the issue.

Nanomedicine concepts in the general medical curriculum: initiating a discussion

Various applications of nanoscale science to the field of medicine have resulted in the ongoing development of the subfield of nanomedicine. Within the past several years, there has been a concurrent proliferation of academic journals, textbooks, and other professional literature addressing fundamental basic science research and seminal clinical developments in nanomedicine. Additionally, there is now broad consensus among medical researchers and practitioners that along with personalized medicine and regenerative medicine, nanomedicine is likely to revolutionize our definitions of what constitutes human disease and its treatment. In light of these developments, incorporation of key nanomedicine concepts into the general medical curriculum ought to be considered. Here, I offer for consideration five key nanomedicine concepts, along with suggestions regarding the manner in which they might be incorporated effectively into the general medical curriculum. Related curricular issues and implications for medical education also are presented.

Nanotechnology, neuromodulation & the immune response: discourse, materiality & ethics

Drawing upon the American Pragmatic tradition in philosophy and the more recent work of philosopher Karen Barad, this paper examines how scientific problems are both obscured, and resolved by our use of language describing the natural world. Using the example of the immune response engendered by neural implants inserted in the brain, the author explains how this discourse has been altered by the advent of nanotechnology methods and devices which offer putative remedies that might temper the immune response in the central nervous system. This emergent nanotechnology has altered this problem space and catalyzed one scientific community to acknowledge a material reality that was always present, if not fully acknowledged.

Concepts of risk in nanomedicine research

Risk takes center stage in ethical debates over nanomedical technologies. Yet concepts of risk may hold different meanings, and they are embedded within particular political, economic, and social contexts. This article discusses framings of risk in debates over medical innovations such as nanomedicine, and draws attention to organizational and institutional forms of risk which are less visible in bioethical policy debates. While significant, possibly unique risks may exist in specific nano-based products, risk may also arise from the very processes and procedures that develop, test, and oversee any novel technology. This supports recommendations to coordinate efforts through an interagency Working Group and a Secretary-level Advisory Committee to provide flexibility and sensitivity to emerging issues of concern.