Authors: Pierstorff, Erik; Ho, Dean

Source: Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Volume 7, Number 9, September 2007 , pp. 2949-2968(20)

Publisher: American Scientific Publishers

Abstract:

The advent of medically-relevant technologies forged at the interface of life science and engineering will undoubtedly play a major role in shaping the next-generation of experimental as well as clinical medicine. This review will explore the development of a suite of platform modalities that can be employed towards medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Their specific relevance and impact towards cardiovascular medicine will be realized through biotic-abiotic coalescence, or the bridging of biological materials such as cells and proteins with non-biological materials such as polymers or solid-state devices. These modalities include: (1) Real-Time Cellular Interrogation Technology, which enables real-time investigation, or examination of cellular signal transduction and gene expression as a response to environmental conditions; (2) Diagnostic Devices, which include the fabrication of micro/nano sensors for the targeting of molecules indicative of cellular disorders; and (3) Therapeutics, or the engineering of membrane mimetics, or biomolecule-functionalized thin films as strategies for synthetic biological regenerative medicine, as well as therapeutically-active polymers as biocompatible coatings for implants, to name a few. These approaches collectively represent a universally-applicable, and comprehensive diagnostic-treatment strategy whereby cardiovascular disorders, or medical diseases in general can be diagnosed, monitored, and fundamentally understood to unprecedented levels. In turn, these conditions can be therapeutically addressed using drug-releasing nanostructured polymers with minimal intrusion upon normal cellular behavior, or biologically-active hybrid membrane devices based upon the interface of proteins with robust biomimetic polymers.

Keywords: BIO-DETECTION; THERAPEUTICS; NANOMEDICINE; NANOMATERIALS; DIAGNOSTICS

Document Type: Review article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1166/jnn.2007.893

Publication date: 2007-09-01

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• Journal for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (JNN) is an international and multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal with a wide-ranging coverage, consolidating research activities in all areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology into a single and unique reference source. JNN is the first cross-disciplinary journal to publish original full research articles, rapid communications of important new scientific and technological findings, timely state-of-the-art reviews with author's photo and short biography, and current research news encompassing the fundamental and applied research in all disciplines of science, engineering and medicine.
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