7 - Nanomedicine: Promises and challenges

Abstract

Nanomedicine deserves much of the interest and excitement it has generated in both the scientific community and the public. A wide range of innovations in nanomedicine stands to impact nearly every medical specialty. Owing to the potential for improving the quality and duration of life, nanomaterials have been proposed for use in diagnosis, tissue engineering, genomics, proteomics, and other areas of biomedicine. Nanomaterials from laboratory sites to clinical use are also very important. Many challenges are needed to overcome the nanomaterials for use in nanomedicines. Nanomaterials can address some of the most challenging problems of medical diagnosis and therapy. Some questions have been raised about the possible toxicities of nanomaterials. Therefore, this requires contributions from both physical and biological scientists. Communication between practitioners of both disciplines is a key to the success of nanomedicines.