Applications of Nanotechnology in Veterinary Medicine

Vikrama Balaji

doi:10.5455/vetworld.2010.477-480

Abstract

In the recent years the application of nanotechnology in human and veterinary medicine has shown a great progress. Scientists foresee that this progress in the field of nanotechnology could represent a major breakthrough in addressing some of the technical challenges faced by human and veterinary profession. While the great hopes of nanomedicine are disease detection and new pharmaceuticals for humans, veterinary applications of nanotechnology may become the proving ground for untried and more controversial techniques from nanocapsule vaccines to sex selection in breeding. Nanotechnology has the potential to impact not only the way we live, but also the way we practice veterinary medicine. Examples of potential applications in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine include disease diagnosis and treatment delivery systems, new tools for molecular and cellular breeding, the security of animal food products, modification of animal waste, pathogen detection, and many more. Existing research has demonstrated the feasibility of introducing nanoshells and nanotubes into animals to seek and destroy targeted cells. These building blocks of nanotechnology are expected to be integrated into systems over the next couple of decades on a commercial basis. This article describes some of the principal areas of nanotechnology currently being undertaken in the world of medicine.The main purposes of this article are to trigger the interest of discoveries of veterinary profession in the field of nanotechnology and to provide a glimpse at potential important targets for nanotechnology in the field of veterinary medicine. Also it is important to mention that because nanotechnology is at a very early stage of development, it may take several years to perform the necessary research and conduct clinical trials for obtaining meaningful results. This tool as it develops over the next several decades will have major implications in veterinary and animal science.

Highlights

In the era of new health related technologies, veterinary profession will enter a phase of new and incredible transformations
The profession of Veterinary Medicine will be substantially different in 25 years from that of today
It can be hoped that nanotechnology, in addition to contributing to the creation of changes in veterinary profession, will be one of the technologies that help practitioners stay abreast of and manage these developments

Summary

Introduction

In the era of new health related technologies, veterinary profession will enter a phase of new and incredible transformations. When encapsulation materials are produced from nanoparticles in the 1 to 100 nanometer size range instead of bigger micro particles (existing molecules), they have a larger surface area for the same volume, smaller pore size, improved solubility, and different structural properties. One of the most important and promising areas of medical research of today is the study of nanomaterials known as dendrimers They are synthetic polymers, a thousand times smaller than cells. Three very important properties of dendrimers make them an excellent candidate as pharmacological agents They can hold a drug's molecules in their structure and serve as a delivery vehicle. They can enter cells very and release drugs right on target.Third and most important, dendrimers don't trigger immune www.veterinaryworld.org system responses. A better immune response seems to be obtained with biodegradable nanospheres with vaccines produced by conventional methods

Diagnostic Tools

Conclusions