Nanotechnology and multipotent adult progenitor cells in Reparative Medicine: therapeutic perspectives / Nanotecnologia e as células progenitoras adultas multipotentes na Medicina Reparativa: perspectivas terapêuticas

ABSTRACT The biology of stem cells is one of the most dynamic and promising fields of the biological sciences, since it is the basis for the development of organisms. Its biological complexity demands efforts from several lines of research aimed mainly at its therapeutic use. Nanotechnology has been emerging as a new field of study, which shows great potential in the treatment of various diseases. This new area of health has been called "Nanomedicine" or "Bionanotechnology", which can be applied in Medicine by transport and drug delivery systems, robotic tools to be used in diagnostic and surgical processes, nanobiomaterials, gene therapies, nanobiomedical devices, among others. Because stem cells and Nanotechnology are two areas of extremely promising science, a new field of study, called "stem cell Nanotechnology", has gradually emerged. In this, Nanotechnology is used to help the stem cells apply their therapeutic potential in the treatment, cure, and repair of the damaged tissues, in an effective and safe way. In this way, stem cell Nanotechnology has generated great interest, since it may result in significant contributions to Regenerative Medicine and tissue engineering. The present work aims to present the state-of-the-art regarding its therapeutic use in Human Medicine.

RESUMO A biologia das células-tronco é um dos campos mais dinâmicos e promissores das ciências biológicas, pois é a base do desenvolvimento dos organismos. Sua complexidade biológica demanda esforços de diversas linhas de pesquisa, visando principalmente à sua utilização terapêutica. A Nanotecnologia surge como um novo campo de estudo, o qual demonstra grande potencial no que tange ao tratamento de diversas doenças. Esta nova área da saúde vem sendo denominada "Nanomedicina" ou "Bionanotecnologia", a qual pode ser aplicada na Medicina por meio da utilização de sistemas de transporte e liberação de fármacos, ferramentas robóticas a serem utilizadas em processos de diagnóstico e cirurgia, nanobiomateriais, terapias gênicas, dispositivos nanobiomédicos, entre outros. Em razão das células-tronco e a Nanotecnologia serem duas áreas da ciência extremante promissoras, um novo campo de estudo, denominado "Nanotecnologia das células-tronco", surge gradativamente. Neste, a Nanotecnologia é utilizada de forma a auxiliar as células-tronco a exercerem seu potencial terapêutico no tratamento, na cura e na reparação dos tecidos lesionados, de forma eficaz e segura. A Nanotecnologia das células-tronco tem gerado grande interesse, podendo resultar em contribuições significativas na Medicina Regenerativa e na engenharia de tecidos. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo apresentar o estado da arte visando à sua utilização terapêutica na Medicina Humana.

Nanoimaging in cardiovascular diseases: Current state of the art.

Nanotechnology has been integrated into healthcare system in terms of diagnosis as well as therapy. The massive impact of imaging nanotechnology has a deeper intervention in cardiology i.e. as contrast agents , to target vulnerable plaques with site specificity and in a theranostic approach to treat these plaques, stem cell delivery in necrotic myocardium, etc. Thus cardiovascular nanoimaging is not limited to simple diagnosis but also can help real time tracking during therapy as well as surgery. The present review provides a comprehensive description of the molecular imaging techniques for cardiovascular diseases with the help of nanotechnology and the potential clinical implications of nanotechnology for future applications.

Developments in the use of nanocapsules in oncology

The application of nanotechnology to medicine can provide important benefits, especially in oncology, a fact that has resulted in the emergence of a new field called Nanooncology. Nanoparticles can be engineered to incorporate a wide variety of chemotherapeutic or diagnostic agents. A nanocapsule is a vesicular system that exhibits a typical core-shell structure in which active molecules are confined to a reservoir or within a cavity that is surrounded by a polymer membrane or coating. Delivery systems based on nanocapsules are usually transported to a targeted tumor site and then release their contents upon change in environmental conditions. An effective delivery of the therapeutic agent to the tumor site and to the infiltrating tumor cells is difficult to achieve in many cancer treatments. Therefore, new devices are being developed to facilitate intratumoral distribution, to protect the active agent from premature degradation and to allow its sustained and controlled release. This review focuses on recent studies on the use of nanocapsules for cancer therapy and diagnosis.

Retos de este siglo: nanotecnología y salud / Challeges of the present century: nanotechnology and health

La medicina y la ciencia han avanzado juntas a lo largo de la historia. Con el comienzo de este siglo se han comenzado a obtener resultados relevantes en las aplicaciones de la nanotecnología en la medicina. La medicina se presenta como un mercado potencial del mundo nano con aplicaciones tan revolucionarias que podrían lograr incluso la cura del cáncer, tratar las enfermedades según las características específicas de los pacientes y lograr una mejoría más que sustancial del modo de vida de la población. Cuba no está ajena a esta realidad y para ello confía en el gran potencial científico que ha formado en estos años de Revolución y en los convenios que mantiene con diferentes países en aras de garantizar el dominio de esta nueva tecnología. En este artículo se aborda la escala de trabajo de las nanotecnologías, además de brindar la definición propuesta para este término por las instituciones líderes en este campo. Se brinda información de las diferentes áreas que comprende la nanomedicina y se ofrece una breve panorámica de la nanomedicina a nivel mundial y en Cuba, y sus posibles implicaciones negativas

Medicine and science have been walking together through human history. With the beginning of the century, many important scientific results have emerged in nanotechnology applied to medicine. Medicine is a potential market of nano world, with revolutionary implications that could bring, i.e. the cure of cancer, or the treatment of different diseases according to the specific characteristics of each patient, achieving a substantially better quality of life of the citizens. Cuba has a great opportunity in this new area due to its scientific potential in biomedical applications and its exchange with different countries to guarantee the domain of this new technology. This article addresses the working scale of nanotechnology, as well as provides the proposed definition of this term by the leading institutions in this field. It also provides information on the different areas comprising nanomedicine and gives a brief overview of nanomedicine worldwide and in Cuba, and its possible negative implications

Novel applications of nanotechnology in medicine.

Current modalities of diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, especially cancer have major limitations such as poor sensitivity or specificity and drug toxicities respectively. Newer and improved methods of cancer detection based on nanoparticles are being developed. They are used as contrast agents, fluorescent materials, molecular research tools and drugs with targeting antibodies. Paramagnetic nanoparticles, quantum dots, nanoshells and nanosomes are few of the nanoparticles used for diagnostic purposes. Drugs with high toxic potential like cancer chemotherapeutic drugs can be given with a better safety profile with the utility of nanotechnology. These can be made to act specifically at the target tissue by active as well as passive means. Other modalities of therapy such as heat induced ablation of cancer cells by nanoshells and gene therapy are also being developed. This review discusses the various platforms of nanotechnology being used in different aspects of medicine like diagnostics and therapeutics. The potential toxicities of the nanoparticles are also described in addition to hypothetical designs such as respirocytes and microbivores. The safety of nanomedicine is not yet fully defined. However, it is possible that nanomedicine in future would play a crucial role in the treatment of human diseases and also in enhancement of normal human physiology.

La nanotecnología y sus posibilidades de aplicación en el campo científico-tecnológico: [revisión] / Nanotechnology and its possibilities of application in the scientific-technological field: [review]

Introducción La nanotecnología llega y son los hombres y mujeres, quienes deben desarrollar y gestionar los avances que traerá. Objetivos Ofrecer información acerca de las aplicaciones de la nanotecnología para contribuir a la motivación de los profesionales de la salud de pregrado y posgrado en la adquisición y profundización del conocimiento de esta materia. Fuente de datos Se revisó la literatura y se recopilaron 26 referencias, la mayoría en formato digital y la minoría, de revistas científicas impresa publicadas entre el 2006 y el 2007. Resultados Se define la nanotecnología como la posibilidad de manejar las cosas a escala molecular, atómica y subatómica. Entre sus campos de aplicación se incluyen: medioambiente, exploración espacial, tecnologías de la comunicación e informática, higiene y salud pública, entre otras. En la actualidad, la comunidad científica internacional la cataloga como uno de los proyectos más innovadores y ambiciosos de la ciencia moderna.La aplicación de la nanotecnología para el diagnóstico, tratamiento, monitoreo y control de sistemas biológicos es denominada nanomedicina, la cual agrupa tres áreas principales: el nanodiagnóstico, la liberación controlada de fármacos y la medicina regenerativa. En Cuba, se trabaja en el desarrollo de equipos y metodologías de caracterización de materiales manométricos para la industria biotecnológica. Conclusiones La nanotecnología puede representar una oportunidad para un país como Cuba, que posee un importante capital humano preparado para enfrentar retos en el campo científico-tecnológico con un enfoque solidario y alto sentido ético.

Introduction Nanotechnology is coming and it is the task of men and women to develop and manage the advancements that it will bring. Objectives To provide information about the nanotechnology application in order to encourage health professionals at undergraduate and graduate levels to acquire and to delve into the knowledge on this subject. Data source Literature review in which 26 references were collected, mostly in digital format, whereas the rest was taken from printed scientific journals in 2006 and 2007. Results Nanotechnology is defined as the possibility of handling things at molecular, atomic and subatomic scale. The main fields of application are environment, spatial exploration, communication and informatics technologies, hygiene and public health, among others. At present, the international scientific community considers nanotechnology as one of the most innovative and ambitious projects of the modern science. The application of nanotechnology in diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and control of the biological systems is called nanomedicine, which embraces three main areas, that is, nanodiagnosis, controlled liberalization of drugs, and regenerative medicine. Cuba works for the development of pieces of equipment and methodologies to characterize nanometric materials aimed at the biotechnological industry. Conclusions Nanotechnology may represent a good opportunity for a country like Cuba with a great deal of skilled human resources capable of facing challenges in the scientific-technological field from a highly ethical and solidarity approach.