Medical applications of nanotechnology.

In the true spirit of interdisciplinary expansion of scientific knowledge, results from the applicability of nanotechnology in the fields of physical sciences and chemistry have now matured enough to extend into biology and medicine. The advances in nanotechnology in the past decade have offered novel opportunities for sensing clinically relevant markers, molecular dsease imaging and tools for therapeutic intervention, which have a potential to transform the field of medicine. We describe the currently available components of the nano-toolbox, which are likely to be incorporated in clinical practice in the forseeable future. These include nanowires, cantilevers and nanopores for sensing, naoparticles and quantum dots for molecular imaging and nanoparticles for therapy. We also discuss the issue of toxicity of these nanomaterials and other limitations in the application of nanotechnology to medicine.

Biomarker profiling for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic management.

The basis of cancer treatment has come a long way since the days of the the classical TNM staging. Identification of novel biomarkers for various cancers and their specific correlations with prognosis have increased our understanding of carcinogenesis and tumour progression on the molecular level. Recent advances in technologies for simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers have opened up new avenues for multimarker profiling on a more individual scale. We summarize the key molecular determinants and their prognostic role in various cancers, and examine the available techniques for analysing biomarker panels that can have a major impact on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.