Bionanotechnology combination of biotechnology and nanotechnology. Find its applications in various fields Nanotherapeutics, Gene therapy , Immunotherapy, Harmless Viruses, stem cells

1. Article written and published by www.worldofchemicals.com

2.  Bionanotechnology is a division of nanotechnology
which uses biological starting materials, and it keeps
exciting opportunities to bring high-impact advances
in the field of bioengineering and medicine.

 Currently one of the two progressive areas are the
biotechnology and nanotechnology, and these two
progressive fields combination will form an interesting
new field coined as ‘Bionanotechnology’.


3.  Bionanotechnology has become an fantastic field of
research and an area of technology development. It offers
at the nanoscale (100,000 times smaller than the diameter
of the average human hair) the ability to provide insight
into the structural features of biological systems such as
cell or tissue as well as to develop nanobiomaterials/
medical units for diagnostics, therapeutics and tissue
regeneration.

 Ongoing work on bionanotechnology includes
development of nanoprobes that can characterize the
nanoscale structure and function of cells. This article
information is all about the current status of
bionanotechnology and its applications.

4.  Bionanotechnology is just a rapidly developing area of
scientific and technological opportunity that applies
the tools. It is worrried with molecular scale properties
and application of biological nanostructures.

 It is also regarded as the area of study where
nanotechnology has applications in the field of
biology and medical sciences. It became one of the
booming and exciting research fields throughout the
globe. Nevertheless, in the past few years, there also
have been some great discoveries and inventions had
occured in these type of studies.

5.  Bio-nanotechnology promises a vast array of
commercial and medical applications. Nevertheless
this is often split into therapeutic applications and
diagnostic applications.

 Nanotherapeutics
 Nanotherapeutics is an application of
bionanotechnology in which the diseases can be
treated by the use of various techniques at molecular
level. Nanotheraputics may be categorized into three
main areas of study and development

6.  Gene therapy

 Gene therapy is the usage of genes as medicine. It requires
the transfer of a therapeutic or working gene copy into
specific cells of an individual in order to fix a flawed gene
copy. It is also an experimental technique that uses genes to
treat or prevent disease. As time goes on, this process may
allow helath practitioners to treat a disorder by inserting a
gene into a patient’s cells instead of using medications or
surgery.



7.  William W. Hauswirth, and Alfred S. Lewin, researchers
from University of Florida recently i.e., on 23 January 2012
created the new gene therapy method for treating of
common form of blindness that strikes both youngsters
and adults. The process is used by them is the replacing a
deteriorating gene in the eye with a normal working copy
that supplies a protein necessary for light-sensitive cells in
the eye to function.

 The transfer of a operating gene copy into specific cells of
an individual is done by using the ‘vectors’ (Example:
Adenovirus vector) like

8.  Harmless viruses

 These are the vectors which are widely used for the genes
delivery into the target cells. Some of the viruses are well
studied by scientists and they can be easily and quickly
altered with the desired genes. These viruses are even
capable of inserting the gene into the genetic makeup of
the cell.

 After the gene is moved into to the target cell it will starts
functioning by issue the instructions necessary for the cell
to make the protein that was previously missing or altered.

9.  Stem cells

 Stem cells are the second type of vectors that are used
by the scientists. Stem cells have the capability of
separate or develop into cells with different functions.

 In this technique, stem cells are manipulated in the lab
to facilitate the acceptance of new genes, and this
technique could make the previously missed or altered
genes which are effective to chemotherapy.

10.  immunotherapy

 Immunotherapy is defined as the treating the disease
by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune
response. It is therapy that uses certain parts of the
immune system to fight diseases.

 This can be done through two ways

11.  Immunotherapy
 Stimulating our own immune system to function harder or
better (Active immunotherapy)
 Providing you immune system components, such as manmade immune system proteins (Passive immunotherapy)

 Now a day’s Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) are generally
usefull tools for immunotherapy. Monoclonal antibody
therapy uses antibodies which are made in the lab rather
than by a person's own immune system. After the
antibodies are given, they can then recruit other parts of
the immune system to destroy the disease causing cells.

12.  Bionanotehcnology has become a reality. It uses biological
starting material to formulate devices. The major aim of
bionanotechnology is to create tools that may study living
molecules and help diagnose and cure disease. This is really
possible due to the sheer potential of this technology and
nanotechnology as a whole.

 The technology itself has created excitement in the
industry and people are reporting new discoveries each day.
As time goes on with advancement in this technology, one
can see that computer chips can be inserted in living cells
to cure diseases.


13.  By 2015, the global nanotechnology market is expected
to acheive $1 trillion of which bionanotechnology is set
to become an important component. Though still in
its research and development stage,
bionanotechnology is poised to earn high revenues
with several commercially viable products in the
pipeline.

 Bionanotechnology is a subject that will gain constant
attention as people realize the R&D benefits for
betterment of mankind.

14.  [1] Shivani Choudhary, Eliezer Geisler, Nilmini
Wickramasinghe, The Current State of
Bionanotechnology, Available from http://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/12962/