๐ Topic 03 of 6 ยท Chapter 08 ยท Nanotechnology & Material Science
Nanomedicine โ Drug Delivery & Cancer Treatment
Targeted drug delivery, nanoparticles, liposomes, nano-diagnostics โ complete notes for UPSC & PSC exams.
๐ Nanomedicine Applications
- Targeted Drug Delivery โ nanoparticles carry drugs directly to diseased cells (cancer cells); reduces side effects on healthy cells
- Liposomes โ nano-sized lipid vesicles; encapsulate drugs; liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) for cancer
- Nano-diagnostics โ gold nanoparticles for rapid disease detection; COVID-19 rapid tests
- Nano-vaccines โ nanoparticles as vaccine carriers; mRNA vaccines use lipid nanoparticles
- Nano-surgery โ nanobots for targeted surgery (future)
- Medical Imaging โ quantum dots for fluorescent imaging; better than conventional dyes
๐ Liposomes โ Drug Delivery
- Spherical structures made of lipid bilayers (like cell membranes)
- Encapsulate drugs; protect from degradation; improve drug solubility
- Can be engineered to target specific cells (cancer cells)
- Liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) โ approved cancer drug; reduces cardiotoxicity
- mRNA vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna) use lipid nanoparticles to deliver mRNA
โญ Key Facts:
โข Nanomedicine = targeted drug delivery = nanoparticles for cancer
โข Liposomes = lipid vesicles = encapsulate drugs = Doxil (cancer drug)
โข mRNA vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna) use lipid nanoparticles
โข Gold nanoparticles = rapid disease detection = COVID-19 tests
โข Quantum dots = fluorescent imaging = better than conventional dyes
โข Nanomedicine = targeted drug delivery = nanoparticles for cancer
โข Liposomes = lipid vesicles = encapsulate drugs = Doxil (cancer drug)
โข mRNA vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna) use lipid nanoparticles
โข Gold nanoparticles = rapid disease detection = COVID-19 tests
โข Quantum dots = fluorescent imaging = better than conventional dyes