Nanomedicine

Overview

What if doctors could search out and destroy the very first cancer cells that would otherwise have caused a tumor to develop in the body? What if a broken part of a cell could be removed and replaced with a miniature biological machine? What if pumps the size of molecules could be implanted to deliver life-saving medicines precisely when and where they are needed? These scenarios may sound unbelievable, but they are the long-term goals of the NIH Roadmap's Nanomedicine initiative that we anticipate will yield medical benefits as early as 10 years from now.

Nanomedicine, an offshoot of nanotechnology, refers to highly specific medical intervention at the molecular scale for curing disease or repairing damaged tissues, such as bone, muscle, or nerve. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, too small to be seen with a conventional lab microscope. It is at this size scale – about 100 nanometers or less – that biological molecules and structures inside living cells operate.

Nanotechnology involves the creation and use of materials and devices at the level of molecules and atoms. Research in nanotechnology began with discoveries of novel physical and chemical properties of various metallic or carbon-based materials that only appear for structures at nanometer-sized dimensions. Understanding these nanoscale properties permits engineers to build new structures and use these materials in new ways. The same holds true for the biological structures inside living cells of the body. Researchers have developed powerful tools to extensively categorize the parts of cells in vivid detail, and we know a great deal about how these intracellular structures operate. Yet, scientists have still not been able to answer questions such as, "How many?" "How big?" and "How fast?" These answers must be provided to fully understand cellular structures in order to repair them or build new "nano" structures that can safely operate inside the body. This will lead to better diagnostic tools and engineered nanoscale structures for more specific treatments of diseased or damaged tissues.

To meet these challenges, the NIH established a national network of eight Nanomedicine Development Centers, which serve as the intellectual and technological centerpiece of the NIH Nanomedicine Roadmap Initiative. These collaborative centers are staffed by multidisciplinary research teams including biologists, physicians, mathematicians, engineers and computer scientists. In the initial phase of the program (FY2005-FY2010), research is primarily directed toward gathering extensive information about the chemical and physical properties of nanoscale biological structures. As this catalogue of the interactions between individual molecules and larger structures develops, we are gaining a greater understanding of the intricate operations of molecular structures, processes, and networks inside living cells. This information is crucial to understanding nature's rules of biological design that, in turn, will enable researchers to correct defects in unhealthy cells. This research will require the development of new tools to probe and manipulate nanoscale biological structures. These tools will allow scientists to build new devices for a wide range of biomedical applications, such as detecting infectious agents or metabolic imbalances with novel, tiny sensors, replacing “broken” machinery inside cells with new nanoscale structures, or generating miniature devices that search for, and destroy, infectious agents. This initiative is an important component of the NIH Roadmap endeavor because these tools will be developed and applied, not just for a single disease or particular type of cell, but for a wide range of tissues and diseases.

A second phase for the program has recently been approved. During this phase of the Nanomedicine initiative, the acquired fundamental knowledge and developed tools will be applied to understanding and treating disease. Centers will continue to expand knowledge of the basic science of nanostructures in living cells, will gain the capability to engineer biological nanostructures, and then will apply the knowledge, tools, and devices to focus on specific target diseases. The bold, exciting challenges of this program represent a unique approach to combine nanoscale science - understanding and manipulating cellular nanostructures – with specific medical therapies.

Support for the NIH Roadmap and its initiatives is provided by the NIH Common Fund, and teams of staff across the NIH direct and oversee each initiative. Biomedical scientists who wish to discuss Grants and Funding Opportunities should contact Dr. Richard S. Fisher, Nanomedicine Project Team Leader (nano@nih.gov).

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