Nanotechnology
Nanomedicine
The branch of medicine concerned with the application of NANOTECHNOLOGY to the prevention and treatment of disease. It involves the monitoring, repair, construction, and control of human biological systems at the molecular level, using engineered nanodevices and NANOSTRUCTURES. (From Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, vol 1, 1999).
Nanostructures
Materials which have structured components with at least one dimension in the range of 1 to 100 nanometers. These include NANOCOMPOSITES; NANOPARTICLES; NANOTUBES; and NANOWIRES.
Nanoparticles
Nanometer-sized particles that are nanoscale in three dimensions. They include nanocrystaline materials; NANOCAPSULES; METAL NANOPARTICLES; DENDRIMERS, and QUANTUM DOTS. The uses of nanoparticles include DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS and cancer targeting and imaging.
Drug Delivery Systems
Metal Nanoparticles
Nanotubes, Carbon
Nanometer-sized tubes composed mainly of CARBON. Such nanotubes are used as probes for high-resolution structural and chemical imaging of biomolecules with ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY.
Drug Carriers
Forms to which substances are incorporated to improve the delivery and the effectiveness of drugs. Drug carriers are used in drug-delivery systems such as the controlled-release technology to prolong in vivo drug actions, decrease drug metabolism, and reduce drug toxicity. Carriers are also used in designs to increase the effectiveness of drug delivery to the target sites of pharmacological actions. Liposomes, albumin microspheres, soluble synthetic polymers, DNA complexes, protein-drug conjugates, and carrier erythrocytes among others have been employed as biodegradable drug carriers.
Quantum Dots
Nanotubes
Nanometer-sized tubes composed of various substances including carbon (CARBON NANOTUBES), boron nitride, or nickel vanadate.
Dendrimers
Tree-like, highly branched, polymeric compounds. They grow three-dimensionally by the addition of shells of branched molecules to a central core. The overall globular shape and presence of cavities gives potential as drug carriers and CONTRAST AGENTS.
Rotaxanes
Complex compounds in which a dumbbell shaped molecule is encircled by a macrocycle. They are named after rota (wheel) and axis (axle). Notation with a prefix is used to indicate the number of interlocked components. They have potential use in NANOTECHNOLOGY. Rotaxanes have been made with CYCLODEXTRINS and CYCLIC ETHERS.
Silver
Silver. An element with the atomic symbol Ag, atomic number 47, and atomic weight 107.87. It is a soft metal that is used medically in surgical instruments, dental prostheses, and alloys. Long-continued use of silver salts can lead to a form of poisoning known as ARGYRIA.
Dental Deposits
Nanocapsules
Nanometer-sized, hollow, spherically-shaped objects that can be utilized to encapsulate small amounts of pharmaceuticals, enzymes, or other catalysts (Glossary of Biotechnology and Nanobiotechnology, 4th ed).
Biosensing Techniques
Green Chemistry Technology
Gold
Computers, Molecular
Diagnostic Imaging
Neoplasms
Biotechnology
Body of knowledge related to the use of organisms, cells or cell-derived constituents for the purpose of developing products which are technically, scientifically and clinically useful. Alteration of biologic function at the molecular level (i.e., GENETIC ENGINEERING) is a central focus; laboratory methods used include TRANSFECTION and CLONING technologies, sequence and structure analysis algorithms, computer databases, and gene and protein structure function analysis and prediction.
Bacillus Phages
Viruses whose host is Bacillus. Frequently encountered Bacillus phages include bacteriophage phi 29 and bacteriophage phi 105.
Dentistry
Cosmetics
Substances intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body's structure or functions. Included in this definition are skin creams, lotions, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail polishes, eye and facial makeup preparations, permanent waves, hair colors, toothpastes, and deodorants, as well as any material intended for use as a component of a cosmetic product. (U.S. Food & Drug Administration Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Office of Cosmetics Fact Sheet (web page) Feb 1995)
Surface Properties
Nanowires
DNA Packaging
The folding of an organism's DNA molecule into a compact, orderly structure that fits within the limited space of a CELL or VIRUS PARTICLE.
Microscopy, Atomic Force
A type of scanning probe microscopy in which a probe systematically rides across the surface of a sample being scanned in a raster pattern. The vertical position is recorded as a spring attached to the probe rises and falls in response to peaks and valleys on the surface. These deflections produce a topographic map of the sample.
Biological Science Disciplines
All of the divisions of the natural sciences dealing with the various aspects of the phenomena of life and vital processes. The concept includes anatomy and physiology, biochemistry and biophysics, and the biology of animals, plants, and microorganisms. It should be differentiated from BIOLOGY, one of its subdivisions, concerned specifically with the origin and life processes of living organisms.
Biocompatible Materials
Dermatology
Fullerenes
A polyhedral CARBON structure composed of around 60-80 carbon atoms in pentagon and hexagon configuration. They are named after Buckminster Fuller because of structural resemblance to geodesic domes. Fullerenes can be made in high temperature such as arc discharge in an inert atmosphere.
Magnetite Nanoparticles
Synthesized magnetic particles under 100 nanometers possessing many biomedical applications including DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS and CONTRAST AGENTS. The particles are usually coated with a variety of polymeric compounds.
Antineoplastic Protocols
Clinical protocols used to inhibit the growth or spread of NEOPLASMS.
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Zinc Oxide
DNA
A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).
Nucleic Acid Conformation
Toxicology
Biomimetics
An interdisciplinary field in materials science, ENGINEERING, and BIOLOGY, studying the use of biological principles for synthesis or fabrication of BIOMIMETIC MATERIALS.
Nanocomposites
Nanometer-scale composite structures composed of organic molecules intimately incorporated with inorganic molecules. (Glossary of Biotechnology and Nanobiotechology Terms, 4th ed)
Phototherapy
Tissue Engineering
Materials Testing
Nanofibers
Animal Testing Alternatives
Polymers
Biomimetic Materials
Materials fabricated by BIOMIMETICS techniques, i.e., based on natural processes found in biological systems.
Animal Welfare
Technology, Pharmaceutical
The application of scientific knowledge or technology to pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. It includes methods, techniques, and instrumentation in the manufacture, preparation, compounding, dispensing, packaging, and storing of drugs and other preparations used in diagnostic and determinative procedures, and in the treatment of patients.
Individualized Medicine
Environmental Health
Inhalation Exposure
Molecular Imaging
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical
Drug Compounding
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Models, Molecular
Silicon Dioxide
RNA
A polynucleotide consisting essentially of chains with a repeating backbone of phosphate and ribose units to which nitrogenous bases are attached. RNA is unique among biological macromolecules in that it can encode genetic information, serve as an abundant structural component of cells, and also possesses catalytic activity. (Rieger et al., Glossary of Genetics: Classical and Molecular, 5th ed)