Advances in nanomedical applications: diagnostic, therapeutic, immunization, and vaccine production

Abstract

In the last decades, nanotechnology-based tools started to draw the attention of research worldwide. They offer economic, rapid, effective, and highly specific solutions for most medical issues. As a result, the international demand of nanomaterials is expanding very rapidly. It was estimated that the market of nanomaterials was about $2.6 trillion in 2015. In medicine, various applications of nanotechnology proved their potential to revolutionize medical diagnosis, immunization, treatment, and even health care products. The loading substances can be coupled with a large set of nanoparticles (NPs) by many means: chemically (conjugation), physically (encapsulation), or via adsorption. The use of the suitable loading nanosubstance depends on the application purpose. They can be used to deliver various chemicals (drugs, chemotherapeutic agents, or imaging substances), or biological substances (antigens, antibodies, RNA, or DNA) through endocytosis. They can even be used to deliver light and heat to their target cells when needed. The present review provides a brief overview about the structure and shape of available NPs and discusses their applications in the medical sciences.