Nanoscience, nanotechnology, and disruptive technologies in the context of precision medicine

Abstract

Health care is experiencing a paradigm shift as regards disease diagnosis and management aimed at bringing precision medicine and care to those in need. For this purpose, pure sciences have allied with nanoscience, nanotechnology, and other converging/disruptive technologies to assume such a challenging undertaking. This paper illustrates how such convergence can generate solutions without precedents in healthcare, for example, the potential of electrochemical nanobiosensors for monitoring pathogens and multiparametric biomarkers at different molecular levels and elucidating an individual’s health status in a personalized manner. It also gives examples of electrochemical nanobiosensors explored for diagnostics, their potential for prognostics, and potentially assessing the risk of complications in patients. In this context, intelligent diagnostics play a crucial role in healthcare 4.0, as they may go from smart data to massive diagnostic test devices analyzed by big data analytics that benefit from converging technologies such as the internet of things, machine learning, deep learning, and smartphones, among other cutting-edge converging/disruptive technologies. The work highlights the potential of functional nanocarriers for site-specific and controlled drug delivery as a branch of precision medicine that promises to revolutionize healthcare. Finally, it includes some reflections on translational medicine, concluding remarks, and challenges to massively bring this revolutionary new technology to the global health systems.