Nanotechnology's Applications and Potential in Various Fields

Our plain-English summary of Nanotechnology's Applications and Potential in Various Fields, by A.K. Soni, R.K. Jha (Curēus, 2024).

The study

• Authors: A.K. Soni, R.K. Jha
• Journal: Curēus
• Published: 2024;16(4):e59234
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 8 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Since ancient times, several sorts of nanoparticles have been employed in the quickly expanding field of nanotechnology. These features include size, shape, and chemical as well as physical properties. Because of their small size and huge surface area, carbon-based nanoparticles, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene oxide, and carbon-based quantum dots, have attracted a lot of attention in a variety of sectors, including biomedical applications. Lipid bilayers form the spherical vesicles known as liposomes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents are iron oxide nanoparticles. These materials are perfect for drug and delivery of genes, bioimaging, and bone repair because of their remarkable mechanical, electrical, visual, and chemical properties. However, concerns about potential asbestos-related diseases have arisen due to their length-to-width aspect ratio. Ceramic nanoparticles, on the other hand, are a common material in daily life and play a crucial role in bone repair, multiscale hybridisation, and aerospace structures. These nanoparticles can enhance osseointegration and bone development by mimicking the nanocomposition and nanoscale characteristics of bone tissue and enhance osteoconductive and osteoinductive capacities. Ceramic nanoparticles, however, have the potential to generate oxidative stress, which can result in irritation of the reticuloendothelial system, cytotoxicity to the heart, liver, and lungs, as well as toxicity to the cells that are attached. Additionally, oxidative stress, cell damage, and genotoxicity might result from the generation of free radicals by ceramic nanoparticles. Metal nanoparticles exhibit linear optical properties similar to molecular systems but arise from a different physical process. Semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) are made from various compounds, such as silicon and germanium. Polyandry nanoparticles are particles approximately 10 and 10000 nanometers (nm) in size that can contain active substances. They have applications in vaccine delivery, gene therapy, and polymer nanoparticles (nanomedicine) for therapeutic applications.

Copyright © 2024, Soni et al.

In plain English

This article was a review of nanotechnology and its uses, not an original study. Its two authors were at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Wardha, India. The authors reported searching PubMed and Google Scholar from April to May 2023. One reviewer screened the papers and 42 articles were included; the authors gave publication dates of 1998 to 2022, but their table lists papers from 2023. The review described several kinds of nanoparticles (carbon-based, ceramic, metal, semiconductor, polymeric and lipid) and their uses. Asbestos was mentioned only briefly, once in the abstract and once in the section on carbon-based nanoparticles. The authors wrote that there is a fear that carbon nanotubes might lead to asbestos-related disorders such as mesothelioma (described as pleural cancer) or lung interstitial fibrosis, because of a length-to-width aspect ratio they likened to asbestos fibres. The review studied no asbestos-exposed people and gave no data on this concern. It also described inflammation and oxidative stress as reported harms of ceramic nanoparticles. The authors concluded that nanotechnology could transform many fields, naming the potential toxicity of nanoparticles among its challenges.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Literature review of nanotechnology applications, with a database search and screening by a single reviewer
• Who was studied: 42 published articles retrieved from PubMed and Google Scholar. The authors state publication dates of 1998 to 2022, although Table 1 lists two included papers dated 2023 (Abel et al. and Yuwen et al.). No human or animal subjects were studied.
• Exposure: Engineered nanoparticles (carbon-based, ceramic, metal, semiconductor, polymeric, lipid). The review studied no asbestos exposure and named no asbestos fiber types. It mentioned asbestos fibres only in comparison with the shape of carbon nanotubes.
• Main results:
  • The abstract stated, without giving data, that concerns about potential asbestos-related diseases have arisen because of the length-to-width aspect ratio of carbon-based nanomaterials
  • The carbon-based nanoparticles section stated, without giving data, that there is a fear that carbon nanotubes might cause asbestos-related disorders such as mesothelioma (described as pleural cancer) or lung interstitial fibrosis
  • The review described inflammation and oxidative stress as common side effects of ceramic nanoparticles
  • The review said carbon-based nanomaterials are attracting interest for drug and gene delivery, and noted that this work is still in its infancy
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that nanotechnology is a powerful tool capable of transforming many fields. They listed the potential toxicity of nanoparticles, environmental effects and ethical issues among its challenges.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Aspect Ratio (Length-to-diameter ratio), Oxidative Stress, Genotoxicity.

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