Nanotechnology is the creation and utilization of materials, devices, and systems through the control of matter on the nanometer-length scale (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter).
Nanobiotechnology is therefore an integration of physical sciences, molecular engineering, biology, chemistry, and biotechnology. Much nanotechnological research is still to yield products or processes that have immediate commercial applications, but this research holds considerable promise of advancements in pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries will increasingly use nanobiotechnology in the future. Applications are numerous – formulations for optimal delivery, diagnostic applications in clinical trials, high-throughput screening, precise grafting of active chemical groups in three-dimensional orientations, and more.
Nanostructures like fullerenes (large carbon-cage molecules, e.g. C60) have the potential to help with drug delivery. Miniature ‘nanobots’ (nano-robots) could carry out integrated diagnosis and therapy, with refined and minimally invasive procedures. Implants and tissue engineering processes can also be improved. Nanomedicine, once the realm of science fiction, is now very real nanodiagnostic research.
Edkal is establishing the basic technology required for this frontier research. Very soon, we will be able to develop devices that can be applied in electronic engineering, material science, IT, life science, environment, and energy. |
