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Thursday, 8th January 2009 (1712 views)

There will be an "explosion" of nanotechnology-based products used for medical applications such as diagnostics and drug delivery in the coming decade, it has been claimed.

Scientists estimate that the next ten years will bring several advancements in the field of medical nanotechnology, according to the Canadian Press.

The news provider noted that some people may have already used such applications without even realising it.

Several home pregnancy tests already use gold nanoparticles that change colour in a reaction to a pregnancy hormone, it revealed.

Thomas Webster, who is an associate professor at Brown University and the editor of the International Journal of Medicine, told the news provider that nanoparticles are more common than people may think.

"What we're finding out is that nanomaterials make up our tissues … so we are walking nano things," he said.

Recently, Hao Yan and Yan Liu from Arizona State University attached gold nanoparticles to DNA in order to create nanotubes that are useful for a range of applications.

 

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