Nanodiagnostics is a method of using nanotechnology to identify diseases at the earliest stage possible. Using nanodiagnostics, the disease can usually be found at the level of a single unhealthy cell or single molecule. Due to the unique properties of nanoparticles,  nanodiagnostics tools are more sensitive and more specific to help identify diseases at the cell level as early as possible.

 

Nanoparticles are incredibly useful as scientists can increase the sensitivity of the technology needed to signify the presence of diseases as well as collect the necessary data to inform doctors about the stage and condition of the disease. In this manner, nanoparticles are referred to as nanodiagnostic tools. Nanoelectronics can also be incorporated in to other tools (which are not nanodiagnostic specific tools) to improve operation sensitivity.

 

There are two types of nanodiagnostics:

• In vitro: means “in glass”. This means that the testing for the disease or medical condition is being done outside the human or organism, usually in a test tube or a glass dish in a lab.

 

• In vivo: means “in the living”. This means that the testing for the disease or medical condition is being done inside the human or organism while they are alive.

 

In vitro nanodiagnostics:

New nanodiagnostics, such as a nano fluorescent marker for detecting cancer cells, can be used on a blood sample collected from a patient suspected of having a tumour. The nano fluorescent marker can be mixed with the blood sample in a test tube and analysed using a secondary medical device. If the blood sample fluoresces, it will show that there are cancer cells present in the blood sample from the patient.    

 

In vivo nanodiagnostics:

Nanodiagnostics, such magnetic nanoparticles, can be injected into a patient for in vivo detection of cancer cells. The magnetic nanoparticles can be created to bind to cancer cells in the human body and can be detected using scanning methods, such as an MRI.

 

 

In vitro nanotherapeutics (nano drugs):

For ethical reasons, when testing a new nano drug on a disease or medical condition (eg. Cancer), researchers usually start with an in vitro study (in a test tube or a glass dish in a lab).

 

For example, they might grow some cancer cells in a glass dish in the lab and then apply the new drug to these cells. They can then study the results and learn as much as possible about how the drug works and any side effects and decide whether it is safe to administer to humans.

 

This is also a great method of studying the effects of a drug because researchers can conduct experiments many times by using a large number of samples to get more accurate results.

 

In vivo nanotherapeutics (nano drugs):

Once the new nano drug has been tested through in vitro studies and it has been deemed safe to administer to living organisms, researchers conduct in vivo studies (inside living things). This is important to see how a living organism and all of the body’s systems as a whole will respond to the new drug.

 

Sometimes drugs initially appear to work well during in vitro studies in a lab dish. However, when applied in an in vivo study in a working body system, they operate unexpectedly or differently which can be detrimental to the organism. In this case, more tests and modifications to the nano drug are required in order to be deemed safe for medicinal use in live organisms.

 

In vivo studies are never first done on humans, they are usually first done in living organisms such as mice. Even though mice have a working body system, some of their biology is slightly different to humans, and drugs that appear to be safe and work well in mice, can be found to be unsafe in humans.