Nanomedicine is the medical use of molecular-sized particles to deliver drugs, heat, light or other substances to specific cells in the human body. Engineering particles to be used in this way allows detection and treatment of diseases or injuries within the targeted cells, thereby minimizing the damage to healthy cells in the body.
 Earlier detection of cancer means a better chance of effective treatment. The five-year survival rate for a patient with Stage I breast cancer is 98 percent, while the survival rate for later detection, stage II or greater, drops to as low as 16 percent. University of Missouri-Columbia experts, are working together to use ultra tiny nanoparticles to detect and treat cancer at the molecular level. The researchers involved with this project say early detection of all types of cancer is the primary motivation for this resaerch.
Scientists are working now to create nanostructures that act as new kinds of drugs for treating cancer, Parkinson’s and cardiovascular disease; to engineer nanomaterials for use as artificial tissues that would replace diseased kidneys and livers, and even repair nerve damage; create implants that restore vision and hearing, and build new prosthetic limbs.
 
