power to resolve the majority of medical problems like infectious diseases, cancer, genetic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, etc. Nanomedicine, which refers to highly specific medical intervention at the scales of 100 nm or less for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, is one of the most promising areas of nanotechnology.
The major face of nanomedicine is “drug delivery,” which is considered as one of the most promising functions of nanotechnology and can maneuver molecules and supramolecular structures to create devices with programmed functions. The current drug delivery systems are distributed into the nano‐ and microscale systems which mainly involve the use of nanoparticles, liposomes, polymeric micelles (nanovehicles), dendrimers, nanocrystals, microchips, microtherapeutic systems, aptamer‐incorporated nanoparticles, and novel microparticles of size 100 nm. These technologies will be expanded in the future to establish efficient nano/microdrug delivery systems in a manner which will provide future necessities of medicine in terms of diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, with special focus on those microbes which are emerging as drug‐resistant.
In this book, there are 17 chapters that are broadly focused on the recent advances in nano‐based drug delivery systems, diagnosis, and the role of various nanomaterials in the management of infectious diseases and non‐infectious disorders such as cancers and other malignancies and their role in future medicine. Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter that presents the role of nanotechnology as revolutionary science as far as drug delivery, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases are concerned. Chapter 2 focuses on the role of selenium nanocomposites in diagnosis, drug delivery, and treatment of diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and many others. Chapter 3 includes the application of a variety of nanomaterials in the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal tract disorders. Chapter 4 explains the concept of nanotheranostics in detail and its role in effective monitoring of drug response, targeted drug delivery, enhanced drug accumulation in the target tissues, sustained as well as the triggered release of drugs, reduction in adverse effects, etc. Chapter 5 discusses the application of aptamer‐incorporated nanoparticle systems for drug delivery, which is considered as one of the most compelling medicinal platforms of nanotechnology. The aptamer‐incorporated nanoparticle systems are reported to have a promising impact on the delivery of different kinds of therapeutics, and also have great promise for improving the therapeutic index and pharmacokinetics of several drugs. Chapter 6 incorporates the application of nanotechnology in transdermal drug delivery. Moreover, a detailed explanation given on the interaction of the skin and nanoparticles will be helpful to enhance the reader's understanding of new concepts and the use of drug delivery carriers in transdermal delivery. Chapter 7 examines the application of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle‐based drug delivery in cancer therapeutics. Nowadays, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention from researchers all over the world due to their strong magnetic properties, which provide an added advantage when they are used in biomedical applications. Chapter 8 emphasizes one of the most novel concepts, i.e. application of virus‐like nanoparticles in the delivery of the cancer therapeutics. It is well known that viruses have a unique ability to coordinate with host cellular components and processes for their survival and multiplication. The ability of self‐replication and transduction property makes the viruses potential vectors for the delivery of small molecules and protein therapeutics. Chapter 9 is also about the revolutionary applications of magnetic nanoparticles as future cancer theranostics. Chapter 10 is dedicated to the utilization of chitosan nanoparticles as novel antimicrobial agents. Actually, due to certain toxicological effects of some nanomaterials like metallic nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles like chitosan nanoparticles have gained more attention due to their biodegradable nature. Chapter 11 covers various aspects related to sulfur nanoparticles, such as their biosynthesis, antibacterial applications, and possible mechanisms involved in their action. Chapter 12 emphasizes the role of nanotechnology in the management of indoor fungi. The problem of indoor fungi is one of the most important public health concerns because they are responsible for a wide range of mild to severe diseases like allergies, asthma, etc. Chapter 13 deliberates the role of nanotechnology in antifungal therapy. Considering the alarming increase in resistance in a variety of fungi and infection caused due to such fungi, this chapter is very interesting. Chapter 14 discusses the application of conjugated nanoparticles of chitosan and biogenic silver in antimicrobial and anticancer perspectives. The development of such novel conjugated nanoparticles is required to reduce or eradicate the problem of nanomaterials toxicity. Chapter 15 is focused on one of the important diseases, leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a very dreadful disease, and available therapeutic strategies are not very effective in the management of this disease. In this context, the application of different nanomaterials as a part of its treatment strategies would be a novel alternative. Chapter 16 is about theranostics and vaccines; in this chapter, authors focused on their current status and future expectations. Finally, Chapter 17 is focused on the most important and debatable concept, i.e. toxicity of nanomaterials. There is no doubt that nanomaterials bring a revolution in biomedical science, and hence they are widely used in various biomedical applications and products. But, it is also true that increased use of nanomaterials also possesses an elevated risk of toxicity. Therefore, in this context, this chapter is very important. This chapter covers several aspects like factors affecting the toxicity of nanomaterials, why there is a necessity to evaluate the toxicity of nanomaterials, recent advances in in vitro and in vivo toxicity, and how the toxicity of nanomaterials can be managed.
Overall, this book comprises very informative chapters written by one or more specialists, experts in their particular topic. In this way, we would like to offer a rich guide for doctors, researchers in this field, undergraduate or graduate students of various disciplines like microbiology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical biotechnology, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, nanomedicine, tissue engineering, biomaterials, etc., and allied subjects. In addition, this book is useful for people working in various industries, regulatory bodies, and nanotechnological organizations.
We would like to thank all the contributors for their outstanding efforts to provide state‐of‐the‐art information on the subject matter of their respective chapters. Their efforts will certainly enhance and update the knowledge of the readers about the role of nanotechnology in biomedicine and public health. We also thank everyone in the Wiley team for their constant help and constructive suggestions particularly to Julia, senior editor, for her patience and cooperation. Finally, we would like to thank our colleagues, Professors Chistiane M. Feitosa and Rafael M. Bandeira for their cooperation during the editing of the book.
We hope that the book will be useful for all readers to find the required information on the latest research and advances in the field of biomedical nanotechnology.
Mahendra Rai, India
Mehdi Razzaghi‐Abyaneh, Iran
Avinash P. Ingle, Brazil
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