REVIEW: Nanobiotechnology: Cradle for revolution in drug carrier systems.

The role of nanobiotechnology in the treatment of diseases is limitless. In this review we tried to focus main aspects of nanotechnology in drug carrier systems for treatment and diagnosis of various diseases such as cancer, pulmonary diseases, infectious diseases, vaccine development, diabetes mellitus and the role of nanotechnology on our economy and its positive social impacts on our community. We discussed here about the different "Biotechnano Strategies" to develop new avenues and ultimately improve the treatment of multiple diseases.

Worldwide Scientific Research on Nanotechnology: A Bibliometric Analysis of Tendencies, Funding, and Challenges.

The main objective of this investigation was to analyze the scientific production in global research on nanotechnology, integrating scientific production, funding of studies, collaborations between countries, and the most cited publications. The source for obtaining the research papers for our analysis was the Science Citation Index Expanded from the Web of Science. A total of 3546 documents were extracted during the period of 1997-2018. Food science & technology, chemistry (applied and analytical), spectroscopy, and agriculture appeared as the main areas where the articles were published. Most prolific and cited journals were Analytical Methods, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and Food Chemistry. The co-word analysis showed the relationships between "nanoparticles", which is the central word, and "silver nanoparticles", "delivery systems", and "zinc-nanoparticles". The most productive countries were China (1089 papers), the United States (523), Iran (427), and India (359). The main cited topics deal with the biomedical applications of nanoparticles, its synthesis from plants, and its applications in food science. The results highlight an important collaboration between institutions and countries. The availability of funding for research in nanotechnology was remarkable compared to other fields. The multidisciplinarity of the nanotechnology field is one of the main features as well as one of the central findings.

Embedding Ethical Impact Assessment in Nanosafety Decision Support.

Nanotechnology is a key enabling technology, which is developing fast and influences many aspects of life. Nanomaterials are already included in a broad range of products and industrial sectors. Nanosafety issues are still a matter of concern for policy makers and stakeholders, but currently, there is no platform where all stakeholders can meet and discuss these issues. A comprehensive overview of all the issues in one single dashboard presenting the output of a decision support system is also lacking. This article outlines a strategy for developing one innovative part of a modular decision support system, designed to support the work of a new Risk Governance Council (RGC) for nanomaterials which will be established through the combined efforts of the GOV4NANO, NANORIGO, and RiskGONE H2020 projects. This new module will consist of guidelines for Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA) for nanomaterials and nanoenabled products. This article offers recommendations for adapting the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) prestandard on Ethical Impact Assessment CWA (CEN Workshop Agreement) 17145-2:2017 (E), to fit into the more-encompassing decision support system for risk governance of nanomaterials within the RiskGONE project.

Awareness about nanotechnology and its applications in drug industry among pharmacy students.

INTRODUCTION: Given the multiple nanotechnology-based pharmaceutical products that are available on the drug market, nanotechnology education has to be offered within pharmacy undergraduate curricula. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the level of nanotechnology awareness among pharmacy students using two questionnaires. The study targeted 500 students and the deans of the faculties of pharmacy in Jordan. RESULTS: Results show that most of the students had poor knowledge about nanotechnology and that academic courses are the leading source of information. <10% of students attended experiments related to nanotechnology. About 50% of students did not have any knowledge about the safety of nanotechnology. All the deans stated that there is no specific practical or theoretical course to teach nanotechnology, but the concepts are taught within other courses. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy students' knowledge about nanotechnology is poor, and courses within pharmacy curricula need to be dedicated to teaching nanotechnology and its applications.

Do patents of academic funded researchers enjoy a longer life? A study of patent renewal decisions.

This paper assesses the extent to which patent renewal data is associated with government funding in a university context by focusing on the relationship between the funded patentees and renewal decisions of their patents. The aim of this paper is to show whether receiving funding from government contributes to high-value patents as measured by the patent renewal decisions made by their owners. Our observations of academic nanotechnology patents in Canada discovered a positive relationship between funded researchers and the rate of patent renewal after 4 years. Further analysis is also undertaken into the relative impact on patent renewal after 8 years and 12 years. Our results suggest that the length of patent renewal in numbers of years can be related to levels of government funding received by their inventors.

[DNA sequencing by nanopores: achievements and prospects]. / Séquençage de l'ADN par nanopores - Résultats et perspectives.

After years of development, the use of nanopore as a sensor to sequence DNA molecules is now a viable and promising possibility. Single base pair detection during DNA transport enables to record ultra-long threads with high parallelization and rates. I will present in this review the current methodologies based on electrical detection and biological nanopores and the new methods based on solid state nanopores and optical detection.

Advanced molecular diagnostic techniques for detection of food-borne pathogens: Current applications and future challenges.

The elimination of disease-causing microbes from the food supply is a primary goal and this review deals with the overall techniques available for detection of food-borne pathogens. Now-a-days conventional methods are replaced by advanced methods like Biosensors, Nucleic Acid-based Tests (NAT), and different PCR-based techniques used in molecular biology to identify specific pathogens. Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., and pathogens are detected in contaminated food items that cause always diseases in human in any one or the other way. Identification of food-borne pathogens in a short period of time is still a challenge to the scientific field in general and food technology in particular. The low level of food contamination by major pathogens requires specific sensitive detection platforms and the present area of hot research looking forward to new nanomolecular techniques for nanomaterials, make them suitable for the development of assays with high sensitivity, response time, and portability. With the sound of these, we attempt to highlight a comprehensive overview about food-borne pathogen detection by rapid, sensitive, accurate, and cost affordable in situ analytical methods from conventional methods to recent molecular approaches for advanced food and microbiology research.

Risk analysis and technology assessment in support of technology development: Putting responsible innovation in practice in a case study for nanotechnology.

Governments invest in "key enabling technologies," such as nanotechnology, to solve societal challenges and boost the economy. At the same time, governmental agencies demand risk reduction to prohibit any often unknown adverse effects, and industrial parties demand smart approaches to reduce uncertainties. Responsible research and innovation (RRI) is therefore a central theme in policy making. Risk analysis and technology assessment, together referred to as "RATA," can provide a basis to assess human, environmental, and societal risks of new technological developments during the various stages of technological development. This assessment can help both governmental authorities and innovative industry to move forward in a sustainable manner. Here we describe the developed procedures and products and our experiences to bring RATA in practice within a large Dutch nanotechnology consortium. This is an example of how to put responsible innovation in practice as an integrated part of a research program, how to increase awareness of RATA, and how to help technology developers perform and use RATA. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:9-16. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Visión holística de nuevos desafíos: paradigmas tecnológicos y fundamentos bioéticos en la Medicina futurista / Holistic view of new challenges: technological paradigms and bioethical basis of Futuristic Medicine

Introducción.La medicina del siglo XXI será un punto de fusión de numerosas nuevas tecnologías. Surgirán transformaciones en los paradigmas de la atención médica. Objetivo: Ofrecer una visión de lo que podría ser la atención médica futura. Material y Métodos: Se revisa en la literatura médica las ultimas y nuevas herramientas tecnológicas al servicio de la Medicina, sus posibles transformaciones y aplicación futura a través de la exploración en las principales bases de datos indexadas en los últimos 7 años, que originarán un cambio en el pensamiento científico y una visión predictiva en la atención médica a nivel mundial que realizaran reflexiones sobre enfoques médicos que origina la medicina traslacional. Se analiza el papel de la nanotecnología en la farmacología futurista, así como la genética y robótica, y se establecen comparaciones entre la cantidad de investigaciones por países y el estado actual en la América Latina y cómo influirán los nuevos adelantos científicos en la bioética lo que pudiera dar origen al transhumanismo. Resultados: El influjo de las nuevas tecnologías está ligado con el desarrollo económico y social, por lo que su aplicación no será equitativa, existiendo una diferencia importante en la formulación de patentes, investigaciones indexadas y citaciones entre países desarrollados y subdesarrollados, donde ningún país latinoamericano se encuentra entre los primeros 10 lugares del ranking mundial. Conclusiones: La tecnología actual le da solución a algunos problemas, pero no ha sido capaz de dominar muchas enfermedades. La utilización de la nanotecnología, la genética y la robótica provocarán cambios en los paradigmas de enfrentamiento a las enfermedades. Pudieran ocasionar deshumanización y problemas bioéticos(AU)

Introduction: Medicine in the 21st century will be a fusion point of numerous new technologies. Changes in the paradigms of medical attention will emerge. Objective:To present a view of what future medical attention could be. Material and methods:A review of the last and new technological tools at the service of Medicine is made, and their possible transformations and future implementation are studied through the search of the main databases of the data indexed during the last seven years, which will make a change in the scientific thought and a predictive view of the medical attention worldwide, and make reflections on the medical approaches that arise from translational medicine. The role of nanotechnology in the futuristic pharmacology is analyzed, as well as genetics and robotics; and comparisons are made regarding the amount of research by countries and the current condition in Latin America, and the way the new scientific innovations will influence in the Bioethics, which could give rise to transhumanism. Results:The influence of the new technologies is linked to the economic and social development. Therefore, its implementation will not be equitable, existing an important difference in establishment of patents, indexed research, and quotations between developed and underdeveloped countries, where no Latin American country is among the 10 first places in the world ranking. Conclusions:Current technology gives solution to some problems, but it has not been able to be acquainted with many diseases. The use of nanotechnology, genetics, and robotics will provoke changes in the confrontation paradigms of diseases, which could cause dehumanization and bioethical issues(AU)

Nanobiotech in big pharma: a business perspective.

Since the early 2000s, numerous publications have presented major scientific opportunities that can be achieved through integrating insights from the area of nanotech into biotech (nanobiotech). This paper aims to explore the economic significance that nanobiotech has gained in the established pharmaceutical industry (big pharma). The empirical investigation draws on patent data as well as product revenue data; and to put the results into perspective, the amounts are compared with the established/traditional biotech sector. The results indicate that the new technology still plays only a minor role - at least from a commercial perspective.

Where Are the Nanodrugs? An Industry Perspective on Development of Drug Products Containing Nanomaterials.

While nanotechnology advancements have been applied to pharmaceutical products, the number of approved nanodrugs by global health authorities has not kept pace with research and development investments in the field. This article reviews the history of nanodrug development and provides an industrial context for realistic expectations in the future.

A Multilaboratory Toxicological Assessment of a Panel of 10 Engineered Nanomaterials to Human Health--ENPRA Project--The Highlights, Limitations, and Current and Future Challenges.

ENPRA was one of the earlier multidisciplinary European Commission FP7-funded projects aiming to evaluate the risks associated with nanomaterial (NM) exposure on human health across pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, and developmental systems. The outputs from this project have formed the basis of this review. A retrospective interpretation of the findings across a wide range of in vitro and in vivo studies was performed to identify the main highlights from the project. In particular, focus was placed on informing what advances were made in the hazard assessment of NM, as well as offering some suggestions on the future of "nanotoxicology research" based on these observations, shortcomings, and lessons learned from the project. A number of issues related to the hazard assessment of NM are discussed in detail and include use of appropriate NM for nanotoxicology investigations; characterization and dispersion of NM; use of appropriate doses for all related investigations; need for the correct choice of experimental models for risk assessment purposes; and full understanding of the test systems and correct interpretation of data generated from in vitro and in vivo systems. It is hoped that this review may assist in providing information in the implementation of guidelines, model systems, validation of assessment methodology, and integrated testing approaches for risk assessment of NM. It is vital to learn from ongoing and/or completed studies to avoid unnecessary duplication and offer suggestions that might improve different aspects of experimental design.

Toward the development of smart and low cost point-of-care biosensors based on screen printed electrodes.

Screen printing technology provides a cheap and easy means to fabricate disposable electrochemical devices in bulk quantities which are used for rapid, low-cost, on-site, real-time and recurrent industrial, pharmaceutical or environmental analyses. Recent developments in micro-fabrication and nano-characterization made it possible to screen print reproducible feature on materials including plastics, ceramics and metals. The processed features forms screen-printed disposable biochip (SPDB) upon the application of suitable bio-chemical recognition receptors following appropriate methods. Adequacy of biological and non-biological materials is the key to successful biochip development. We can further improve recognition ability of SPDBs by adopting new screen printed electrode (SPE) configurations. This review covers screen-printing theory with special emphasis on the technical impacts of SPE architectures, surface treatments, operational stability and signal sensitivity. The application of SPE in different areas has also been summarized. The article aims to highlight the state-of-the-art of SPDB at the laboratory scale to enable us in envisaging the deployment of emerging SPDB technology on the commercial scale.

Current trends in nanomaterial embedded field effect transistor-based biosensor.

Recently, as metal-, polymer-, and carbon-based biocompatible nanomaterials have been increasingly incorporated into biosensing applications, with various nanostructures having been used to increase the efficacy and sensitivity of most of the detecting devices, including field effect transistor (FET)-based devices. These nanomaterial-based methods also became the ideal for the amalgamation of biomolecules, especially for the fabrication of ultrasensitive, low-cost, and robust FET-based biosensors; these are categorically very successful at binding the target specified entities in the confined gated micro-region for high functionality. Furthermore, the contemplation of nanomaterial-based FET biosensors to various applications encompasses the desire for detection of many targets with high selectivity, and specificity. We assess how such devices have empowered the achievement of elevated biosensor performance in terms of high sensitivity, selectivity and low detection limits. We review the recent literature here to illustrate the diversity of FET-based biosensors, based on various kinds of nanomaterials in different applications and sum up that graphene or its assisted composite based FET devices are comparatively more efficient and sensitive with highest signal to noise ratio. Lastly, the future prospects and limitations of the field are also discussed.

Future prospects in dermatologic applications of lasers, nanotechnology, and other new technologies.

We review novel technologies with diagnostic and therapeutic applications in dermatology. Among the diagnostic techniques that promise to become part of dermatologic practice in the future are optical coherence tomography, multiphoton laser scanning microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermography, and 7-T magnetic resonance imaging. Advances in therapy include novel light-based treatments, such as those applying lasers to new targets and in new wavelengths. Devices for home therapy are also appearing. We comment on the therapeutic uses of plasma, ultrasound, radiofrequency energy, total reflection amplification of spontaneous emission of radiation, light stimulation, and transepidermal drug delivery. Finally, we mention some basic developments in nanotechnology with prospects for future application in dermatology.

PAMAM dendrimers: destined for success or doomed to fail? Plain and modified PAMAM dendrimers in the context of biomedical applications.

PAMAM (polyamidoamine) dendrimers are commonly considered promising polymers that can be successfully used in various biomedical applications. Nevertheless, direct clinical adaptations of plain unmodified PAMAM dendrimers may be limited at present, mainly because of their toxicity, unpredictable behavior in living organisms, unknown bioavailability, biocompatibility or pharmacokinetic profile, problematic therapeutic dose selection, or high cost of production. On the basis of our studies concerning the possible use of unmodified PAMAM dendrimers as the scavengers of glucose and carbonyl stress in animal models of human pathology, as well as considering available literature on experimental data of other researchers, we have prepared the brief critical review of the biomedical activities of these unmodified compounds and their most alluring derivatives, especially in the context of possible future perspectives of PAMAMs. Thus, on the pages of this review, we made an attempt to briefly summarize obstacles, emerging from experimental, technical, and human limitations, that may, to some extent, restrain our belief in a brighter future of plain amine-terminated PAMAM dendrimers.