‘Nanotechnology will aid medical discoveries’

Mahatma Gandhi University Vice Chancellor A.V. George has stressed on the wide range of possibilities that have been created by the rapid progress of research in nanoscience and nanotechnology.Speaking after a book release function organised by the University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology here on Tuesday, Dr. George said that applications of nanotechnology in the medical field is expected to provide significant breakthrough in treating terminal diseases including cancer.

It could also create inroads into new discoveries in drugs as well as its delivery mechanisms. Continued miniaturisation of analytical and diagnostic procedures coupled with targeted therapy would diminish the side effects of drugs that are administered to patients, he said.

He noted that materials, when reduced to the nanoscale, would be able to display different properties when compared to what they exhibit on a macroscale, thereby enabling unique applications. Physical characteristics including mechanical, electrical and optical, undergo overwhelming change when compared to macroscopic systems. The books that were released on the occasion were: Polymer Processing and Characterization, Advances in MaterialScience, Volume 1; and Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery, Advances in Nano Science and Nanotechnology,Voume1, both authored by Sabu Thomas, Director, Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and published by Apple Academic Press and CRC Press.