Nano Technology in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: an Overview

Nanotechnology provide innovative tools that shed greater light on life cycle of normal cells and the point at which molecular processes and changes within cells become correlated with development of cancer. It should be possible to obtain large amount of information from a small source. They aid in analysis of parameters such as cellular mechanics, morphology and cytoskeleton which has been hard to achieve using conventional technology. Nano devices can detect cancer cells, identify cancer signatures and provide targeted delivery of anti cancer therapeutics and contrast agents to tumour cells. The obstacle to early detection of cancer lies in the liability of existing tools to detect molecular level changes during early phases in the development of cancer. Nano Technology is potential tool that could help detect the molecular changes and assist in focusing on preventive efforts.