ABSTRACT

This chapter provides a concise introduction to glyconanobiotechnology applications in medicine. The reader will learn about glyco-nano-vaccines, basic nano-therapeutic principles based on glycomics and imaging methods using nanotechnology and glycomics. The principle of vaccination has been discovered long before any idea about functioning of immune system has appeared. Apart from vaccination, glycans can be also applied in following types of treatments: “saturation” of glycan receptors on cells surfaces to block pathogen adhesion; restoring functions of impaired enzymes; and specific inactivation of enzymes. Passive targeting employs higher permeability of less dense endothelium of vessels in tumors. Theranostic nanoparticles are supposed to differentiate between health and ill tissue, and mark the latter, hence they should perform a pre-treatment diagnosis of disease as well as a monitoring of the therapy progress. The chapter focuses on smart nano-drugs integrating diagnostic and therapeutic functions as the hallmark of the research in this extremely intriguing field with strong promises for future development.