ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the basic definitions and background of nanoscience and nanotechnology and their potential impacts. It focuses on medical nanotechnol-ogy and nanomedicine, starting with some definitions and terminology. The chapter explores the broad incremental contributions made to medicine by advances in nanotechnology. It looks at the closely related and overlapping area more commonly referred to as nanomedicine. The term “nanomedicine” originated with conceptions of how the Drexler vision of nanomechanical robotics could be applied to medicine. Nanomedicine has a set of goals for breakthrough applications of nanotech-nology, and has thus been the focus of much attention. Nanomedicine was described as medicine based on molecular knowledge of the human body, using nanoscale molecular tools for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nanomedicine is also frequently used to refer to the use of nanopar-ticles to enhance imaging. Nanoscience derives its scientific content from physics, chemistry, and biology.
