ABSTRACT
Bionanotechnology is defined by science’s growing ability to work at the molecular level, atom by atom, combining biological materials and the rules of physics, chemistry, and genetics to create tiny synthetic structures. The end result of bionanotechnology is to create a highly functional system of biosensors, electronic circuits, nanosized microchips, molecular “switches,” and even tissue analogs for growing skin, bones, muscle, and other organs of the body — all accomplished in ways that allow these structures to assemble themselves, molecule by molecule. On the other side, medical and biotechnological advances in the area of disease diagnosis and treatment are dependent on an in-depth understanding of biochemical processes. Diseases can be identified based on anomalies at the molecular level and treatments are designed based on activities in such low dimensions. Although a multitude of methods for disease identification as well as treatment already exists, it would be ideal to use research tools with dimensions close to the molecular level to better understand the mechanisms involved in the processes. These tools can be nanoparticles (NPs), nanoprobes, or other nanomaterials, all of which exist in ultrasmall dimensions and can be designed to interrogate a biochemical process of interest.
