Nanotechnology for Cancer Detection | Samir Iqbal | TEDxUTA

Summary

This presentation explores the pervasive influence of nanotechnology on daily life and its revolutionary impact on medicine, especially in cancer treatment. It explains how advancements in nanotechnology enable control at the atomic level, allowing for precise manipulation of materials. These developments are applied in various fields, from electronics to healthcare, where they aid in diagnosing and treating diseases at the molecular level. The speaker highlights the potential of nanotechnology in personalized medicine, particularly in targeting cancer cells and distinguishing metastatic from non-metastatic cells, which could lead to more tailored treatments and improved patient outcomes.

Takeaways

• 🧬 Nanotechnology is already integrated into everyday life, from cell phones to bikes and even cosmetics like sunblock.
• 🔬 Advances in microelectronics, such as integrated circuits, have paved the way for controlling materials at the nanoscale.
• 📺 Historical shifts in technology, like the move from vacuum tubes to solid-state electronics, have revolutionized industries and everyday devices.
• 🧠 Nanotechnology allows us to work at the atomic scale, with applications ranging from healthcare to materials science.
• 🦠 The role of nanotechnology in medicine is profound, enabling us to interface with living systems at the molecular level, particularly for diseases like cancer.
• 🩺 Techniques like nanopores, quantum dots, and nanotubes are being used to improve medical diagnostics and cancer detection.
• 🔍 Nanotechnology is helping to develop personalized medicine by identifying cancerous cells at a single-cell level and tailoring treatments to individuals.
• 💡 Despite advancements in healthcare, human mortality from cancer has remained largely unchanged, suggesting the need for innovations at the molecular scale.
• ⚙️ Nanotechnology's potential includes creating tools to separate cancer cells from bodily fluids, enabling early detection and targeted treatment.
• 🏥 The future of nanomedicine lies in its ability to differentiate cancer cells based on their behavior, which could revolutionize how we treat diseases.

Q & A

What is nanotechnology and how has it become part of our everyday life?

Nanotechnology refers to the manipulation of materials at the atomic or molecular level, particularly at the nanoscale. It has become integrated into daily life through advancements in electronics, such as smartphones, TVs, cosmetics, and healthcare innovations. For example, nanotechnology is used in devices like smartphones, in cosmetics like sunblock, and even in medical diagnostic tools.

How did silicon-based electronics revolutionize everyday technology?

Silicon-based electronics, particularly in the form of solid-state electronics, replaced older vacuum tube technology and significantly improved the performance of devices like TVs and computers. This shift allowed for the miniaturization and increased efficiency of electronic components, leading to the rapid technological advancements we see today.

What role does nanotechnology play in healthcare and medicine?

Nanotechnology plays a critical role in healthcare by allowing scientists to interface with biological systems at the molecular level. This helps in developing targeted treatments, especially for diseases like cancer. Tools like nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanowires enable precise interventions, diagnostics, and even targeted drug delivery.

How does nanotechnology help in cancer diagnosis and treatment?

Nanotechnology aids cancer diagnosis and treatment by enabling the detection and isolation of cancer cells at a molecular level. For example, magnetic nanoparticles coated with antibodies can specifically target and separate cancer cells. Nanotechnology also helps in screening for metastatic cells and differentiating between different types of tumor cells.

What is the significance of nanotechnology in detecting metastatic potential in cancer cells?

Nanotechnology helps in detecting metastatic potential by allowing researchers to analyze the behavior of cancer cells at the nanoscale. For instance, metastatic tumor cells exhibit distinctive behaviors on nano-textured surfaces, which can help differentiate them from non-metastatic cells, enabling more targeted treatment.

What is the relationship between nanotechnology and personalized medicine?

Nanotechnology is crucial in the development of personalized or precision medicine. By analyzing the genomic and proteomic profiles of individual cancer cells, nanotechnology enables treatments tailored to each patient's specific disease characteristics, instead of the traditional 'one-size-fits-all' approach.

How does nanotechnology contribute to improving the quality of life in developing countries?

Nanotechnology is becoming more accessible in developing countries, contributing to improvements in health, communications, and daily living. For example, even in areas with low resources, people use devices like smartphones with nanotechnology-based components. This widespread use demonstrates nanotechnology's reach in enhancing global quality of life.

How has nanotechnology improved materials used in everyday items like bicycles?

Nanotechnology has led to the development of stronger, lighter materials used in everyday items like bicycles. Modern bike frames and tires are made using nanotechnology, which makes them much lighter and more durable compared to older, heavier models.

What are some examples of tools developed using nanotechnology for cancer research?

Examples of nanotechnology tools in cancer research include nanopores, cantilevers, nanotubes, quantum dots, and magnetic nanoparticles. These tools help in separating cancer cells, studying their behavior, and identifying biomarkers associated with cancer at the molecular level.

Why has human mortality from cancer not decreased despite advancements in medical technology?

Although there have been many technological and medical advancements, human mortality from cancer has not significantly decreased because many cancers have complex causes at the molecular level. Nanotechnology aims to address this by enabling more precise detection and treatment at the cellular and subcellular levels, which could eventually lead to more effective therapies.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 The Ubiquity of Nanotechnology in Daily Life

This paragraph introduces nanotechnology, explaining how it has become integrated into daily life. The speaker highlights how nanotechnology is present in everyday objects like smartphones, TVs, and even alarm clocks. This technological advancement stems from microelectronics and silicon-based electronics, which revolutionized consumer products. Nanotechnology enables control over materials at an atomic scale, affecting industries from electronics to cosmetics. The paragraph emphasizes how much easier it has become to manipulate matter on a nanoscale and introduces the impact of this shift on daily objects such as bikes and cosmetic products.

05:02

🚴 Nanotechnology in Developing Economies

The second paragraph explores how nanotechnology has permeated even less developed regions of the world. It recounts a personal story of visiting Dhaka, Bangladesh, where cycle rickshaws had phone numbers displayed on them, showing that even in underdeveloped economies, nanotechnology is present. The speaker connects this to healthcare, noting that nanotechnology is revolutionizing medicine by providing tools that allow scientists to interface with living systems at smaller scales, specifically highlighting its potential in treating diseases like cancer. The power of nanotechnology lies in its ability to work at genetic and molecular scales, making it a crucial development in modern healthcare.

10:05

🧬 Nanotechnology and Cancer Treatment

This paragraph dives deeper into nanotechnology’s applications in medicine, particularly in cancer treatment. By creating nanoscale tools such as nano-wires, nanotubes, and quantum dots, scientists can now interact with the biological systems responsible for diseases like cancer. The speaker points out that, despite advancements in healthcare, cancer mortality rates haven’t significantly decreased in decades, suggesting that new approaches are necessary. Nanotechnology offers new methods for identifying and treating cancerous cells, such as using nanoparticles to target cancer cells, or capturing tumor cells from bodily fluids like blood or urine.

15:05

🔍 Precision Cancer Screening through Nanotechnology

The speaker discusses current advancements in cancer screening, emphasizing that while there are a few screening methods for some cancers, many forms of the disease remain undetected. The promise of nanotechnology is in its ability to isolate and identify individual cancer cells with unparalleled precision. The paragraph introduces concepts like nano-textured devices that can differentiate aggressive, metastatic cells from regular or benign ones, similar to how a bouncer checks IDs at a club. These nanoscale approaches could allow doctors to diagnose and treat cancers in a more personalized way, targeting individual cancer cells based on their unique behaviors and characteristics.

🧪 The Future of Personalized Medicine with Nanotechnology

This concluding paragraph discusses the future potential of nanotechnology in personalized medicine. The speaker argues that one-size-fits-all treatments are outdated and that nanotechnology can offer more personalized approaches to treating diseases like cancer. By analyzing cells at the genomic and proteomic levels, doctors could tailor treatments to the specific needs of each patient, based on their individual cell behavior. The ultimate goal is to understand each person’s unique 'enemy' — their disease — to better combat it. This could revolutionize how diseases are treated, particularly cancer, by providing more precise, targeted therapies.

Keywords

💡Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology refers to the manipulation of materials on an atomic or molecular scale, typically measured in nanometers. In the video, it is described as a transformative technology that is now integrated into many aspects of daily life, from electronics to healthcare. The speaker emphasizes its impact on modern life, from cell phones to medical interventions, particularly in cancer treatment.

💡Microelectronics

Microelectronics refers to the development and use of electronic devices at a microscopic scale, particularly involving integrated circuits made from silicon. The video highlights how microelectronics, as part of the Third Industrial Revolution, revolutionized technology by allowing the miniaturization of components like resistors and capacitors, paving the way for modern advancements such as nanotechnology.

💡Integrated Circuits

Integrated circuits (ICs) are electronic circuits where multiple components like resistors, capacitors, and transistors are embedded into a small silicon chip. The video mentions them as a key development in microelectronics that allowed for greater control over electronic devices, which eventually contributed to the rise of nanotechnology in modern tools and gadgets.

💡Braille Code

Braille code is a tactile writing system used by visually impaired individuals, involving raised dots that represent letters or numbers. The speaker uses Braille as an analogy to explain how nanotechnology enables precision at a tiny scale, much like how a person can feel Braille dots with their bare fingers but not while wearing gloves, emphasizing the precision required to manipulate materials at the nanoscale.

💡Quantum Dots

Quantum dots are tiny semiconductor particles or nanocrystals with unique optical and electronic properties. In the context of the video, quantum dots are mentioned as one of the nanotechnology tools used to interface with biological systems, particularly in medical diagnostics and cancer treatment.

💡Metastasis

Metastasis is the process by which cancer cells spread from the original site to other parts of the body. The video emphasizes that metastasis is a major challenge in cancer treatment and explains how nanotechnology can be used to detect and treat metastatic cancer cells by distinguishing them from non-metastatic cells at the molecular level.

💡Cantilevers

Cantilevers are mechanical devices that can bend or flex when force is applied. In nanotechnology, they are used for detecting molecular interactions. The video references cantilevers as tools in nanotechnology that help in detecting cancer cells, providing a means to study cellular behavior on a small scale for early disease detection.

💡Personalized Medicine

Personalized medicine is a medical approach that tailors treatment based on the individual characteristics of each patient, such as their genetic profile. In the video, personalized medicine is discussed as a future possibility made feasible by nanotechnology, which allows for more precise diagnosis and treatment by analyzing individual cancer cells and their unique properties.

💡Dielectrophoresis

Dielectrophoresis is a technique that uses electric fields to move particles, such as cells, based on their dielectric properties. In the video, it is presented as one of the methods enabled by nanotechnology to sort and separate cancer cells based on their electrical behavior, which is crucial for targeted treatment and diagnostics.

💡Precision Medicine

Precision medicine is a similar concept to personalized medicine, where treatments are customized to target specific molecular characteristics of a disease. The video explains that nanotechnology offers the potential for precision medicine by allowing scientists to differentiate between various types of cancer cells at a molecular level, improving the effectiveness of treatments by targeting specific behaviors or traits of the cells.

Highlights

Nanotechnology has become a buzzword in recent years, significantly impacting everyday life.

Microelectronics, especially integrated circuits, have transformed our daily routines, from alarm clocks to smartphones.

The third industrial revolution focused on silicon-based electronics, making devices more accessible and efficient.

Nanotechnology operates at an atomic scale, allowing control over material properties and offering precision in various applications.

Solid-state electronics replaced older vacuum tube technology, leading to more compact and efficient devices.

Everyday applications of nanotechnology include lightweight bike frames, improved cosmetics, and more efficient sunblocks.

Nanotechnology has reached even the most remote areas, such as cycle rickshaws equipped with mobile phones in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In healthcare, nanotechnology enables interfacing with living systems at smaller scales, helping in disease diagnostics and treatment.

Nanopores, cantilevers, and quantum dots are some tools that allow molecular-level diagnostics, particularly in cancer detection.

Despite advancements, human mortality from cancer has not significantly decreased, emphasizing the need for innovation at the molecular level.

Nanotechnology can separate cancer cells from bodily fluids like blood, urine, and saliva using techniques like magnetic nanoparticles.

Individual cell behavior can be studied using techniques like capillary electrophoresis, offering new insights into cancer treatment.

Advances in nanotechnology can help differentiate between metastatic and non-metastatic cancer cells, allowing personalized medicine.

Precision medicine aims to tailor treatments based on a patient’s specific cellular and genetic makeup, moving away from a 'one-size-fits-all' approach.

Nanotechnology's ability to analyze cells at the genomic and proteomic levels helps in understanding the complexity of cancer, providing a path toward more effective treatments.

Transcripts

hello everyone we hear a lot about

nanotechnology it's become a buzzword in

last few years maybe about 15 years or

so the question is where is taro

technology do we see in our everyday

life do we experience this do we have

this technology at our disposal the

answer is yes this is something that has

changed how we do everyday thing

starting from waking up to an alarm

clock bang times it's iPhone where we

put like three o'clock three alarms and

our spouses don't like it or for storage

they put on those Gong sound on their

iPads making our coffee's switching on

your TV all the way to the time that we

go to sleep and we have to check our

Facebook feed once again the it's

everywhere

and something that has made this to work

is it took over about 40 50 years so the

third Industrial Revolution as we call

it micro electronics or electronics

especially integrated circuits when we

brought all those components resistors

capacitors inductors and we put them on

what we call silicon so silicon based

electronics is everywhere we used to

have television sets where we had vacuum

tube many of millennium kids they have

no idea what I just said but older folks

would know that we had to return those

TV sets on and we had to

wait for few minutes maybe a couple of

minutes before we could see the the

screen pop up and they're changed once

we had electronics in the form of

solid-state electronics which

essentially changed or revolutionized

our lives and that has helped us develop

systems to allow the mediums where we

can control things at nano scale and

when I say nano scale I literally mean

at atomic scale now we can control

material we can control material

properties we can handle material at

nano scale an example is Braille code we

all know what is Braille code those

risen dots if you haven't ever seen a

Braille code I would say next time when

you are you push button for an elevator

you will see there'll be dots next to

that number of the floor that's

basically Braille we feel Braille with

our bare fingers but think if you live

in North or in coal areas and we use

mittens or gloves if you try to feel

those thoughts we cannot feel it so

essentially the point is that to work at

nano scale we need to have tools and we

do have means to deal with those things

at nano scale and now we have those

things which is what has brought

nanotechnology in our everyday life when

I say in every aspect of her life here

is an example this looks like people in

developing countries or in developed

world especially this fit this picture

is from Europe from a friend of mine who

showed at a conference but this is not

so different than any developing country

as well where do we see nanotechnology

we may not be able to comprehend but

essentially

it is everywhere starting from our cell

phones our computers the frames of our

of our bikes again older folks would

know the bikes we used to write they

were like a ton heavy but now we have

those bikes that we can lift just with

one hand the frames the material of

those bikes the tires even cosmetics we

have nanoparticles and in Sun blocks it

is already everywhere

now speaking of this picture and

thinking about poor areas of the world I

I remember I landed in Dhaka Bangladesh

a few years ago my first time and I

could see the cycle rickshaws the the

it's a it's a thing where people drive

those things and you say that the back

they would have to self numbers written

or they're on their cycle rickshaws

which means they would have to sell

phones even the cycle rickshaw so that

error technology is everywhere all

around the world in slums in all

segments of our economy what does that

mean how does that help us if we talk

about health care how does that help us

if we talk about different aspects of

our body or specifically medicine we can

now interface living systems at smaller

scales and and knowing that many of the

diseases especially cancer which is the

topic today as well has its origin at

genes at mutations so now we have

developed tools or we have developed

devices nano pores cantilevers we have

nano wires nanotubes quantum dots

nanoparticles so many things at that

skill which possibly we can interface

the living things at that scale going

back to that example of of Braille and

bare fingers now we have tools

that we can do something about it and of

course at larger scale we have had so

many ways of medical interventions

medical diagnostics and therapy at an

organ scale at a skeletal scale but now

we need to do something about our

diseases which have their known roots at

molecular scale and that's where the

technology what we call narrow

technology or micro electronics can help

us and think about it think about the

growths or the control that we have

seven billion people or so on the face

of this earth

and seven billion components that I be M

made on a computer chip last year which

is 1 centimeter by 1 centimeter so if we

can make 7 billion devices we can really

interface life at really small scale and

that is something which should give us

motivation to do something about human

mortality very interestingly for last 50

60 years probably that's when we have

started gathering data or at least

started classifying the causes of death

human mortality from cancer has not gone

down think about it we are still dying

at the same rate

although now we have known toxic effects

of so many things we have so many

regulations we don't have leaded gas

again older folks Ford or we used to

have all kind of emissions we would be

sending out despite all those what we

call the best the betterment in the

quality of life we are still dying at

the same rate which essentially should

motivate us that there is something that

drastically needs to change and that's

where nanotechnology or control at micro

and nano scale is is helping us derive

and come up with new ways and

many ways how we can do it there's many

ways how it's been already shown we can

separate out cells based on their

electrical behavior something called dye

electrophoresis we can use magnetic

nanoparticles and coat them with certain

antibodies which would specifically bind

to cancer cells and separate them out

magnetically we can coat surfaces and

capture tumor cells from a given body

fluid which can be blood urine saliva

even human tears which carry those known

molecules which are indicated of which

are indicative of the of the of the

vertical health or a disease going on we

can look at the tumor cells and look at

their mechanical properties by by

sucking in a single cell at a time in a

in a format of what we call a capillary

capillary electrophoresis so there are

so many ways how it's been done and

especially after human genome project we

know now many of genes and proteins

which are known to be related to cancer

much like we know cholesterol is related

to heart disease we know many of the the

proteins or molecules which are related

to two cancers we do have some tests

vertical screening tests for a few

cancers but there are so many other

types of cancers which have no screening

tools which have no way of even finding

whether a metastatic potential exists in

a given tumor or that or not so that's

where nano scale approaches can help us

I'll give you a couple of examples where

we can capture tumor cells and those

aggressive tumor cells show a very

distinctive dancing behavior or a nano

textured device or a narrow texture

substrate which is different than what

you would see for a non metastatic tumor

cell or

just a regular cell from that organ with

this is an approach which can help us

objectively identify whether there are

tumor cells in a given sample again

simple bodily fluids or we can

interrogate each individual cell at at

any given time much like bouncers in a

bar if you guys are young like me and

try to get into a club they would ask

for ID I also have some right here but

they would still ask for that and I feel

honored they think I'm young guy so

think about it a bouncer interrogate

send checks each individual person

before he or she goes in this is

something we can implement for for self

as well so the idea is if you can create

a small orifice micropore in a very thin

membrane a nanoscale membrane 100

nanometer or 200 nano meter 10 and let

cells flow through you can measure any

current across their channel and see

when a cell goes through in the form of

a dip in the current and that is

essentially what would turn into pulse

which would be a dip in the ionic

current and we can use those pulses to

identify those cells based on their

mechanical physical and chemical

behavior those single pulses can tell us

about not just whether a cell is normal

but even if that cell is metastatic or

non-metastatic so this is some data

which we have gathered where we can

identify between those two types of

cells why is there deported think about

a simple tumor breast cancer we we feel

or we have been given to perceive that

breast cancer is completely treatable

which is not the truth

majority of breast cancer cancer

patients died of recurrence because of

metastasis because there is no easy or

direct way to look and differentiate

between indolent cells and metastatic

cells so this might be a way where we

can look at a given sample and define

the strategy to deal with that type of

cancer instead of giving same treatment

to all patients which is essentially our

diagnosis over treatment where we might

end up giving the same chemotherapy to a

patient even though their disease is not

metastatic in nature but that's again a

potential of nanotechnology and in

differentiating those cells or those

diseased behaviors at single-cell level

and not just that there's there other

unknown questions questions like

micrometastases questions where we don't

know the subpopulations within a tumor

where we might have many many different

types of cells of cancerous nature but

they exist altogether in a given lump

but we don't have a direct way of

knowing each one of those if we can

develop technologies further and narrow

down and find and cloud them based on

their behavior we might be able to treat

each individual patient based on their

signatures which is the concept behind

what we call personal personalized

medicine or precision medicine or nano

medicine these are all buzzwords

centered around the theme that

one-size-fit-all kind of therapy is not

the way to go because each individual

person would have their own type of

micrometastases their own they may have

stem cells in their in their in their

tumor which needs to be treated

differently so nanotechnologies have

this strengths where we can look for the

behaviors of cells at cellular and

subcellular scales and look for genomic

and proteomic makeup of those cells

which would give us a complete picture

of what lies within the enemy and

knowing the enemy is the first step

towards defeating the enemy thank you

for your attention

[Applause]