Though nanotechnology has immense potential and benefits to mankind, the application of nanotechnology in medicine will face serious ethical challenges and dilemmas. Nanotechnology refers to the science and engineering of functional systems at the molecular level, which involves the design, synthesis, characterization and application of materials and devices whose smallest functional organization in at least one dimension is on nanometer scale or one billionth of a meter. The application of nanotechnology to medicine and physiology is still in its fancy; the very reason why the relevance of nanotechnology is being questioned. According to Gabriel Silva, every patho-physiological process has a molecular origin and that this forms a basic fact that nanotechnology has a tremendous potential to medicine. This is the rationale why researchers coined yet another definition of nanotechnology as the science and technology of diagnosing, treating and preventing disease and traumatic injury, of relieving pain and of preserving and improving human health.
Transhumanism debates are on the heart of the issues regarding the ethical aspect of nanotechnology’s application, along with other social and legal considerations. Nanomedical techniques that are increasingly becoming recognized are nanosurgery, tissue engineering, nano-particled diagnostics and targeted drug delivery. All of which, however, involves the relatively easy penetration across blood-brain barrier or the membrane that protects the brain from harmful chemicals. Apart, how nanoparticles affect the uninjured or uninfected area or how they can interfere with the biochemical pathways and processes of the human body remains the perennial question. Developed nanoparticle products could have unintended consequences which entail human health damages when it comes to the disposal of nanowaste and the eventual environmental contamination from Nanomedical devices manufacturers. To wit, nanomedicine opponents concern the toxicity, characterization, exposure and its long-term consequences.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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