Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine

Methods, Devices, and Applications, Second Edition

The second edition of Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine is intended to serve as an authoritative reference source for a broad audience involved in the research, teaching, learning, and practice of nanotechnology in life sciences. This technology, which is on the scale of molecules, has enabled the development of devices smaller and more efficient than anything currently available. To understand complex biological nanosystems at the cellular level, we urgently need to develop a next-generation nanotechnology tool kit. It is believed that the new advances in genetic engineering, genomics, proteomics, medicine, and biotechnology will depend on our mastering of nanotechnology in the coming decades. The integration of nanotechnology, material sciences, molecular biology, and medicine opens the possibility of detecting and manipulating atoms and molecules using nanodevices, which have the potential for a wide variety of biological research topics and medical uses at the cellular level. This book presents the most recent scientific and technological advances of nanotechnology for use in biology and medicine. Each chapter provides introductory material with an overview of the topic of interest; a description of methods, protocols, instrumentation, and applications; and a collection of published data with an extensive list of references for further details. The goal of this book is to provide a comprehensive overview of the most recent advances in instrumentation, methods, and applications in areas of nanobiotechnology, integrating interdisciplinary research and development of interest to scientists, engineers, manufacturers, teachers, and students.