Weston Smith

Dr. Wesley C. Sanders

ENGR 1050
Nanotechnology and Cancer
Introduction
Nanotechnology is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as such: the branch of technology that
deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometers, especially the manipulation of
individual atoms and molecules. (1) During the last 10 years, over 6 billion dollars have been
invested into nanotechnology research. (5) Why would that much money be invested into this
field of technology? The answer is simple because nanotechnology has enormous potential. Due
to the scale at which nanotechnology deals with, nanotechnology can help heath care providers
combat cancer.
Cancer is disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body (2)
(Oxford Dictionary), which makes cancer difficult to treat. Cancer is the third highest cause of
death in developed countries, however, in the United States of America, Cancer is the second
highest cause of death. In the year 2000, 6 million people died of cancer and 22 million were
living with cancer and these numbers are on the rise. (5) Not only has cancer killed and effect
millions of health, but almost every individual in the United States of America can say that they
know someone who has been affected by cancer. Cancer is very deadly but with the
advancements in nanotechnology, healthcare providers will be better equipped to treat this
deadly disease. I would like to discuss three specific technologies namely, silver nanoparticles,
carbon cages, and graphene. I will also explain the specific benefits that these technologies will
have for science and societies as a whole.

Weston Smith
Dr. Wesley C. Sanders
ENGR 1050
Silver Nanoparticles
Nanotechnology has the potential of reaching these cancerous cells and helps kill these cells.
Cancer is usually in difficult and highly sensitive areas, and because of this difficulty, healthcare
providers have used x-ray radiation to kill the cells. X-ray radiation comes with difficulties,
though. Not only does x-ray radiation kill cancer cells, x-ray radiation kills other, healthy cells
as well. That is when we see patients with cancer lose their hair. The destructive nature towards
the healthy cells also diminishes their immune system making them more susceptible to other
diseases which decrease their chances of overcoming cancer. The treatments healthcare
providers use now are more detrimental to their health than beneficial. Once again the millions
of lives that are going through these treatments are haunted by the ticking tock of cancer and
loved ones are hoping that they will have another day.
Nanotechnology may be able to help healthcare provider target cancer better with x-ray
radiation. Silver nanoparticles act very differently than the silver that we come into contact with
in our lives. Silver nanoparticles have distinct thermal and optical properties. Researchers
believe that they will be able to attach silver nanoparticles to cancers cells. (3) Attaching the
silver nanoparticle would help direct these x-rays. (3) These silver nanoparticles attach to the
cancer cells because of the intermolecular forces they have. An experiment which was supported
by the Shanghai science and Technology Commission found that they could produce these silver
nanoparticle using simple local chicken eggs. (3) The researchers who did this experiment

Weston Smith
Dr. Wesley C. Sanders
ENGR 1050
believe that producing silver nanoparticles with eggs will not only be cost effective, but also
environmentally friendly.
Carbon Cage
Carbon cage could also aid in treating cancer. Carbon cages are exactly like they sound, a cage
made of carbon atoms. The most common of which is the buckminsterfullerene otherwise
known as C60 or Bucky balls. Bucky balls have 60 carbon atoms which are shaped like a soccer
ball with pentagons and hexagons. Carbon is very easily bonded with other elements. Within
these soccer ball like cages, healthcare providers could put cancer-fighting drugs. With the drugs
in the Bucky ball, healthcare providers could attach specific molecules so that the Bucky balls
would be attracted to the cancer cells and release them upon arrival. (4) Due to the potential of
attaching elements that would be attracted to cancer cells, Bucky balls would essentially become
programmable drug releasing agents. The development of Bucky balls could avoid attacking
healthy cells and therefore the weakening of the immune system will be avoided. Cancer
patients will have less time in the hospital being sick and more time at home enjoying their
families and loved ones.
Graphene
Graphene is also a carbon structure like Bucky balls. What differentiates graphene from
carbon is that instead of rolling up into a cage, it can either come in flat sheets or roll up into
tubes. (5) These carbon nanotubes could act as wires which would, in theory, allow for nano-

Weston Smith
Dr. Wesley C. Sanders
ENGR 1050
sized electronics. When this technology develops further, the possibilities would be endless.
Health care providers could have nano-bots that go into people and give the health care providers
a better look at cancer, remove cancer cells, or deliver medication.
Benefits for Science
The benefits that the nanotechnologies present are enormous. If these nanotechnologies are
implemented, the nanotechnologies will help researchers out in every aspect of their work. The
silver nanoparticles would help researchers see how cancer spreads with greater simplicity. Due
to the potential of having these silver nanoparticles coat cancer, researchers would be able to
scan test subjects and see how it spreading.
Carbon cages would aid researchers with the potential to deliver drugs to cancer cells.
Researchers could do more experiments with how cancer reacts to specific types of drugs, in all
of the stages of cancer, that otherwise would have been difficult if not impossible for researchers
to test. Carbon cages could also help to keep the drugs from not attacking other parts of the
bodies that are not cancerous.
The potential that nano-wire represent is similar to the potential that carbon cages represent in
that nano-bots made with nano-wires could go to cancerous cells and deliver drugs. Nano-bots
could do a lot more. Nano-bots could go into a cancer patients body and extract samples of the
cells if researchers needed. All of this is still far ahead of where we are currently at, but when
scientists are able to make robotics on the nano-scale, the possibilities will be limitless.

Benefits for Society

Weston Smith
Dr. Wesley C. Sanders
ENGR 1050
When these nanotechnologies go to work for healthcare providers in clinical settings, they will
greatly benefit society. For example, think of all of the tens of millions of people that I have
already mentioned. If these nanotechnologies were helping to cure them or were cured, think of
the burden that would lift off of families and society as a whole. If cancer dropped out of the top
ten killers in the world, society could focus its efforts elsewhere, and continue improving the
world.
These cancer-fighting nanotechnologies may not cure cancer, however, nanotechnologies may
significantly reduce the risks that cancer poses. Nanotechnologies could lead us to a day when
cancer doesnt send people into fear when they are told by their healthcare providers that they
have cancer instead of turning, potentially, a living nightmare for the rest of their lives. Instead
of a future of hospital stays, chemotherapy, and sleepless nights wondering when this is going to
end, nanotechnology can give them peace of mind, quicker and less painful treatments, and more
time with their family and friends.
Family members and loved ones do not have to wonder how much longer they have with their
Mother, Father, and sometimes even their very own children. Imagine that when someone gets
diagnosed with cancer their doctors tell them its no big deal and that all that needs to happen is
that they need to inject some nanoparticles or some nano-bots that will go into the cancer
patients body and attach to cancer. The advancement and pathways that nanotechnology may not
only cure Cancer but could expand and change the whole health industry altogether. Thats an
exciting future possible with nanotechnologies.
Works Cited

Weston Smith
Dr. Wesley C. Sanders
ENGR 1050
(1)
(2) https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nanotechnology
(3) https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cancer
(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356171/
(5) https://www.dovepress.com/targeted-therapy-using-nanotechnology-focus-on-cancerpeer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IJN
(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3808249/