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Many people are in-the-dark when it comes to nano technology. In its most basic form, nano particles include atoms and molecules that have been scientifically engineered for specific functions. What makes these engineered particles so special is that they're extremely tiny -- in fact, one-billionth a meter in size. Silver and carbon nanotubes are used in a wide range of products and are now being examined for their role in cancer treatment. While the long-term effects of using medical nanotechnology is still under investigation, the promise of nano science is great.

Canadian researchers at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario have developed a microchip using nanomaterials that they hope will lead to a portable cancer-diagnosing device. They say the medical nanotechnology will be able to detect chemical markers indicating the presence of cancer within 30 minutes and will even be able to alert doctors to the type and severity of the cancer. So far, scientists have successfully tested the nano technology on prostate cancer patients. "The discovery by Dr. Kelley and her team offers the possibility of a faster, more cost-effective technology that could be used anywhere," said Tom Hudson of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

Researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina are using nano technology to discover new cancer-fighting drugs. The "Lab-on-Bead" method screens millions of chemicals simultaneously, fitting 1,000 on a single strand of human hair. "This process allows the beads to do the work for you," explains project director Jed Macosko. "By working at this scale, we will be able to screen more than a billion possible drug candidates per day as opposed to the current limit of hundreds of thousands per day." They are using chemicals from the Université Louis Pasteur in France and, if all goes well, their findings will go commercial with nanotechnology company NanoMedica.

Nano technology called "nano-bees" is one of the latest cancer-destroying nano particles on the market. These nanomaterials deliver a synthesized toxin called "melittin" that is commonly found in bees. Even though melittin would injure red blood cells if injected directly, it's "completely safe when it's on a nanoparticle," explains Dr. Samuel Wickline, director of the Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The nano-bees travel directly to the tumor cells and leave the rest of the cells in tact. The nano-bees are attracted to a specific protein associated with tumors and could care less about healthy cells. So far scientists say it works great in mice, and clinical human trials are expected to begin mid-next year.

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