Nanomedicine: Techniques, Potentials, and    Ethical Implications

Ebbesen, Mette; Jensen, Thomas G.

doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/JBB/2006/51516

BioMed Research International

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Research Article | Open Access

Volume 2006 | Article ID 051516 | https://doi.org/10.1155/JBB/2006/51516

Nanomedicine: Techniques, Potentials, and Ethical Implications

Mette Ebbesen^1,2,3and Thomas G. Jensen⁴

Received20 Dec 2005

Revised05 Jun 2006

Accepted11 Jul 2006

Published28 Nov 2006

Abstract

Nanotechnology is concerned with materials and systems whose structures and components exhibit novel physical, chemical, and biological properties due to their nanoscale size. This paper focuses on what is known as nanomedicine, referring to the application of nanotechnology to medicine. We consider the use and potentials of emerging nanoscience techniques in medicine such as nanosurgery, tissue engineering, and targeted drug delivery, and we discuss the ethical questions that these techniques raise. The ethical considerations involved in nanomedicine are related to risk assessment in general, somatic-cell versus germline-cell therapy, the enhancement of human capabilities, research into human embryonic stem cells and the toxicity, uncontrolled function and self-assembly of nanoparticles. The ethical considerations associated with the application of nanotechnology to medicine have not been greatly discussed. This paper aims to balance clear ethical discussion and sound science and so provide nanotechnologists and biotechnologists with tools to assess ethical problems in nanomedicine.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2006 Mette Ebbesen and Thomas G. Jensen. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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