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Moving smaller in drug discovery and delivery

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 1, pages 77–84 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Advances in new micro- and nanotechnologies are accelerating the identification and evaluation of drug candidates, and the development of new delivery technologies that are required to transform biological potential into medical reality. This article will highlight the emerging micro- and nanotechnology tools, techniques and devices that are being applied to advance the fields of drug discovery and drug delivery. Many of the promising applications of micro- and nanotechnology are likely to occur at the interfaces between microtechnology, nanotechnology and biochemistry.

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Figure 1: Self-assembly is viewed as a key tool for molecular nanotechnology.
Figure 2: Quantum dots are nanometre-scale particles of semiconductor materials.
Figure 3: Nanopore sequencing has been proposed as an alternative to conventional sequencing.
Figure 4: Microfluidic devices can handle cells and small volumes of liquids.
Figure 5: Schematic representation of a multi-reservoir drug-delivery microchip.
Figure 6: Micromachined needles and needle arrays are being evaluated to replace the 150-year-old hypodermic needle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children's Hospital, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    David A. LaVan & David M. Lynn

  2. Health Sciences Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139-4307, Massachusetts, USA

    David A. LaVan & David M. Lynn

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139-4307, Massachusetts, USA

    Robert Langer

Authors
  1. David A. LaVan
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  2. David M. Lynn
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  3. Robert Langer
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Correspondence to Robert Langer.

Related links

Related links

DATABASES

LocusLink

amyloid-β

human growth hormone

LHRH

TP53

Medscape DrugInfo

Rapamune

Saccharomyces Genome Database

RAD54

SWISS-PROT

green fluorescent protein

FURTHER INFORMATION

FDA

Human Gene Therapy

MEMS

National Nanotechnology Initiative

National Science Foundation

Protein Data Bank

Whitehead Institute's Center for Genome Research

LINKS

Affymetrix

Cascade Scientific, Ltd;

Sandia National Laboratories

Digital Instruments

Rowland Institute for Science

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LaVan, D., Lynn, D. & Langer, R. Moving smaller in drug discovery and delivery. Nat Rev Drug Discov 1, 77–84 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd707

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