You know the one. They're all cute and sweet. But two months into the relationship and you start to see the REAL them. But you’ve become attached, and you can’t get rid of it easily.
Nanoparticles are a bit like that. You might’ve heard about them in the news, but what are they exactly?
Does size matter?
For nanoparticles, it does!!!
But not in the way you'd think! Nanoparticles are small, and when we say small, we mean tiny.
Nanoparticles are between 1-100 nanometers in size, with maybe a surrounding layer, you know, for protection.
Is he the right fish in the sea for me?
Like boyfriends, nanoparticles come in all shapes and sizes. Just like the kind of guy you find on the Bachelorette!
They can be:
spherical...
...or disc-shaped...
...and can be made of:
solid gold, like this guy...
...or other metals, like silver and iron.
So whether your mans is made of gold or has a head shaped like a Frisbee, you know he could be special.
Nanoparticles, if you haven't forgotten, are special too. And they can do some special things.
So what does he even do?
Nanoparticles have a lot of cool properties, which can help it do all sorts of things.
Now that looks like a lot of mumbo jumbo...but here it is in plain english:
Things like size and surface type of the nanoparticle can make it do different things, like getting nutrients through cells and attaching to different surfaces. In medicine, they can help with delivering drugs throughout the body and even attack tumors.
Its small size also helps with somethings called surface to volume ratio, which affects how much its surface can react to the surroundings.
...so now everything's looking nice, he even has a steady job. But what's the catch??
So far, nanoparticles seem like the holy grail of medicine. Maybe you knew a guy like that once? They seem perfect at first, but soon you see the REAL them. Nanoparticles can be a bit like that. Useful, but also toxic...
Take silver nanoparticles, for example. They can be used to detect tumors in the lungs, but because they are so tiny, they can seep into areas where they are not wanted, for longer than needed.
This can cause fibrosis, inflammability, and carcinogenesis - basically bad, bad stuff can go down if we let nanoparticles go uncontrolled.
In the future, the goal is for the nanoparticle to be able to provide a precise dosage with minimal toxicity. It’ll be a long time before we reach that point, but patience is key!
So just like we have to be patient for the right fish to swim our way, we have to be patient for technology to advance.
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