Nanotechnology as a medicine
As modern science learns more and more about the human body and the functions of its various systems, material science is delving into the molecular level. The marriage of these two fields is considered to be nanotechnology. Today's science is working on the design and synthesis of a wide range of nanostructures, with specified geometry and surface characteristics, in hopes of unlocking all the potential uses of nanotechnology. For example, tailored nanomaterials could be used in inclusion chemistry and electrochemistry, material and biomedical sciences, electron microscopy, molecular storage and separation technology. After researching many potential applications of nanotechnology, it is my belief that this new technology is most practical and useful in the medical arena. This essay will give an overview of the nanobot and will illustrate concrete examples of how a nanobot could be used inside the human body. Nanomachines, ranging from a few to a few hundred nanometers in size, are used to manipulate systems. This manipulation may take place at the cellular level or even the atomic level. A suggested name for these nanomachines is assemblers. Each assembler will be a nanocomputer with a robotic a
The model that is proposed above is not the first model for a nanomachine. In 1996, Dr. Freitas introduced his "respirocyte" nanobot. The respirocyte is a spherical nanobot made of about 18 billion atoms that measures about 1 micron in diameter. These atoms are mostly carbon atoms arranged as diamond, but the structure can be made from sapphire to be nonflammable. The porous structure inside the respirocyte is essentially a tiny pressure tank that can be pumped full of up to 9 billion oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules. Later on, these gases can be released from the tiny tank in a controlled manner. This could be used as artificial respiration to aid those who have varying degrees of respiratory difficulties. Part of the surface of each respirocyte is covered with molecular sorting rotors that can load and unload gases into the nanobot. There are also gas concentration sensors on the outside of each device. When the nanobot passes through the lung capillaries, the onboard computer tells it to release carbon dioxide and pick up oxygen. When the device later finds itself in the oxygen-starved tissues, the computer readings tells the nanobot to reverse the process. Respirocytes mimic the action of the natural hemoglobin-filled red blood cells whose function is to oxygenate the body. This nanobot is far more efficient than biology, mainly because its diamondoid construction permits a much higher operating pressure. A respirocyte can deliver hundreds of times more oxygen per unit volume than a natural red blood cell. An injection of 2.5 cubic centimeters of respirocytes into the bloodstream can exactly replace the oxygen and carbon dioxide carrying capacity of the patient's entire blood stream. As can be seen, producing nanobots for use in medicine seems to be an easie
Some common words found in the essay are:
Nanotechnology Medicine, Dr Freitas, human body, carbon dioxide, oxygen carbon dioxide, specific amino acid, red blood, nanomachines human body, amino acid, applications nanotechnology, oxygen carbon, nanomachines human, producing nanobots, robotic arm, messenger rna,
Approximate Word count = 1201
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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