Nanomedicine takes up pace

The development of nanomedicine is continuing with increasing pace. Nearly on a day-to-day basis new groundbreaking results from basic research are reported. More and more nanomedical concepts are entering into the phase of clinical studies, and the first nanotechnology-based medical products have been approved by the regulatory authorities.

In December 2010, experts from all over the world will gather for the 7th NanoMed conference in Berlin to discuss the state of the art in biomedical applications of nanotechnology. The NanoMed conference series started in 1999 and has since developed into one of the international lead events in this field. It is jointly organized by cc-NanoChem e. V. and NanoBioNet e. V., the two leading German networks in Chemical Nanotechnology and NanoBioTechnology.

The NanoMed Focus Topic 2010 will be „Nanotechnology-Enabled Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer”. Every day, the world over, 20,000 people die from cancer. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of this ailment, and developing novel diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches is one of the main challenges for modern medical basic research. Nanotechnology can provide a wide range of new weapons against this fatal enemy: a new generation of specific biosensors, innovative imaging techniques, tumor treatment by hyperthermia, targeted nanoparticle-based drug and gene delivery to tumor sites, and photothermy, to name a few. About a third of the lectures and contributions of the NanoMed 2010 will be dedicated to this subject.

Beyond the Focus Topic, the scope of the conference covers the entire range of medical applications of nanotechnology, including, among others, drug delivery, drug targeting and controlled release, innovative dental materials, nanobioanalytics and diagnostic techniques based thereupon, nanomaterials for implants and regenerative medicine; microbicidal coatings for general hygiene and drug packaging, novel contrast agents, miniaturization of biochips, and bio-labelling with quantum dots.

The rise of nanotechnology has triggered a vivid debate on its potential risks for human health. Numerous research projects are addressing this topic. The NanoMed 2010 will provide a platform for the presentation of recent results in this field and for a discussion on this issue in the context of medical applications of nanomaterials.

Strong emphasis will be put on issues like intellectual property, financing of nanotechnology enterprises, regulatory affairs, clinical studies, technology transfer, and strategic collaboration between academic research, R&D companies and the pharmaceutical industry.