Nanomaterials Useful in Health and Medicine to Improve Public Health

In modern research, nanotechnology is a very attractive technology and helps to reduce infectious diseases. Nanoparticles have gained significantly more important than the bulk counterparts due to their unique properties. This chapter gives knowledge about the general introduction of nanoparticles with classification and also discussed the effect of nanoparticles impact on public health. Nanotechnology is most widely used to reduced different types of infectious diseases such as bacterial, viral, parasitic diseases, etc. Nanotechnology is applied to detect different types of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. Nanotechnology is a useful technique to develop novel drug delivery systems due to their high specificity, high drug-carrying capacity, and high stability. Nanotechnology can be able to improve human health but on the other hand, we have seen a negative impact on human health and environmental health. The solubility and toxicity of nanoparticles is a major issue worldwide.

Implication of Nanoparticles in Drosophila Toxicology Research

Homo sapiens and Drosophila malenogaster, a fruit fly, share genetic homology in development process regulated through fundamental biological pathways and conserved mechanisms conserved as a process of evolution among these species. Drosophila melanogaster is an eminent model organism to study diverse biological species. In this chapter, the use of wide variety of nano particles and their impact on Drosophila melanogastsr's development, longevity, characteristics of reproduction has been studied.

Applications of Nano Materials in Cold Storage

Nano particles (NPs) have superior properties and hence can be used for various applications. The cold storage is most widely used in the preservation of agricultural and horticultural products. The cold storage maybe operated by vapour compression or vapour absorption cooling system. The operating cost of this system can be reduced by using renewable energy systems and thermal energy storage systems. The NPs are used to increase the performance of renewable energy and thermal storage systems. In recent years, phase change materials are used to increase heat transfer rate in solar cold storage units. The NPs can be used to absorb the ethylene gas produced during storage of fruits, so that the shelf life, freshness, firmness, and texture of the fruits can be maintained for longer storage duration. The NPs coatings also increases the shelf life and freshness of the fruits. This chapter discusses NPs, types of NPs, basics of cold storage systems, use of NPs in solar integrated cold storage, and effect of NPs coatings on fruits stored in cold storage.

Nanomedicine in Human Health Therapeutics and Drug Delivery

The 21st century has seen a massive spring up in the applications of nanobiotechnology. Incorporation of functionalized and modified nanostructures in various biomedical applications has generated significant research interests such as implant and tissue engineering, diagnosis, and therapy, thereby aiding in improvement of human health. The unique properties of nanoparticles including non-toxicity and biocompatibility with a large surface area make it possible to modify their surface with different chemicals including different polymers, antibodies, and drug molecules. Therefore, they are utilized for targeted drug delivery in order to carry drugs and selectively release them in desired tissues which reduces destructive effects on healthy cells. This chapter mainly covers the basic properties of nanoparticles including nanomedicine, their preparation and focuses on their diagnosis, and therapeutic applications in disease including cancer and other challenging ailments.

Application of LiMn2O4 Nanostructures as Efficient Cathodes for Energy Storage Devices

Renewable energy resources have been investigated as alternatives to fossil fuels. Though the energy density of these renewable sources is not comparable to the fossil fuels, their abundance make them highly interesting. There are three main steps in the renewable energy utilization: harvesting, conversion, and storage. Thus, after harvesting renewable energy, storing this energy is an important aspect for its large-scale end use. Considering the fact that the energy is a basic need for life on earth, there has been a strong scientific temperament towards the renewable energy utilization. The electrical energy storage maintains the key to promote the use of renewable energy. Among the storage devices, the rechargeable lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are the most promising energy storage devices. Among various cathodes proposed for LIBs, the most promising one is the spinel lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4). Its non-toxicity, low cost, abundance, and ease of synthesis, besides being environmentally friendly, make it suitable for next generation green LIBs.

Nanomaterials for Energy Harvesting and Storage

The possibility of both energy and environmental crisis that may arise due to use of fossil fuels has resulted in intense research activities in the past decade on the development of technologies for harvesting and storage of energy from renewable sources. In order to meet the energy requirements for an ever-increasing population, there is a need for high performance electrochemical energy harvesting as well as storage devices. Nanomaterials and nanocomposites with diverse composition, structure, and morphologies have been applied in various energy related applications ranging from photocatalytic hydrogen generation, solar electricity generation, electric energy storage by lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors, hydrogen storage systems, etc. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the recent developments in the technological advancements brought about by the use of nanotechnology in energy harvesting and storage appliances with specific focus on dye sensitized solar cells for electricity generation, lithium ion batteries, and supercapacitors for energy storage.

Nanostructured Electromagnetic Metamaterials for Sensing Applications

Metamaterials are novel artificial materials with periodic arrangement of structural meta-atoms which exhibit unique properties. Field localization and enhancement at the surface of the meta-atoms allow the structure to be an effective tool for sensing applications. This chapter discusses the emerging field of nanostructured electromagnetic metamaterials in sensing applications. The first section introduces nanostructured metamaterials based on their structures, properties, and fabrication techniques. The following section encompasses the applications of metamaterial-based nano-sensors in medicine and food science. For biomedical sensing, the applications of metamaterial-based nano biosensors in medical field are highlighted. For food science sensing, the applications of nano metamaterials in food contamination detection and food quality control are discussed. The last section discusses the future trends of nanostructured metamaterials in shifting towards reconfigurable, controllable, and multi-functional meta-devices.

Applications of Organic Chemistry in Nano-Medicine

Nanotechnology offers multiple benefits. Nanomedicine and nanodelivery systems are relatively new areas in nanotechnology. There are number of outstanding applications of the nanomedicine in diagnosing diseases, delivering drugs to its target location, and thus treating human diseases. Here materials in the nanoscale range are employed to serve as means of diagnostic tools and also to deliver precise medicines to specific targeted sites in a controlled manner. Also, metal nanoparticles offer great interest in modern chemistry and materials research because of their applications in diverse fields such as photochemistry, nanoelectronics, optics, and catalysis. Chemistry provides various nanostructured materials either synthetic or isolated from natural sources offers opportunities and challenges in drug delivery and their applications including biomedical imaging, biosensing, diagnostic, and therapy. Thymoquinone, a bioactive compound in Nigella sativa, after encapsulation in lipid nanocarrier, has been found to show six-fold increase in bioavailability in comparison to free thymoquinone. In addition to this, organic nanomaterials have recently become of great interest for photovoltaic applications also.

Nanotechnology as an Emerging Field in the Arena of Medicine

Nanotechnology as an emerging scientific field has enabled humanity to manipulate the environment at molecular and atomic level and has touched and even revolutionized all scientific fields due to its characteristic features. Medicine is one of the important fields that witnessed a nanotechnological revolution that guided medical scientists to device new approaches to study pathologies and explore genuine therapeutic tricks by exploring nanotechnology to operate on more specific molecular targets and to reduce the adverse risks and side effects imposed by the conventional approaches. By manipulating drugs and other materials, the fundamental properties and bioactivity of the materials can be altered at the nano scale. These tools can led to the different characteristics of drugs or agents such as a) modulation in solubility and blood pool retention time, b) controlled release over short or long durations, c) environmentally triggered controlled release or highly specific site-targeted deliver.

Magnesium Oxide (MgO)

Bacterial contamination is an unusual menace for human well-being. Nanotechnology proposes diverse techniques to nurture new inorganic antibacterial agents. Nano-inorganic metal oxides possess an auspicious potential to diminish bacterial effluence. Magnesium oxide (MgO) is a significant inorganic oxide and has been widely employed in numerous arenas such as catalysis, ceramics, toxic waste remediation, antibacterial activity, and as an additive in paint and superconductor products by virtue of its distinctive properties. Numerous studies have shown that magnesium oxide nanostructures possess remarkable antibacterial activity. Therefore, in this direction, few synthesis methods such as hydrothermal method, sol-gel method, etc., antibacterial activity, and antibacterial mechanisms of magnesium oxide nanostructures have been incorporated in this chapter.