With the potential for targeted therapy, and therefore reduced side effects, nanomedicine holds the promise of significantly improving quality of life parameters. At the same time, the adoption of nanotechnology-based applications by large therapeutic and diagnostic companies is accelerating the development of nanomedicine.

The prospect of site-specific therapeutic action and by extension of fewer side effects means that nanomedical applications have an enhanced risk-benefit analysis ratio. This is motivating their growing popularity as a therapeutic option.

"Furthermore, with techniques for early diagnosis of diseases and, in some cases, their disposition, prophylactic (preventive) intervention could well become a reality with the advent of nanomedicine," notes Rajaram Sankaran, Analyst from Frost & Sullivan. "With such prophylactic interventions, it might be possible to postpone or even completely avoid diseases, in some instances."

Key to nanomedicine's rapid evolution has been the embrace of nanotechnology-based applications by pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and drug delivery companies. Prominent instances include the use of Elan Corporation's NanoCrystal technology by Wyeth and Merck and the deployment of Quantum Dot Corporation's Qdot(r) particles by Pfizer, GSK, Astra Zeneca and Genentech.

An injection of magnetic nanoparticles into your bloodstream could reveal precisely where harmful viruses are lurking. The particles are coated with antibodies to a particular virus, so they will form clumps that should be visible on conventional body scans if that virus is present. The team working on the technology, from the Harvard Medical School's Center for Molecular Imaging Research in Charlestown, Massachusetts, have already managed to detect viruses in body fluids and tissue samples.

Cipro, the antibiotic that became a household word during the 2001 anthrax scare, is becoming increasingly ineffective against dangerous infections because of overuse, a study released today indicates.

The researchers examined data on infections in hospitalized patients in 43 states and Washington from 1994 to 2000. Ailments included respiratory and urinary infections caused by a variety of bacteria.

Delivering a genetic payload that spurs the generation of new blood vessels, an engineered growth factor is proving safe and effective for speeding healing in patients who face wound-related leg amputation.

Injected into leg muscles, the growth factor, NV1FGF, targets cells that line blood vessel wells and directs them to grow new blood vessels, improving circulation. The process is known as therapeutic angiogenesis.