Applications of nanotechnology related to healthcare
In addition to the direct application of nanotechnology in healthcare and medicine, their application in other fields will have a major impact on healthcare worldwide. These include its application in agriculture, water availability and the environment. Nanotechnology in agriculture will ensure that food is more plentiful and reduce cases of malnutrition. When applied to the environment, it shall help in with toxins that cause ill-health when people are exposed to them. Water use and availability is another major area where use of nanotechnology will change the state of healthcare especially in developing countries.
Access to clean water is a severe problem even today despite the technology available and the rapid technological advances of the last several decades. In fact, 1 in 8 people worlwide do not have access to clean water. This is especially so in the developing world where a sizable part of the population do not have access to clean water and don’t enjoy water security. This has resulted in 98% of water-related deaths occurring in developing countries [2].
Solving the issue of access to water and water availability is thus a global challenge that is receiving a lot of attention. This has resulted in a lot of research and development of nanotechnology into ways into which nanotechnology and nanoparticles can be used to improve and revolutionize access to clean water and improve water security worldwide. This will reduce the burden on healthcare that results from people lacking access to clean water for use.
Other applications of nanotechnology that will affect the healthcare industry are self-cleaning materials and surfaces, textiles and food processing and packaging. It is clear that the use of nanotechnology will change healthcare fundamentally both within and outside their use in healthcare.
References
- Benefits and Applications | Nano. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nano.gov/you/nanotechnology-benefits
- Nanotechnology for clean water: Facts and figures - SciDev.Net. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.scidev.net/global/water/feature/nanotechnology-for-clean-water-facts-and-figures.html