Nanotechnology in Pulmonary Disease Diagnosis

Abstract

Millions of people of all ethnicities and ages are afflicted with pulmonary diseases globally according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The ramifications of these pulmonary diseases are evident in terms of impaired work productivity and quality of life mitigations in the daily healthcare activities. Among the pulmonary diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), occupational lung diseases (such as silicosis), asthma, lung cancer, pulmonary arterial hypertension and cystic fibrosis are the most prevalent. Unfortunately, none of these pulmonary diseases are completely eradicable with the available therapeutic regimes, and the early and thorough diagnosis is pivotal. The emergence of nanotechnology offers a commendable tool for the diagnosis and therapeutic management of pulmonary ailments. This is ascribable to sizing of particle in the nano range which enable them to triumph the biological and other pulmonary barriers leading to the enhancement not only in the therapeutic performance but also in the diagnosis. It is documented that although the extent of uptake of nanoparticle by pulmonary tissues is primarily affected by the physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles themselves, the health condition of the host also plays a crucial role. Consequently, despite the enormous potential of nanotechnology to transform medicine field, the safety assessment remains an important concern. The present chapter describes the innovations in the nanotechnology field relevant to the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases and highlights some of the latest work in the field.