Band 6, Heft 1

Rapid, specific and sensitive diagnosis of infectious diseases is important for the rational, effective and economic treatment of the infection. Focused treatment of the patient with an accurate diagnosis may also contribute to the minimization of drug resistance development. Rapidly evolving micro and nanotechnologies contribute to the development of new diagnostic modalities. This critical review provides an overview of current developments in diagnostics for infectious disease enabled by nanotechnologies and includes a range of representative examples.

The charge distribution of aerosol is an important factor for accurate prediction of aerosol behavior as it influences particle transport, settling, deposition, and coagulation. In the production of aerosol for pulmonary drug delivery, charging of aerosol particles is influenced by both the generation method and chemical properties of the drug. Electrostatic charging of add-on devices such as plastic spacers and holding chambers will reduce the delivery to the lung, while charged particles can also enhance deposition to the respiratory system by inducing an image charge to airway surfaces. Typical target particle size for delivery devices in terms of mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) is 1–5 μm, and therefore up to 50% of the dose includes submicron particles in the fine (100–1000 nm) and ultrafine (<100 nm) size range. Measurement of the charge distribution of submicron particles produced using a vibrating mesh nebulizer is presented using a tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA). It is found that the charge distribution is not at equilibrium, but instead has an increase in the fraction of charged particles below 200 nm and a decrease in the charged fraction above 200 nm. In general the charge distribution will be dependent on the specific aerosol nebulizer setup being used and the chemical properties of the nebulized solution, and it could be further quantified by using the methods discussed here.

High-performance thermoplastics including polyetheretherketone (PEEK) are key biomaterials for load-bearing implants. Plasma treatment of implants surfaces has been shown to chemically activate its surface, which is a prerequisite to achieve proper cell attachment. Oxygen plasma treatment of PEEK films results in very reproducible surface nanostructures and has been reported in the literature. Our goal is to apply the plasma treatment to another promising polymer, polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), and compare its characteristics to the ones of PEEK. Oxygen plasma treatments of plasma powers between 25 and 150 W were applied on 60 μm-thick PEKK and 100 μm-thick PEEK films. Analysis of the nanostructures by atomic force microscopy showed that the roughness increased and island density decreased with plasma power for both PEKK and PEEK films correlating with contact angle values without affecting bulk properties of the used films. Thermal analysis of the plasma-treated films shows that the plasma treatment does not change the bulk properties of the PEKK and PEEK films.

In the field of medicine nanotechnology may help to develop new and effective applications. However, as with many modern technologies, there are considerable moral, legal and social concerns about the consequences nanotechnology may have for humans and their environment. More than in many other areas of nanotechnology, nanomedicine stimulates stakeholders to raise concerns. Not only are patients concerned, but so are those in politics and administration, in industry and in the scientific community there are substantial debates about ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of nanomedicine.