Nanodiagnostics Set For Defining Growth
The healthcare market, poised to see some of the earliest
benefits of nanotechnology over the next decade, will be one of nanotech's
highest growth sectors. Technology is advancing on all fronts, from highly
affordable point-of-care diagnostics with the potential to make mass screening
and early detection of disease possible, through to highly targeted
therapeutics with drugs being delivered and released only where needed.
Nanotechnology promises to revolutionize medical
diagnostics: earlier detection of
disease, higher sensitivity, higher accuracy, higher throughput capability,
more results per assay; time saving and cost-effectiveness.
"The implications are enormous," said Tim Harper, CEO of
Cientifica Ltd. "Diagnostic tools using nanotechnology are pushing the envelope
in terms of speed, sensitivity and cost and are beginning to have an impact on
almost every sector. In 10 years' time the idea of taking a blood sample and
sending it away to be analyzed will be seem as old fashioned as buying music
from a 'record' store."
Following on from Cientifica's Nanotechnology for Drug
Delivery" report series,
Nanotechnology for Medical Diagnostics,
a 237-page report, takes a comprehensive look at current and emerging
nanoscale technologies used for medical diagnostics. Areas examined include
quantum dots, gold nanoparticles, exosomes, nanoporous silica, nanowires,
micro- and nanocantilever arrays, carbon nanotubes, ion channel switch
nanobiosensors, and many more.
Cientifica estimates medical imaging is the sector
showing the highest growth and impact of nanomaterials. Already a $1.7-billion
market, with gold nanoparticle applications accounting for $959 million,
imaging will continue to be the largest nanodiagnostics sector, with gold
nanoparticles, quantum dots and nanobiosensors all easily exceeding $10
billion.
"Getting onboard with the right technology at the right
time is crucial," said Harper. "The use of exosomes in diagnosis, for instance,
a relatively new technique and a tiny market, is set to reach close to half a
billion dollars by 2021."
