Less than twenty years ago photolithography and medicine were total
strangers to one
another.Theyhadnotyetmet,andnotevenlookingeachotherupintheclassi?eds.And
then,nucleicacidchips,micro?uidicsandmicroarraysenteredthescene,andrapidlythese
strangersbecameindispensablepartnersinbiomedicine.
Asrecentlyastenyearsagothenotionofapplyingnanotechnologytothe?ghtagainstd-
easewasdominantlytheprovinceofthe?ctionwriters.Thoughtsofnanoparticle-vehicled
deliveryoftherapeuticalstodiseasedsiteswereanexerciseinscienti?csolitude,andgrounds
for questioning one's ability to think "like an established
scientist". And today we have
nanoparticulatepaclitaxelastheprimeoptionagainstmetastaticbreastcancer,proteomic
pro?lingdiagnostictoolsbasedontargetsurfacenanotexturing,nanoparticlecontrastagents
forallradiologicalmodalities,nanotechnologiesembeddedinhigh-distributionlaboratory
equipment, and no less than 152 novel nanomedical entities in the
regulatory pipeline in theUSalone.
Thisisatransformingimpact,byanymeasure,withclearevidenceoffurtheracceleration,
supported by very vigorous investments by the public and private
sectors throughout the world. Even joining the dots in a most
conservative, linear fashion, it is easy to envision
scenariosofpersonalizedmedicinesuchasthefollowing:
patient-speci?cpreventionsupplantinggross,facelessinterventionstrategies;
early detection protocols identifying signs of developing disease
at the time when thediseaseismosteasilysubdued; personally tailored
intervention strategies that are so routinely and inexpensively
realized,thataccesstothemcanbesecuredbyeveryone;
technologiesallowingforlonglivesinthecompanyofdisease,asgoodneighbors,
withoutimpairmentofthequalityoflifeitself.
Thesevisionswillbecomereality.Thecontributionsfromtheworldsofsmall-scalete-
nologies are required to realize them. Invaluable progress towards
them was recorded by the very scientists that have joined forces to
accomplish the effort presented in this 4-volume collection. It has
been a great privilege for me to be at their service, and at the
service of the readership, in aiding with its assembly. May I take
this oppor- nity to express my gratitude to all of the contributing
Chapter Authors, for their - spired and thorough work. For many of
them, writing about the history of their s-
cialty?eldsofBioMEMSandBiomedicalNanotechnologyhasreallybeenreportingabout
their personal, individual adventures through scienti? c discovery
and innovation-a sort xxii FOREWORD of family album, with
equations, diagrams, bibliographies and charts replacing Holiday
pictures...
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