10: Nanomaterials in Human Disease Diagnosis

Nanotechnology can be defined as the manipulation of matter on a molecular, atomic or supramolecular scale to control its size at the nanometer scale (1–100 nm), which leads to the origin of unique properties. Recent developments in this field have explored these unique physical, chemical and biological properties and created a new way to use nanomaterials (NMs) in various biomedical applications, particularly in treatment and diagnosis of diseases, implants, prostheses and drug delivery. In this chapter, recent advances in nanotechnology-based nano-tools for disease diagnosis and their potential application in early disease detection with high sensitivity and specificity are discussed. Vast applications of NMs in disease diagnosis have been described for some common diseases, like cancer, diabetes and other infectious diseases.