Nanothera(g)nosis and Chemistry: A Fruitful Binomial

Abstract

The main purpose of this perspective article is to open the eyes of chemists to the great potential of Nanothera(g) nosis, an emerging branch in Medicine, and the crucial roles that they can play in this promising topic in an interdisciplinary atmosphere. The present and future situation of Nanothera(g)nosis in the Nanomedicine field are critically presented and discussed in this minireview by distilling the most relevant insights of this relatively recent but hot topic. After a contextualization of it, the updated generalities of Nanothera(g)nosis are deal with. The most frequent thera(g)noastic agents participating in this process as well as the main types of Nanothera(g)nosis processes according to several classification criteria are reported. A brief description of the potential impact of Nanothera(g)nosis in several relevant diseases are also presented. The crucial roles of Chemistry in the two bottle-necks of Nanothera(g)nosis namely the synthesis of isolated carrier nanothera(g)nositc agents and conjugated nanothera(g)nostic nanoparticles as well as the (bio)chemical analysis (i.e. quality assurance, monitoring of synthetic procedures and the characterization of final pharmaceutical drug) are outlined. Finally, some author´s reflections about the future of this emerging nanotechnology included.