Cancer Nanotechnology: Methods and Protocols, a collaborative book edited by two researchers from the University of Florida’s College of Medicine and College of Engineering, is now available, providing key information about how the flourishing field of nanotechnology can be applied in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
The book is written for a broad audience including those new to and experienced in the field of cancer nanotechnology, which studies the use of nanoparticles, human made materials that are 10,000 times smaller than the diameter a human hair. With contributions from around the globe, the text provides background information, details about how to engineer and use nanoparticles for cancer imaging and therapy, and specific examples of how the technology can be applied to human cancer.
“I hope the book will excite cancer researchers and clinicians about the potential of nanotechnology to radically transform how we approach diagnosis, detection and treatment of cancer,” said co-editor Stephen Grobmyer, M.D., a UF assistant professor of surgical oncology, who is specifically looking at the use of nanotechnology in the area of breast cancer to image and treat more aggressive subtypes of the disease for which treatment options are currently very limited.
Brij M. Moudgil, Ph.D., co-editor and a UF Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering, said the collaboration between the fields of engineering and medicine is critical in developing novel nanotechnology platforms for diagnosing and treating cancer.
“A continuing dialogue between medicine and engineering is most helpful for the engineers to understand the biological challenges so they can develop appropriate technological approaches,” Moudgil said.
Grobmyer said nanotechnology is an exciting new tool in the battle against cancer, allowing the safe transformation of much of what has been learned about cancer biology in the last 20 years into clinically useful strategies.
Published by Humana Press, the book is a volume in the Methods in Molecular Biology text series.