Nanomedicine is a key science of the 21st century. Although the production and use of Nanosized particles had taken place in several ways in ancient times and hundreds of years ago, Nanomedicine as a modern interdisciplinary science was first established in the nineties of the last century only. The basis of this new science derives from the development of an array of ultra-microscopic devices and the studies of cellular, molecular and finally atomized structures in biology, chemistry and physics in the 20th century. Nanoporous ceramic filters were indeed already being used in the 19th century to separate viruses, and around 1900 Max Planck and Albert Einstein produced theoretical evidence that there must be a range of tiny particles which obeyed their own laws. These particles could not be made visible however-the necessary instruments for this had yet to be invented.

Modern Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary science concerning the tiniest of particles and their special chemical, physical and mechanical properties at the meeting points of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, electronics and information technology. In practice the special areas of nanotechnology overlap and blur the boundaries between the natural sciences. Nanobiotechnology is concerned with molecular intra- and intercellular processes and is of critical importance for nanotechnology applications in medicine

Nanomedicine involves the use of nanoparticles for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. During the past two decades, a growing number of nanomedicines have received regulatory approval and many more show promise for future clinical translation. Nanoparticles are sphere-like biocompatible materials made of inert silica, metal or crystals of a few Nanometers in size. They are emerging as a novel class of therapeutics for cancer treatment. Being more selective and specific toward their targets, nanoparticles have the ability to enhance the anticancer effects and to simultaneously reduce systemic toxicity compared with conventional therapeutics. The majority of nanoparticle formulations that are currently routinely used in the clinic are used for therapeutic purposes. These therapeutic nanoparticles aim to more efficiently deliver a (chemo-) therapeutic drug to the pathological site, while avoiding its accumulation in healthy organs and tissues, and are predominantly based on the “enhanced permeability and retention” (EPR) effect.