Applications Activity: Nanomedicine

Most cancer drugs kill some good cells along with the bad cells, making the patient very sick. What if you could treat cancer without this negative side effect? Nanotechnology, technology at the scale of atoms, may allow us to do this in the near future. Students will work in research teams to explore different methods of drug delivery. One method involves ferrofluid, a nanomaterial currently under investigation for medical applications. Ferrofluid is made from nano-sized particles of magnetite that are coated with a surfactant. The surfactant keeps the solid particles from sticking together, giving a liquid-like appearance.

Full Instructions

Handout: Student Worksheet

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Materials

• Ferrofluid demonstration tubes
• Iron filing demonstration tubes
• Empty demonstration inhalers
• Cow magnets
• Syringes without needles
• Plastic storage boxes
• Handouts
• Large sheets of paper
• Markers

Nanotechnology Pages