3. Nanomedicine

Living organisms operate on scales ranging from nanometers to micrometers. Cells, functional units measuring just a few micrometers in diameter, carry out the chemical reactions necessary for their survival, growth or multiplication within compartments measuring just a few cubic nanometers. The passage of chemical compounds (drugs, mediators, metabolites, etc.) inside cells takes place through nanometer-sized pores. The many molecules (receptor proteins, immunoglobulins, membrane receptors) that are agents of the biological response have characteristic dimensions of the order of ten nanometers. So it was only natural that nanotechnologies should come into contact with the biological sciences.