Carboplatin with wave-particle duality? Why not! Let’s go nano!

Please do not consider me as an enemy of nanotechnological revolution (if any) for my previous critical posts (links are here and here) about this subject. Being a mediocre scientist of the very old soviet scientific school I just would like to specify a scientific part of the publicly available information from the anti-scientific hype misleading investor oriented chatter.

Here I would like to continue the deconstruction of application of “nano” in drug development and pharmacology.

According to modern Wikipedia-like paradigm the importance of nano world consists of two possible advantages:

1.       Possibility for additional miniaturization from micro world.

2.       Possibility to use quantum properties of the matter on atomic and sub-atomic scales.

In drug development BOTH THESE ISSUES are not applicable: 1. Nanorobots cannot compete with natural objects like bacteria, cell, and virus in a media of living body due to:

a)      lack of physical material background for creation of functional nano-devices (you cannot produce them from stainless steel!)

b)      empirically clear that billions of years evolution of living organism has created extremely efficient living mechanisms – and extremely complicated too and to challenge the nature on this field looks a little bit childish…

And 2: How in the world can be used quantum properties of the matter on atomic and subatomic level if drugs work on the molecular level which belongs to the macro, non-quantum world? A molecule and a drug cannot manifest quantum properties just by the same reasons as a table or a bus or a house cannot do it: all these objects are in the wrong scale to manifest quantum properties.

Wait a minute…  Let’s check the terms once again:

“(excuse me for using Wikipedia): Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics dealing with physical phenomena where the action is of the order of Planck constant; quantum mechanics departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic scales, the so-called quantum realm. It provides a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. In advanced topics of quantum mechanics, some of these behaviors are macroscopic and only emerge at very low or very high energies or temperatures.”

Exactly! “dual particle-like and wave-like behavior” – this is the main characteristic/phenomenon which distinct quantum properties from non-quantum properties! Just to understand the phenomena let’s see very educative and pedagogical video.

But of course chemistry and pharmacology do not work on this level. Just imagine doxorubicin with wave like behavior! Shrödinger equation of insulin! Wave function of aspirin! Only fantasy matters!