How can we use nanobots to cure cancer

What is a nanobot?

A nanobot is a tiny robot. When I say tiny, I mean really tiny. About a thousand of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence. The problem – they have not been made yet.

How are nanobots powered?

Nanobots can be powered in many different ways, but scientists are still working on procedures. The
currently available techniques are-

• Energy from the bloodstream- the nanobots might be lined with nanoelectrodes that would use the electrolytes in the bloodstream for fuel.
• Inbuilt power- they could carry a nanobattery that powered them.

How can we use them to cure cancer?

Cancer cells and normal cells are different. To successfully kill cancer cells but leave normal cells
unharmed, the nanobot must be 10 – 100 nanometers wide, too big to penetrate a blood cell. But
cancer cells are different; their cell walls are full of large pores. So, a nanobot can slip into the cancer cell and deliver its medicine, such as a chemotherapy drug, but leave blood cells unharmed.

The method –
1. The nanobots are injected into the body using a syringe.
2. They are allowed to circulate in the bloodstream till they find a cancer cell.
3. They enter the cell and kill it.
4. The process repeats.

Are there diseases that can slip out of the trap?

Yes. Examples would be-

• AIDS
• The rhinovirus

etc.

This would be because this type of nanobot is specifically designed to kill cancer cells and cancer cells alone.