Nanoinformatics and DNA-Based Computing: Catalyzing Nanomedicine

Abstract

Five decades of research and practical application of computers in biomedicine has given rise to the discipline of medical informatics, which has made many advances in genomic and translational medicine possible. Developments in nanotechnology are opening up the prospects for nanomedicine and regenerative medicine where informatics and DNA computing can become the catalysts enabling health care applications at sub-molecular or atomic scales. Although nanomedicine promises a new exciting frontier for clinical practice and biomedical research, issues involving costeffectiveness studies, clinical trials and toxicity assays, drug delivery methods, and the implementation of new personalized therapies still remain challenging. Nanoinformatics can accelerate the introduction of nano-related research and applications into clinical practice, leading to an area that could be called "translational nanoinformatics." At the same time, DNA and RNA computing presents an entirely novel paradigm for computation. Nanoinformatics and DNA-based computing are together likely to completely change the way we model and process information in biomedicine and impact the emerging field of nanomedicine most strongly. In this article, we review work in nanoinformatics and DNA (and RNA)-based computing, including applications in nanopediatrics. We analyze their scientific foundations, current research and projects, envisioned applications and potential problems that might arise from them. O ver the past two decades, bioinformatics and systems biology have addressed informational challenges in biomedicine at the molecular and cellular level, leading to the sequencing of the Human Genome and other -omics projects. At a higher scale, or organismal level, medical informatics deals with patient information, whereas public health informatics focuses on their aggregation at the population level. Recently, Biomedical Informatics (BMI) has emerged to integrate the fields of Medical Informatics and Bioinformatics. However, new informatics methods will be needed to deal with phenomena and research at the smallest, submolecular or atomic levels. The new discipline of Nanoinformatics aims to represent and work with information at the nano level. In this review article, we use the generic name, "Nanoinformatics," to avoid any premature overspecialization in a disciplinelike medical nanoinformatics or bionanoinformatics-that still needs to be more completely defined. We include in this review the related computational field dealing with methods and devices that process biological information by using DNA and RNA.Nanoinformatics refers to the use of informatics techniques for analyzing and processing information about the structure and physico-chemical characteristics of nanoparticles, their environments, and applications. Figure 1 schematically represents some of its relationships with related disciplines.Nanoinformatics is a newly emerging informatics area, working at the intersection between informatics (computer science and information technol...

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Nanoinformatics: a new area of research in nanomedicine

“…In this biomedical context, nanoinformatics refers to "the use of informatics techniques for analyzing and processing information about the structure and physico-chemical characteristics of nanoparticles and nanomaterials, their interaction with their environments, and their applications for nanomedicine." 24 The term was officially recognized after an initial workshop that took place in Arlington, VA, in 2007. 25 This coincided with parallel activities launched at the same time in Europe with support from the European Commission.…”

“…Linked to both simulation and clinical trial results, these nanoinformatics applications could help identify and compensate for individual reactions to these pathogens and support the needed clinical guidelines. 24,41,63 …”

“…The American Medical Informatics Association sponsors the American Medical Informatics Association Summit on Translational Bioinformatics, which aims to translate the latest basic research results in the -omics areas into new knowledge for personalized medicine. 72 We have also suggested a new subfield, which we called "translational nanoinformatics," 24 aimed at translating basic nano-level research into clinical applications. 73 In this context, research results -and side effects, such as nanotoxicity, which is a major clinical concern -can help develop insights into how in vitro and model results can be transferred to clinical situations and practice.…”

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“…O sequenciamento de DNA, RNA e de proteínas são alguns dos problemas que têm se destacado pelo uso da computação (MAOJO et al, 2010). A predição de estruturas de proteínas é outro problema relevante, para o qual ainda não existe uma solução apropriada mesmo com todo trabalho computacional desenvolvido para se lidar com diversos aspectos complicados presentes nesse problema (DILL; MACCALLUM, 2012).…”