Mette Ebbesen

Nanomedicine: Techniques, Potentials, and Ethical Implications

Nanotechnology is concerned with materials and systems whose structures and components exhibit novel physical, chemical, and biological properties due to their nanoscale size. This paper focuses on what is known as nanomedicine, referring to the application of nanotechnology to medicine. We consider the use and potentials of emerging nanoscience techniques in medicine such as nanosurgery, tissue engineering, and targeted drug delivery, and we discuss the ethical questions that these techniques raise. The ethical considerations involved in nanomedicine are related to risk assessment in general, somatic-cell versus germline-cell therapy, the enhancement of human capabilities, research into human embryonic stem cells and the toxicity, uncontrolled function and self-assembly of nanoparticles. The ethical considerations associated with the application of nanotechnology to medicine have not been greatly discussed. This paper aims to balance clear ethical discussion and sound science and so provide nanotechnologists and biotechnologists with tools to assess ethical problems in nanomedicine.

Ethics in Nanotechnology: Starting From Scratch?

Research in nanotechnology has advanced rapidly in recent years. Several researchers, however, warn that there is a paucity of research on the ethical, legal, and social implications of nanotechnology, and they caution that ethical reflections on nanotechnology lag behind this fast developing science. In this article, the authors question this conclusion, pointing out that the predicted concrete ethical issues related to the area of nanotechnology are rather similar to those related to the area of biotechnology and biology that have been considered by ethicists since the 1970s. Hence, a knowledge base has already been acquired from ethical reflections on biotechnology and biology, which may be a good starting point and foundation for a discussion of ethical reflections on nanotechnology. The authors argue that a promising approach is the use of basic ethical principles as a method to analyze ethical issues of nanotechnology.

Cultural aspects related to informed consent in health research A systematic review

Background: In order to protect the autonomy of human subjects, we need to take their culture into account when we are obtaining informed consent. Objective and research design: This study describes the cultural aspects related to informed consent in health research and is based on electronic searches that were conducted using the Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases published between 2000 and 2013. A total of 25 articles were selected. Findings: Our findings indicate that cultural perspectives relating to the informed consent process are essential during the whole research process and particularly crucial in the planning phase of a study. Our study indicates that appropriate communication between different stakeholders plays a vital role in cultural understanding. Discussion and conclusion: The researchers’ awareness of cultural differences and their ability to work in a culturally sensitive way are key factors in improving study participation and retention in a multicultural context. Taking cultural aspects into account during the whole research process improves the quality of research.

Why Should Nanoscience Students be Taught to be Ethically Competent

During the education of scientists at the university level the students become more and more specialized. The specialization of the students is a consequence of the scientific research becoming specialized as well. In the interdisciplinary field of nanoscience the importance of specialization is also emphasized throughout the education. Being an interdisciplinary field of study the specialization in this area is not focused on scientific disciplines, but on the different branches of the research. Historically ethics has not been a priority in science education, however, in recent years the importance of such teachings has been highly recognize especially in medicine, biotechnology and engineering. The rapid development, the many new and unknown areas and the highly specialized focus of nanotechnology suggest the importance of having ethically competent researchers. In this article the importance of ethical competence in nanoscience research is argued for by an example of a dilemma that could occur in a research project. The dilemma is analyzed using two different ethical views, generating two different choices for action. It is seen that the dilemma can have more than one solution and that ethical competence can help in justifying the choice of solution in a specific situation. Furthermore it is suggested that a way to reach this competence is through education in ethics incorporated into the nanoscience education curriculum.

The Principle of Justice and Access to Nanomedicine in National Healthcare Systems

The focus of this article is fair access to nanomedicine, which refers to the application of nanotechnology to medicine. By use of nanotechnology improved diagnostics and therapy are expected in medicine and health care. Researchers, however, warn that nanomedicine products may be so expensive when they go on the market that they may provisionally make health inequalities worse both nationally and internationally. If this is true, it raises specific questions of justice as to whether we should accept these inequalities and accept that some persons may not have access to health care.This article argues that a promising approach to the ethics of nanomedicine is given with the ethics of the American ethicists Tom L. Beauchamp & James F. Childress. The article introduces the basic ethical principles of these authors: respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Specific attention is dedicated to the principle of justice and fair access to national health care. The principle of justice of Beauchamp & Childress is discussed and with the aim of creating fair access to nanomedicine, this article suggests an appropriate principle of justice to evaluate this field.Accordingly, this article defends a national health care system based on an egalitarian principle of justice, which requires equal access to health care including long-term and chronic care services. Also, it is argued that, contrary to the suggestion by Beauchamp & Childress, persons are entitled to social coverage of health care even though they suffer from a disease caused by personal autonomous activities. If it is economically feasible, nanomedicine should be included in the national health care system and it should be accessible to all citizens.