Prelude
The previous chapter introduced three of the major subjects of interest in bio-molecular engineering: drug delivery, nano-biotechnology, and tissue engineering. This chapter focuses on additional applications of biomolecular engineering, particularly approaches for enhancing the function of the immune system. The most familiar application of biomedical engineering (BME) in immunology is the development of vaccines.
The development of vaccines that are both safe and effective has been one of the great achievements of modern medicine. Because of an effective vaccine, smallpox—a frequently fatal disease that claimed thousands of lives in previous centuries—has been eradicated, or eliminated as a natural infectious agent. Other severe infectious diseases, such as polio and influenza, are now in control in most countries of the world. There are, however, many diseases that have proven to be difficult for vaccine makers. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has killed millions of people worldwide and there is still no effective vaccine available. In some parts of the world, deaths from HIV/AIDS have a substantial impact on overall life expectancy (Figure 14.1). Most residents of developed nations, such as the United States, receive a spectrum of vaccines during child hood, but there are no vaccines for other diseases (such as malaria, schistosomia sis, and diarrheal disease) that are major causes of death in the developing world (Table 14.1). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccines and clean water are the two public health interventions that have had the most substantial impact on world health. Both of these interventions represent the work of engineers: civil and environmental engineers, who developed water sanitation systems, and bio-medical and chemical engineers, who developed methods for the mass production of safe vaccines. Vaccines prolong the lives of millions of people each year by preventing infectious diseases. Because of the development of an effective and portable vaccine, smallpox—a disease that took the lives of millions and likely caused the fall of Aztec civilizations—has been eradicated from the world.