Blood substitutes based on nanobiotechnology.

Stimulated by concerns of potential infective agents in donated blood, commercial enterprises have attempted to develop blood substitutes since the 1900s. After several years of development, a few of the many leads are showing promise. In this article, nanobiotechnological approaches that are now in phase III clinical trials are reviewed, followed by a discussion of how important basic knowledge gained is being used to develop new generations of blood substitutes based on nanobiotechnology.