Professor Donald Tomalia is the world authority on nanotechnology (the manipulation of materials at the molecular level) and US government adviser on the relatively new science.
He is in Australia to help develop the use of cutting-edge "nanodrugs", called dendrimers, in conjunction with an Australian joint venture.
Australia would pioneer the application to humans of the synthetic molecular structures to prevent and cure diseases such as STDs, malaria and Hepatitis B, Prof Tomalia told reporters in Sydney.
Dendrimers would be adapted for a variety of treatment methods, including inhalation, oral or injected.
"They (dendrimers) can also be used to intercede, to shut down, external pathogens like a virus," said Prof Tomalia.
Dendrimers were being touted by the joint-venture Dendritic Nanotechnologies as having implications for anything from preventing tumour growth to detecting biological warfare.
Dendritic is made up of Melbourne-based pharmaceutical company Starpharma and Brisbane-based diagnostic firm Panbio.
One product already in development is a gel-like substance to be inserted into the vagina to prevent HIV and herpes infections, said Dr John Raff, CEO of Starpharma.
"It's the first product we've got going through the system to be put inside a human. It blocks the uptake of HIV and stops it from infecting the cells. It has a lot of potential ... it will be our first product for testing on humans," said Dr Raff.
When asked if this could mean a cure for AIDS within five years, Dr Raff replied, "Absolutely".
"It stops the virus multiplying in the body as well as stopping the virus from getting into the body in the first place. We're looking at having a product on the market in the next four to five years," said Dr Raff.
In terms of cancer, dendrimers could prevent tumour cells spreading to other parts of the body as well as preventing the growth of existing tumours, he said.
"We're now getting responses to cancer that we've never seen because we can get such high local concentrations (of drugs) down there without collateral damage to tissue."
Dr Raff said the federal government had committed $7.3 million to the company's research.
The Australian army was embracing nanotechnology, following in the footsteps of the US, which was equipping its army with detection devices against germ warfare, he said.
"The opportunities of broadscale protections against a range of respiratory viruses is enormous," he said.
"The US army has made a very serious commitment to the nano area. The army intends to give every foot soldier out there devices to detect biological threats. That is now a reality. Australia is just now coming into this very exciting area," he said.
