The promise of nanotechnology

Promise of Nanotechnology

Designing and developing products at the molecular level offers a wide range of choices that could be beneficially harnessed for a wide variety of applications. Nanotechnology offers an entirely new dimension of medical diagnostics and drug delivery and a quantum leap in computing power. There is no question of doubt that the frontier of nanotechnology would develop fast and become the way of the future.

Nanotechnology is the familiar buzzword now with researchers representing varied scientific domains working on perfecting the science of molecular assembling. The term, first coined in 1974 by japanese professor Norio taniguichi, has now developed into a science in itself with potential applications in fields as diverse as medicine, synthetic and environmental chemistry, to aerospace and defense industry. [Edwards, 2006, pg. 2]the rapid advancements in technologies such as electron microscope, scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopes, and other technologies which allow probing at the atomic and molecular level, have contributed to the significant strides achieved in nanotechnology. Already more than 500 nanotechnology-based consumer products are available on the market in the fields of cosmetics, personal care, food and clothing and it is expected that by 2014 around $2.6 trillion worth of manufactured goods incorporating nanotechnology would be available in the global market. [Diane Greer] in the field of medical diagnostics and treatment as well nanotechnology has huge potential and already significant developments are in place. However, mention should also be made that sceptisicsm pertaining to the potential negative effects of nanotechnology also abound, particularly in the wake of the recent mishaps suffered in GM cropping. A brief overview of this fast developing science would help us better understand its prospects.

Nanotechnology (Molecular Manufacturing)

Nanotechnology is defined as the science that deals with the processing and manufacturing at the molecular level. One nanometer is 60,000 times smaller in diameter compared to the human hair or equivalent to the size of six aligned carbon atoms. [Edwards, 2006, pg.2]. Perfecting the assembly of a nanofactory would make it possible to build highly efficient products from molecules that are manipulated and assembled inside the nanomachinery using molecular tools. Since carbon combines with other elements in different combinations resulting in more than 16 million different compounds the ability to control bonding at molecular level offers great possiblities. Thus, using a nanoasembly, it is possible to create diamond from carbon atoms, prosthetic limbs without immune reactions, or transistors from nanoscale organic or inorganic material. The possibilites are literally endless. The following are some of the potential medical, technological and environmental applications of nanotechnology.

Medical Applications

The field of medicine is one that would be immensely benifitted by the developments in nanotechnology. In future we could expect medical diagnostic procedures to be much simplified with nanoscale assays. For example, using a single drop of blood it would be possible to screen for a number of diseases. In the near future, it would be possible for people to perform their own firsthand diagnosis using handheld bioscanners. Biosensors could be able to detect diseases like cancer much faster and also provide the possibility of multi-target analysis. Also, biosensors would enable POCT (point of care testing) for patients even in remote locations without the need for state of the art laboratory. With the availablity of new biomarkers analysing the molecular signatures would be more efficient with future biosensors. [Avraham Rasooly, 2006]the recent successful development of a nanoparticle carrier that could cross the blood-brain barrier for chemotherapeutic drug delivery is considered a major breakthrough. [Constantino et.al, 2005]

Recent research by scientists at the Emory university has shown that gold nanoparticle probes offer earlier and nontoxic method of cancer detection compared to quantum dots which contain the poisonous cadmium. As Dr. Shuming Nie, PhD and chief of the research says, "This is a new class of nanotechnology agents for tumor targeting and imaging. The detail is like a fingerprint, and because of the enhancement provided by the gold surface, the signal from the dye tags is very bright.." Dr. Dong Moon Shin, a co researcher says, "I expect that with these probes, it will be possible to detect cancer much earlier, at the microscopic level." [Vince Dollard] Genetic sequencing would become much easier and faster providing the physician with personal genetic profile of the patient and his predisposition to diseases. Also, in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, prevention of restenosis (post stent placement) and lung diseases, nanotechnology offers great scope for early diagnosis and effective drug delivery. In the case of blood diseases, systemic cytotoxicity could be reduced by targetting drugs to lymphocytes. Nanotechnology offers such targeted drug delivery system. [Buxton, 2006]

Electronics

Nanotechnology will usher a quantum leap in computing. In fact, with nanotechnology quantum computing will be a reality very soon. Computers based on nanowires or nanotubes would have super-computing power but still be handheld. Carbon nanotubes are highly conductive and are better than copper. They also have semi-conducting properties. Thus far, the realization of building nanoscale electronic circuits using carbon nanotubes had been a problem. However, researchers at Caltech have already designed and built 'nanowire-based circuits'. Dr. Hongjie Dai, professor at Stanford University says "the move to CMOS with nanowires is important if nanowires are to be used for future electronics applications." [Kevin Bullis]

Green Nano

Environmental considerations are at the center of our growing world and nano technology offers the promise of not only environment friendly production but also the possibility of environmental decontamination using engineered nanospheres. Recent research by Lehigh University has attested that nanoscale iron could clean up groundwater and contaminated soil by as much as 96%. Nanospehres or molecular cages can be designed to trap environmentally toxic substances with promises of environmental decontamination. [Eva Gutierrez]

Aerospace

Carbon nanotubes are the focus of aerospace industry because of their special electrical and mechanical properties. They are 100 times stronger than steel at one sixth the weight. Several studies have shown that carbon nanotubes are ideal building material because of their high tensile strength and low weight. Further, the high conductive nature of carbon nanotubes makes them highly suitable for aviation electronics. [Belluccia et.al] as Dr. Bourne, from the NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (NRC-SIMS) in Ottawa says, "If we can show that these carbon nanotube composites can perform as expected in these applications, then this will go a long way to validating their use in the really big market - aerospace." [NRC]