Incredible truth about Nanotechnology

Presently, experts are accelerating innovation process in technically advanced environment. Nanotechnology is an inexorable part of contemporary society.

The main uniting subject in nanotechnology is the control of matter on a scale below 100 nano meters, as well as the fabrication of devices on this same length scale. The term ‘nano’ is resulting from the Greek word nannos which means very short man. Nanotechnology is a type of technology that entails components smaller than 100 nanometers. 

In the opinion of technical experts, Nanotechnology research and development includes management under control of the nanoscale structures and their integration into larger material components, systems and architectures. Many scholars specified that Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This comprises both current work and concepts that are more advanced. In fundamental sense, nanotechnology is closely allied with Nanoscience.

Nanotechnology has the potential to solve problems related to human civilizations, pertaining to both basic needs and aspirations for a comfortable life. Even though nanotechnology involves the manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular and supramolecular scale, the particular technological goal is of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macro scale products, also now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. Nanotechnologies may offer new solutions for the millions of people in developing countries who are short of accessing to essential needs, such as food, water, energy, health care, and education.

Foundation of nanotechnology:

Numerous scientists investigated the notion of Nanotechnology P.Feynman in 1959 developed the principles of miniaturization and atomic-level precision and how these thoughts do not disturb any known law of physics. He anticipated that it was conceivable to shape a surgical nanoscale robot by developing quarter-scale manipulator hands that would build quarter-scale machine tools analogous to those found in machine shops, continuing until the nanoscale is reached, and eight iterations later. Norio Taniguchi first mentioned ‘nanotechnology’ in a paper entitled “On the Basic Concept of Nano-Technology” in 1974. Many discoveries like the scanning tunnelling microscope in 1981 and the discovery of fullerene (C60) in 1985 pushed to expand the term nanotechnology. Taniguchi considered nanotechnology as the technology that engineers materials at the nanometre level. According to Taniguchi, “Nano-technology is the production technology to get the extra high accuracy and ultrafine dimensions i.e. the preciseness and fineness of the order of 1 nm (nanometre) or 10⁻⁹ m in length. Taniguchi considered his concept of ‘nanotechnology’ in materials processing, basing this on the microscopic behaviour of materials.

Prime feature of nanoscience is understanding the formation of nanoscale materials and devices. In looking at the nanoscale, traditional (non-nano) materials, structures, and devices are often denoted as “bulk technology.” Using bulk technology, researchers can create exquisitely small devices and materials. Currently, Nanotechnology mainly concentrated on the development, understanding, and use of materials at the nanoscale, or nanomaterials.

Nanotechnology is categorized into three main segments.

1.   Identifying the chemical and physical changes that occurs at the nanoscale

2.   Developing new tools to measure, and new chemistry to make, highly miniaturized structure.

3.   Using the chemical and physical changes that occur at the nanoscale to develop new technologies.

Approaches of nanotechnology: 

Nanotechnology encompasses several technology fields especially in electronics.

1. Bottom up: In the bottom up approach, different materials and devices are built from molecular components of their own. They chemically assemble themselves by recognizing the molecules of their own breed. For examples molecular self-assembly are Watson crick base pairing, nanolithography.

2. Top down: In top down approach, nano objects and materials are formed by larger entities without bouncing its atomic reactions. Usually top down approach is practiced less as compared to the bottom up approach. Solid-state techniques can also be used to create devices known as nano electromechanical systems or NEMS, which are related to micro elctromechanical systems or MEMS.

Application of Nanotechnology:

Nanotechnology is used in multiple disciplines:

1. Nanotechnology in medications: Nanotechnology is wonderful invention of scientists which offers great options for drug delivery and drug therapies such as in cancer. It allows drugs to be delivered to exactly the right location in the body and release drug doses on a predetermined schedule for best treatment. In a recent research, it is found by NIH that anti-cancer gold nanoparticles is highly effective. Presently, the treatment of dreaded disease like cancer is done through radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Nano dentistry will aid to maintain complete oral health by employing nanomaterials, biotechnology, including tissue engineering, and ultimately, dental nanorobotics. With nanotechnology, minute surgical instruments and robots can be used to perform microsurgeries on any part of human body.

In dentistry, nanotechnology has diverse applications that include, local anaesthesia, dentition renaturalization, permanent hypersensitivity cure, complete orthodontic realignments during a single office visit and continuous oral health maintenance using mechanical dentifrobots. With the help of nano medicine, doctors can detect and prevent, diagnosis and give proper treatment and follow-up of diseases at early stage. Certain nano scale particles are used as tags and labels, biological procedure can be performed quickly, and the testing has become more sensitive and more flexible. Gene sequencing has become more efficient with nano devices like gold nano particles. These gold particles when tagged with short segments of DNA, it can be used for detection of genetic sequence in a sample.

Nanotechnology is beneficial in medical area as damaged tissue can be reproduced or repaired. Nanotechnology has immense role in the field of stem cell research. For example, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been successfully used to isolate and group stem cells. This will hopefully lead to stem cell-based therapeutics for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease.

2. Nanotechnology in Fabrics: Nanotechnology contributes a lot in the field of clothing. Presently, nanotechnology is extensively used in the textile industry due to its valuable properties. The properties of familiar materials are being changed by manufacturers who are adding nano-sized components to conventional materials to increase performance. Nanotechnology also generate revenues for the textile industry. Conventional methods used to impart different properties to fabrics often do not lead to permanent effects, and lose their functions after laundering or wearing.

Nano-Tex improves the water-repellent property of fabric by creating nano-whiskers, which are hydrocarbons and 1/1000 of the size of a typical cotton fibre, that are added to the fabric to create a peach fuzz effect without lowering the strength of cotton. The spaces between the whiskers on the fabric are smaller than the typical drop of water, but still larger than water molecules. Water thus remains on the top of the whiskers and above the surface of the fabric.

Nanotechnology can increase durability for fabrics, because nano-particles have a large surface area-to-volume ratio and high surface energy, therefore giving better affinity for fabrics and make fabric more durable. Additionally, a coating of nano-particles on fabrics will not affect their breath ability or hand feel.

3. Nanotechnology in Electronics field: Nanotechnology has revolutionized the electronics industry. It empowered the further miniaturization of logic and memory devices. Quantum mechanical confinement has been used to devise a high electron mobility transistor and a quantum well laser. Such a semiconductor device greatly improves reliability, competence, noise reduction and processing speed. Organic molecules have been used to fabricate molecular wires and switches, and unimolecular rectifiers and molecular field effect transistors, which will hasten the development of quantum computers and nano-devices that have extraordinary computational speed. Other applications of nano-electronics are spintronics, memory and storage devices, hard drives and tapes, optical switching and display technologies. Electrodes made from nanowires allow flat panel displays to be flexible as well as thinner than current flat panel displays. Nanolithography is used for fabrication of chips. The transistors are made of nanowires that are assembled on glass or thin films of flexible plastic.

5. Nanotechnology in computers: Nanotechnology is also used in computers. The silicon transistors in computer may be replaced by transistors based on carbon nanotubes. A carbon nanotube is a molecule in form of a hollow cylinder with a diameter of around a nanometer which comprises of pure carbon. Nanorods is an upcoming technology in the displays techniques as it consumes less electricity and heat emission is also low. Nano-computers perform important task of activating, controlling, and deactivating such nano mechanical devices. Nano-computers would store and execute mission plans, receive and process external signals and stimuli, communicate with other nano-computers or external control and monitoring devices, and possess contextual knowledge to ensure safe functioning of the nanomechanical devices. Such technology has huge medical and dental implications.

6. Nanotechnology in food and agriculture protection: Nanotechnology technology is used to enhance the quality of food. There are manifold application of nano particles in food and agriculture safety. Nanotechnology has innovated new ways to improve nutrient use efficiency. The developing of nanofertilizer should be well thoughtful with sustainable agriculture practices to eradicate poverty and hunger in the world.

Nanotechnology in cosmetic field: There is a vast application of nanotechnology in the arena of cosmetics. Nanotechnology is applied in numerous cosmetic products such as moisturizers, hair care products, make up and sunscreen. In the cosmetic industry, the nanoparticles are used in shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes, anti-wrinkle creams, anti-cellulite creams, whitening skin, moisturizing, face powders, aftershave lotions, deodorants, soaps, sunscreens, make up in general, perfumes and nail polishes. The nanoemulsions, in turn, constitute a class of emulsions with uniform droplets of small size in the range between 20 and 500 nm, which become increasingly popular as vehicles for the controlled release and optimized dispersion of active ingredient. There are two types of uses for nanotechnology in this arena. The first is the use of nanoparticles as UV filters. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) are the main compounds used in these applications and organic alternatives to these have also been developed. The second use is nanotechnology for delivery. Liposomes and Niosomes are used in the cosmetic industry as delivery vehicles.

Nanotechnology is also beneficial in sports arena. It is used in every sports such as from bicycles to swimsuits to improve the performance of participants. Carbon nanotubes, are used to make bicycle frames and tennis rackets lighter and more durable and give golf clubs and hockey sticks a more powerful and accurate drive, while a coating of nanomaterials makes kayaks faster and more stable and keeps tennis balls bouncy for longer. Within the niche of sport equipment, nanotechnology has numerous advantages and it can improve sporting equipment making athletes safer, comfortable and more agile. Sporting equipment such as baseball bats, tennis and badminton racquets, hockey sticks, racing bicycles, golf balls/clubs, skis, fly-fishing rods, archery arrows whose performance and durability are being improved with the application of nanotechnology.

Drawbacks of nanotechnology:

In spite of several advantages, nanotechnology also has shortcomings. Application of Nanotechnology can augment health risk. Nano-particles can penetrate into the body through the skin, lungs and digestive system, thus creating free radicals that can destroy cell. Once nano-particles are in the bloodstream, they will be able to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Other disadvantage of nanotechnology is lessening job opportunities in the fields of traditional farming and manufacturing and industrial sector because of advanced technology. Nanotechnology can also trigger terrorism. The terrorism and anti-groups exploit nanotechnology as a new form of afflicting the societies.

With the advancement of nanotechnology, atomic weapons are easily accessible to unauthorized, criminals. Nanotechnology has made these weapons more powerful and more destructive. The most death-defying application of Nanotechnology for military purposes is the Nano-bomb that contains engineered self-multiplying lethal viruses which can continue to annihilate a society.

Impact of nanotechnology on the consumer market:

The improved consumer products and processes that potentially will result from the application of nanotechnologies promise to make major contributions to the quality of life, human health and the environment. It is alleged that they will help resolve urgent issues such as the provision of clean water, efficient energy production, safe and efficient food supply and new ways to monitor and treat disease.

Environmental impact of nanotechnology:

Burgeoning researches have revealed that Nanotechnology upsurges the strengths of many materials and devices, as well as improves usefulness of monitoring devices, remediation of environmental pollution, and renewable energy production. These are the positive side of nanotechnology. But nanotechnology can be detrimental for environment. It can lead to increased toxicological contamination on the environment due to the unclear shape, size, and chemical compositions of some of the nanotechnology products (or nanomaterials).

In concluding statement, nanotechnology has great significance for people living in hi tech society. It is application of tremendously small things and can be used in other scientific arenas, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering. Nanotechnology has potential benefits for society and its applications improve the environment. Nanotechnology has offered pioneering and promising strategy to overcome the side effects of chemotherapy drugs. Nanoscale materials will make the products better in terms of functionality, weight savings, less energy consumption and a cleaner environment. In spite of many advantages, nanotechnology has some drawbacks and challenges for people. Nanomaterial helps in cleaning certain environmental wastes, but also adulterate environment in other ways. Experts suggested that engineering ethics must be defined before the profitable use of nanotechnology.