Nanotechnology is a sub-classification of technology in colloidal science, biology, physics, chemistry and other scientific fields. As a field of applied science, it focuses on the design, synthesis, characterization and application of materials and devices on the nanoscale. It is also used as an umbrella term to describe emerging or novel technological developments associated with microscopic dimensions. (Wikipedia, 2006)
In its broader term, nanotechnology includes the many techniques used to create structures at a size scale below 100 nanometers or 100 billionths of a meter. This includes those used in semiconductor fabrication such as deep ultraviolet lithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam machining, nano-imprint lithography, atomic layer deposition and molecular vapor deposition, those used for fabrication of nano-wires and those used at the molecular self-assembly techniques such as those employing di-block copolymers. (Wikipedia, 2006)
Nanotechnology uses two main approaches in its operation processes. First is the bottom-up approach where materials and devices are built up atom by atom. Second is the top-down approach where they are synthesized or constructed by removing existing materials from larger entities. The vastly increased ratio of surface area to volume present in many nanoscale materials is a unique aspect of this technology opening new possibilities in surface-based science such as catalysis. However, this catalytic activity also opens potential risks in their interaction with biomaterials. (Wikipedia, 2006)
Nanotechnology is the new Industrial Revolution. It leaves virtually no business untouched or unscathed. The ability to create materials from building blocks the size of a virus unleashes unprecedented capabilities. Autos and airplanes, chemicals and plastics, computers and chips, cosmetics and drugs and plenty of the other industries face upheavals because of this technology. (Port, 2002)
This technology promises humans’ ways of making systems that are smaller, lighter, stronger and more efficient but cheaper to produce. Some of these current products include chemicals produced with microscopic catalytic particles, sun lotions with invisibly small zinc-oxide flakes to shield against ultraviolet rays, emulsifiers that keep paint from separating and coatings that make eyeglass lenses more scratch resistant or extend the life of industrial tools. More alluring products can be found in nanotechnology company laboratories but many need a year or two to reach the market because new manufacturing systems also must be developed. (Port, 2002)
Professor Mark Welland, head of the University of Cambridge Nanoscale Science Laboratory explained that, “Nanotechnology is not a technology in its own right. It is an enabling technology, so it will appear in many different products”. Welland added that such technology is already appearing in flash memory, computer chips and will increasingly be an enabling technology in other products like coatings and new types of sensors. (as cited in Twist, 2004)
On one hand, because of the very precise way in which their atoms are arranged, nano-materials exploit unusual electrical, optical and other properties. This means that fabrics could change color electronically. Thus, exposing an army uniform to ultra-violet light could activate changes without undressing. But in medicine, nanotechnology offers the most remarkable advances. (Twist, 2004)
"Nano-medicine will provide earlier and better diagnostics. Treatment will also combine earlier and more precisely targeted drug delivery,” said Professor John Ryan, head of the Bionanotechnology Centre at Oxford University. He added that “the possibility of individualized therapy is also on the horizon”. (as cited in Twist, 2004)
Moreover, nanotechnology in the form of flexible films containing miniaturized electrodes is expected to improve the performance of retinal, cochlear and neural implants (Twist, 2004). According to Professor Ryan it could lead to the miniaturization of medical diagnostic and sensing tools which could drive down costs of such kits for developing countries (as cited in Twist, 2004).
Likewise, pharmaceutical companies already uses nanotech to discover and deliver drugs. One of these is the highly sensitive microchips containing intact DNS which can spot interactions between candidate antibiotics and target bugs. The chips are stuffed with 100, 000 times more little chemical labs each of which is 100, 000 times more sensitive. (Port, 2002)
Buckyballs, one of nanotechnology products is used to deliver a drug to a precise target, thus minimizing side effects. The balls are coated with drugs that disrupt the cell’s reproductive cycle and assembled into shapes that fit comfortably into receptors on the surface of specific cells. Such treatments are now in the works for cancer, AIDS and other diseases. Another product is the skin patch for diabetics containing nanotubes which are so thin that they can penetrate the skin without pain. This draws blood through nanostraws to monitor glucose levels and inject insulin when required. (Port, 2002)
Nanotechnology is expected to transform the performance of materials like polymers, electronics, paints, batteries, sensors, fuel cells, solar cells, coatings, computers and display systems. “In five years' time, batteries that only last three days will be laughable. To say that in five years, an iPod will have 10 times its current storage capacity will be conservative”, said Professor Welland. “Similarly, in 10 years' time, the way medical testing is done now will be considered crude”, he added. (as cited in Twist, 2004)
Likewise, in the not-so-distant future, a terabit of data equivalent to 10 hours of fine quality uncompressed video will be stored on an area the size of a postage stamp. Clearly, the devices themselves will not be nano-sized. But nanotechnology will play its part in shrinking components and making them work together a lot more efficiently. (Twist, 2004)
We can therefore conclude that nanotechnology is the biggest breakthrough in the present Industrial Revolution. This biggest advance is the new materials and products that are developed and going to be developed. In this respect, nanotechnology could enable developing nations to leapfrog older technologies. Whatever nanotechnology does for the future, it will be an evolutionary process.
References:
Twist, J. (2004, July 28). Myths and realities of nano futures. British Broadcasting Corporation News Online. Retrieved October 30, 2006, from http://news.bbc.co.uk
Port, O. (2002, October 25). Nano Technology: The Tech Outlook. Business Week Magazine.
Wikipedia. (2006, October 30). Nanotechnology. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org
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