Nanotechnology

For the materials science journal, see Nanotechnology led to a debate among advocacy groups and governments
(journal).
on whether special regulation of nanotechnology is warranted.
Nanotechnology (nanotech) is the manipulation of
matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular
scale.
The earliest, widespread description of
nanotechnology[1][2] referred to the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and
molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also
now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. A more
generalized description of nanotechnology was subsequently established by the National Nanotechnology
Initiative, which denes nanotechnology as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from
1 to 100 nanometers. This denition reects the fact
that quantum mechanical eects are important at this
quantum-realm scale, and so the denition shifted from
a particular technological goal to a research category
inclusive of all types of research and technologies that
deal with the special properties of matter that occur
below the given size threshold. It is therefore common
to see the plural form nanotechnologies as well as
nanoscale technologies to refer to the broad range
of research and applications whose common trait is
size. Because of the variety of potential applications
(including industrial and military), governments have
invested billions of dollars in nanotechnology research.
Through its National Nanotechnology Initiative, the USA
has invested 3.7 billion dollars. The European Union has
invested 1.2 billion and Japan 750 million dollars.[3]

1 Origins
Main article: History of nanotechnology
The concepts that seeded nanotechnology were rst discussed in 1959 by renowned physicist Richard Feynman
in his talk Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom, in which
he described the possibility of synthesis via direct manipulation of atoms. The term nano-technology was rst
used by Norio Taniguchi in 1974, though it was not widely
known.

Nanotechnology as dened by size is naturally very broad,

including elds of science as diverse as surface science,
organic chemistry, molecular biology, semiconductor
physics, microfabrication, etc.[4] The associated research
and applications are equally diverse, ranging from extensions of conventional device physics to completely
new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly,
from developing new materials with dimensions on the
nanoscale to direct control of matter on the atomic scale.

Comparison of Nanomaterials Sizes

Inspired by Feynmans concepts, K. Eric Drexler independently used the term nanotechnology in his 1986
book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, which proposed the idea of a nanoscale assembler which would be able to build a copy of itself and of
other items of arbitrary complexity with atomic control.
Also in 1986, Drexler co-founded The Foresight Institute
(with which he is no longer aliated) to help increase
public awareness and understanding of nanotechnology
concepts and implications.

Scientists currently debate the future implications of

nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology may be able to
create many new materials and devices with a vast
range of applications, such as in medicine, electronics,
biomaterials and energy production. On the other hand,
nanotechnology raises many of the same issues as any new
technology, including concerns about the toxicity and environmental impact of nanomaterials,[5] and their poten- Thus, emergence of nanotechnology as a eld in the
tial eects on global economics, as well as speculation 1980s occurred through convergence of Drexlers theabout various doomsday scenarios. These concerns have oretical and public work, which developed and pop1

2 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

ularized a conceptual framework for nanotechnology,

and high-visibility experimental advances that drew additional wide-scale attention to the prospects of atomic
control of matter.

nanomaterials and do not involve atomic control of matter. Some examples include the Silver Nano platform
for using silver nanoparticles as an antibacterial agent,
nanoparticle-based transparent sunscreens, and carbon
[12][13]
For example, the invention of the scanning tunneling mi- nanotubes for stain-resistant textiles.
croscope in 1981 provided unprecedented visualization Governments moved to promote and fund research into
of individual atoms and bonds, and was successfully used nanotechnology, beginning in the U.S. with the National
to manipulate individual atoms in 1989. The micro- Nanotechnology Initiative, which formalized a size-based
scopes developers Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at denition of nanotechnology and established funding for
IBM Zurich Research Laboratory received a Nobel Prize research on the nanoscale.
in Physics in 1986.[6][7] Binnig, Quate and Gerber also in- By the mid-2000s new and serious scientic attention bevented the analogous atomic force microscope that year. gan to ourish. Projects emerged to produce nanotechnology roadmaps[14][15] which center on atomically precise manipulation of matter and discuss existing and projected capabilities, goals, and applications.

2 Fundamental concepts
Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems
at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and
concepts that are more advanced. In its original sense,
nanotechnology refers to the projected ability to construct
items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance
products.

Buckminsterfullerene C60 , also known as the buckyball, is a representative member of the carbon structures known as fullerenes.
Members of the fullerene family are a major subject of research
falling under the nanotechnology umbrella.

Fullerenes were discovered in 1985 by Harry Kroto,

Richard Smalley, and Robert Curl, who together won the
1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[8][9] C60 was not initially
described as nanotechnology; the term was used regarding subsequent work with related graphene tubes (called
carbon nanotubes and sometimes called Bucky tubes)
which suggested potential applications for nanoscale electronics and devices.
In the early 2000s, the eld garnered increased scientic, political, and commercial attention that led to both
controversy and progress. Controversies emerged regarding the denitions and potential implications of nanotechnologies, exemplied by the Royal Society's report
on nanotechnology.[10] Challenges were raised regarding
the feasibility of applications envisioned by advocates of
molecular nanotechnology, which culminated in a public debate between Drexler and Smalley in 2001 and
2003.[11]

One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 109 , of a meter. By comparison, typical carbon-carbon bond lengths,
or the spacing between these atoms in a molecule, are in
the range 0.120.15 nm, and a DNA double-helix has a
diameter around 2 nm. On the other hand, the smallest
cellular life-forms, the bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma,
are around 200 nm in length. By convention, nanotechnology is taken as the scale range 1 to 100 nm following the denition used by the National Nanotechnology
Initiative in the US. The lower limit is set by the size of
atoms (hydrogen has the smallest atoms, which are approximately a quarter of a nm diameter) since nanotechnology must build its devices from atoms and molecules.
The upper limit is more or less arbitrary but is around the
size that phenomena not observed in larger structures start
to become apparent and can be made use of in the nano
device.[16] These new phenomena make nanotechnology
distinct from devices which are merely miniaturised versions of an equivalent macroscopic device; such devices
are on a larger scale and come under the description of
microtechnology.[17]
To put that scale in another context, the comparative size
of a nanometer to a meter is the same as that of a marble
to the size of the earth.[18] Or another way of putting it:
a nanometer is the amount an average mans beard grows
in the time it takes him to raise the razor to his face.[18]

Two main approaches are used in nanotechnology. In

Meanwhile, commercialization of products based on the bottom-up approach, materials and devices are built
advancements in nanoscale technologies began emerg- from molecular components which assemble themselves
ing. These products are limited to bulk applications of chemically by principles of molecular recognition. In the

2.2

Simple to complex: a molecular perspective

top-down approach, nano-objects are constructed from macroscale, enabling unique applications. For instance,
larger entities without atomic-level control.[19]
opaque substances can become transparent (copper); staAreas of physics such as nanoelectronics, nanomechanics, ble materials can turn combustible (aluminum); insoluble
nanophotonics and nanoionics have evolved during the materials may become soluble (gold). A material such as
last few decades to provide a basic scientic foundation gold, which is chemically inert at normal scales, can serve
as a potent chemical catalyst at nanoscales. Much of the
of nanotechnology.
fascination with nanotechnology stems from these quantum and surface phenomena that matter exhibits at the
[20]
2.1 Larger to smaller: a materials per- nanoscale.

spective
2.2 Simple to complex: a molecular perspective
Main article: Molecular self-assembly
Modern synthetic chemistry has reached the point where
it is possible to prepare small molecules to almost any
structure. These methods are used today to manufacture a
wide variety of useful chemicals such as pharmaceuticals
or commercial polymers. This ability raises the question
of extending this kind of control to the next-larger level,
seeking methods to assemble these single molecules into
supramolecular assemblies consisting of many molecules
arranged in a well dened manner.
These approaches utilize the concepts of molecular selfassembly and/or supramolecular chemistry to automatically arrange themselves into some useful conformation
through a bottom-up approach. The concept of molecuImage of reconstruction on a clean Gold(100) surface, as visu- lar recognition is especially important: molecules can be
alized using scanning tunneling microscopy. The positions of the designed so that a specic conguration or arrangement
individual atoms composing the surface are visible.
is favored due to non-covalent intermolecular forces. The
WatsonCrick basepairing rules are a direct result of this,
Main article: Nanomaterials
as is the specicity of an enzyme being targeted to a single substrate, or the specic folding of the protein itself.
Several phenomena become pronounced as the size of the Thus, two or more components can be designed to be
system decreases. These include statistical mechanical complementary and mutually attractive so that they make
eects, as well as quantum mechanical eects, for exam- a more complex and useful whole.
ple the quantum size eect where the electronic prop- Such bottom-up approaches should be capable of producerties of solids are altered with great reductions in particle ing devices in parallel and be much cheaper than topsize. This eect does not come into play by going from down methods, but could potentially be overwhelmed
macro to micro dimensions. However, quantum eects as the size and complexity of the desired assembly incan become signicant when the nanometer size range is creases. Most useful structures require complex and therreached, typically at distances of 100 nanometers or less, modynamically unlikely arrangements of atoms. Nevthe so-called quantum realm. Additionally, a number of ertheless, there are many examples of self-assembly
physical (mechanical, electrical, optical, etc.) properties based on molecular recognition in biology, most notably
change when compared to macroscopic systems. One ex- WatsonCrick basepairing and enzyme-substrate interacample is the increase in surface area to volume ratio alter- tions. The challenge for nanotechnology is whether these
ing mechanical, thermal and catalytic properties of ma- principles can be used to engineer new constructs in adterials. Diusion and reactions at nanoscale, nanostruc- dition to natural ones.
tures materials and nanodevices with fast ion transport are
generally referred to nanoionics. Mechanical properties
of nanosystems are of interest in the nanomechanics re- 2.3 Molecular nanotechnology: a longsearch. The catalytic activity of nanomaterials also opens
term view
potential risks in their interaction with biomaterials.
Materials reduced to the nanoscale can show dier- Main article: Molecular nanotechnology
ent properties compared to what they exhibit on a

4
Molecular nanotechnology, sometimes called molecular manufacturing, describes engineered nanosystems
(nanoscale machines) operating on the molecular scale.
Molecular nanotechnology is especially associated with
the molecular assembler, a machine that can produce a
desired structure or device atom-by-atom using the principles of mechanosynthesis. Manufacturing in the context of productive nanosystems is not related to, and
should be clearly distinguished from, the conventional
technologies used to manufacture nanomaterials such as
carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles.

CURRENT RESEARCH

sembly is possible was performed by Ho and Lee at

Cornell University in 1999. They used a scanning tunneling microscope to move an individual carbon monoxide
molecule (CO) to an individual iron atom (Fe) sitting on
a at silver crystal, and chemically bound the CO to the
Fe by applying a voltage.

3 Current research

When the term nanotechnology was independently

coined and popularized by Eric Drexler (who at the time
was unaware of an earlier usage by Norio Taniguchi) it
referred to a future manufacturing technology based on
molecular machine systems. The premise was that molecular scale biological analogies of traditional machine
components demonstrated molecular machines were possible: by the countless examples found in biology, it is
known that sophisticated, stochastically optimised biological machines can be produced.
It is hoped that developments in nanotechnology will
make possible their construction by some other means,
perhaps using biomimetic principles. However, Drexler
Graphical representation of a rotaxane, useful as a molecular
and other researchers[21] have proposed that advanced
switch.
nanotechnology, although perhaps initially implemented
by biomimetic means, ultimately could be based on mechanical engineering principles, namely, a manufacturing technology based on the mechanical functionality of
these components (such as gears, bearings, motors, and
structural members) that would enable programmable,
positional assembly to atomic specication.[22] The
physics and engineering performance of exemplar designs were analyzed in Drexlers book Nanosystems.
In general it is very dicult to assemble devices on the
atomic scale, as one has to position atoms on other atoms
of comparable size and stickiness. Another view, put
forth by Carlo Montemagno,[23] is that future nanosystems will be hybrids of silicon technology and biological molecular machines. Richard Smalley argued that
mechanosynthesis are impossible due to the diculties
in mechanically manipulating individual molecules.
This led to an exchange of letters in the ACS publication Chemical & Engineering News in 2003.[24] Though
biology clearly demonstrates that molecular machine systems are possible, non-biological molecular machines are
today only in their infancy. Leaders in research on nonbiological molecular machines are Dr. Alex Zettl and his
colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories and UC
Berkeley. They have constructed at least three distinct
molecular devices whose motion is controlled from the
desktop with changing voltage: a nanotube nanomotor, a
molecular actuator,[25] and a nanoelectromechanical relaxation oscillator.[26] See nanotube nanomotor for more
examples.

This DNA tetrahedron[27] is an articially designed nanostructure of the type made in the eld of DNA nanotechnology. Each
edge of the tetrahedron is a 20 base pair DNA double helix, and
each vertex is a three-arm junction.

3.1 Nanomaterials

The nanomaterials eld includes subelds which develop

or study materials having unique properties arising from
An experiment indicating that positional molecular astheir nanoscale dimensions.[29]

3.3

Top-down approaches

5
DNA nanotechnology utilizes the specicity of
WatsonCrick basepairing to construct well-dened
structures out of DNA and other nucleic acids.
Approaches from the eld of classical chemical
synthesis (inorganic and organic synthesis) also aim
at designing molecules with well-dened shape (e.g.
bis-peptides[30] ).
More generally, molecular self-assembly seeks to
use concepts of supramolecular chemistry, and
molecular recognition in particular, to cause singlemolecule components to automatically arrange
themselves into some useful conformation.
Atomic force microscope tips can be used as a
nanoscale write head to deposit a chemical upon a
surface in a desired pattern in a process called dip
pen nanolithography. This technique ts into the
larger subeld of nanolithography.

3.3 Top-down approaches

These seek to create smaller devices by using larger ones
to direct their assembly.
This device transfers energy from nano-thin layers of quantum
wells to nanocrystals above them, causing the nanocrystals to
emit visible light.[28]

Interface and colloid science has given rise to many

materials which may be useful in nanotechnology,
such as carbon nanotubes and other fullerenes, and
various nanoparticles and nanorods. Nanomaterials
with fast ion transport are related also to nanoionics
and nanoelectronics.
Nanoscale materials can also be used for bulk applications; most present commercial applications of
nanotechnology are of this avor.
Progress has been made in using these materials for
medical applications; see Nanomedicine.
Nanoscale materials such as nanopillars are sometimes used in solar cells which combats the cost of
traditional Silicon solar cells.
Development of applications incorporating semiconductor nanoparticles to be used in the next generation of products, such as display technology, lighting, solar cells and biological imaging; see quantum
dots.

3.2

Bottom-up approaches

Many technologies that descended from conventional solid-state silicon methods for fabricating
microprocessors are now capable of creating features smaller than 100 nm, falling under the denition of nanotechnology. Giant magnetoresistancebased hard drives already on the market t this
description,[31] as do atomic layer deposition (ALD)
techniques. Peter Grnberg and Albert Fert received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2007 for their
discovery of Giant magnetoresistance and contributions to the eld of spintronics.[32]
Solid-state techniques can also be used to create devices known as nanoelectromechanical
systems or NEMS, which are related to
microelectromechanical systems or MEMS.
Focused ion beams can directly remove material, or
even deposit material when suitable precursor gasses
are applied at the same time. For example, this technique is used routinely to create sub-100 nm sections
of material for analysis in Transmission electron microscopy.
Atomic force microscope tips can be used as a
nanoscale write head to deposit a resist, which is
then followed by an etching process to remove material in a top-down method.

3.4 Functional approaches

These seek to arrange smaller components into more These seek to develop components of a desired functioncomplex assemblies.
ality without regard to how they might be assembled.

4
Molecular scale electronics seeks to develop
molecules with useful electronic properties. These
could then be used as single-molecule components
in a nanoelectronic device.[33] For an example see
rotaxane.
Synthetic chemical methods can also be used to create synthetic molecular motors, such as in a socalled nanocar.

3.5

Biomimetic approaches

Bionics or biomimicry seeks to apply biological

methods and systems found in nature, to the study
and design of engineering systems and modern technology. Biomineralization is one example of the systems studied.
Bionanotechnology is the use of biomolecules for
applications in nanotechnology, including use of
viruses and lipid assemblies.[34][35] Nanocellulose is
a potential bulk-scale application.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

manufacturing.
Because of the discrete (i.e.
atomic) nature of matter and the possibility of exponential growth, this stage is seen as the basis of
another industrial revolution. Mihail Roco, one of
the architects of the USAs National Nanotechnology Initiative, has proposed four states of nanotechnology that seem to parallel the technical progress
of the Industrial Revolution, progressing from passive nanostructures to active nanodevices to complex nanomachines and ultimately to productive
nanosystems.[42]
Programmable matter seeks to design materials
whose properties can be easily, reversibly and externally controlled though a fusion of information science and materials science.
Due to the popularity and media exposure of the
term nanotechnology, the words picotechnology and
femtotechnology have been coined in analogy to it,
although these are only used rarely and informally.

4 Tools and techniques

3.6

Speculative

These subelds seek to anticipate what inventions nanotechnology might yield, or attempt to propose an agenda
along which inquiry might progress. These often take a
big-picture view of nanotechnology, with more emphasis
on its societal implications than the details of how such
inventions could actually be created.
Molecular nanotechnology is a proposed approach
which involves manipulating single molecules in
nely controlled, deterministic ways. This is more
theoretical than the other subelds, and many of its
proposed techniques are beyond current capabilities.
Nanorobotics centers on self-sucient machines
of some functionality operating at the nanoscale.
There are hopes for applying nanorobots in
medicine,[36][37][38] but it may not be easy to
do such a thing because of several drawbacks
of such devices.[39] Nevertheless, progress on
innovative materials and methodologies has been
demonstrated with some patents granted about new
nanomanufacturing devices for future commercial
applications, which also progressively helps in the
development towards nanorobots with the use of
embedded nanobioelectronics concepts.[40][41]
Productive nanosystems are systems of nanosystems which will be complex nanosystems that produce atomically precise parts for other nanosystems,
not necessarily using novel nanoscale-emergent
properties, but well-understood fundamentals of

Typical AFM setup. A microfabricated cantilever with a sharp

tip is deected by features on a sample surface, much like in a
phonograph but on a much smaller scale. A laser beam reects
o the backside of the cantilever into a set of photodetectors, allowing the deection to be measured and assembled into an image
of the surface.

There are several important modern developments. The

atomic force microscope (AFM) and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) are two early versions of scanning probes that launched nanotechnology. There are
other types of scanning probe microscopy. Although
conceptually similar to the scanning confocal microscope
developed by Marvin Minsky in 1961 and the scanning
acoustic microscope (SAM) developed by Calvin Quate
and coworkers in the 1970s, newer scanning probe microscopes have much higher resolution, since they are not
limited by the wavelength of sound or light.

7
The tip of a scanning probe can also be used to manipulate nanostructures (a process called positional assembly). Feature-oriented scanning methodology suggested by Rostislav Lapshin appears to be a promising
way to implement these nanomanipulations in automatic
mode.[43][44] However, this is still a slow process because
of low scanning velocity of the microscope.
Various techniques of nanolithography such as optical
lithography, X-ray lithography dip pen nanolithography,
electron beam lithography or nanoimprint lithography
were also developed. Lithography is a top-down fabrication technique where a bulk material is reduced in size
to nanoscale pattern.

search on semiconductors, MBE is also widely used to

make samples and devices for the newly emerging eld
of spintronics.
However, new therapeutic products, based on responsive nanomaterials, such as the ultradeformable, stresssensitive Transfersome vesicles, are under development
and already approved for human use in some countries.

5 Applications

Another group of nanotechnological techniques include

those used for fabrication of nanotubes and nanowires,
those used in semiconductor fabrication such as deep
ultraviolet lithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam machining, nanoimprint lithography,
atomic layer deposition, and molecular vapor deposition,
and further including molecular self-assembly techniques
such as those employing di-block copolymers. The preOne of the major applications of nanotechnology is in the area of
cursors of these techniques preceded the nanotech era, nanoelectronics with MOSFET's being made of small nanowires
and are extensions in the development of scientic ad- ~10 nm in length. Here is a simulation of such a nanowire.
vancements rather than techniques which were devised
with the sole purpose of creating nanotechnology and
which were results of nanotechnology research.
The top-down approach anticipates nanodevices that
must be built piece by piece in stages, much as manufactured items are made. Scanning probe microscopy is
an important technique both for characterization and synthesis of nanomaterials. Atomic force microscopes and
scanning tunneling microscopes can be used to look at
surfaces and to move atoms around. By designing different tips for these microscopes, they can be used for
carving out structures on surfaces and to help guide selfassembling structures. By using, for example, featureoriented scanning approach, atoms or molecules can be
moved around on a surface with scanning probe microscopy techniques.[43][44] At present, it is expensive and Nanostructures provide this surface with superhydrophobicity,
time-consuming for mass production but very suitable for which lets water droplets roll down the inclined plane.
laboratory experimentation.
Main article: List of nanotechnology applications
In contrast, bottom-up techniques build or grow larger
structures atom by atom or molecule by molecule. These
techniques include chemical synthesis, self-assembly and As of August 21, 2008, the Project on Emerging Nanpositional assembly. Dual polarisation interferometry is otechnologies estimates that over 800 manufacturerone tool suitable for characterisation of self assembled identied nanotech products are publicly available, with
[13]
thin lms. Another variation of the bottom-up approach new ones hitting the market at a pace of 34 per week.
is molecular beam epitaxy or MBE. Researchers at Bell The project lists all of the products in a publicly accessiTelephone Laboratories like John R. Arthur. Alfred Y. ble online database. Most applications are limited to the
Cho, and Art C. Gossard developed and implemented use of rst generation passive nanomaterials which inMBE as a research tool in the late 1960s and 1970s. cludes titanium dioxide in sunscreen, cosmetics, surface
[45]
and some food products; Carbon allotropes
Samples made by MBE were key to the discovery of the coatings,
fractional quantum Hall eect for which the 1998 Nobel used to produce gecko tape; silver in food packaging,
Prize in Physics was awarded. MBE allows scientists to clothing, disinfectants and household appliances; zinc oxlay down atomically precise layers of atoms and, in the ide in sunscreens and cosmetics, surface coatings, paints
process, build up complex structures. Important for re- and outdoor furniture varnishes; and cerium oxide as a
fuel catalyst.[12]

Further applications allow tennis balls to last longer, golf

balls to y straighter, and even bowling balls to become
more durable and have a harder surface. Trousers and
socks have been infused with nanotechnology so that
they will last longer and keep people cool in the summer. Bandages are being infused with silver nanoparticles to heal cuts faster.[46] Cars are being manufactured
with nanomaterials so they may need fewer metals and
less fuel to operate in the future.[47] Video game consoles
and personal computers may become cheaper, faster, and
contain more memory thanks to nanotechnology.[48] Nanotechnology may have the ability to make existing medical applications cheaper and easier to use in places like
the general practitioner's oce and at home.[49]

IMPLICATIONS

actively conducting research on potential health eects

stemming from exposures to nanoparticles.[52][53]
Some nanoparticle products may have unintended consequences. Researchers have discovered that bacteriostatic
silver nanoparticles used in socks to reduce foot odor are
being released in the wash.[54] These particles are then
ushed into the waste water stream and may destroy bacteria which are critical components of natural ecosystems, farms, and waste treatment processes.[55]

Public deliberations on risk perception in the US and UK

carried out by the Center for Nanotechnology in Society found that participants were more positive about nanotechnologies for energy applications than for health applications, with health applications raising moral and ethThe National Science Foundation (a major distributor for ical dilemmas such as cost and availability.[56]
nanotechnology research in the United States) funded researcher David Berube to study the eld of nanotechnol- Experts, including director of the Woodrow Wilson Cenogy. His ndings are published in the monograph Nano- ters Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies David Re[57]
that successful commercializaHype: The Truth Behind the Nanotechnology Buzz. This jeski, have testied
study concludes that much of what is sold as nanotech- tion depends on adequate oversight, risk research stratnology is in fact a recasting of straightforward mate- egy, and public engagement. Berkeley, California is
rials science, which is leading to a nanotech industry currently the only city in the United States to regulate
[58]
Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2008
built solely on selling nanotubes, nanowires, and the like nanotechnology;
considered
enacting
a similar law,[59] but ultimately rewhich will end up with a few suppliers selling low margin
[60]
jected
it.
Relevant
for both research on and applicaproducts in huge volumes. Further applications which
tion
of
nanotechnologies,
the insurability of nanotechnolrequire actual manipulation or arrangement of nanoscale
[61]
ogy
is
contested.
Without
state regulation of nanotechcomponents await further research. Though technologies
nology,
the
availability
of
private
insurance for potential
branded with the term 'nano' are sometimes little related
damages
is
seen
as
necessary
to
ensure
that burdens are
to and fall far short of the most ambitious and transfornot
socialised
implicitly.
mative technological goals of the sort in molecular manufacturing proposals, the term still connotes such ideas.
According to Berube, there may be a danger that a nano
bubble will form, or is forming already, from the use of 6.1 Health and environmental concerns
the term by scientists and entrepreneurs to garner funding, regardless of interest in the transformative possibili- Main articles: Health implications of nanotechnology
and Environmental implications of nanotechnology
ties of more ambitious and far-sighted work.[50]
Researchers have successfully used DNA origami-based
nanobots capable of carrying out logic functions to
achieve targeted drug delivery in cockroaches. It is said
that the computational power of these nanobots can be
scaled up to that of a Commodore 64. [51]

Implications

Main article: Implications of nanotechnology

Nanobers are used in several areas and in dierent products, in everything from aircraft wings to tennis rackets.
Inhaling airborne nanoparticles and nanobers may lead
to a number of pulmonary diseases, e.g. brosis.[62] Researchers have found that when rats breathed in nanoparticles, the particles settled in the brain and lungs, which
led to signicant increases in biomarkers for inammation and stress response[63] and that nanoparticles induce
skin aging through oxidative stress in hairless mice.[64][65]

A two-year study at UCLAs School of Public Health

found lab mice consuming nano-titanium dioxide showed
An area of concern is the eect that industrial-scale DNA and chromosome damage to a degree linked to all
manufacturing and use of nanomaterials would have on the big killers of man, namely[66]cancer, heart disease, neuhuman health and the environment, as suggested by rological disease and aging.
nanotoxicology research. For these reasons, some groups A major study published more recently in Nature Nanadvocate that nanotechnology be regulated by govern- otechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes
ments. Others counter that overregulation would stie a poster child for the nanotechnology revolution could
scientic research and the development of benecial in- be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sucient quannovations. Public health research agencies, such as the tities. Anthony Seaton of the Institute of Occupational
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland, who contributed to the

9
article on carbon nanotubes said We know that some
of them probably have the potential to cause mesothelioma. So those sorts of materials need to be handled
very carefully.[67] In the absence of specic regulation
forthcoming from governments, Paull and Lyons (2008)
have called for an exclusion of engineered nanoparticles
in food.[68] A newspaper article reports that workers in a
paint factory developed serious lung disease and nanoparticles were found in their lungs.[69][70][71][72]

these standards.
The Center for Nanotechnology in Society has found that
people respond to nanotechnologies dierently, depending on application with participants in public deliberations more positive about nanotechnologies for energy
than health applications suggesting that any public calls
for nano regulations may dier by technology sector.[56]

8 See also
7

Regulation

Main article: Regulation of nanotechnology

Main article: Outline of nanotechnology

Bionanoscience

Calls for tighter regulation of nanotechnology have occurred alongside a growing debate related to the human
health and safety risks of nanotechnology.[73] There is
signicant debate about who is responsible for the regulation of nanotechnology. Some regulatory agencies
currently cover some nanotechnology products and processes (to varying degrees) by bolting on nanotechnology to existing regulations there are clear gaps in these
regimes.[74] Davies (2008) has proposed a regulatory road
map describing steps to deal with these shortcomings.[75]

Gold nanoparticle

Stakeholders concerned by the lack of a regulatory framework to assess and control risks associated with the release of nanoparticles and nanotubes have drawn parallels with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow
disease), thalidomide, genetically modied food,[76] nuclear energy, reproductive technologies, biotechnology,
and asbestosis. Dr. Andrew Maynard, chief science
advisor to the Woodrow Wilson Centers Project on
Emerging Nanotechnologies, concludes that there is insucient funding for human health and safety research,
and as a result there is currently limited understanding
of the human health and safety risks associated with
nanotechnology.[77] As a result, some academics have
called for stricter application of the precautionary principle, with delayed marketing approval, enhanced labelling
and additional safety data development requirements in
relation to certain forms of nanotechnology.[78]

Molecular design software

The Royal Society report[10] identied a risk of nanoparticles or nanotubes being released during disposal, destruction and recycling, and recommended that manufacturers of products that fall under extended producer responsibility regimes such as end-of-life regulations publish
procedures outlining how these materials will be managed to minimize possible human and environmental exposure (p. xiii). Reecting the challenges for ensuring
responsible life cycle regulation, the Institute for Food
and Agricultural Standards has proposed that standards
for nanotechnology research and development should be
integrated across consumer, worker and environmental
standards. They also propose that NGOs and other citizen groups play a meaningful role in the development of

Gold nanobeacons
Energy applications of nanotechnology
List of emerging technologies
List of software for nanostructures modeling
Materiomics

Molecular mechanics
Nanoengineering
Nanobiotechnology
Nanouidics
Nanohub
Nanometrology
Nanoscale networks
Nanotechnology education
Nanotechnology in ction
Nanotechnology in water treatment
Nanothermite
Nanoweapons
Top-down and bottom-up
Translational research
Wet nanotechnology
National Nanotechnology Initiative
Self-assembly of nanoparticles

10

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10

External links

Nanotechnology at DMOZ
What is Nanotechnology? (A Vega/BBC/OU Video
Discussion).
www.whatisnano.org (An educational website about
nanoscience, engineering, and technology).

EXTERNAL LINKS

13

11
11.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Nanotechnology Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology?oldid=628816837 Contributors: LC, Mav, Bryan Derksen, Robert

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XLinkBot, Will-B, Sandrider, Environ1561, Fadierulez999, Ost316, ChrassLovesEmma, Balsone1990, Kwjbot, Badgernet, Tomshen,
Alexius08, Arifhussaintm, ElMeBot, Airplaneman, Shmay, Sachinrocks, RyanCross, Lilgoni, HexaChord, Dark Gaia, Asbian513, Issius,
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Conde.bio, Monkbot, Nano.pfpa, SantiLak, FNI214, BraveAce, James69696969, Urquijog, AMResearchNext1, Ofkingskinga and Anonymous: 1928

11.2

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File:A-simple-and-fast-fabrication-of-a-both-self-cleanable-and-deep-UV-antireflective-quartz-1556-276X-7-430-S1.ogv
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ogv License: CC-BY-2.0 Contributors: Kim J, Jeong H, Lee W, Park B, Kim B, Lee K (2012). A simple and fast fabrication of a both
self-cleanable and deep-UV antireective quartz nanostructured surface. Nanoscale Research Letters. DOI:10.1186/1556-276X-7-430.
PMID 22853428. Original artist: Kim J, Jeong H, Lee W, Park B, Kim B, Lee K
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