Nanotechnology: The Science of the Next Generation

Introduction Imagine medicine that could be delivered exactly where your body needed it, and sensors that could detect tumors as soon as they formed; imagine computer chips that are twice as powerful and a fraction of the size of todays; imagine batteries that last for days and recharge in minutes. Though these ideas seem like unimaginative works of science fiction, nanotechnology has the potential to make all these creations and more become reality. Nano is derived from the Greek word meaning dwarf, and the prefix represents one billionth. Thus, a nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or half the width of a DNA double helix.

Scale increasing from one tenth of a nanometer (water molecule) to one hundred million nanometers (tennis ball)1

Accordingly, nanoscience is the study of all things on this tiny scale, and nanotechnology is the discipline that attempts to develop useful applications from the science. What makes nanoscience so intriguing, promising, and puzzling is that materials do not maintain their traditional behavior at the nanoscale. This is like taking a crumb off of a piece of bread and finding that the crumb changed color, didnt burn at high temperatures, or even tasted completely different. The most well-known example of a substance adopting wholly unique properties at the nanoscale is the carbon nanotube. Carbon Nanotubes Under the right conditions, carbon atoms will bond with each other in a way that forms a tube.

Carbon Nanotube2

These carbon nanotubes typically have diameters less than five nanometers, but have been grown to lengths of over half a foot. The fact that they can remain intact at such long dimensions is a testament to the astounding phenomena seen in nanoscience. In their pure form, carbon nanotubes are far stronger than titanium, leading some to theorize ideas as wild as using them to build a tower to the moon. While this is far from practical, there are many impressive applications for carbon nanotubes that are on the cusp of being realized. One future technology that will certainly incorporate carbon nanotubes is electronics. Industries are currently racing to develop the first carbon nanotube touch screen display, one that would be cheaper and more environmentally-friendly than current alternatives. Furthermore, it would be flexible, allowing some companies to dream of foldable cell phones, tablets, and monitors. Likewise, carbon nanotubes have potential applications in computers, batteries, and sensors. Current computer chip production has nearly reached its peak capability, but new architecture relying on nanomaterials would lead to smaller and more powerful nanoscale computer chips. The unique structure of carbon nanotubes gives them very high surface areas, which facilitates faster battery charging. The high surface area also yields highly sensitive sensors, which can be tuned to detect tumors at extremely early stages or can allow robots to more effectively see what is around them. Finally, there are plenty of more creative and useful applications of carbon nanotubes that will develop in the future. One fashion designer has been at the forefront of the creative application development, integrating carbon nanotubes into their fabric to develop a bullet-proof suit. In this case, carbon nanotubes are able to help keep clients safe, fashionable, and comfortable, all in one. Fullerenes Closely related to carbon nanotubes are fullerenes. Also known as buckyballs, fullerenes can most easily be described as tiny, carbon-based soccer balls. Similarly to carbon nanotubes, fullerenes retain incredible strength compared to traditional materials, and thus have been used as protective coatings on all sorts of devices. Even more astounding is the potential of fullerenes in the medical field. Fullerenes have already been demonstrated to inhibit the spread of HIV by penetrating the virus and preventing it from infecting other cells. Moreover, they can serve as antioxidantsthe thing that makes berries so healthythat are over one hundred times more powerful than the top antioxidants currently available.

Fullerene3 (left) and Sheet of Graphene4 (right)

Graphene Yet another iteration of nanoscale carbon that displays extremely promising properties is graphene. A layer of graphene is a one-atom thick carbon sheet, and it was first discovered by researchers who wrote in pencil and then stuck scotch tape over the graphite. When they removed the tape, stuck to the surface was the first recorded single graphene layer. Just like the aforementioned nanomaterials, researchers became more surprised by and impressed with the properties of graphene as they learned more about it. Correspondingly, graphene rivals carbon nanotubes as a possible next-generation, flexible touch screen. Moreover, graphene shows incredible promise as a capacitor, a device that stores electrical charge for long periods of time, and as a transistor, a device that is the heart of the computer chip. Finally, graphene has the potential to remove coal and elevate the sun to our primary energy source. One of the largest obstacles to solar energy has been efficiently harvesting and storing the energy that the sun emits, but graphene-based solar cells would have the potential to more than double the efficiency of current solar cells. Nanoparticles Despite all the discussion thus far about carbon-based structures, there are countless more possibilities offered by other nanomaterials. One such group is metallic nanoparticles. Metallic nanoparticles can be thought of as tiny spheres of the metals that are seen everywhere; gold, silver, iron, aluminum, and many more.

Silver Nanoparticles5

As you can likely guess by now, these metals exhibit vastly different properties at the nanoscale than in their traditional form, and this has led to an abundance of potential applications. Though all metallic nanoparticles offer the potential to improve upon some extant product, gold nanoparticles are of particular importance; they stand to revolutionize the way that drugs are delivered to the body. Cells in your body are quite good at regulating what goes in and what comes out. As a result, scientists have long been unsuccessful in trying to find a way to penetrate these membranes. However, they recently found that gold nanoparticles with a special coating were extremely capable of

by passing the cells security system. Because of this breakthrough, it is now conceivable to deliver drugs directly to infected cells and in ways that cure the infection rather than destroy the cell. Another key nanoparticle is known as the quantum dot. Without going into too much detail, quantum dots are nanoparticles of any semiconductor. These semiconductors exhibit unique properties on the large scalethey are neither electrical conductors nor insulatorsand this manifests itself even further on the nanoscale. Because of their nanoproperties, quantum dots have the potential to form the basis for manufacturing computers in a completely new way. Unlike traditional computers, which have to try every possible solution to a problem before eventually landing on the proper one, quantum supercomputers would have the capacity to evaluate complex problems much more rapidly by quickly identifying which solutions are most appropriate. Conclusion Outlining all the potential advances that nanotechnology will bring would require an entire novel. However, even at first glance it becomes evident that the possibilities span a broad spectrum of technologies, with more applications certain to be developed in the future. Nanoscience will lead to products that are capable of doing things todays could only dream of, while costing a fraction of the price. They will keep us healthier, help us to harness our resources more efficiently, and be the driving force behind whatever new products revolutionize the market.

References 1. "FDA Readies for More 'Nanoscale' Challenges." FDA, 25 July 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. 2. "Researchers Figure out How to 'grow' Carbon Nanotubes with Specific Atomic Structures." Phys Org. N.p., 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. 3. "Ten Things You Should Know about Nanotechnology." Nanowerk. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. 4. "Graphene Could Deliver Internet 100 times Faster." Kurzweil. N.p., 16 July 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. 5. Emanuel, Janet. "Nanoparticles Loaded with SiRNAs Are New Vehicle for Silencing Genes in Pathogens." Nanoparticles Loaded with SiRNAs Are New Vehicle for Silencing Genes in Pathogens. Yale, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.