Nanotechnology:  an all-purpose innovation

Nanotechnology — a real plus for the environment?
Nanotechnology — the future of man?
Nanotechnology — the source of many questions?

Nanotechnology is helping scientists to make our homes, cars, and businesses more energy-efficient through new fuel cells, batteries, and solar panels, as well as finding ways to purify drinking water and detect and clean up environmental waste and damage.

Our last issue of Eye on Innovation focused on the use of nanotechnology to help clean up oil spills, one of the most prolific forms of environmental and economic disasters occurring worldwide. Nanotechnology, however, is being used everywhere helping to improve many technology and industry sectors, including energy, environmental science, medicine, food safety and information technology, among others.

Whether you are a teen playing video games, an avid e-book reader or a senior wearing a hearing aid, nanotechnology may be a part of your daily life.  In the more than 20 years of research and experimentation with nanotech, some unexpected results have emerged. And, as well as being versatile, the good news is these solutions can also be cheaper to create and friendly to the environment. But, do we yet know whether nanotechnology is a real plus for the environment and the future of man, or still the source of many questions? Let's take a look.

Much ado about nothing or the next big idea?

Nanotechnology integrates four sciences: Chemistry, Physics, Engineering and Biology. This multi-disciplinary area is being tested for a wide array of uses. Some of the most promising are described here.

Eco-friendly applications
Many eco-friendly applications for nanotechnology, such as materials that provide clean water from polluted water sources in both large-scale and portable applications, and ones that detect and clean up environmental contaminants could alleviate environmental problems and produce drinking water at the same time.

Emerging nations and even the southwestern United States are constantly looking for water sources. Nanotechnology could help meet the need for affordable, clean drinking water. For example, researchers have discovered unexpected low-cost detection of impurities in water such as methods to remove arsenic or carbon tetrachloride and nano-structured filters that can extract virus cells from water. They are also investigating a method using nano-sized fiber electrodes to reduce the cost and energy requirements of removing salts from water.

The world's energy demand is also compounded by the growing need to protect the environment. Besides lighter cars and machinery that requires less fuel, and alternative fuel and energy sources, new prototype solar panels incorporating nanotechnology appear more efficient than standard designs in converting sunlight to electricity, promising inexpensive solar power in the future.

Medical and biotechnology applications

The healthcare market, poised to see some of the earliest benefits of nanotechnology over the next decade, will be one of nanotech's highest growth sectors. Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize a number of medical and biotechnology procedures so that they are more personalized, portable, cheaper, safer, and easier to administer.

Gold nanoparticle
Photo Credit:
Wikipedia

Nanocrystals-enabled medical diagnostics promise to improve just about everything that can be improved from a diagnostics point of view: earlier detection of disease, higher sensitivity, higher accuracy, time saving and cost-effective. For example, when illuminated with ultraviolet light, these crystals emit a wide spectrum of bright colors that can help locate and identify specific kinds of cells and biological activities. They offer optical detection up to 1,000 times better than conventional dyes used in many biological tests, such as MRIs, and provide significantly more information. Other possible tests using nanoparticles include:

• the early diagnosis of atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque in arteries

• nanocoatings on eyeglasses to make them easier to keep clean and harder to scratch

• gold nanoparticles to detect early-stage Alzheimer's disease

Exciting new nanotechnology-based medicines now in clinical trials may be available soon to treat patients. Some use nanoparticles to deliver toxic anti-cancer drugs targeted directly to tumors, minimizing drug damage to other parts of the body.

And, that's not all. Early stage animal research is underway to use nanotechnology to spur the growth of nerve cells (e.g., in damaged spinal cord or brain cells). In one method, a nanostuctured gel fills the space between existing cells and encourages new cells to grow. There is also early work on this in the optical nerves of hamsters. Other researchers are exploring the use of nanofibers to regenerate damaged spinal nerves in mice.

The global race for nanotechnology

Since the creation of The National Technology Initiative (NNI) in 2000, the United States government has placed special emphasis on funding nanotechnology research to the tune of $1.5 billion. The United States is not the only country to recognize the tremendous economic potential of nanotechnology. A clear trend is emerging. While nanotechnology research spending in Europe and North America is still rising, the fast growth rates are seen in Asia with China the fastest-growing.

Given the overall global competitiveness and technological superiority of the United States, it is not a surprise that the U.S. tops the list. The large amounts of R&D cash available in Russia from RusNano, a government-funded project, and China are putting them on a par with the United States.

Healthcare offers the greatest opportunity to add value to nanomaterials. A report from Cientifica Ltd., “Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery: Global Markets,” indicates nanotech-enabled drug delivery is set to grow from a current value of $2.3 billion to $136 billion by the year 2021 and represent approximately 15% of the global nanotechnology market. Led by Asia, China will be the largest market for nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, representing 43% of the Asian market. France is forecast to surpass Japan as a drug delivery market within 10 years, and among European Union countries, the highest growth will be found in the former Eastern Bloc. Although the United Kingdom has a well-developed infrastructure, the relative lack of funding for nanotechnologies puts it in a third division along with India. Note that when corporate research and various other forms of private funding are taken into account, estimated investment in nanotechnology is predicted at nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars by 2015.

All that glitters is not gold

Despite its potential, nanotechnology may have unintended consequences to human health and the environment that might negatively affect the development and consumer attitude to the technology. According to a report from the National Research Council, these potential risks must be considered by conducting strategic research that is independent of any one stakeholder group, has human and environmental health as its primary focus, builds on past efforts, and is flexible in anticipating and adjusting to emerging challenges.

In the United States, the NNI is committed to addressing the potential environmental, health, and safety impacts and various societal, legal, or ethical implications of nanotechnology to avoid or minimize any undesirable or unintended effects. Implementation of the strategy should also include the integration of domestic and international participants involved in nanotechnology-related research, including federal agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and the academic community. It is also very important to ensure that the research into the safety of nanotechnology is made transparent to the general public by making available the relevant information in a manner that can be readily understood.

Will nanotechnology take off? Governments, private enterprise, investors and the science community are watching carefully. The age of nanotechnology is getting closer!

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