104509734 nanotechnology for students a website on nanotechnology with emphasis on...

Nanotechnology for Students X X

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March 2012 www.nanotechnologyforstudents.weebly.com

Final Year Project X | X


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Contents

Sections Page

1 Introduction to Nanotechnology for Students 3

1.1 Introduction to Nanotechnology 4

1.2 Current State of Nanotechnology 5

1.3 Current State of Nanotechnology in Ireland 6

1.4 Courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland on Nanotechnology 11

1.5 Proposed new Leaving Certificate chemistry syllabus has nanotechnology as a topic.

What's available to teach it? 13

2. Results of Survey 15

3. The Making of the Website 22

3.1 Idea for Website 23

3.2 Designing the Website 23

3.3 Where the Website ties in with Course 26

3.4 Content of Website 26

4. Bibliography with Evaluation 76

4.1 Evaluation of References 80

5. Discussion and Conclusion 83

5.1 Feedback on website 84

5.2 Conclusion 86

5.3 Discussion 86

5.4 Final Word 86

5.5 Thank You 87


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Introduction to Nanotechnology for Students Before the Website K00101576


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Introduction to Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the design, characterization, production, and application of structures,

devices, and systems by controlled manipulation of size and shape at the nanometer scale

(atomic, molecular, and macromolecular scale) that produces structures, devices, and systems

with at least one novel/superior characteristic or property.

The word itself is a combination of nano, from the Greek ―nanos‖ (or Latin ―nanus‖),

meaning ―Dwarf‖, and the word "technology." Nano refers to the 10-9 power, or one

billionth. In these terms it refers to a meter, or a nanometer, which is on the scale of atomic

diameters. For comparison, a human hair and a sheet of paper are about 100,000 nanometres

thick.

Why is the study of nanoscience different than the same problems on a larger scale? For

instance, materials can be stronger, lighter and highly soluble, less hygroscopic, or with

totally different physicochemical properties. The practical application of this can be

demonstrated with a simple example of carbon which is the main building block of coal and

diamond. Mother Nature arranged these materials accordingly but now we can engineer

materials using nanotechnology, to create entirely new materials, devices and structures.

Properties not seen on a macroscopic scale now become important- such as quantum

mechanical and thermodynamic properties. For instance; opaque substances become

transparent (copper), stable materials turn combustible (aluminum), insoluble materials

become soluble (gold). By learning about an individual molecule‘s properties, we can put

them together in very well-defined ways to produce new materials with new and amazing

characteristics.


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Current State of Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is a multi-billion dollar enterprise worldwide now and could become a

trillion dollar enterprise in a relatively near term. Everything from clothing to sports,

equipment to food to drugs to all kinds of vehicles and military techniques now deploy some

sort of nanotechnology. If petroleum and plastics formed the infrastructure of the

chemical/industrial revolution that transformed countries such as the United States in the last

50 to 100 years nanotechnology may well be the basis for the next gigantic revolution in how

we live.

Across the world national governments, including the Irish government, have invested

heavily in promoting the development of nanotechnology. This is no surprise as

nanotechnology promises to cure cancer and solve the energy crisis. In industry the challenge

now is to stay in the race or, better yet, to secure a leading position in the development of the

technology. [1]

So where is all this revolution happening? Who are the forerunners in the nanotechnology

race at the moment? How much is the industry worth? These are impossible questions to

answer due to the pace the whole enterprise is moving at. Because the spectrum of

industries/disciplines- all inclusive- using and developing nanotechnology is so broad even

grasping the concept economically and financially is a challenge. There are institutions and

universities in most countries in the world who have research and development centres

specifically for nanotechnology. This would indicate that there are increasing numbers of

college courses and students taking them all the time. For example nanotechnology institutes

have been set up around the ‗inventors‘ of nanotechnology themselves such as the Richard E.

Smalley‘s Institute for Nanoscale science and Tecnology. There are thousands of companies

who are centred around nanotechnology as they sell products dependent on nanotechnology.

There are the industries that have been around for years that are expanding into the

nanotechnology field, such as Apple or Corning Glass Manufacturers.

Nanotechnology R&D funding has been growing at a steady pace, up 15 percent in 2008, to

reach $18.2 billion globally. On the commercialisation front, Lux Research calculate that

nanotechnology would be incorporated into $254 billion worth of products globally in 2009

and is forecasted to be incorporated into $2.5 trillion worth of products globally by 2015[2].

The nanopharmaceutical Industry is forecasted to provide 1 trillion dollars in revenue by

2015 . [1] As an example the total market size for e-paper displays (relies on nanotechnology)


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in 2012 is $1.03 billion rising to $8.59 billion in 2022. For further information on ‗E-Paper

Displays: Markets, Forecasts, Technologies 2012-2020‘ one must buy the 151page document

for £2750[3]. This figure speaks for itself.

Nanotechnology has already become a key enabling technology in certain industrial settings

and will have a significant impact on many other sectors in the next several decades,

including those that are central to sustaining Ireland's economic prosperity. Important

contributions to electronics, pharmaceuticals, energy, chemicals and consumer products have

already been made.

Current State of Nanotechnology in Ireland

In Ireland, the first indigenous start-ups to emerge from university based research groups

have already attracted international venture capital. NTERA Ltd., founded in 1997, a spin-out

from University College Dublin, has developed a next generation display called

Nanochromics™ Displays (NCD)[5]

Deerac Fluidics, whose roots are in Trinity College Dublin, has developed nanolitre-scale

liquid handling technology that is being deployed in high-throughput screening systems in

drug discovery research

Elan is a pharmaceutical company based in Ireland that has been among the earliest adopters

of nanotechnology in the sector. Its NanoCrystalTechnology is designed to improve the

bioavailability of drugs and drug candidates that have poor solubility in water. Compounds

are formulated as nanometer-sized particles, which are then delivered in tablet form, in

capsules, via inhalation devices or via injection with the potential for substantial

improvements to clinical performance. Elan has put in place manufacturing capacity for

NanoCrystal-based products at its Irish site in Athlone. [5]


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Recognising the importance of Nanotechnology, the Irish Council for Science, Technology

and Innovation (ICSTI) produced a Statement in order to assess current capabilities, to map

out the specific areas of opportunity for the Irish economy and to work towards an agreed

strategy for promoting the development and commercialisation of nanotechnology in Ireland.

The ICSTI recommend the following national definition of nanotechnology: [5]

― Nanotechnology is a collective term for a set of tools and techniques that permit Using

these tools and techniques it is possible to exploit the size-dependent properties of materials

structured on the sub-100 nanometer scale, which may be improved properties. These tools

and techniques, materials, devices and systems present companies in all sectors of the Irish

economy with opportunities to enhance their competitiveness by developing new and

improved products and processes.” [One nanometer (1 nm = 10m), to give an idea of scale,

would be around 80,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.]

The particular sectors of the Irish economy in which nanotechnology either already plays or

soon will play an important role include:

Information and Communications Technology – Electronics & Photonics

Healthcare - Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare – Medical Devices

Agriculture-Food

Polymers and Plastic

Construction

Although each sector is exposed to a differing market dynamic and each has differing needs

operating over divergent timescales, they share one common necessity - the development of a

national nanotechnology capability that can match their particular requirements.

There has been significant investment in research in the field of nanotechnology. The vast

majority of this funding is derived from:

Higher Education Authority (HEA)

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)

Enterprise Ireland (EI)

European Union (EU)

At Trinity College Dublin an SFI Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and

Nanodevices (CRANN) is planned in partnership with University College Cork and


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University College Dublin. In accordance with the current IDA Ireland strategy, which is to

‗anchor‘ overseas based multinationals in this country by ensuring that more research and

product development takes place, Intel Ireland will be the principal industry partner in

CRANN. [5]

Enterprise Ireland, with its growing number of associated investment funds, aims to support

the establishment and growth of indigenous nanotechnology based companies or

nanotechnology enabled products within existing companies.

High potential start-ups, established indigenous companies and multinational companies with

operations in Ireland all stand to benefit by developing, deploying or adopting

nanotechnology. The opportunity is significant. International forecasts suggest that the global

market for nanotechnology-enabled products will grow from an estimated $300 billion in

2002 to $1 trillion by 2010. The science may be small, but the stakes are large. [5]

On this basis the ICSTI Statement on Nanotechnology outlines a sustainable vision and

strategy for nanotechnology in Ireland and includes recommendations that will ensure that

stakeholders can work together to fully exploit the nanotechnology opportunity for Ireland [5]

Ireland is faced with a choice - it can back away from nanotechnology or it can make

focused, deliberate efforts to generate a pipeline of world-class, high-impact nanotechnology

innovations. A strategy of funding everything (that can be typical of government efforts to

fund early-stage technologies) is no longer practicable in a field that is about to move into the

commercialisation phase.


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Table 1 Nanotechnology’s Impact on Irish Business Sectors with High Sales/

Employment share

Sector Examples Deployment Status (Year of mass

Development)

Manufacturing Anti-wear coatings,

electrical infrastructure,

Antimicrobial materials,

processing aids,

catalysts,

antifouling and

anticorrosion coatings,

filtration,

sensors to monitor water

and air,

anti-adhesion

coatings/lubricants,

insulation

Introduction or Commercial Scale

(ongoing)

Food Biosensors that detect

contaminants and

pathogens,

encapsulation systems,

Design of flavours and

antioxidants to improve

functionality,

Nanodispersions and

nanocapsules for delivery

of functional ingredients,

Packaging technologies,

Coatings- antimicrobial,

wear-resistant, barrier,

thermal.

Development

(2012 and beyond)

Electronics and IT Transparent conductors,

thermal management,

displays,

memory technologies,

printed electronics,

LED‘s and optical

components.

Energy storage,

Barrier coatings,

Development or Introduction (2012

and beyond)


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packaging, lithography

Chemicals and

Pharmaceuticals

Nanomaterials,

coatings,

polymer dispersions,

micronized drugs,

drug delivery,

catalysts,

theranostics,

imaging,

composites,

Development or introduction (2015

and beyond)


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Courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland with Nanotechnology

Degree Courses:

Science with Nanotechnology, Level 8, DIT.

Degree courses in Ireland that contain Nanotechnology

1. Manufacturing and Design Engineering, Level 8, DIT.

2. Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics, Level 8, UL.

Postgraduate Courses

1. NanoBio Science, Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ), UCD.

2. Nanotechnology, Degree - Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, University of Ulster -

Jordanstown,

3. Nanotechnology - Advanced Materials & Bioengineering - Research, Degree -

Masters, Doctoral Degree, University of Ulster - Magee

4. Nanostructured Media - Research, Degree - Masters, Doctoral Degree, Queen's

University Belfast

Postgraduate Courses that Contain Nanotechnology

1. Electronic Systems, Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ), Minor Certificate (Level 9

NFQ), Postgraduate Diploma (Level 9 NFQ), DCU

2. Telecommunications Engineering, Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ), Minor

Certificate (Level 9 NFQ),Postgraduate Diploma (Level 9 NFQ), DCU

3. Medical Electronics, Degree - Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, University of Ulster

4. Biomedical Engineering, Degree - Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, University of

Ulster - Jordanstown,


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5. Electronic Engineering - Master Engineering Qualifier, DCU.

6. Composites & Polymers - Advanced, Degree - Masters, Postgraduate

Diploma, University of Ulster

7. Research Opportunities at the College of Sciences & Health, Degree - Doctoral (Level

10 NFQ), Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ), Dublin Institute of Technology

8. Physics - Research, Degree - Doctoral (Level 10 NFQ), Degree - Masters (Level 9

NFQ), TCD.

9. Electronics - Individual Postgraduate Modules, Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ),

Minor Certificate (Level 9 NFQ), Postgraduate Diploma (Level 9 NFQ), DCU

10. Biomedical Sciences - Research, Degree - Masters, Doctoral Degree, (University of

Ulster - Coleraine), University of Ulster

11. International Foundation Programme - Pre Masters, DCU

12. Engineering - Research, Degree - Doctoral (Level 10 NFQ), Degree - Masters (Level

9 NFQ), Trinity College Dublin

13. International Foundation Programme - Pre Masters, DCU

14. Electronic Systems - Pre Masters, Dublin City University

[Sources: CAO and PostGrad Ireland.]

There may be more courses involving nanotechnology which have not been mentioned here

but these are the only ones which feature in CAO and PostGrad Ireland.

As you can see there is only one course in the Republic of Ireland at the moment that has the

word nanotechnology in the title. There are two other degree courses which contain a module

or part of a module of nanotechnology that are listed here. More than likely there are a lot

more courses which contain nanotechnology but do not show up in a nanotechnology search.

Overall nanotechnology and it‘s other nano- associated disciplines do not feature in degree

courses in Ireland enough. This is sure to grow over the next few years. It is important that it

does if Ireland is to maintain its position in the competitive industry.


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There is also only one postgraduate course on PostGrad Ireland that has the word

nanotechnology in the title. University college Dublin has the postgraduate course but there is

no similar degree course in the same university. There is a longer list of post graduate courses

that have nanotechnology as part of them. This is probably because it is seen as more useful

that a student has a wider scientific knowledge on all areas of science before they are suitable

for specialising in nanotechnology. But it must be remembered that post graduate courses are

costly. The question must be asked; is it fair for the student interested in pursuing

nanotechnology after their leaving cert (or other) to only have one degree course available to

them? Or is it fair that the chances of them having to pay for a postgraduate course in

nanotechnology are very high? With that fact just mentioned, the benefit to Ireland as a

whole, and the immense role nanotechnology plays in our lives it is vital that more emphasis

is made on the education of it

Proposed new Leaving Certificate chemistry syllabus has

nanotechnology as a topic. What's available to teach it?

In studying nanotechnology there is a lot of theory. It is possible to teach the understanding

of, the applications of and the chemistry of nanotechnology in a classroom setting. It would

be easy to make the teaching of nanotechnology appealing to secondary school students

because of its relevance in theirs, and everybody‘s, lives with regards to the coolest most

modern gadgets, cars, PDAs etc. HD Images of atoms and molecules etc. as viewed under the

scanning microscopes can be shown in the classroom as a teaching tool.

The practical side, however, of teaching nanotechnology in chemistry would be more

difficult. Chemistry and nanotechnology would revolve around the atoms and molecules and

viewing them under the microscope. The microscopes used to view these are not in secondary

schools. So using the instruments is out of the question. It might be possible to take school

trips to nearby universities which have the microscopes.

The Making of the website (note: all text which appears in a text box was copied directly

from the website)

The website was made on ‗Weebly‘. Weebly is a site used by over seven million people to

create their own website quickly and easily. I named the site Nanotechnology for Students.


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Results of Survey Nanotechnology Survey K00101576


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Results of Survey

A survey was carried out which aimed to determine a representative sample of the general

populations‘ knowledge of nanotechnology and how many people would be interested in

learning more about it (i.e. through the website). Their opinions on different aspects of

nanotechnology were also asked for. 40 people were questioned from a population of

secondary school students, third level students and professionals.

SurveyMonkey

The survey was created on SurveyMonkey.com. This is a website which allows you to easily

create a professional-looking survey online completely free. The survey can then be sent by

e-mail to a population directly from SurveyMonkey. It also carries out data analysis of the

results for free, although representation of the data on graphs requires an upgrade on the

website which comes at a cost. A screenshot of the SurveyMonkey homepage can be seen

below.

.

The results of the survey can be seen below.

1. 80% of people asked had heard of nanotechnology. 20% had not heard of it.


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2. 50% of people asked had encountered nanotechnology in school and college.

3. Items in everyday life people knew of as existing as they do today because of

nanotechnology:

Three people had heard of nanotechnology but didn‘t know of anywhere is everyday life

where is applied to.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

CAO courses College andSchool

ScientificReading(internet)

Media and News Science FictionNovels

% o

f P

eop

le

Places where people had encountered nanotechnology

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Drugs

Microchips

ipod nano

Smart phones

Nanotubes

Suncream

Contact Lenses

Sports Items

Creams

Refridgerator

Don't know

Number of people that said this Item

People were asked to mention nanotechnology items in everyday life


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4. 97.4% of people questioned said they like the idea of an interactive environment such as

computerised surfaces. Only one person said they did not like the idea of this.

5. 94.9% of people questioned said they would consider a career in nanotechnology now that

they now know that it may have cures for diseases and solutions for the world‘s energy

problems.

6. 52.8% of people questioned said they trust scientists and the industry to control what

dangerous effects nanotechnology might have on the environment. 44.4% of people said

it worries them a lot that there might be bad effects on the environment that scientists

cannot yet define.

Q. If you were told that scientists were largely unaware what nanotechnology and its end products might be doing

to the environment, how much would it worry you?

Alot Not Much, I trust the Industry Dont' Care


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7. People were asked to rate what they think are the most important issues that need to be

dealt with in our world today

77.5% think the high levels of cancer and other diseases is the most important issue.

Nanotechnology benefits the three of these major issues, but is most beneficial to medicine.

This emphasizes the fact that people will agree that nanotechnology is a very important

industry, especially the area of Nanomedicine.

8. As the percentages below show, not everyone will be willing to pay more for more

efficient medical diagnoses. Labs on chips are just one of the things which were in mind

with regards to this question. There is much work going in to figuring out how to

produce these devices cheaply so as to keep patients satisfied.

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

High Levels and Cancer andother Diseases

Financial State of theEconomy

Environmental Issues i.e.Energy, Pollution

% of people who said which world dilemma was the most important

59%

41%

Willing to pay more for better medical services, such as quick blood tests which don't have to be sent to

the lab for analysis?

Willing to pay more Not willing to pay more


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9. Nanotechnology is on the fast track to improving drug loading and drug release as part of

its role in drug delivery. As a result of this dosing regimes will become even more hassle

free for patients. This would clearly be of benefit to those who had to take medicine on a

regular basis, whether it made much difference to the everyday population was

questionable. But 90% of people said it would be of benefit to them.

10. 87.5% of people questioned said they were interested in knowing more about

nanotechnology. This shows that people would be interested in looking at the website

created for this project.

Would it be of benefit to you if a drug you had to take/are taking 3-6 times a day could be reduced to

taking it once a day?

Yes

No

Interested in knowing more about Nanotechnology?

Yes

No


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It can be concluded from this survey that

Many people do not know much about nanotechnology

People identify the problems that nanotechnology is solving as being very important

The large majority people as individuals agree that nanotechnology will improve their

lives

The vast majority of people are interested in learning more about nanotechnology

There is space in the market for an Irish nanotechnology website which educates

the general population on the benefits and possible dangers of nanotechnology in

simple language.


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The Making of the Website Including Website Content K00101576


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The Making of the Website

(note: all text which appears in a text box was copied directly from the website)

The website was made on ‗Weebly‘.

Weebly.com is a website used by over seven

million people to create their own website

quickly and easily. I named the site

Nanotechnology for Students.

Idea for Website This level eight course, ‗Pharmaceutical and Forensic Analysis‘, has a subject in fourth year

called ‗Advanced Pharmaceutical Technologies‘ and nanotechnology features as part of this

subject. It was evident from class that the general population do not know what

nanotechnology is, even though it is an increasingly important concept to be familiar with in

everyday life. As a joint decision with my supervisor it was decided that it would be useful to

create an informative base in the form of a website where students could learn about

nanotechnology and especially the nanotechnology applications which are relevant to them.

Designing the Website

From the survey it can be seen that the general public have an interest in learning more about

nanotechnology. The website was designed with the target audience in mind. Research was

also done on how to make a website appealing to readers. Tips for website creation came in

valuable. Some tips which were taken into account were:

People want to be entertained

Images and videos speak louder than words

People don‘t like to be preached to, credible opinion is often preferred

Make sure each page has something valuable to offer, provide compelling content

Clear and easy to read text with no distracting flashing elements

Make it easy to find things

Break up text with images

Use contrasting colours and plain back grounds

Describe what links are leading to so readers can decide whether they want to click or

not.

[6]


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Target Audience

The audience chosen to be targeted mostly are students. This is down to the fact that I am in

contact with students most on an everyday basis and will be able to get the website out to

students more easily. Students studying in many different areas such as computers,

engineering, the sciences and health will all gain useful education which relates to their

course of study. The website also appeals to the general population who are not student.

Name

The name ‗Nanotechnology for Students‘ was chosen as it is simple and states what the

website is all about. It is straightforward and is more likely to appear for the right reasons

when nanotechnology is searched for in internet search engines.

Colour Scheme

The black background and white text are contrasting so text is easy to read. As there is quite a

lot of text in the website making it easy to read and not harsh on the reader‘s eyes was of

upmost importance. Black and white is also quite industrial which relates to nanotechnology

and doesn‘t lean towards pleasing males over females or vice versa. Large images spanning

across the top of each page along with the images and videos throughout each page give the

website as much colour as is required. Images and videos also stand out more and appear

clearer on the black background.

Logo

Below is the logo for the website. The technological-looking background image was chosen

as it is eye-catching yet the black and bold text is easily legible when it‘s superimposed on

the image. The image also portrays the feeling of moving from the past to the future quickly,

which feeds in well to the idea that nanotechnology

and its applications are futuristic. The digits

underneath are the C, C+ Java computer language

which also relates to nanotechnology.


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Tone

The overall tone throughout the website is mostly informative and scientific, but changes in

places. In the lighter subject areas of the website such as the sections ‗Changing World‘ and

‗What‘s to Come?‘ the tone is of a lighter informative nature in parts because the subject

matter is not quite as serious as medicine or environmental issues, where the tone is strictly

informative. There are some tongue-in-cheek phrases used to add a dash of humour and fun

to the website. The tone changes to opinion in one section at the very end of the website in

the ‗Positives and Negative‘ section to convey a sense of personal flavour which I thought

would appeal to readers. The tone here is very positive, as I thought it was important to end

the website on a positive note towards nanotechnology.

Conveying Interest- Images and Videos

There are many interesting and appealing images scattered throughout the website. It is

common knowledge viewers respond positively when a text can be referenced with an image

which backs it up. Images are essential to break up to text and keep a reader intrigued.

Videos act in the same way as images in that they break up the text and add visual depth.

However it‘s important to be aware that readers will not always watch the videos so a

summing up of what the videos contained was included. The videos were mainly taken from

YouTube with one video from The Discovery Channel used. In my opinion all videos chosen

are well worth watching by the viewers.

Screenshot of an example of a row of images used in the website


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Where the Website ties in with ‘Pharmaceutical and Forensic

Analysis’

There are three sections on the website which relate to my current course of study. As it was

mentioned above the subject in my course with which this website is related to is ‗Advanced

Pharmaceutical Technologies‘. Part of this subject deals with drug delivery, and

nanotechnology is involved in this. The section of the website named ‗Nanotech and Drug

Delivery‘ includes an essay-like piece on drug delivery on a large scale including before and

after nanotechonology references, which is very relevant to my course of study. The other

two sections, ‗Nanopharmaceuticals‘ and ‗Nanomedicine‘ also include references to drug

delivery and pharmaceutical technologies which are beneficial to know as part of the course

subject.

Content

The sections were chosen on the basis of the different areas nanotechnology is affecting plus

background information of what it is all about. The pages on the website are as follows:

1. ‘Nanoeverything’

This is like a homepage and it includes an introduction to what nanotechnology is and

introduces what the reader will read about in the rest of the website. The box below contains

the text which is seen in this section. (It need not be read if you have already read the

website)

Welcome!

Nanotechnology is a field which is growing more rapidly than any other field of research at

the moment. Knowledge of what nanotechnology is and how it affects us is good for

everyone to know. This website includes a broad look at how nanotechnology is affecting our

everyday lives with a slightly more in-depth look at how nanotechnology is affecting

medicine and nanopharmaceuticals. There are aspects of nanotechnology which are of

interest to everyone's tastes, from technology and cars to art and science, so it is worth having

a read through this website, you'd never know what you might stumble upon!


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Top Down, Bottom Up, Size Matters!

'Atoms on a small scale behave like nothing on a large scale, for they satisfy the laws of

quantum mechanics. So, as we go down and fiddle around with the atoms down there, we are

working with different laws, and we can expect to do different things. We can manufacture in

different ways. We can use, not just circuits, but some system involving the quantized energy

levels, or the interactions of quantized spins, etc.' -Richard Feynman said this in his talk

called 'There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom' on December 29th 1959. This idea of playing

with atoms and molecules has been around for centuries but only in the last number of years

have scientists been able to visualize atoms clearly and move them. Being able to move

atoms and molecules has resulted in an explosion into the relatively new scientific world of

nanotechnology. Word of the promise of nanotechnology is spreading rapidly, and the air is

thick with news of nanotech breakthroughs. Governments and businesses are investing

billions of dollars in nanotechnology R&D, and political alliances and battle lines are starting

to form. 'Star Trek', 'The Hulk', 'The Tuxedo', 'Metal Gear Solid' and the bestselling book

'The Prey' 'all have mentions of nanotechnology which reflects the rise of public awareness.

There are hundrerds of commerically available products using nanotechnology currently on

the market including cosmetics, sunscreens, paints and coatings, catalysts and lubricants,

water treatments, security printing, textiles and sports items, medical and health cares, food

and food packaging, plant production products, verterinary medicines, electronics, fuel cells,

batteries and additives, paper manufacturing and weapons and explosives.

So what is Nanotechnology?

The word itself is a combination of nano, from the Greek ―nanos‖ (or Latin ―nanus‖),

meaning ―Dwarf‖, and the word "technology."

Nanometer refers to the 10-9 power of a meter. For comparison, a human hair and a sheet of

paper are about 100,000 nanometers thick. A mans beard hair grows 5nm per second. One

nanometer is to a tennis ball what a tennis ball is to the earth.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology involve the ability to see and to control individual atoms

and molecules. Everything on Earth is made up of atoms—the food we eat, the clothes we

wear, the buildings and houses we live in, and our own bodies, so nanotechnology affects

almost every aspect of our lives today.

Things are Different at the Nanoscale


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Properties not seen on a macroscopic scale now become important- such as quantum

mechanical and thermodynamic properties (when the size of materials is reduced to less than

100nm the realm of quantum physics takes over). For instance, materials can be stronger,

lighter and highly soluble, less hygroscopic, or with totally different physicochemical

properties. Opaque substances become transparent (copper); stable materials turn combustible

(aluminum); insoluble materials become soluble (gold). By learning about an individual

molecule‘s properties, we can put them together in very well-defined ways to produce new

materials with new and amazing characteristics.

Mother Nature arranged these materials accordingly but now we can engineer materials

using nanotechnology, to create entirely new materials, devices and structures.

Imaging..Trigger..BOOM!

To be able to manipulate molecules and atoms they first needed to be

visualised. Nanotechnology kicked off with the invention of the

scanning tunneling microscope. You can't talk about nanotechnology without mentioning the

microscopes involved. Click here to read about them.

On that historical note, the timeline of the major events leading to where we are today with

nanotechnology can be seen in the drop down menu above, conveniently named 'Timeline'.

Understanding Nanotechnology

"Your Consciousness Affects the Behaviour of Subatomic Particles..''

"Particles move backwards as well as forwards in time and appear in all possible places at

once".. A Lazy Layman's Guide to Quantum Physics, James Higgo 1999

For absolute understanding of the basis of nanotechnology a masters in quantum mechanics

would not go astray. But let's not dwell on that! For now let us take James Higgo's advice and

not think about it. Some definitions of recurring concepts might be of use though:

-Nanoparticles: A particle having one or more dimensions of the order of 100nm or less.

-Quantum Dots: Quantum dots are tiny nanocrystals that glow when stimulated by an

external source such as ultraviolet (UV) light. How many atoms are included in the quantum

dot determines their size and the size of the quantum dot determines the colour of light

emitted. [1]

http://weebly-link/195531462231399382

http://weebly-link/930021245909894992

http://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1814


29

-Carbon Nanotubes: Carbon nanotubes are large molecules of pure carbon that are long and

thin and shaped like tubes, about 1-3 nanometers (1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter) in diameter,

and hundreds to thousands of nanometers long. As individual molecules, nanotubes are 100

times stronger-than-steel and one-sixth its weight. Some carbon nanotubes can be extremely

efficient conductors of electricity and heat; depending on their configuration, some act as

semiconductors. [2]

-Buckyballs (Buckminster Fullerene): A buckyball looks like a nanometer-sized soccer ball

made from 60 carbon atoms.

The Future is but a Nanodistance Away!

So with all that serious stuff out of the way let's now look at the real reasons why we should

be interested in nanotechnology. Not only is it saving lives by diagnosing and curing cancer

more efficiently but it is also involved in improving the earth by pollution reduction and

energy renewal, curing other potentially fatal diseases, improving transport and

communications and making our lives more comfortable overall. This website intends to

portray the aspects of nanotechnology which have the most impact on us and which will be of

biggest interest.

http://eng3060.pbworks.com/w/page/18918986/nanotube


30

The image below is a screenshot of part of this homepage ‗Nanoeverything‘.

Sub-Pages of ‘Nanoeverything’

‗Timeline‘

This section shows the list of important events which lead up to where nanotechnology stands

today, starting in 1936. The table below shows the same information which appears in the

Timeline section of the website. At the bottom of this section I included a nanotechnology

newsfeed from www.nanowerk.com. I put the feed in this section of the website because it is

related to the Timeline in that it shows the latest in nanotechnology news.


31

1936 Field emission microscope invented by Erwin Müller

1947

John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs discovered the

semiconductor transistor

1950

Victor La Mer and Robert Dinegar developed the theory and a process for growing

monodisperse colloidal materials.

1951 Erwin Müller pioneered the field ion microscope

1956

Arthur Von Hippel at MIT introduced many concepts of-and coined the term-―molecular

engineering‘‘

1958

Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments originated the concept of, designed, and built the

first integrated circuit, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 2000.

1959

Richard Feynman gave what is considered to be the first lecture on technology and engineering

at the atomic scale, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at an American Physical Society

meeting at Caltech.

1974 Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology

1981:

Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM‘s Zurich lab invented the scanning tunneling

microscope.

Russia‘s Alexei Ekimov discovered nanocrystalline, semiconducting quantum dots in a glass

matrix

1985

Rice University researchers Harold Kroto, Sean O‘Brien, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley

discovered theBuckminsterfullerene (C60)

1986 Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber invented the atomic force microscope.

1989

Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer at IBM's Almaden Research Center manipulated 35 individual

xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo

1990

Early nanotechnology companies began to operate, e.g., Nanophase Technologies in 1989,

Helix Energy Solutions Group in 1990, Zyvex in 1997, Nano-Tex in 1998….

1991

Sumio Iijima of NEC is credited with discovering the carbon nanotube (CNT), although there

were early observations of tubular carbon structures by others as well.

1992

C.T. Kresge and colleagues at Mobil Oil discovered the nanostructured catalytic materials

MCM-41 and MCM-48

1993

Moungi Bawendi of MIT invented a method for controlled synthesis of nanocrystals (quantum

dots)

1998 The Interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology (IWGN) was formed

http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html




32

1999

Cornell University researchers Wilson Ho and Hyojune Lee probed secrets of chemical bonding

by assembling a molecule [iron carbonyl Fe(CO)2] from constituent components [iron (Fe) and

carbon monoxide (CO)] with a scanning tunneling microscope. Chad Mirkin at Northwestern

University invented dip-pen nanolithography® (DPN®)

2000

Formation of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative

Nanotechnology Products Began to be seen on the market

2003 Naomi Halas, Jennifer West, Rebekah Drezek, and Renata Pasqualin at Rice University

developed gold nanoshells

2004

Britain‘s Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering published Nanoscience and

Nanotechnologies: Opportunities and Uncertainties advocating the need to address potential

health, environmental, social, ethical, and regulatory issues associated with nanotechnology.

2005

Erik Winfree and Paul Rothemund from the California Institute of Technology developed

theories for DNA-based computation and ―algorithmic self-assembly‖ in which computations

are embedded in the process of nanocrystal growth.

2006 James Tour and colleagues at Rice University built a nanoscale car

2007

Angela Belcher and colleagues at MIT built a lithium-ion battery with a common type of

virus that is nonharmful to humans

2009

Nadrian Seeman and colleagues at New York University created several DNA-like robotic

nanoscale assembly devices.

2010

IBM used a silicon tip measuring only a few nanometers at its apex (similar to the tips used in

atomic force microscopes) to chisel away material from a substrate to create a complete

nanoscale 3D relief map of the world one-one-thousandth the size of a grain of salt—in 2

minutes and 23 seconds.

2011

The NSET Subcommittee updated both the NNI Strategic Plan and the NNI Environmental,

Health, and Safety Research Strategy, drawing on extensive input from public workshops and

online dialog with stakeholders from Government, academia, NGOs, and the public, and others.

2012 Nanotech Conference & Expo 2012 june 18-21

http://www.nanotec.org.uk/finalReport.htm



http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2010/06/03/nyu-chemist-seeman-wins-kavli-prize-in-nanoscience-.html

http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2010/06/03/nyu-chemist-seeman-wins-kavli-prize-in-nanoscience-.html


33

‗Instruments‘

This section includes information on the microscopes used to view the atoms and molecules

and which play a vital part in the manipulation of these.

The Catalyst of the Nanotechnology Era: The Microscope

Nanotechnology is made possible because of the instruments used to see things on the

nanoscale. The invention of these happened years before the term nanotechnology was

coined, but their invention is of course still worth mentioning. They form the basis of

nanotechnology today. Here we will see some of the key microscopes scientists and engineers

use to work at the nanoscale. They allow us to be able to see at the nanoscale, to characterise

with nanoscale materials and surfaces and to move things around on surfaces in order to

create devices.

Scanning Electron Microscope (1931)

An electron microscope depends on electrons rather than light to view an object. . The

electrons interact with the atoms that make up the sample producing signals that contain

information about the sample's surface topography, composition, and other properties such as

electrical conductivity. Electrons are speeded up in a vacuum until their wavelength is

extremely short, only one hundred-thousandth that of white light. Electron microscopes make

it possible to view objects as small as the diameter of an atomErnst Ruska co-invented the

electron microscope for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986.

The scanning electron microscope remains a crucial instrument in nanotechnology. Scanning

electron microscopy (SEM) can be exploited for nanomaterials characterization but also

integrated with new technologies for in-situ nanomaterials engineering and manipulation.

SEM can be used for nanomaterials imaging, X-ray microanalysis, high-resolution SEM, low

kV SEM, cryo-SEM, as well as new techniques such as electron back scatter diffraction

(EBSD) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Fabrication techniques

integrated with SEM, such as e-beam nanolithography, nanomanipulation, and focused ion

beam nanofabrication, are major new dimensions for SEM application. Application areas

include the study of nanoparticles, nanowires and nanotubes, three-dimensional

nanostructures, quantum dots, magnetic nanomaterials, photonic structures, and bio-inspired

nanomaterials. [4]


34

Scanning Tunneling Microscope (1981)

The STM works by scanning a very sharp metal wire tip over a surface. By bringing the tip

very close to the surface, and by applying an electrical voltage to the tip or sample, we can

image the surface at an extremely small scale – down to resolving individual atoms. The

STM is based on several principles. One is the quantum mechanical effect of tunneling. It is

this effect that allows us to ―see‖ the surface. Another principle is the piezoelectric effect. It

is this effect that allows us to precisely scan the tip with angstrom-level control. Lastly, a

feedback loop is required, which monitors the tunneling current and coordinates the current

and the positioning of the tip.[5]

The images taken with these microscopes look like tumulose alien landscapes—and

researchers learned how to rearrange those landscapes, once they discovered that the

scanning tunneling microscope could also be used to pick up, move, and precisely place

atoms, one at a time. The first dramatic demonstration of this power came in 1990 when a

team of IBM physicists revealed that they had, the year before, spelled out the letters ―IBM‖

using 35 individual atoms of xenon.

Atomic Force Microscope (1986)

1986 - Gerd Binnig, Quate, and Gerber invent the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).

It Can measure surfaces in a very accurate way using a probe tip mounted on a cantilever

beam like a diving board. The position of the tip is monitored with a laser beam which is

refelected off the cantilever on to a detector. As the tips scan back and fourth it moves up and

down with the hills and valleys of the surface, which deflects the laser beam up and down.

The information is recorded on a computer. From the information collected we can

understand information about the surface. It's possible to scan any surface with an AFM and

at such high resolution amazing things can be seen . The AFM probe can also examine the

friction of a surface. Different regions of a surface have different frictional properties as the

tip scans along. The instrument can feel forces from a physical object but it can also feel

forces of electric charge. The image on the left shows four silicon pads on a surface. The

yellow pad looks higher than the rest but it's not. It's a representation of the distribution of

electrical charge on a surface. The more elevated pads have the most charge.[6]

Single-walled carbon nanotubes have been attached to the tip of an AFM probe to make the

tip ―sharper‖. This allows much higher resolution imaging of the surface under investigation;

http://www.nanoscience.com/education/STM.html

http://www.aip.org/png/html/afm.htm


35

a single atom has been imaged on a surface using nanotube-enhanced AFM probes. Also, the

flexibility of the nanotube prevents damage to the sample surface and the probe tip if the

probe tip happens to ―crash‖ into the surface. [7]

Field Emission Microscope (1936)

Erwin Wilhelm Müller invented the field emission microscope. This is a device in

which electrons liberated by field emission are

accelerated toward a fluorescent screen to form a magnified image of the emitting surface. FE

M was one of the first surface analysis instruments that approached near-atomic resolution.

Field Ion Microscope (1951)

Erwin Wilhelm Müller invents the field ion microscope and is the first to see atoms. FIM is

an analytical technique used in materials science. The field ion microscope is a type

of microscope that can be used to image the arrangement of atoms at the surface of a sharp

metal tip. It was the first technique by which individual atoms could be spatially resolved. On

October 11, 1955, Muller & Bahadur (Pennsylvania State University) observed individual

tungsten (W) atoms on the surface of a sharply pointed W tip by cooling it to 78 K and

employing helium as the imaging gas. Muller & Bahadur were the first persons to observe

individual atoms directly; to do so, they used an FIM, which Muller had invented in 1951.[8]

Transmission Electron Microscope (1931)

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful tool for analysis of structure

and devices with nano-meter scale dimensions. Transmission electron microscopes utilize

very thin (0.5 µm or less) samples illuminated by an electron beam. Images are recorded by

detecting the electrons that pass though the sample to a system of electromagnetic lenses

which focus and enlarge the image on a fluorescent screen, photographic film or digital

camera. Magnifications beyond 1,000,000x are attainable with a transmission electron

microscope. The first TEM was built by Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska in 1931, with this group

developing the first TEM with resolving power greater than that of light in 1933 and the first

commercial TEM in 1939. [9]

http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanoquest/carbon/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Wilhelm_M%C3%BCller

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_ion_microscope

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Ruska

http://www.fei.com/products/transmission-electron-microscopes/


36

Below is a screenshot of part of this section.


37

2. ‘Changing World’

This page includes interesting examples of where nanotechnology can be found in everyday

life. Much of the information here was not found on scientific journals or books but on

websites which are dedicated more so to entertaining people with scientific facts and

findings. But I looked in to the websites for most of the products themselves and took

information from there also.

There isn't a corner of a Room or the World that Nanotechnology will not Affect

Nanotechnology is already all around us but yet it's not a word we hear all that often. It's

almost a concept that is creeping up on us from every angle unknown to us, although

'creeping' is an unfairly negative term to use for this wonderful revolution. Nanotechnology is

having the biggest impacts on technology, the environment and medicine and these are

further discussed in different sections of this website. So here let's look at some of the

interesting inventions in our everyday life that exist as they do now because of

nanotechnology.

The list below shows some of the things featured on the website

Anti-mildew paints and anti-graffiti paints

Nanoceramic material that is three times more resistant to scratching

Microorganism resistant fridges and appliances

Hydrophobic coating that completely repels water

Lights that are ten times more energy-efficient than regular lightbulbs and can be

wrapped around poles.

Self-mending spacesuits

Space Travel Space elevators with cables

Nanofoods

Technology

Graphene paper

Nanoart


38

Screenshot of part of the ‗Changing world Website‘ page


39

Subpages of ‘Changing World’

Impacts on Environment

This section includes information on the positive impact nanotechnology is having on the

environment. Nanotechnology is making quite an impact on the environment and this is

improving all the time, so this section of the website is important. Its important that people

know the good nanotechnology is doing for the preservation of the world.

Let's be Positive

There are some worries about how nanotechnology will effect our environment a.k.a.

nanopollution. For more on the negative impacts of nanotechnology on the environment click

here. In this section we will look at the major benefits nanotechnology is bringing to our

environmental issues. Nanomaterials have the potential to improve the environment through

the development of new solutions to environmental problems, by direct application of nano-

materials to detect, prevent and remove pollutants or by using nanotechnology to design

cleaner industrial processes and and create environmentally-friendly products, [22]

Creating devices smaller than 100 nanometers opens many doors for the development of new

ways to capture, store, and transfer energy. Benefits already observed from the design of

these products are an increased efficiency of lighting and heating, increased electrical storage

capacity, and a decrease in the amount of pollution from the use of energy.

Roll up Solar Cells, The Global Energy Challenge needs You

A solar cell (also called photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell) is a solid state electrical

device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.

IBM set a new world record for solar cell efficiency in 2010. The world record is for solar

cells composed of copper, tin, zinc, sulfur, selenium, or similar materials. The new record is

about 40% better than the previous best for solar cells using such materials. The efficiency

rate of IBM‘s new technology is 9.6%. The previous best was 6.7%. According to IBM, the

only other solar cells that can boast an efficiency rate of 9 to 11% are made of extremely

costly indium gallium selenide or cadmium telluride.[23]

The image above is of the first commercial flexible lightweight cell produced by G24

Innovation on a large scale for use as telephone chargers, G24 has been the first to realize

http://weebly-link/884127952318651603

http://weebly-link/884127952318651603


40

large-scale, role to role production of lightweight flexible cells, which are sold presently on

the market for mobile telephone charging. G24 said the module (pictured above) generates

electricity both indoors and out to recharge devices such as mobile phones, cameras and

portable LED lights. It is produced using a ―roll-to-roll‖ manufacturing process. This was

brought out in 2009.

Even more innovative; researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have

developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets.

―The process is simple,‖ said lead researcher and author Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and

acting chair of NJIT‘s Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. ―Someday

homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-

based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or

billboard to create their own power stations.‖ Application of this DSC (Dye Sensitive Cell) in

building integrated PV has already started and will become a fertile field of future

commercial development.[24]

Global Photonic Energy Corporation says that you can use a spray painting method to paint

their solar cells onto a car or other places that use spray paint, such as cell phone cases. The

paint can come in virtually any color. They want to license their PowerPaint solar cells to

manufacturers, but so far, they haven‘t announced which car manufacturer will be the first to

use it.

The rate at which developments are occurring in the field of solar cells and solar power is

becoming increasingly expeditious. Every week there seems to be new developments and

improvements in the world of solar cells. Watch this space for updates.

The Fuel Cell

Definition: A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity by a chemical reaction. Every fuel

cell has two electrodes, one positive and one negative, called, respectively, the anode and

cathode. The reactions that

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/topic/solar.html


41

Water Treatment

produce electricity take place at the electrodes. [25]

Small fuel cells are being developed which lend themselves to eliminating the use of batteries

in PDAs and other handheld devices such as laptops. Companies are calling them direct

methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) as methanol is the fuel of choice. DMFCs last longer than

conventional batteries and can be plugged in and out in order of required usage, which means

no more plugging in of devices to electrical outlets. In 2007, Angela Belcher of MIT

developed a new battery using an environmentally harmless virus, demonstrating that

biotechnology and nanotechnology will become closely intertwined.

Advocates of nanotechnology suggest that this area of research could contribute to solutions

for some of the major problems we face on the global scale such as ensuring a supply of safe

drinking water for a growing population, as well as addressing issues in medicine, energy,

and agriculture. Nanoparticles can be used to convert pollutants to less harmful chemicals in

the environment using the properties of large surface area, high reactivity and enhanced

transport of nanoparticles. For instance, zero-valent iron nanoparticles have been used

primarily in the United States to remediate ground water contaminated with chlorinated

carbon compounds and for the removal of arsenic from anoxic groundwater. Dendrimers can

be used for chelating metal ions such as Cu(II), Ag(I), Fe(III) and so on from the aqueous

phase and from soils (Xu and Zhao, 2006)

Nanosensors and semi-conductor nanostructures can play an important role in developing

smart materials that can simultaneoulsy sense and destroy contaminants from the

environment (Kamat and Meisel, 2003). With these degradation becomes operational only

when contaminants are sensed.

Improvements Nanoparticle by Nanoparticle

- Cerium oxide nanoparticles can be used as additive in diesel and diesel-biodiesel-ethanol

blend to improve complete combustion of the fuel and reduce the exhaust emissions

significantly [27].

- Nanoparticles in paint technology offer the possibility of thinner, and therefore lighter,

coatings, which could reduce, for example, the weight of aircraft, increase fuel efficiency and

so reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

- More efficient windmills


42

- Advanced filtration may enable more water recycling and desalination, which enable more

energy-efficient water purification (Miyaki et al. , 2000) .

Batteries

The US-based Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. has developed battery electrode materials that

bring about a three-fold increase in the power observed in the existing lithium ion batteries.

In addition to having the advantage of recharge times measured in a few minutes rather than

hours, these batteries would cost the same as lithium ion batteries available in the

market. Altair Nanotechnologies Inc policy:

''Whether it‘s reducing our dependencies on coal-fired generation facilities, reducing carbon

emissions, or accelerating the adoption of renewable integration and alternative-fuel vehicles,

Altairnano is helping to achieve sustainable, and economically sensible, power and energy

management practices.''[28]

Screenshot of part of

this page


43

Nanotechnology in Ireland

This section has similar content to the ‗Nanotechnology in Ireland‘ section of this document.

This section makes the website different to other nanotechnology websites, making it more

specific to Ireland. There are no other Irish nanotechnology websites that I could find that

approach nanotechnology in the same manner as is done with this website. This section of the

website mentions some of the main nanotechnology bodies in Ireland.

Screenshot of Part of this Page


44

3. ‗Healthcare’ (and Nanopharmaceuticals)

Categorising what goes under what heading in nanopharmaceuticals I found to be slightly

more complicated than other sections. There are references to nanopharmaceuticals on this

page , in the ‗Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery‘ and the ‗Nanomedicine‘ sections also. All

three pages are very similar but contain a lot of information so it was best to separate them

somehow.

Healthcare and Nanopharmaceuticals

Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionise healthcare for the next generation. There

are three key areas in which it could do this: Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment. Areas of

healthcare which have been impacted by nanotechnology are:

Pharmaceuticals

Biotechnology

Patient Care

Medical Devices

Clinical Diagnostics

This website concentrates on nanopharmaceuticals and somewhat on biotechnology.

Nanopharmaceuticals

NanoPharmaceuticals are the pharmaceuticals designed using "nanotechnology". They are

broadly classified as: NanoCarriers and Nano Engineered Drugs.

NanoEngineered Drugs

Pharmaceutical scientists can change drug molecules to improve their efficiency to carry out

a desired effect in the body. Scientists attempt to make drug molecules more stable for use in

pharmaceutical compounding or to increase their bio-availability (amount of drug that

carries out the effect it was meant for). Nano-design of an existing drug molecule may:

- increase its solubility and bioavailability (nano crystalline material to increase oral bio-

availability


45

- benefit the development of different dosage forms (nano-suspensions)

- aid in exploring diff routes of administration (nasal, ophthalmic) [29]

(This website concentrates more on the other section of Nanopharmaceuticals which is

NanoCarriers. Nanocarriers encompass the broad section of drug delivery.)

NanoCarriers/ Drug Delivery

Nanocarriers ferry medicine into diseased cells. After i.v. administration of particulate drug

carrier they will be cleared from the circulation by spleen and liver depend upon the size of

the particles. It was reported that particles less than 200 nm can escape this physical

screening, hence, nanoparticulate carriers might be of great interest. Nanoparticles with

hydrophilic surfaces avoid reticuloendothelial system (RES) uptake and are long

circulating. Nanoparticles which are long circulating might get targeted to tumour tissue by

a mechanism known as enhanced permeation and retention (EPR). Where in nanoparticles

permeate into leaky vascular for a typical tumour tissue, subsequently they will be retained

due to the primitive lymphatic system development. [29]

The first product which saw the day of light based on NanoCarriers strategy

is Doxil® PEGylated liposomal formulation for doxorubicin. Theses liposomes are called

as ―Stealth‖ liposomes with size <200nm which are long circulation. These

nanoCarriers can also be attached with ligands for active targeting. Hence nanotechnology is

a ―holy grill‖ for fundamental problems of drug targeting. Have a look at the the

'Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery' section of this website for more information.

Ecnomics of NanoPharmaceuticals

Past Predictions (current figures are difficult to find): According to a report

from NanoMarkets, an industry consulting firm based in Sterling, USA, nanotechnology-

enabled drug delivery systems will generate over $1.7 billion ($US) in 2009 and over $4.8

billion in 2012. The global drug delivery products and services market were projected to

surpass US$67 billion in 2009. Lux Research reported that that big Pharma companies are

―flat footed‖ in their initiative about nanotechnology, however, medical device companies

are more aggressive in perusing nanotechnological strategies. In a nutshell nanotechnology is

there to stand and show its impact on design of drug molecules, the benefit of which will be

http://www.doxil.com/



http://www.nanomarkets.net./

http://www.luxresearchinc.com/


46

seen in augmenting the product life cycle, patent life, along with their therapeutic efficiency.

[30]

Sub-Pages of Healthcare and Nanopharmaceuticals

‗Nanotech and Drug Delivery‘

This is the section which links in with the course of study ‗Pharmaceutical and Forensic

Analysis‘. Some of this section was written from college lecture notes.

Why Drug Delivery is a Crucial Part to Pharmaceuticals and How Nanotechnology is

Advancing Drug Delivery

''The importance of nanotechnology in drug delivery is in the concept and ability to

manipulate molecules and supramolecular structures for producing devices with programmed

functions." Kinam Park

For a drug to be successful it must satisfy the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic

requirements. Pharmacokinetic requirements are that it must be absorbed, distributed,

metabolised, excreted sufficiently and non-toxic. Pharmacodynamic requirements are that the

drug must have sufficient efficacy (ability to carry out the desired effect) and selectivity.

When a drug enters the body there are certain biological barriers that the drug molecule must

first pass to get to its target organ. For example, when a drug is taken orally it must pass

barriers in the stomach, the small intestine, the blood and the liver before it reaches the target

organ. Barriers which must be overcome in these regions are cell membranes, metabolic

enzymes, efflux transporters and binding proteins. Needless to say, there are many criteria

which a drug must possess in order to enter circulation successfully.

About 70% of drugs today are taken orally. Most pharmaceutical companies aim to develop

an oral dosage form of their drug with a dosing regimen of once per day. Drugs of this type

have reasonable manufacturing and storage costs and high patience compliance. Drug

delivery for drugs administered orally usually involves encapsulating the drug using

polymers. Liposomes are the main drug delivery system used today in oral administration.


47

Drugs administered by parenteral routes (those which do not encounter the stomach or the GI

tract) must also cross certain barriers. However, the basis of drug release from drug delivery

systems is the same for all routes. Drug release is from: diffusion, degradation, swelling, and

affinity-based mechanisms.

*Most common types of administration

· Oral

· Topical (skin)

· Transmucosal- Nasal, buccal, vaginal, ocular, rectal

· Inhalation

Liposomes, polymeric micelles, nanoparticles, dendrimers and nanocrystals are a remaining

portion of conventional drug delivery systems that happen to be on the nano-scale.

Nanotechnology and its effects on drug delivery refers more correctly to the current drug

delivery systems which include microchips, microneedle-based transdermal therapeutic

systems, layer-by-layer assembled systems, and various microparticles produced by ink-jet

technology. *

To appreciate the true meaning of nanotechnology in drug delivery, it may be beneficial to

classify drug delivery systems based on the time period representing before and after the

nanotechnology revolution.

The main problems with the current methods are the low drug loading capacity, low loading

efficiency, and poor ability to control the size distribution. Utilizing nanotechnologies, such

as nanopatterning, could allow manufacturing of nano/micro particles with high loading

efficiency and highly homogeneous particle sizes. The pharmaceutical industry has been slow

to utilize the new drug delivery systems if they include components (also called excipients)

that are not generally regarded as safe. Going through clinical studies for FDA approval of a

new chemical entity is a long and costly process; there is resistance in the industry to adding

any untested materials that may require seeking approval. Nanotechnology for drug delivery

will mature faster and become more useful if it‘s appreciated that the real potential of

nanotechnology in drug delivery is based on utilization of nano/micro fabrication and

manufacturing, rather than on dealing with delivery systems in the nano/micro scale. [31]

To describe what nanotechnology can do to manufacture nano/micro drug delivery systems,

one can use manufacturing of nano/micro particles (or capsules) as an example. Imagine that

the current soft gelatin capsules, which are in the centimeter scale, are manufactured at the


48

nano/micro scale. The following are among the important technological advantages

of nanoparticles as drug carriers: high stability (i.e., long shelf life); high carrier capacity (i.e.,

many drug molecules can be incorporated in the particle matrix); feasibility of incorporation

of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances; and feasibility of variable routes of

administration, including oral administration and inhalation. These carriers can also be

designed to enable controlled (sustained) drug release from the matrix. [32]

Example of where Drug Delivery by a nanostructure is required: Small interfering RNA‘s is

a potential new universal drug for treatment of a variety of human diseases but efficient

delivery into diseased cells remains a major challenge. Polymeric nanocarriers containing the

drugs may solve the problem. Within the body, naked siRNA is degraded by enzymes. To

avoid this they have incorporated siRNA in nanoparticles able to reach target cells intact.

Microencapsulation technology has been used to surround nanoparticles in a bio-degradable

coat for sustained release delivery. After release the nanoparticles bind to receptors in the cell

membrane and are subsequently transported into the cell. Inside the cytoplasm, the

nanoparticle matrix dissolves and the drug is released. [33]

Liposomes ('Old' Nanotechnology)

Liposomes are nano sized artificial vesicles of spherical shape that can be produced from

natural phospholipids and cholesterol. The properties of liposomes in addition to the general

properties of surfactants those make them useful for different applications are

-Structural stability on dilution

-Varying permeability of the bilayer to different molecules.

-Ability to entrap both water soluble and insoluble substances and deliver them into desired

environments.

The size, lamellarity (unilamellar or multilamellar) and lipid composition of the bilayers

influence many of the important properties like the fluidity, permeability, stability and

structure -these can be controlled and customized to serve specific needs. The properties are

also influenced by external parameters like the temperature, ionic strength and the presence

of certain molecules nearby.

Liposomes is extensively studied for encapsulation of drugs. When lipid self assemble to

liposomes water-soluble drugs will be trapped inside the liposomal cavity; fat-soluble drugs


49

are incorporated within phospholipid bi-layer. The lipid bilayer of the liposome can fuse with

other bilayers (e.g. cell membrane), thus delivering the liposome contents. Liposomal

formulations are the first NanoPharmaceuticals introduced to market, Doxil® PEGylated

liposomal formulation for doxorubicin is the first product based on liposomes. Theses

liposomes are called as ―Stealth‖ liposomes with size <200nm which are long circulation

with hydrophilic (PEG) surface. These long circulating liposomes found to target to tumour

tissue by a mechanism known as enhanced permeation and retention (EPR). Hence liposomal

formulation of doxorubicin considerably reduced the cardio-toxicity of drug. Many

lipososmal products are under various phases of clinical trials. Liposomes are currently

investigated for a variety of additional therapeutic agents; anticancer drugs such as paclitaxel,

camptothecin, cisplatin; antibiotic such as amikacin, vancomysin, ciprofloxacin; biologics

such as antisense oligonucleotides, DNA

Transdermal Micro-Array Patch ('New-ish' Nanotechnology)

A MicroArray Patch technology is being developed for the transdermal delivery of large

molecule drugs, without the use of injections. The patch is in a band-aid format, and the

surface of the patch is structured with polymer microneedles, from which the drug is

delivered. The drugs can be attached to the external surface of the polymer microneedles,

integrated into the polymer, or both.

When the patch is applied, the microneedles cross the stratum corneum and penetrate into the

epidermis. The microneedles do not penetrate deep enough to enter blood capillaries or

nerves, hence the delivery is non-invasive and pain-free.

The drugs for delivery are present in a nanostructured form, facilitating uptake into the body.

The microneedles are made of a polymer that is biocompatible and biodegradable. This

reduces the risk of trauma to the skin and infection.

The MicroArray Patches have been designed for the delivery of peptides, proteins, hormones,

vaccines and skin repair agents. The use of MicroArray Patches will enable a wide range of

medications to be effectively delivered to humans in a safe and non-invasive manner.[34]




50

Nanoparticles that act Like Red Blood Cells

In the short clip on the right we see particles which measure 6micrometers in length passing

through membranes half their width. They mimic red blood cells shape and consistency in

that they are flexible and fold-able. Basically in this experiment it was proven that the more

flexible the molecules are the longer they last in the circulatory system. It was also seen that

molecules with different flexibility ended up in different organs. This may prove to be a very

beneficial advancement in drug delivery. De Simone, the chemist who worked on this says

with regards to these findings that hopefully 'applications for the delivery of cancer drugs

could be in early clinical trial stages within four years.' UNC ChapelHill.

Heart Disease

Building on their previous work delivering cancer drugs with nanoparticles, MIT and

Harvard researchers have turned their attention to cardiovascular disease, designing new

particles that can cling to damaged artery walls and slowly release medicine. The particles,

dubbed ―nanoburrs,‖ are coated with tiny protein fragments that allow them to stick to

damaged arterial walls. Once stuck, they can release drugs such as paclitaxel (taxol), which

inhibits cell division and helps prevent growth of scar tissue that can clog arteries.[35]

Lab-on-a-Chip Implant for Osteoporosis Drug

About 15 years ago, MIT professors Robert Langer and Michael Cima had the idea to

develop a programmable, wirelessly controlled microchip that would deliver drugs after

implantation in a patient‘s body. The MIT researchers and scientists from MicroCHIPS

Inc.reported that they have successfully used such a chip to administer daily doses of an

osteoporosis drug normally given by injection. The results, published in the Feb. 16 online

edition of Science Translational Medicine, represent the first successful test of such a device

and could help usher in a new era of telemedicine — delivering health care over a distance,

Langer says.

―You could literally have a pharmacy on a chip,‖ says Langer, the David H. Koch Institute

Professor at MIT. ―You can do remote control delivery, you can do pulsatile drug delivery,

and you can deliver multiple drugs.‖ [38]

http://www.mchips.com/

http://www.mchips.com/


51

Nanoengineered Surfaces Enhance Drug Loading and Adhesion

To circumvent the barriers encountered by macromolecules at the gastrointestinal mucosa,

sufficient therapeutic macromolecules must be delivered in close proximity to cells.1

Previously, we have shown that silicon nanowires penetrate the mucous layer and adhere

directly to cells under high shear.2 In this work, we characterize potential reservoirs and load

macromolecules into interstitial space between nanowires. We show significant increases in

loading capacity due to nanowires while retaining adhesion of loaded particles under high

shear. [36]

Drug Delivery on a Larger Scale: The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Counterfeiting

Problem is being helped by Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology protects capsules from counterfeiting and diversion. 'Employing

nanotechnology-based encryption onto pharmaceutical capsules before they‘re filled adds

overt, covert, and forensic-level protection for Pfizer‘s Capsugel division. When it comes to

pharmaceutical brand authentication/protection, track-and-trace, and anti-counterfeiting,

exciting new technologies continue to emerge at the packaging level. But capsule

manufacturer Capsugel, a div. of Pfizer Inc., is providing authentication, anti-counterfeiting,

and diversion protection beyond packaging. Those benefits are delivered via NanoGuardian's

NanoEncryption™, an on-dose, brand-protection technology that serves to trace and

authenticate every dose from plant to patient.' -Jim Butschli, Features Editor of Packaging

World. [37]

Latest Developments in Anti-Cancer Treatment: 'Nano-Sized Protein Clusters Address

Major Challenge of Drug Delivery'- (2012)o-Sized Protein Clusters Address Major

Challenge of Drug Delivery

AUSTIN, Texas — A new form of proteins discovered by researchers at The University of

Texas at Austin could drastically improve treatments for cancer and other diseases, as well as

overcome some of the largest challenges in therapeutics: delivering drugs to patients safely,

easily and more effectively. Aim? To deliver the proteins in high concentration intravenously

by self injection like insulin.[39] Problem? Delivering proteins in high concentrations as they

tend to form aggregates that can be dangerous to patients and impossible to inject.

Solution? The Cockrell School research team has introduced a new physical form of proteins,

whereby proteins are packed into highly concentrated, nanometer-sized clusters that can pass

through a needle into a patient to treat disease. The novel composition avoids the pitfalls of

http://www.capsugel.com/

http://www.nanoguardian.net/


52

previous attempts because drug proteins are clustered so densely that they don‘t unfold or

form dangerous aggregates.

On a Similar Life-Saving Note...

For those who are interested in both nanomedicine and computer games and doubted that

these would ever be combined, don't despair for Nano-Mission is here! Click here for the link

to download the nanomedicine game =)

Screenshot of Part of this website

http://nanomission.org/


53

Nanomedicine

This section includes the effects nanotechnology has on the treatment, diagnosis and

detection of more specific health issues.

Nanotechnology affects every aspect of the health sciences. There are now such subject areas

as Nanobiotechnology and DNA Nanotechnology. Engineered vaccines contain proteins with

nanoscale dimensions. Here we'll focus on the broader classification of nanomedicine which

includes examples of nanopharmaceutials. Nanopharmaceuticals and nanomedicine are vast

areas of expertise which are developing at an impressive rate. Here are some of the major

advances which nanotechnology has brought to these fields.

Nano-particles and Nano-encapsulation

Metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, polymers can be used in different ways in medicine

especially when combined with antigen-specific coatings or functional groups on their

surfaces. Their size, physical properties and chemical composition determine their usefulness.

The small size of these structures lends itself to their use and ease of circulation but they

mustn‘t get lodged in capillaries and other microanatomies.

Nanoparticles for Medical Imaging

Nanoparticles have been used as contrast and image enhancing agents for x-ray and

computed tomography (imaging via any kind of penetrating wave) imaging (CT).

Conventional methods of imaging use iodinated benzoic acid derivatives but these have risk

factors and side effects associated with intravenous iodine injection. These derivatives are of

low molecular weight so clear from the body rapidly and are difficult to direct to disease

sites. Iodinated molecules have been encapsulated to overcome these problems but stability

and concentration of agent delivered to imaged site is low.

In order to enhance an X-ray image an agent must deliver detectable numbers of heavy atoms

into the imaged tissue without toxic effects. Suitable nanoparticles are those made of

elemental heavy metals such as gold as these have high densities and are still biologically

inert and stable. To overcome the cost issue associated with gold researchers at General

Electric developed nanoparticles made of heavy metal compounds encapsulated in gold

shells. By adding thiol groups gold nanoparticles can be coated with selectively binding


54

antigens, antibodies or target compounds for receptor on the surfaces of cells. By targeting

receptors unique to certain types of cancer cells, gold nanoparticles can be made to enhance

an x-ray image by increasing the ability to detect the the cancer cells by many orders of

magnitude.

As well as this:

-Metal and Silicon Nanoparticles can be used to enhance Magnetic Resonance Imaging

(MRI). Silicon Particles fabricated into shapes and coated with conductive layers have

enhanced magnetic resonance interactions.

-Nano-engineered particles could enhance the visibility of many biomedical devices, both

implantable and interventional, that today are difficult to image due to problems that interfere

with magnetic fields and hence MRI.

-Nanoparticles can be also used to reduce interference of pacemakers, defibrillators, neuro-

stimulators, guidewires, endoscopes and other devices with MRI fields, allowing their

impeded use with MRI.

-Nanoshell particles with optical resonances in the IR region have been used to enhance

imaging of cancer cells. Work on this type of nanoshell for cancer treatment is being carried

out by research groups at Rice and Arizona universities.

In the journal Angewandte Chemie ("Phosphorescent Nanoscale Coordination Polymers as

Contrast Agents for Optical Imaging"), a team led by Wenbin Lin at the University of

North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, in March 2011 introduced a novel contrast agent that

marks tumor cells in vitro. The dye is a phosphorescent ruthenium complex incorporated into

nanoparticles of a metal–organic coordination polymer, which allows an extraordinarily high

level of dye loading.

Fluorescent dyes accumulate in varying amounts in different types of tissue. Such contrast

agents make it possible to use optical imaging to

differentiate between healthy and tumorous tissue. However, this method is limited by the

fact that very high concentrations of dye are needed to produce

sufficiently strong fluorescence. Organic dye molecules packed at high concentrations into

nanocapsules tend to quench each other's fluorescence.

Materials that fluoresce more strongly, such as quantum dots, are often not biocompatible.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1002/anie.201008277

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1002/anie.201008277


55

Nanoparticles for Targeting Cancer cells

This is a rapidly advancing area of research. Cancer cells are released into the blood stream in

large numbers by microscopic tumours too small to be detected by imaging modalities. If

these could be detected and concentrated from a blood test it would provide a means of early

detection of cancer before tumours were big enough to be detected by imaging. This would

lead to a much better prognosis for cancer patients. To do this ferromagnetic micro- and

nanoparticles are functionalized with antibodies, allowing cancer cells to be separated out of

tissue samples such as concentrated blood for diagnostic analysis. [39]

Nanomagnetic particles can be used also for magnetic controlled drug targeting. It works

by binding these particles to anti-cancer drugs which allows them to accumulate in one area.

Eg. At a tumour by means of a magnetic field. The drug then desorbs from the ferrofluid and

attacks the tumour. Magnetic particle separation can also be used to separate cancer cells

from bone marrow and other tissues, and for the isolation, identification and genetic analysis

of specific DNA sequences. [42]

Nano-Encapsulation for Drug Delivery to Tumours

Nanoparticles can be filled with absorbed or encapsulated drugs and targeted onto cancer

cells or disease agent. The aim is to deliver nanoparticles with concentrated anti-cancer drug

straight to the tumour site without affecting healthy cells. Drug laden nanoparticles can be

injected into tumours with procedures that are minimally invasive. Their effect can be

enhanced by using drugs that are further activated by radiation. Some of these drugs may

have problems getting to the tumour site due to physiochemical properties, including high

toxicity, and so it helps for them to be embedded directly in to the tumour. When the

encapsulated drug is embedded in the tumour the polymer and nanoparticle shell are

degraded for the controlled release of the highly toxic chemotherapeutic drug into the tumour,

without affecting other tissues. The video on the right describes this process in simple terms

with good animations which help explain the concept.

An example of an anti-cancer drug that can be enhanced by nanoparticle drug delivery is β-

lapachone. This is a napthoquinine found in the bark of a South American tree which induces

cytotoxic effects in malignant human cell types such as colon, lung, prostate, breast,

pancreatic, ovarian and bone cancers as well as some blood cancers and cancer of the retina

(retinoblastoma). They found that β-lapachone interacts with an enzyme which is present in

high levels in some types of solid cancer tumours. In tumours the drug is metabolized and the


56

metabolite kills the tumour. Normal cells are not affected as they don‘t contain the enzyme.

But the problem is that when this drug is injected into the tumour it is carried away rapidly in

blood circulation. Dr. Boothman and his group in the University of Texas are developing a

variety of polymer implants that can be placed in the tumour to slowly release the anticancer

drug in an effective manner. The implants included nanoscale polymer drugs moulded from

nanocells derived from a number of natural nanomaterials: [41]

Nanoencapsulation for Penetration of Blood Brain Barrier

In the central nervous system epithelial cells lining the walls of blood vessels overlap in tight

junctions, unlike those in the rest of the body. This closes off easy transport of large

molecules (about 500DA molecular weight) between blood and brain. This helps protect the

sensitive and vital central nervous system from disturbance by chemicals and pathogens (e.g.

viruses).

The barrier is lipophillic. To get past molecules must be small and lipophillic. Many of the

drugs designed to treat diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer‘s disease, Huntington‘s

disease, stroke and brain cancer depend on carrier-mediated transport and other such

mechanisms to cross the blood brain barrier.

Nanotech offers a possible alternative for transport through the blood brain barrier that is

more generally applicable to a wide range of drugs. Drugs can be encapsulated in

biodegradable polymers to make artificial liposomes. The coatings contain active sites to

which antibodies can be attached. The antibodies are recognised by the brain capillary brain

receptors, which mediate their passage through the blood brain barrier. Once inside the

liposomes release the drug. [42]

The radio labelled Cu2+ or Fe3+ metal chelator clioquinol, which has a high affinity for

plaque which is a factor in neurodegenerative disease, has been encapsulated in liposomes

capable of crossing the blood brain barrier.

The fact that some nanoparticles cross the blood brain barrier could be as much of a curse as

it is a blessing. The blood brain barrier protects the brain from toxic chemicals that could

damage it and the fact that nanomaterials can cross this barrier is a worry for some doctors.


57

Nanoparticles and Nanoencapsulation for Insulin

The main cause of Type I (insulin dependent) diabetes mellitus is degradation of insulin-

producing cells in the Islets of Langerhans. Insulin must be injected to treat this disease

because it is a peptide and will be broken down by digestive enzymes. There are risks of

improper dosage and rates of release related to the administration route. Insulin needs to be

released in controlled amounts.[42]

Nanoencapsulation of Insulin

Nanoencapsulation would allow its release after passing through the digestive system. A lot

of research has gone in to developing alternative methods of drug administration. The use of

polymeric micro- and nanoparticles is an actively pursued concept for the delivery of insulin

and other bioactive peptides. Administration by oral route remains a formidable challenge

due to their insufficient stability in GI tract and their poor absorption pattern. [42]

Inhalation routes of administration have been extensively investigated with regards to insulin

delivery. The surface area of the human lungs is roughly the size of a tennis court so if insulin

could be delivered to the capillaries and alveoli of the lung there is high potential for direct

absorption into the bloodstream.

Nanotechnology has much to contribute to solving lung diseases as well as for finding new

effective inhalation drug delivery methods. Inhalation routes are an important and growing

area of biomedical research in many ways besides diabetes and are likely to be an area where

nanotechnology will make a large impact.

Nanoencapsulation for the Protection of Implants from the Immune System

Most work on transplanting encapsulated cells has been in the area of insulin- producing

pancreatic beta cells. After years of having experiments that result in the implants being

smothered by plaques and invaded by the immune system of the host, promising results are

beginning to appear using new nanoengineered encapsulation materials and techniques.

Encapsulation of pancreatic islets allows for transplantation in the absence of immune-

suppression.[43]

Guiding and Stimulating Tissue Function and Growth

Tissue scaffolding or tissue engineering is an emerging technique in surgery and wound

healing which is being given new options by the development of new nanomaterials and


58

nanostructures. There are nanotechnologies aimed at bridging the nerve generation gap which

may one day be applied to restore mobility to patients with spinal nerve column

damage. Nanotechnology can help reproduce or repair damaged tissue. ―Tissue

engineering‖ makes use of artificially stimulated cell proliferation by using

suitable nanomaterial-based scaffolds and growth factors. For example, bones can be regrown

on carbon nanotube scaffolds. Tissue engineering might replace today's conventional

treatments like organ transplants or artificial implants. Advanced forms of tissue engineering

may lead to life extension.The area of nanoguides for neural growth and repair is a very

diverse and complicated area of research in which a lot of work is being done.[42]

Neuronal Stimulation and Monitoring

Nanotechnology advances devices such as cardiac pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators,

cochlear implants, bone growth stimulators and neural stimulators with improved battery

technologies, biocompatible materials, and surface treatments for enclosures and leads

electrode miniaturizations and efficiency improvements, and smaller sized integrated circuits

for control and power, while speed and processing capabilities increase. [42]

Leg, Knee, Foot and Hand Prostheses

This is a very active and exciting area for application of new nanotechnology. Miniature

electronic motors or pneumatic muscles have yet to be replaced by nanoengineered artificial

muscles in an integrated design for an artificial hand. The realm of neuroplastics is one being

implicated by nanotechnology on many different levels. This field again is very broad and

complex. [42]

Neuroprosthetics

Neural interfaces to nano- and micro- electronic devices open new opportunities to design

more powerful neurostimulators for prosthetics.

Nanotechnology will have a great impact on medicine with assemblies of cooperating

interconnected networks of computing, communicating and sensing nanoprocessors driving

assemblies of modular interworking nanoactivators to make up a micro- or macro- device like

a subtle but powerful motor neuroprostheses. For example glasses and external hearing aids

are prostheses, but a sensory neuroprotheses is an active device that delivers electrical

stimulus to the nervous system, such as cochlear (ear) implants or artificial retina.


59

Applications of nanotechnology may come up with convenient, low-cost nanoengineered

smart acoustical materials that could filter out damaging frequencies and noise levels for ear

prostheses. [42]

Visual Neuroprostheses

Research devices are expected to provide enough visual perception of contours, outlines and

shades of light to allow a blind person to move more freely in unfamiliar

environments. Retinal prostheses can be implanted in the eye to electronically stimulate the

optical nerves, by-passing a damaged retina. [42]

Diagnostics; Lab-on-a-Chip

These little devices could quite possibly be the most widely useful piece of equipment which

nanotechnology has allowed scientists to create. At the moment in doctors surgerys

everywhere patients are giving blood samples and are then sent away to wait for results for a

few days. Labs-on-chips would eradicate this waiting period as they allow a tiny drop of

blood to be tested immediately and results to be given there and then in the doctors surgery.

Some have already been created such as the one for diagnosing HIV. The advancement in

nanotechnology has made it possible for you to have an entire medical lab reduced down to

the size of a high-powered chip. Researchers are working hard towards creating a nano sized

lab that performs a variety of tasks. These tasks signify conducting multiple diagnostic tests,

which would take an entire team of doctors, at least, a week to provide results. The reason

they have not been widely available yet is because of the cost issues. But in the long term it

would seem costs would balance out with the money saved on not needing as many full-scale

labs and analysts.

Examples of advances in nano chips: Magnetic nanoparticles, bound to a suitable antibody,

are used to label specific molecules, structures or microorganisms. Gold nanoparticles tagged

with short segments of DNA can be used for detection of genetic sequence in a sample.

Multicolor optical coding for biological assays has been achieved by embedding different-

sized quantum dots into polymeric microbeads. Nanopore technology for analysis of nucleic

acids converts strings of nucleotides directly into electronic signatures. [8]


60

Diagnosis of HIV on a Chip

The Guardian, in their article, “The incredible shrinking laboratory or lab-on-a-chip”, states

that Professor Tom Duke of the London Centre of Nanotechnology is working on a “lab-

on-a-chip” to test HIV. In this chip, nanometer-sized pillars separate a drop of blood in such

a way that the larger elements such as blood cells and proteins are trapped. The virus particles

then pass through this trap where the come across a series of levers that are coated with

antibodies. These antibodies then tend to bend when hit. The more they bend indicates the

amount of virus present. This is just one application that the lab-on-a-chip possess. There are

many other features that are also present.

The LOC will be of big benefit to developing countries where full-scale laboratories are not

accessible.

Treatment of Tuberculosis

The WHO estimates that approximately one-third of the global community is infected

with M. tuberculosis. In 2006, an estimated 9.2 million incident cases and approximately 1.7

million deaths due to TB occurred worldwide making it the worlds leading causes of

mortality. The safety and uptake of the nanoparticles is being tested in TB-infected mice and

the effectiveness of the nanodrug is being compared to conventional therapy to see whether a

weekly nano dose is as effective as the standard daily treatment regime. Human trials for the

antibiotic, called Rifanano, are scheduled for this year.

Diagnostics: The Central Scientific Instruments Organization of India designed a

nanotechnology-based TB diagnostic kit, which is currently in the clinical trials phase. This

kit does not require skilled technicians for use and offers portability, efficiency, user-

friendliness and availability for less than US$1. The research is also ongoing for an optical

biosensor for rapid TB detection in the Medical Sciences division of the U.S. Department of

Energy. Another group at RMIT University, in Australia, is conducting research into the

application of novel tethered nanoparticles as low-cost, colour based assays for TB diagnosis.

Treatment: The micro-encapsulation of pharmaceutical substances in biodegradable

polymers used in controlled drug delivery has seen

as an emerging technology. Carrier or delivery systems such as liposomes and microspheres


61

have been developed for the sustained delivery of anti-TB drugs and

have found better chemotherapeutic efficacy when investigated in animal models (e.g. mice).

TB Vaccination, The aerosol vaccine- under development through collaboration between

Harvard University and the international not-for-profit Medicine in Need

(MEND) - could provide a low-cost, needle-free TB treatment that is highly stable at room

temperature. While most new TB vaccines continue to call for

needle injection, but this new vaccine could provide safer, more consistent protection by

eliminating these injections and the need for refrigerated storage. [44]

New Biomaterial

A new biomaterial designed for repairing damaged human tissue doesn't wrinkle up when it

is stretched. The invention from nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego

marks a significant breakthrough in tissue engineering because it more closely mimics the

properties of native human tissue.

Shaochen Chen, professor in the Department of NanoEngineering at the UC San Diego

Jacobs School of Engineering, hopes future tissue patches, which are used to repair damaged

heart walls, blood vessels and skin, for example, will be more compatible with native human

tissue than the patches available today. His findings were published in a recent issue of the

journal Advanced Functional Materials.

The team includes postdoctoral researchers in multiple disciplines: David Fozdar with the

University of Texas at Austin, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Li-Hsin Han with the

Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopeadic Surgery; and Pranav

Soman and Jim Woo Lee at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering Department of

NanoEngineering. [45]

In the Surgery

It's an endless list of ways in which nanotechnology is advancing medicine. Other areas such

as robotic surgery and implantable sensors for blood pressure have also seen improvements.

It's going to majorly affect, like all industries, communication devices, data storage,

information displays and other instruments within the hospital.


62

Screenshot of part of the Nanomedicine page

4. What’s to Come?


63

This section includes some of the predictions made by nanotechnology scientists. It looks like

there is colourful future for nanotechnology which deserved a page to itself. This page

includes some very interesting predictions which is sure to arouse interest in nanotechnology

for some readers if they have not yet been impressed.

Nanotechnology Scientists have Wonderful Imaginations

Nanobots look to have a busy future ahead of them with mending the ozone layer and self-

replicating to create new forms. Those are just a couple of the (outrageous?) predictions

scientists are making. In the future, computers will become even faster, more power efficient,

and versatile as a result of nanotechnology developing new transistor materials and data

storage equipment. Nanotechnology will change our lives as we know it. That is a fact. The

predictions on this page of the website are not yet fact but are surprisingly well backed up by

experts.

Looking through these ideas it is difficult not to think of Isaac Asmitov, best known as an

influence for Star Trek, and other science fiction writers and wonder if they are, in fact, that

far a cry from fiction. The idea of a world run by robots is not so ludicrous now. For every

idea in nanotechnology there are many more critics waiting to laugh at it. But the history of

technological development is littered with people, including scientists, eventually proven

wrong by persistent optimists with great ideas. The Wright brothers and the inventors of the

STM were both hounded by skepticism and criticism before and after breakthroughs so we

shall keep open minds.

Energy Generating Windows

If a new development from labs at MIT pans out as expected, someday the entire surface area

of a building‘s windows could be used to generate electricity — without interfering with the

ability to see through them.

Lead researcher and author Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and acting chair of NJIT‘s

Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences said ―Someday homeowners will even

be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers.

Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own

power stations.‖ [46]

On that solar power note Power Up with Nano FlakesNano flakes sound like something we'd


64

eat but they're not; what they may be is the next generation of clean energy production. Nano

flakes are semi-conducting nanostructures that can absorb the sun's energy more efficiently

and cheaply than current solar panels. The scientists working on this project, which is in the

prototype stage, believe nano flakes will be able to convert up to 30 percent of solar energy

into electricity. That's approximately twice the amount of electricity produced by solar panels

[source: Science Daily].

The real pay-off will come when the fabric in your clothing can help power your cellphone.

The army is already investigating this possibility.

Amazing Utility Fog

'Nanotechnology is based on the concept of tiny, self-replicating robots. The Utility Fog is a

very simple extension of the idea: Suppose, instead of building the object you want atom by

atom, the tiny robots linked their arms together to form a solid mass in the shape of the object

you wanted? Then, when you got tired of that avant-garde coffeetable, the robots could

simply shift around a little and you‘d have an elegant Queen Anne piece instead.

The color and reflectivity of an object are results of its properties as an antenna in the micron

wavelength region. Each robot could have an ―antenna arm‖ that it could manipulate to vary

those properties, and thus the surface of a Utility Fog object could look just about however

you wanted it to. A ―thin film‖ of robots could act as a video screen, varying their optical

properties in real time.

Rather than paint the walls, coat them with Utility Fog and they can be a different color every

day, or act as a floor-to-ceiling TV. Indeed, make the entire wall of the Fog and you can

change the floor plan of your house to suit the occasion. Make the floor of it and never gets

dirty, looks like hardwood but feels like foam rubber, and extrudes furniture in any form you

desire. Indeed, your whole domestic environment can be constructed from Utility Fog; it can

form any object you want (except food) and whenever you don‘t want an object any more,

the robots that formed it spread out and form part of the floor again.

You may as well make your car of Utility Fog, too; then you can have a ―new‖ one every

day. But better than that, the *interior* of the car is filled with robots as well as its shell.

You‘ll need to wear holographic ―eyephones‖ to see, but the Fog will hold them up in front of

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071218105420.htm


65

your eyes and they‘ll feel and look as if they weren‘t there. Although heavier than air, the

Fog is programmed to simulate its physical properties, so you can‘t feel it: when you move

your arm, it flows out of the way. Except when there‘s a crash! Then it forms an instant form-

fitting ―seatbelt‖ protecting every inch of your body. You can take a 100-mph impact without

messing your hair.

But you‘ll never have a 100-mph impact, or any other kind. Remember that each of these

robots contains a fair-sized computer. They already have to be able to talk to each other and

coordinate actions in a quite sophisticated way (even the original nano-assemblers have to, to

build any macroscopic object). You can simply cover the road with a thick layer of robots.

Then your car ―calls ahead‖ and makes a reservation for every position in time and space it

will occupy during the trip.

As long as you‘re covering the roads with Fog you may as well make it thick enough to hold

the cars up so they can cross intersections at different levels. But now your car is no longer a

specific set of robots, but a *pattern* in the road robots that moves along like a wave, just as

a picture of a car moves across the pixels of a video screen. The appearance of the car at this

point is completely arbitrary, and could even be dispensed with–all the road Fog is

transparent, and you appear to fly along unsupported.'' -Utility Fog: The Stuff that Dreams

Are Made OfJuly 5, 2001 by J. Storrs Hall [47]

Gray Goo

It has been suggested that self-replicating "nanobots" could become a new parasitic life-form

that reproduces uncontrollably. Grey Goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario

involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume

all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario known

as ecophagy ("eating the environment").Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety

were originally described by mathematician John von Neumann, and are sometimes referred

to as von Neumann machines. The term grey goo was coined by nanotechnology pioneer Eric

Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation, stating that "we cannot afford certain types of

accidents." In 2004 he stated "I wish I had never used the term 'grey goo'." [Source:

Wikipedia]

Nano-robots and Medicine

http://www.kurzweilai.net/utility-fog-the-stuff-that-dreams-are-made-of

http://www.kurzweilai.net/utility-fog-the-stuff-that-dreams-are-made-of

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecophagy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engines_of_Creation


66

Current research points to nanorobots that could be used to target and destroy tumors, deliver

medicine to specific points in the body or break up blood clots. How they'll move will depend

on the design. Ideas include an internal power source or using the patient's body to generate

power. Sperm are even being considered to send these tiny bots all around the body [48].

Brains in Cars

The Discovery Channel say that the day is coming when your car will have a brain ten

thousand times faster than yours. Predictions for cars are out of this world. These predictions

include coatings which 'heal' themselves when the car is scratched, much like out own skins

healing powers. With the tiny information processors which nanotechnology offers the

automobile industry the possibilities in car manufacture are endless. Imagine not having to

deal with the noise and hassle of replacing windshield wipers. This is exactly what Italian Car

Designer Leonardo Fioravanti has done with his prototype Hindra. The windshield not only

filters out UV rays, it repels water. ―Nano-dust‖ forces dirt to the glass edges activated by

sensors. Electricity is used to run the entire mechanism. The process is completed by drag

which allows freer flowing air over the windshield.

The US Army

An Institute has been set up called the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies. The ISN is a

three-member team designed to leverage the unique capabilities of the US Army, industry,

and MIT. Their mission includes not only decreasing the weight that soldiers carry but also

improving blast and ballistic protection, creating new methods of detecting and detoxifying

chemical and biological threats, and providing physiological monitoring and automated

medical intervention. The ultimate goal is to help the Army create an integrated system of

nanotechnologies for Soldier protection.

Corning Glass Manufacturers

When it comes to permeating mainstream nanotechnology the glass company 'Corning' are

ahead of the game. Corning, the company behind the famous Gorilla Glass used in

smartphones and tablets has released a concept video showcasing the possibilities of

http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/nanorobots-can-be-used-for

http://web.mit.edu/isn/aboutisn/index.html


67

transparent tablets/display in the future. With over eighteen million views on one of their two

YouTube videos, 'A Day Made of Glass', they're making a splash. Take a look at 'A Day

made of Glass 2' (shown below) which is even more impressive.

Basing Nano on Nature

Nature's NanocreaturesMarine algae, known as diatoms, contain light-bending nanostructures

that convert sunlight into energy needed for reproduction. Scientists think replicating these

structures could help develop biosynthetic devices such as a light-activated drug delivery

system [50].

The beautiful blue wings of the Morpho Rhetenor butterfly of Brazil are the result of layers of

nanostructures. These nanostructures absorb light and reflect a wavelength creating an optical

interference and the resplendent blue we see. Laboratories can use this same process to

analyze light [49]. It may also be possible to replicate the construction of nanostructures in

butterflies' wings to create improved "optic effects" in products like paint and varnish [51].

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38


68

Screenshot of part of the ‗What‘s to Come?‘ section

Subpage of ‘What’s to Come?’

Positives and Negatives

It is very important to create awareness that there are also negative aspects to the subject.

People must be made aware that there are worries around the safety of nanoparticles. It is

quite tedious finding information on the regulation of nanotechnology, this section of the

website would have been covered more thoroughly with more time. This is the final

informative section of the website. It signs off on a lighter note with an opinion paragraph.


69

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

There's clearly plenty to talk about when it comes to discussing the positive aspects of

nanotechnology- life-saving developments in medicine, overcoming the worlds current

environmental problems, other beneficial effects presented in this website and of course other

positive additions which have not been mentioned on this website. It's also worth mentioning

that there are new developments everyday which have yet to be documented or made publicly

accessible. For me, having spent the last five months delving into the world of

nanotechnology and what it's bringing to the table, the negatives would need to be highly

weighted in order to sway my opinion that nanotechnology is anything other than brilliant!

But there are certainly many sensible concerns surrounding nanotechnology, in particular the

fate of nanoparticles. These may be particularly important if potential negative effects of

nanoparticles are overlooked before they are released. Other points of thought in the positive/

negative discussion are mentioned below.

Positive

Efficiency and Environmental Friendliness

'Molecular Scale Manufacturing ensures that very little raw material is wasted and that we

make only what we intend to make, no more. Factories begin to look more like clean rooms'

Rogers, B Adams, J & Pennathur, S (2008) Nanotechnology Understanding Small Systems.

Boca Raton: Taylor and Francis Group.

A study in 2007 details how nanomaterials can be created that are not only safe, but also cost

less and perform better than conventional materials. "Green Nanotechnology: It's Easier Than

You Think," was written by the Washington D.C. think tank, the Woodrow Wilson

International Center for Scholars. The study, which is free online, is based on a series of

dialogues with scientists, policymakers and industry representatives about green

nanotechnology.

Financial Benefits for Countries involved in Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is expected to be a $2.6 trillion market by 2015.[30] Each country involved,

including Ireland, have a bright financial future ahead when it comes to gaining money with

nanotechnology. For us in Ireland nanotechnology has received excellent funding which is

good to hear as nanotechnology could be a useful ploy in helping with our current national

financial situation.

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/


70

Negative

Weapons of War

On the instrumental level, concerns include the possibility of military applications of

nanotechnology (for instance, as in implants and other means for soldier enhancement like

those being developed at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT) as well as

enhanced surveillance capabilities through nano-sensors. There is also the possibility of

nanotechnology being used to develop chemical weapons and because they will be able to

develop the chemicals from the atom scale up, critics fear that chemical weapons developed

from nano particles will be more dangerous than present chemical weapons.

Fear of the Unknown

Nanotechnology is quite a new concept and some effects are time dependent so it's difficult

for experts to predict the damage nanoparticles might do. There are concerns about how

nano-particles may accumulate in nature. Could large amounts be ingested by fish? And if so,

would if be harmful? Would the particles be passed along the food chain like DDT.

Thresholds need to be determined. It's vital to find out how to remove or simply detect

nanomaterials if they become problematic.

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), also Washington-based, says it has

inventoried more than 600 consumer products in 20 countries with nano-scale materials, and

"new nanotech products are hitting the market at the rate of three to four per week." The

interest in nanomaterials is coming at a time of growing awareness of how chemicals – many

of which we don't know are manufactured into the products we use on a daily basis – may be

causing us harm.

What happens to nanoparticles such as silver nanoparticles which are used quite a bit, for

example is certain socks? In an experiment reported at the American Chemical Society

meeting, two Arizona State University scientists, Troy Benn and Paul Westerhoff, washed

seven brands of nanosilver socks and then tested the wastewater. All but one pair leaked

silver. That silver, of course, ends up in our sewers, rivers and lakes. Results like this have

strengthened the calls among scientists and environmentalists for a closer examination of

nanoparticles and their effects on humans and the environment. You can find nanosilver in

products from clothing and shoes to mattresses and pillows to appliances like Samsung's

SilverCare washers, and Conair's Infiniti Nano Silver hair straighteners. The TTC also


71

intends to paint the stanchions in its new subway cars with antimicrobial silver. Considering

how quickly the market is expanding worldwide, scientists doubt that current regulations are

sufficient. They also point out the lack of regulations that specifically address nanoparticles

and say that not enough is being spent on their health effects. For the full article on this click

here. [52]

Of the US$710 million spent in 2002 by the U.S. government on nanotechnology research,

only $500,000 was spent on environmental impact assessments.

False Hype

Some worry that nanotechnology will end up like virtual reality -- in other words, the hype

surrounding nanotechnology will continue to build until the limitations of the field become

public knowledge, and then interest (and funding) will quickly dissipate.

Social Justice and Civil Liberties

''Those nations, governments, organizations, and citizens who are unaware of this impending

power shift must be informed and enabled so that they may adequately adapt'' James Canton,

President of the Institute for Global Futures, said of nanotechnology and its disruptive

economical potential.

Social justice and civil libertiesConcerns are frequently raised that the claimed benefits of

nanotechnology will not be evenly distributed, and that any benefits (including technical

and/or economic) associated with nanotechnology will only reach affluent nations. The

majority of nanotechnology research and development - and patents for nanomaterials and

products - is concentrated in developed countries (including the United States, Japan,

Germany, Canada and France). In addition, most patents related to nanotechnology are

concentrated amongst few multinational corporations, including IBM, Micron Technologies,

Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. This has led to fears that it will be unlikely that

developing countries will have access to the infrastructure, funding and human resources

required to support nanotechnology research and development, and that this is likely to

exacerbate such inequalities.

The agriculture and food industries demonstrate the concentration of nanotechnology related

patents. Patents over seeds, plant material, animal and other agri-food techniques are already

http://www.thestar.com/article/426978



72

concentrated amongst a few corporations. This is anticipated to increase the cost of farming,

by increasing farmers' input dependence. This may marginalize poorer farmers, including

those living in developing countries. Scrinis G, and Lyons K (2007). "The Emerging Nano-

Corporate Paradigm and the Transformation of Agri-Food Systems". International Journal of

Sociology of Agriculture and Food 15.

Producers in developing countries could also be disadvantaged by the replacement of natural

products (including rubber, cotton, coffee and tea) by developments in nanotechnology.

These natural products are important export crops for developing countries, and many

farmers' livelihoods depend on them. It has been argued that their substitution with industrial

nano-products could negatively impact the economies of developing countries, that have

traditionally relied on these export crops. [8]

It is proposed that nanotechnology can only be effective in alleviating poverty and aid

development "when adapted to social, cultural and local institutional contexts, and chosen

and designed with the active participation by citizens right from the commencement point"

(Invernizzi et al. 2008, p. 132)

Robots Taking over the World

Believe it or not there is a very real fear out there of robots controlling the world one day.

This is not as far removed as one might think as robots are becoming freakishly independent.

Nanotechnology is playing a major role in the creation of these robots. Take a look at the

video on the right made in February of this year which has gone viral. The video shows

robots which are completely autonomous playing an eerie version of the James Bond theme

tune on various instruments:

Regulating Nanotechnology

Regulatory bodies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the

Health & Consumer Protection Directorate of the European Commission have

started dealing with the potential risks of nanoparticles. The organic food sector has been the

first to act with the regulated exclusion of engineered nanoparticles from certified organic

produce, firstly in Australia and the UK, and more recently in Canada, as well as for all food

certified to Demeter International standards. [8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter_International


73

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates a wide range of products, including

foods, cosmetics, drugs, devices, veterinary products, and tobacco products some of which

may utilize nanotechnology or contain nanomaterials. Nanotechnology allows scientists to

create, explore, and manipulate materials measured in nanometres (billionths of a meter).

Such materials can have chemical, physical, and biological properties that differ from those

of their larger counterparts.- FDA

My Take on Nanotechnology Concerns

A concern which I have not encountered is that of good will and intentions in the

nanotechnology 'industry'. There is so much money involved in nanotechnology and such

profits to be made that I think there may be a problem with industries' goodwill. I think that

because nanotechnology is on the fast track of combining specialized science and worldwide

consumer goods that they may take advantage of the general public's lack of knowledge in

the area. It's very important for everyone to be aware that there are concerns with the safety

of the products which have yet to be sufficiently regulated. Where there are huge sums of

money in question I would be sceptical that there isn't a hint of snobbery or possessiveness

against the general public in the way of withholding trade secrets, trade secrets which may

actually be required if regulations are to be sufficiently carried out. With a hint of this

pretension; carbon nanotubes are poised to become a major traded commodity with the

potential to replace major conventional raw materials. However, as their use expands, anyone

seeking to (legally) manufacture or sell carbon nanotubes, no matter what the application,

must first buy a license from NEC or IBM.

I think it is also worth mentioning a report I came across on e-paper (nanotechnology based)

which details forecasts and markets of the product. None of this report was available to the

public. In order to read this short report of 151 pages one must buy it in PDF or hard copy

form for £2750!

''The total market size for e-paper displays in 2012 is $1.03 billion rising to $8.59 billion in

2022. Growth is predominately from demand of e-readers but other applications such as

signage will become a substantial market.'' [53]

Personally this strikes me as slightly ominous.

Overall, from what we know so far, the positives of nanotechnology tip the scale. I personally

am of the mindset that the future is bright and wonderful with a world that is an easy and


74

wholesome place to live in! If there's one lesson which can be taken away from all of this let

it be ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

Contact


75

This page gave the readers a chance to express their opinion of the website. It included a

pole, section for comments and a personal sign-off from me, the author.


76

Bibliography with Evaluation Fiona Donovan ¦ K00101576


77

References for this Document in Order of Appearance

(References for the website text can be seen below)

[1] David A. Dana. (November 14, 2011), The Nanotechnology Challenge: Creating Legal

Institutions for Uncertain Risks, New York: Cambridge University Press.

[2] Forfás. (2010). Ireland‘s Nanotechnology Commercialisation Framework, 2010 –

2014. Forfás.

[3] Institute of Nanotechnology, http://www.nano.org.uk/nanotechnology-reports/34 ( Feb

15th 2012)

Book on this website: (Unavailable). (Jan 2012), E-Paper Displays: Markets, Forecasts,

Technologies 2012-2020, (Unavailable): (Unavailable).

[4] Nanowerk,

http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology/introduction/introduction_to_nanotechnology_1a.

php , ( March 20th 2012)

[5] Forfás. (2010). Nanotechnology in Ireland: A Snapshot. Forfás.

[6] http://www.websitehelper.com/ (November 26th

2011)

References (in order of appearance on website)

[1] http://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1814 , Quantum Dots, Dec 15 2006 (last

accessed: Apr 3rd

2012)

[2] http://eng3060.pbworks.com/w/page/18918986/nanotube, Nicholas Adam Berkholz, July

2009

[3] http://www.nano.gov/timeline (Last accessed: March 20 2012)

[4] Zhou, W and Zin Wang, Zhong (2006). Scanning Microscopy for Nanotechnology

Techniques and Applications. New York: Springer. 95-96.

[5] http://www.nanoscience.com/education/STM.html (Feb 22nd 2012)

[6] http://www.aip.org/png/html/afm.htm Gil Lee, Naval Research Laboratory, 2007 (March

17th

2012)

[7] http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanoquest/carbon/index.html Carbon Nanotubes and

Buckyballs, 2008 (March 17th

2012)

http://www.nano.org.uk/nanotechnology-reports/34

http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology/introduction/introduction_to_nanotechnology_1a.php

http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology/introduction/introduction_to_nanotechnology_1a.php

http://www.websitehelper.com/

http://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1814

http://eng3060.pbworks.com/w/page/18918986/nanotube

http://www.nano.gov/timeline

http://www.nanoscience.com/education/STM.html

http://www.aip.org/png/html/afm.htm

http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanoquest/carbon/index.html


78

[8] Wikipedia

[9] http://www.fei.com/products/transmission-electron-microscopes/ (March 17th

2012)

[10] http://jumpthecurve.net/nanotechnology/15-ways-nanotechnology-is-making-life-better-

today/ Jack Uldrich, June 30 2011

[11] http://science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology3.htm Products with Nanotechnology,

Kevin Bonsor and Jonathan Strickland.(Feb 22nd

2012)

[12] http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/ (Feb 22nd

2012)

[13] http://curiosity.discovery.com/topic/nanostructures/10-ways-nanostructures-changing-

world8.htm Joanna Burgess. (Feb 23nd 2012)

[14] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is_38/ai_108882042/ Under Your Skin,

Gail Nakada, Dec, 2002 (Feb 23rd

2012)

[15] www.apollodiamond.com (Feb 23rd 2012)

[16] WilsonCentre, 2006, New Report on Nanotechnology in Agriculture and Food Looks at

Potential Applications, Benefits and Risks, [press release], September 7, 2006, available at

<<http://www.nanotechproject.org/process/assets/files/6014/090706nanotechnology_agifood

_report_pr.pdf>>

[17] [removed, same as [10] above]

[18] http://www.zimbio.com/Nanotechnology/articles/EkCABhwnqLH/Most+Interesting+De

velopments+Nanotechnologies January 2, 2012 | Filed under Articles, Innovation,

Technology Posted by Paracha

[19] http://www.nanoprotect.co.uk/nano-for-car.html (product)

[20] www.liquipel.com (product)

[21] Ranjbartoreh,Ali R. Wang, Bei. Shen,Xiaoping. Wang, Guoxiu . (2011). Advanced

mechanical properties of graphene paper. Journal of Applied Physics. 109 (1).

[22] 2009. Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Nanotechnology. 1 Edition. Wiley-

Blackwell.

[23] http://cleantechnica.com/2010/02/14/ibm-sets-new-solar-cell-efficiency-world-record/

Zachary Shahan, February 14, 2010

[24] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719011151.htm Science Daily

Article, Solar Panels, July 19 2007 (March 12th 2012)

[25] http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/basics.htm 2008 Smithsonian Institution (Jan 12th

2012)

[26] http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-132128-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Lynn K.

http://www.fei.com/products/transmission-electron-microscopes/

http://jumpthecurve.net/nanotechnology/15-ways-nanotechnology-is-making-life-better-today/


http://science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology3.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/author-bonsor.htm

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/

http://curiosity.discovery.com/topic/nanostructures/10-ways-nanostructures-changing-world8.htm

http://curiosity.discovery.com/topic/nanostructures/10-ways-nanostructures-changing-world8.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is_38/ai_108882042/

http://www.apollodiamond.com/

http://www.nanotechproject.org/process/assets/files/6014/090706nanotechnology_agifood_report_pr.pdf

http://www.nanotechproject.org/process/assets/files/6014/090706nanotechnology_agifood_report_pr.pdf

http://www.zimbio.com/Nanotechnology/articles/EkCABhwnqLH/Most+Interesting+Developments+Nanotechnologies

http://www.zimbio.com/Nanotechnology/articles/EkCABhwnqLH/Most+Interesting+Developments+Nanotechnologies

http://www.nanoprotect.co.uk/nano-for-car.html

http://www.liquipel.com/

http://cleantechnica.com/2010/02/14/ibm-sets-new-solar-cell-efficiency-world-record/


http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/basics.htm

http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-132128-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html


79

Mytelka

[27] V. Arul Mozhi Selvan, R. B. Anand and M. Udayakumar, 2009. Effects of Cerium

Oxide Nanoparticle Addition in Diesel and Diesel-biodiesel-ethanol Blends on the

Performance and Emission Characteristics of a CI Engine. ARPN Journal of Engineering and

Applied Sciences , 4 (7)

[28] http://www.altairnano.com

[29] http://www.nanopharmaceuticals.org/

[30] http://www.luxresearchinc.com/

[31] Park, K, 2007. Nanotechnology: What it can do for drug delivery, 1,

[32] Ref: J.P., Mathuria. (2009). Nanoparticles in Tuberculosis Diagnosis, Treatment

and Prevention: A Hope for Future. Digest Journal of Nanomaterials and Biostructures Vol.

4, No.2, June 2009, p. 309 – 312

[33] J, Kjems and K, Howard. (2005). Drug Delivery: Nanocarriers ferry medicine into

diseased cells. iNano Annual Report 2004. 1 (1), 10-11.

[34] http://www.azonano.com/nanotechnology-video-details.aspx?VidID=28 (Jan 26th

2012)

[35] http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/nanoburrs.html Anne Trafton, MIT News Office,

January 19, 2010

[36] Kathleen E. Fischer, Aishwarya Jayagopal, Ganesh Nagaraj, R. Hugh Daniels§, Esther

M. Li, Matthew T. Silvestrini, and Tejal A. Desai. (2011). Nanoengineered Surfaces Enhance

Drug Loading and Adhesion.Nanoengineered Surfaces Enhance Drug Loading and

Adhesion.

[37] http://www.packworld.com/machinery/fillingsealing/nanotechnology-protects-capsules-

counterfeiting-and-diversion (Feb 12th 2012)

[38] http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/wireless-drug-delivery-0216.html Anne Trafton,

MIT News Office, (February 16, 2012)

[39] http://www.utexas.edu/news/2012/02/01/nano_protein_clusters/ (Feb. 1, 2012)

[40] http://www.tutuz.com/nanoparticles-ferromagnetic-theory-cancer/ Tigran H. & V.

Shapoval South Carolina, USA, 5 November 2011 (Jan 27th

2012)

[41] Sutton D, Wang S, Nasongkla N, Gao J, Dormidontova EE.. (2007). Doxorubicin and

beta-lapachone release and interaction with micellar core materials: experiment and

modeling.. Experimental Biology and Medicine (Maywood N.J). 232 (8), 1090-9.

[42] Gabor L. Hornyak, 2008. Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Edition.

CRC Press.

[43] P. De Vos, A.F. Hamel and K. Tatarkiewwicz, Considerations for successive

http://www.altairnano.com/

http://www.nanopharmaceuticals.org/

http://www.luxresearchinc.com/

http://www.azonano.com/nanotechnology-video-details.aspx?VidID=28

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/nanoburrs.html

http://www.packworld.com/machinery/fillingsealing/nanotechnology-protects-capsules-counterfeiting-and-diversion

http://www.packworld.com/machinery/fillingsealing/nanotechnology-protects-capsules-counterfeiting-and-diversion

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/wireless-drug-delivery-0216.html

http://www.utexas.edu/news/2012/02/01/nano_protein_clusters/

http://www.tutuz.com/nanoparticles-ferromagnetic-theory-cancer/


80

transplantation of encapsulate pancreatic islets, Diabetologica, 45, 159-172 (2002). (Jan 27th

2012)

[44] [removed- see [32] ]

[45] http://inventors.about.com/b/2011/06/02/nanoengineers-invent-new-biomaterial.htm

Mary Bellis, About.com Guide, June 2, 2011 (Feb 28th

2012)

[46] http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/transparent-solar-windows-0415.html David L.

Chandler, MIT News Office, April 15, 2011 (March 15th

2012)

[47] J. Storrs Hall (2001). Utility Fog: The Stuff that Dreams Are Made Of. London:

KurzweilAI.net.

[48] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22333518/#.T4CzSZnlPIw Sperm to power robots, Bryn

Nelson, 1/2/2008 (Feb 23rd

2012)

[49] http://www.nnin.org/nnin_nature.html Nanostructures in Nature, Sandrine Martin (Univ.

Mich.) , 2004 (Feb 25th

2012)

[50] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7608369.stm Diatom nanostructures bend

light, Elizabeth Mitchell, 10 September 2008 (March 12th

2012)

[51] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080117201947.htm Jan. 17, 2008 (March

19th

2012)

[52] http://www.thestar.com/article/426978 Particles as health problems, Andrew Chung,

May 18 2008 (March 17th

2012)

[53] http://www.nano.org.uk/nanotechnology-reports/34 E-paper forecasts (Feb 15th 2012)

Evaluation of References

Nanotechnology is a new area and so it would be preferable if sources of information were in

the last few years. In the bibliography is can be seen that references begin from 2002 with

many references from 2012 sources. As with any science discipline there are new discoveries

all the time, but this applies even more-so with nanotechnology. It was not possible to have

all the most up to date information and discoveries but there are some references above from

February 2012. It is also difficult to get information on the latest discoveries because as they

may be released in scientific news forums, the official scientific journals take longer to

publish.

http://inventors.about.com/b/2011/06/02/nanoengineers-invent-new-biomaterial.htm

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/transparent-solar-windows-0415.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22333518/#.T4CzSZnlPIw

http://www.nnin.org/nnin_nature.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7608369.stm



http://www.nano.org.uk/nanotechnology-reports/34


81

The bibliography above contains many different sources of references such as books,

scientific journals, reports, news articles, product websites and

educational websites. The references I found to be most useful

were:

1. Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

(Book)

[42] Gabor L. Hornyak, 2008. Introduction to Nanoscience and

Nanotechnology. Edition. CRC Press

Published:

December 22, 2008 by CRC Press - 1,640 Pages

Author(s):

Gabor L. Hornyak, NanoThread, Inc., Golden, Colorado, USA; H.F. Tibbals, University of

Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA; Joydeep Dutta, Asian Institute of

Technology, Pathumthani, Thailand; John J. Moore, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, USA

I found this to be an excellent source of information for gaining background knowledge on

the subject before beginning the website. Once the website

began it continued to be an excellent source particularly with

providing insightful, easily understood and complete

information on nanomedicine. Much information was taken

from this regarding how nanotechnology affects the diagnosis,

prevention and detection of particular illnesses such as diabetes.

It was also a great source of information on

nanopharmaceuticals particularly nano-encapsulation and its

benefits. Although this book was published back in 2008 the

information remains relevant today.

2. Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Nanotechnology (Book)

[22] 2009. Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Nanotechnology. 1 Edition. Wiley-

Blackwell.

Jamie R. Lead (Editor), Emma Smith (Co-Editor)

ISBN: 978-1-4051-7634-7, Hardcover, 456 pages, August 2009, Wiley-Blackwell


82

3. Jump the Curve (Website, Jack Uldrich)

http://jumpthecurve.net/nanotechnology/15-ways-nanotechnology-is-making-life-better-

today/ Jack Uldrich, June 30 2011

Jack Uldrich is a renowned global futurist, independent scholar, sought-after business

speaker, and best-selling author. This authors writing on the latest and useful applications of

nanotechnology in our everyday lives saved is worth a mention as it saved time in

researching through reams of information on new nano applications. His writing on this has

been referenced by many other nanotechnology writers also.

All the other reference sources above were trustworthy. There were a couple of places where

Wikipedia [8] was used as a reference but this was only to gain definitions of what I had

already known and for insight into some of the negative aspects of nanotechnology.




83

Discussion and Conclusion Including Feedback on the Website K00101576


84

Feedback on Website

Some comments left on the website:

‗Fiona, you have done a great job! Well done.!!‘

‗very well laid out, the titles and images were very good, as well as the videos. Very

interesting sections, informative and surprisingly entertaining, A+!‘

‗Wow! Well done. I really enjoyed this website. The look and the layout are very

professional and the content is presented in a very appealing manner which wants me to learn

more about the subject. Good job.‘

‗Well done Fiona Excellent simplification in ordinary language of a complex technology.

Design and clarity of website is appealing and easy to navigate.‘

‗I found the website really interesting and I got a very useful insight into nanotechnology,

even though I don't have a very scientific background or knowledge I was still able to

understand it and I learned a lot of things I did not know before.‘

Results of Poll 1 on Website

Did this website stir up some interest in you with regards to

nanotechnology?

Yes

100%

13 votes

No

0%

0 votes


85

Results of Poll 2 on Website

Did this website succeed in providing you with sufficient

information on nanotechnology?

Yes

100%

13 votes

No

0%

0 votes


86

Conclusion

From looking at the comments and pole results above the website succeeded in providing

sufficient information on nanotechnology. It also succeeded in provoking interest in

individuals towards nanotechnology. The comments were all hugely positive and viewers of

the website found it interesting and informational.

Discussion

The website was a success and achieved all the aims it set out to achieve. The tools which

were used- Weebly.com, surveymonkey.com and polldaddy.com – were all simple to use and

there was no failure in use even though they were all used online.

Final Word

As a final word I would like to add that I was grateful for the opportunity to work on

researching nanotechnology. I found the whole subject very interesting and fascinating at

times. I hope it transcends in the writing that there was genuine interest involved in writing

this project. I would like to think that any readers of the website will be able to tell that this

was not simply a forced project which was a burden, as I think it will make their reading a

more enjoyable experience. Writing a website is very different from other final year projects

which one would expect from a science degree but there is much to be gained from such a

project. The science world is a big place full of opportunity in many diverse subject areas and

to get the opportunity to research such a new and relevant subject which encompasses every

aspect of science is great. Having knowledge on all aspects of nanotechnology goes hand-in-

hand with having a good understanding on how the science world works with regards to both

industrial science and scientific research and development. It was found in the survey that

people are interested in knowing more about nanotechnology and now they can learn about it

from a website which is relevant to Irish people wanting to have a grasp on the subject.

Hopefully in the years to come there will be more of an opportunity in Ireland for secondary

school and third level students to study nanotechnology because, as it can be seen in this

project, there is need for more emphasis on the subject. I hope all readers of the website enjoy

reading it as much as I did writing it.


87

Acknowledgements

*Content Removed*

Link to Website:

www.nanotechnologyforstudents.weebly.com *The webstie has also been formatted so as not

to contain any personal information.

http://www.nanotechnologyforstudents.weebly.com/

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