Rachel Ruth B.

Montilla March 3, 2017

Prof. Patricia Nazareno

STS 40 (TF 10:30-12:00)

NANOTECHNOLOGY

Nanotechnology has been ambitiously called as the driving force behind a new
industrial revolution, a completely different approach to the way humans rearrange matter. It
has become an increasingly significant part of our everyday lives. Oftentimes, we use it even
without considering it and today, we can hardly imagine our life without this beneficial
technology.

Nanotechnology is an anticipated manufacturing technology that allows thorough,

inexpensive control of matter by working with atoms (Wilson, 2002). It is a hybrid science that
combines engineering with chemistry or in other words can be defined as a component of
science and technology that characterize the structure of materials between 1 nm to 100 nm
(Awan, et.al., 2016). All things on Earth are made up of atoms – the clothes we wear, the food
we eat, the infrastructures and houses we live, and even our own bodies. A nanometer is one-
billionth of a meter, that is, ten times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. But, what makes it
special? Recently, researchers and professionals have been able to unfold the huge potential
of nanoscience and nanotechnologies because of the new set of analytical and fabrication
tools that have developed. This allowed the systematic investigation of nanomaterials and the
comprehension that exceptional properties at the nanoscale level can be used to establish
new materials, systems and devices with functions and properties that could not be achieved
if bulk materials were utilized. Hence, nanotechnology is the practical application of science.

WHAT CAN NANOTECH DO?

Nanotechnology is hailed as having the potential to increase the efficiency of energy

consumption, help clean the environment, and solve major health problems. It is said to be
able to massively increase manufacturing production at significantly reduced costs. Products
of nanotechnology will be smaller, cheaper, lighter yet more functional and require less energy
and fewer raw materials to manufacture, claim nanotech advocates.
APPLICATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

For the past years, scientists and engineers have been mastering the intricacies of
working with nanoscale materials. At present day, nanotechnology encompasses the
production and application of chemical, physical, and biological systems at scales ranging
from individual atoms up to around 100 nanometers, along with the integration of the
developing nanostructures into larger systems. There are numerous applications in
nanotechnology.

1. Medicine and Healthcare: Nanomedicine

The application of nanotechnology has been a major breakthrough in the field of

medicine – nanomedicine. It aims to build new devices to detect ailments in a targeted,
effective and precise way. Nanotechnologies have the potential to enhance the entire care
process by making use of nanometer scale materials and nano-enabled techniques and
methods to diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases. Several of which includes cardiovascular
diseases, cancer, musculoskeletal and inflammatory conditions, and the like.

Researchers are working out on customized nanoparticles that can deliver drugs or
other substances directly to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells) and organs in your
body. Commercial applications have adapted gold nanoparticles as probes for the detection
of targeted sequences of nucleic acids. There are also other techniques that involve
nanomedicine such as therapy techniques wherein researchers have developed nanosponges
that absorb toxins and extract them from the bloodstream; diagnostic techniques wherein
antibodies attached to carbon nanotubes in chips are used to recognize cancer cells in the
bloodstream; and anti-microbial techniques wherein researchers are fostering a technique to
kill bacteria using nanoparticles and infrared light (Filipponi & Sutherland, 2013), and gold
nanoparticles are also being clinically investigated as potential treatments for cancer and other
diseases.

2. Environmental Remediation
Aside from medicine, nanotechnology could also be used in several applications to
improve the environment. Nanotechnology is particularly important in environmental issues
such as pollution wherein it would arise from the presence of a specific contaminant within a
mixture of material, may it be in solid, liquid, or gas form. The small size of nanomaterials,
together with their high surface-to-volume ratio, can lead to very sensitive detection. These
properties allow the development of highly miniaturised, accurate and sensitive pollution-
monitoring devices (nano-sensors). Also, nanomaterials could be devised to actively interact
with a pollutant and decompose it into lesser toxic species. Hence, in the years to come,
nanotechnology could be used not only to detect contaminated sites but also to treat them
 A thin film membrane with nanopores was developed by some engineers for energy
desalination. Nanoparticles were also being created to clean industrial water pollutants in
ground water through chemical reactions that render the pollutants harmless. For instance,
researchers have placed magnetic water-repellent nanoparticles in oil spills and used magnets
to mechanically remove the oil from the water. Another thing is, nanotechnology could also be
utilized to minimize the production of harmful wastes in manufacturing processes by employing
less toxic compounds, as well as reducing the amount of materials used. Nanotechnology
could also be applied in the engineering of coatings that are nanostructured in a way that they
withstand the attack of pollutants or have self-cleaning properties that are easily cleaned by
rain water and, therefore, require less detergent to be washed (Filipponi & Sutherland, 2013).

 Nanotechnology could help meet the need for affordable, clean drinking water through rapid, low-cost
detection and treatment of impurities in water.

 Engineers have developed a thin film membrane with nanopores for energy-efficient desalination. This
molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) membrane filtered two to five times more water than current conventional
filters.
 Nanoparticles are being developed to clean industrial water pollutants in ground water through chemical
reactions that render the pollutants harmless. This process would cost less than methods that require
pumping the water out of the ground for treatment.

 Researchers have developed a nanofabric "paper towel" woven from tiny wires of potassium manganese
oxide that can absorb 20 times its weight in oil for cleanup applications. Researchers have also placed
magnetic water-repellent nanoparticles in oil spills and used magnets to mechanically remove the oil from
the water.

 Many airplane cabin and other types of air filters are nanotechnology-based filters that allow “mechanical
filtration,” in which the fiber material creates nanoscale pores that trap particles larger than the size of the
pores. The filters also may contain charcoal layers that remove odors.

 Nanotechnology-enabled sensors and solutions are now able to detect and identify chemical or biological
agents in the air and soil with much higher sensitivity than ever before. Researchers are investigating
particles such as self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports (SAMMS™), dendrimers, and carbon
nanotubes to determine how to apply their unique chemical and physical properties for various kinds of
toxic site remediation. Another sensor has been developed by NASA as a smartphone extension that
firefighters can use to monitor air quality around fires.

3. Energy Applications
4.
5. Information and Communication Technologies
6. Future Transportation Benefits

Nanotechnology is being studied for both the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis, or the buildup of
plaque in arteries. In one technique, researchers created a nanoparticle that mimics the body’s “good”
cholesterol, known as HDL (high-density lipoprotein), which helps to shrink plaque.

 Research in the use of nanotechnology for regenerative medicine spans several application areas, including
bone and neural tissue engineering. For instance, novel materials can be engineered to mimic the crystal
 mineral structure of human bone or used as a restorative resin for dental applications. Researchers are
looking for ways to grow complex tissues with the goal of one day growing human organs for transplant.
Researchers are also studying ways to use graphene nanoribbons to help repair spinal cord injuries;
preliminary research shows that neurons grow well on the conductive graphene surface.

 Nanomedicine researchers are looking at ways that nanotechnology can improve vaccines, including
vaccine delivery without the use of needles. Researchers also are working to create a universal vaccine
scaffold for the annual flu vaccine that would cover more strains and require fewer resources to develop
each year.

The aim is the development of new materials and methods to detect and treat diseases in a
targeted, precise, effective and lasting way, with the ultimate goal of making medical practice safer,
less intrusive and more personalised.

Nanotechnologies have the potential to improve the whole care process that starts for a patient
once a disease is suspected, from diagnosis to therapy and follow-up monitoring.
Researchers are developing customized nanoparticles the size of molecules
that can deliver drugs directly to diseased cells in your body.
Specifically, this area of application uses nanometre scale materials and nano-enabled techniques
to diagnose, monitor, treat and prevent diseases. These include cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
musculoskeletal and inflammatory conditions, neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases,
diabetes and infectious diseases (bacterial and viral infections, such as HIV), and more. The
potential contribution of nanotechnologies in the medical sector is extremely broad and includes
new diagnostic tools; imaging agents and methods; drug delivery systems and pharmaceuticals;
therapies; implants and tissue engineered constructs.
encompasses the production and application of physical, chemical, and biological systems at scales
ranging from individual atoms or molecules to around 100 nanometers, as well as the integration of
the resulting nanostructures into larger systems.

Today's nanotechnology harnesses current progress in chemistry, physics, materials science, and
biotechnology to create novel materials that have unique properties because their structures are
determined on the nanometer scale

Nanotechnologies are being spoken of as the driving force behind a new industrial revolution

REFERENCE:
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=sH3t9xhVPVUC&dq=how+does+nanotechnology+wo
rk&source=gbs_navlinks_s

https://ec.europa.eu/research/industrial_technologies/pdf/nano-hands-on-activities_en.pdf