Research nanotechnology

A recently discovered form of fibrous carbon consists of concentric tubes with walls like sheets of graphite rolled into cylinders. These tiny structures, called nanotubes, form strong, conducting fibers with a large surface area. As a consequence, they have unusually interesting and promising properties that have become a major thrust of nanotechnology research (Box 14.1). 

SUZANNE P. JARVIS Nanotechnology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Indnstrial Science and Technology, Ibaraki, Japan... 

Another example of nanotechnology research is an attempt to develop biological molecules that can interact with fullerene, Cgo. By themselves, Cgo molecules are difficult to manipulate because they are greasy and inert. Scientists envision using proteins bound to Cgo, like the one illustrated here, as molecular machines that can deliver Cgo units to build larger carbon structures. 

We are grateful for financial support from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong SAR, China [HKU 7011/07P, HKU 7030/06P], the Chinese Academy of Sciences-Croucher Foundation Funding Scheme for Joint Laboratories, and the University Development Fund (Nanotechnology Research Institute Program). 

Currently, nanotechnology research is propelled by the need to develop strategies for the synthesis of nanoparticles with controlled shape and size distributions. The aim of this chapter is to provide some insight into the recent advances in nanoparticle synthesis using plants and plant derived materials. 

Bionanomaterials and Surface Interactions Group, Nanotechnology Research Institute,... 

Early reports include a patent from W.R. Grace describing nano-sized zeolite X and Y, another from Mobil for nano-sized MFl catalysts and a third describing the preparation of nano-sized zeolite L [147-149]. The explosion of nanotechnology research in the past few decades has led to an enormous number of additional... 

Zettl s oscillator exerts control over the motion of a relatively small number of atoms, but the goal of some nanotechnology researchers is to manipulate atoms themselves. Thanks to the development of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) in 1981, this once unthinkable feat is not only possible, it has been performed. 

National Nanotechnology Initiative. Available online. URL http // www.nano.gov/. Accessed May 28, 2009. The Web site for the National Nanotechnology Initiative, formed in 2001 to coordinate federal government funding for nanotechnology research, presents facts and figures on nanotechnology, updated research news, discussions of societal and safety issues, information on research centers, and much more. 

Nanotechnology Research Center, SRM University, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India (269)... 

Rocco, M.C. (Ed.), Nanotechnology Research Directions IWGN Workshop Rp J6Wiwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London, 360 pp., March (2000). 

Nanotechnology Research Nutritional Products Agricultural Biotechnology... 

Department of Chemistry, Nanotechnology Research Center and Institute of Basic Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, South Korea... 

Nanotechnology Research Directions IWGN Workshop Report. Vision for Nanotecnology R D in the Next Decade, edited by M. C. Roco, R. S. Williams, and P. Alivisatos (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, in Russian, Moscow, Mir, 2002). 

Finally, opponents of nanotechnology, especially, may be able to use the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to impede nanotechnology research funded by the U.S. government. A "major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment is subject to the environmental impact provision under NEPA. (Various states also have environmental impact assessment requirements that could delay or put a stop to construction of nanotechnology facilities.) Time will tell. 

The increasing research in nanomedicine has led to many publications, accounting for about 4% of publications on nanotechnology research (about 34,300 documents in 2004) worldwide. Also commercialization efforts in nanomedicine are increasing. About 207 companies (including 158 small- and medium-size enter-... 

The nanomaterials thus manufactured in different industries—particularly drugs and pharmaceuticals— might pose risks to human health and other organisms due to their composition, reactivity, and unique size. Nanotechnology research and development, particularly in medical research, work at the micro- and nanoscale levels to develop new drug delivery methods, therapeutics, and pharmaceuticals. In such areas of research it is equally important to consider the potential interactions of nanomaterials with the environment and the associated risks. This involves studying the effects of natural nanoparticles in the air and soil, life cycle aspects of manufactured nanomaterials, and their fate and transport. Risk assessment also includes studies... 

Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research and Gnidance... 

However, in Nanotechnology Research Directions (a report pubfished by the US government in 1999), it was pointed out that current nanoscale technologies are still highly inferior to those seen in natural systems. The efficiency of the energy conversion that occurs in mitochondrial and photosynthetic systems far exceeds those obtained in artificial systems. A dog can smell and a bat can hear far more sensitively than most artificial sensors. The information pro-... 

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