Articles
Supporting international cooperation in environmental nanotechnology
Article written by Dr Ineke Malsch, postbus@malsch.demon.nl, MalschTechnoValuation
Abstract
The ICPC-NanoNet project can support international research cooperation in environmental nanotechnology between the European Union and International Cooperation Partner Countries to the EU (emerging economies and developing countries). This article focuses on the case of nanotechnology for water purification.
Interview: Harold Craighead
Harold Craighead, head of the Nanobiotechnology Center at Cornell, is considered to be one of the great international figures of the nanoscience revolution. He talks to Ottilia Saxl of NANO Magazine about Cornell’s early vision for supporting nanoscience research, his own role in realizing a netwokd of national centres to support nanoscience research, his particular commitment to using nanofabrication techniques to support Nan bioscience research, and how this has led to exciting new research directions.
Thin Films and Nanotechnology applications
People comment that nano is all hype and hot air, and ask what has happened to the promised wave of applications that have been widely heralded over the last decade. This latest issue of NANO magazine aims to dispel the fallacy that nanomaterials are a technology in waiting. Thin films - we can’t see them but we can’t live without them! Frank Placido of the prestigious Thin Film Centre in Paisley writes about the astonishingly diverse applications of thin films - from anticounterfeiting to better medical implants to smart packaging to improved solar energy collection efficiency.
Perform, protect, improve
The science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke formulated three ‘laws’ of prediction. According to the Third Law, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. This is often a problem for nano-scale technologies: it’s hard for ordinary people to understand the benefits they provide, especially when the underlying mechanisms are imperceptible to the naked eye.
Nanotechnology in Food & Drink
Food companies need to produce products that are different from those of their competitors, and nanotechnology is increasingly a key means of achieving this. For example, product differentiation may be achieved through some foods having specific nanoencapsulated nutrients or flavours, or by being wrapped in packaging containing nanoparticles that will kill bacteria and thus extend the shelf life. Other nano novelties could include foods that taste ‘fatty”, but are not, for the treatment of obesity; and sports foods and drinks containing nanoscale supplements that speed absorption into the bloodstream.
Commercial Success with Nanomaterials
Professor Helmut Schmidt, nanomaterials expert and entrepreneur, describes how commercial success can be achieved through enhancing existing products.
Nanotechnology is already making a major impact on the development of new materials. Many market forecasts show a dramatic increase in commercial pro-ducts based on materials whose properties are derived from the nanoscale. Two major areas of growth have been identified - medical technologies and functional materials, plus also some structural materials like nanoparticle reinforced polymers. However, looking at the industrial and commercial reality, there still is a big gap between the advantages of nanomaterials, and their commercial application. In the case of medical applications, there may be a long, and in many cases an unpredictable time to market; in the case of functional and structural materials, the payback mechanisms and times can be very complex and require specific industrial structures.
Nanotechnology and Textiles
Textiles are changing thanks to nanotechnology. Better healthcare systems, protective clothing and integrated electronics are just some of the applications. But could such technologies be exploited to steal information or cheat in sporting events? As nanotechnology techniques and applications become more sophisticated, we are likely to see a whole new variety of textiles with integrated electronics, special self-cleaning abilities, resistance to fire, protection from ultraviolet light, and a range of other features. There is currently a huge amount of research and development being conducted across the globe from universities to global corporations to design and create the next generation textiles. Venture Development Corporation (VDC) estimates that consumption in the smart and interactive textiles market is today worth about US$720 million.
Targeting drugs at the Nanoscale
Richard Moore looks at some further innovative nanoscale drug delivery vehicles In the first part of this article, printed in the previous issue of NANO, several challenges for drug delivery were outlined and a number of novel nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems were described. In the second part of this two-part article, Richard Moore looks at some further innovative nanoscale drug delivery vehicles and examines some of the challenges in bringing these technologies to the market.
Targeting drugs at the Nanoscale
In the first part of this two-part article, Richard Moore describes some of the challenges faced in delivering the right quantity of a drug to its target site in the human body and some of the ingenious ways in which nanotechnology is being applied to provide new, patient-friendly solutions. Significant challenges The delivery of drugs to the intended target site in the body in the right dose at the right time presents a number of important challenges. Drugs may often have a limited solubility, may suffer breakdown before they reach their target tissues, may suffer poor pharmacokinetics or distribution or may unintentionally damage healthy tissues. Overcoming these challenges occupies a large part of the research time in pharmaceutical development and costs a great deal of money.
Nanomedicine, why is it different?
In this article, Richard Moore examines some of the characteristics that make nanomedicine different to conventional approaches and potentially exciting in opening up new treatment opportunities. What benefits could a nanotechnology-based approach to medicine bring? Medicine based on the exploitation of properties of materials at the nanoscale differs from conventional medicine in a number of significant ways.
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