Healt Effect

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Small sizes that matter:

Opportunities and risks ofNanotechnologiesReport in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme


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Contents1. Executive Summary 3

1.1. Nanotechnology and the market place 31.2. Investments in nanotechnology 41.3. The environmental, health and safety discussion related to nanoparticles 41.4. Allianzs position on industrial insurance cover 5

2. What is nanotechnology and what makes it different? 6

2.1. Introduction 62.2. Nanomaterials: basic building blocks 82.3. Nano tools and fabrication techniques 112.4. Present and future areas of application 12

3. Market prospects and opportunities 14

3.1. Sectoral example: Medicine 153.2. Sectoral example: Food and agriculture 173.3. Sectoral example: Semiconductors and computing 183.4. Sectoral example: Textiles 203.5. Sectoral example: Energy 213.6. Nanotechnology and the situation of developing countries 22

4. Players 245. Nanotechnology programs of governments 26

6. What are the risks of Nanotechnology? 27

6.1. Broad range of technologies, variety of risks 276.2. Positive effects on human health and the environment 286.3. Manufactured nanoparticles 286.4. Nanoparticles and human health 306.5. Nanoparticles and the environment 356.6. Explosion hazards of nanoparticles 366.7. Self replication of miniature machines 376.8. Regulatory considerations of authorities and other stakeholders 386.9. Position of the industry 396.10. Position of pressure groups 40

6.11. Position of reinsurers and insurers 407. Chances and risks for the Allianz Group 41

7.1. Nanotechnologies and investments 417.2. Nanotechnology and industrial insurance: Managing chances and risks 42 x 7.3. Conclusions for industrial and commercial insurance 44


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1. Executive Summary

N a n o t e c h n o l o g i e s a r e b e i n g s p o k e n o f a s t h e d r i v i n g

force behind a ne w ind us t r i a l revolu t ion . Both pr iva te -

and publ i c -sec tor spending a re cons tant ly inc reas ing .

S p e n d i n g o n p u b l i c r e s e a r c h h a s r e a c h e d l e v e l s o f

we l l over EUR3 b i l lion w or ld-w ide , but pr iva te s ec tors p e n d i n g i s e v e n f a s t e r i t i s e x p e c t e d t o e x c e e d

g o v e r n m e n t s p e n d i n g i n 2 0 0 5 . N a n o t e c h n o l o g i e s w i l l

b e a m a j o r t e c h n o l o g i c a l f o r c e fo r c h a n g e i n s h a p i n g

A ll ia n z s b u s in e s s e n v i r o n m e n t a c r o s s a l l in d u s t r i a l

s e c t o r s i n t h e f o r e s e e a b l e f u t u r e a n d a r e l i k e ly t o

d e l i v e r s u b s t a n t i a l g r o w t h o p p o r t u n i t i e s . T h e s i z e o f

t h e m a r k e t f o r n a n o t e c h n o l o g y p r o d u c t s i s a l re a d y

c o m p a r a b l e t o t h e b i o t e c h n o l o g y s e c t o r , w h i l e t h e

e x p e c t e d g r o w t h r a t e s o v e r t h e n e x t f e w y e a r s ar e fa r

h i g h e r . At t h e s a m e t i m e , s c i e n t i s t s h a v e r a i se d

c o n c e r n s t h a t t h e b a s i c b u i l d i n g b l o c k s o f

nan otech nologies par t i c les smal le r than one b i l lion th

of a me te r pose a poten t i a l new c lass of r isk to hea l th

and the envi ronment . A l l i anz ca l l s for a precaut ionary

a p p r o a c h b a s e d o n r i s k r e s e a r c h a n d g o o d r i s k

m a n a g e m e n t t o m i n im i z e t h e l ik e l ih o o d o f

n a n o p a r t i c le s b r i n g in g a n e w d i m e n s i o n t o p e r s o n a l

i n j u r y a n d p r o p e r t y d a m a g e l o s s e s o r p o s i n g t h i r d

par ty l i ab i l i ty and produc t - reca l l r i sks .

The Al l ianz C ent e r for Tech nology and All ianz Globa l

R i s k s , i n c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e O E C D I n t e r n a t i o n a lF u t u r e s P r o gr a m m e , h a s r e v i e w e d t h e l i k e ly e c o n o m i c

i m p a c t , i n v e s t m e n t p o s s i b il it i e s , a n d p o t e n t i a l r is k s

o f n a n o t e c h n o l o g i e s . T h i s r e p o r t a n a l y s e s t h e

o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d r i s k s f r o m t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f t h e

A l l i a n z G r o u p . T h e o p i n i o n s e x p r e s s e d i n t h i s r e p o r t

a r e t h o s e o f t h e Al li a n z G r o u p a n d d o n o t e n g a g e t h e

O E C D o r i t s M e m b e r g o v e r n m e n t s .

1.1. Nanotechnology and the marketplace

T h e t e r m n a n o t e c h n o l o g y d e sc r ib e s a r a n g e o f

t e c h n o l o g ie s p e r fo r m e d o n a n a n o m e t e r s c a le w i t h

w i d e s p r e a d a p p l ic a t i o n s a s a n e n a b l i n g t e c h n o l o g y in

v a r i o u s i n d u s t r i e s . N a n o t e c h n o l o g y e n c o m p a s s e s t h e

p r o d u c t i o n a n d a p p l ic a t i o n o f p h y s i ca l , c h e m i c a l, a n d

b i o l o gi c a l sy s t e m s a t s c a le s r a n g i n g f r o m i n d i v id u a l

a t o m s o r m o l e c u le s t o ar o u n d 1 0 0 n a n o m e t e r s , a s

w e l l a s t h e i n t e g r a t io n o f t h e r e s u l t in g n a n o s t r u c t u r e s

i n t o l a r g e r s y st e m s . T h e a r e a o f t h e d o t o f t h i s i

a l o n e c a n e n c o m p a s s 1 m i l l i o n n a n o p a r t i c l e s .

W h a t i s d i f f e r e n t a b o u t m a t e r i a l s o n a n a n o s c a l e

c o m p a r e d t o t h e s a m e m a t e r i al s in l a r g e r fo r m i s t h a t ,

because of the i r re l a t ive ly l a rge r sur face -a rea - to-mass

r a t i o , t h e y c a n b e c o m e m o r e c h e m i c a l l y r e a c t i v e a n d

c h a n g e t h e i r s t r e n g t h o r o t h e r p r o p e r t i e s . M o r e o v e r ,

b e l o w 5 0 n m , t h e l a w s o f c l a ss ic a l p h y s ic s g iv e w a y

t o q u a n t u m e f f e c t s , p r o v o k i n g d i f f e r e n t o p t i c a l ,

e l e c t r i c a l a n d m a g n e t i c b e h a v i o u r s .

N a n o s c a l e m a t e r i a l s h a v e b e e n u s e d f o r d e c a d e s i n

appl ica t ions ranging from wind ow glas s and su nglassest o c a r b u m p e r s a n d p a i n t s . N o w , h o w e v e r, t h e

c o n v e r g e n c e o f s c i e n t i fi c d i s c i p li n e s ( c h e m i st r y,

b i o l o gy, e l e c t r o n i c s, p h y s ic s , e n g i n e e r i n g e t c . ) i s

l eading to a mu l t ip l ica t ion of appl i ca t ions in m ate r i a l s

m a n u f a c tu r i n g , c o m p u t e r c h i p s, m e d i c a l d ia g n o s is

a n d h e a l t h c a r e , e n e r g y , b i o t e c h n o l o g y , s p a c e

e x p l o r a t io n , s e c u r i t y a n d s o o n . H e n c e ,

n a n o t e c h n o l o g y i s e x p e c t e d t o h a v e a s i g n i f i c a n t

i m p a c t o n o u r e c o n o m y a n d s o c ie t y w i t h i n t h e n e x t

1 0 t o 1 5 y e a r s, g r o w i n g i n i m p o r t a n c e o v e r t h e l o n g e r

t e r m a s f u r t h e r s c i e n t i f i c a n d t e c h n o l o g y

b r e a k t h r o u g h s a r e a c h i e v e d .

I t is t h i s c o n v e r g e n c e o f s c ie n c e o n t h e o n e h a n d a n d

g r o w i n g d i v e r s i t y o f a p p l ic a t i o n s o n t h e o t h e r t h a t i s

d r i v i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l o f n a n o t e c h n o l o g i e s . I n d e e d ,

t h e i r b i g g e s t i m p a c t s m a y a r i s e f r o m u n e x p e c t e d

c o m b i n a t i o n s o f p r e v i o u s l y se p a r a t e a s p e c t s , ju s t a s

t h e i n t e r n e t a n d i t s m y r ia d a p p l ic a t io n s c a m e a b o u t

t h r o u g h t h e c o n v e r g e n c e o f t e le p h o n y a n d c o m p u t i n g .

Sa les of emerging nanotechnology produc t s have been

e s t i m a t e d b y p r i v a t e r e s e a r c h t o r i s e f r o m l e s s t h a n

0 . 1 % o f g lo b a l m a n u f a c t u r i n g o u t p u t t o d a y t o 1 5 %

i n 2 0 1 4 . T h e s e f ig u r e s r e fe r h o w e v e r t o p r o d u c t s

i n c o r p o r a t in g n a n o t e c h n o l o gy o r m a n u f a c t u r e d

us ing nanotech nology . In man y cases nanotech nology

m i g h t o n l y b e a m i n o r b u t s o m e t i m e s d e c i s iv e --

c o n t r i b u t io n t o t h e fi n a l p r o d u c t .

T h e f ir s t w i n n e r s i n t h e n a n o t e c h n o l o g y in d u s t r y a r e

l ike ly to be the m anu facture rs of ins t rum ent s a l low ing

work on a nano sca le . According to marke t re sea rchers ,

t h e n a n o t e c h n o l o g y t o o ls i n d u s t r y ( $ 2 4 5 m i l li o n i nt h e U S a l o n e ) w i l l g r o w b y 3 0 % a n n u a l l y o v e r t h e

n e x t fe w y e a r s.

T h e f o l l o w i n g p r o j e c t e d t h r e e - p h a s e g r o w t h p a t h

s e e m s c r e d i b l e :

In the present ph ase , nanotech nology i s incorpora ted

s e l e c t iv e l y i n t o h i g h -e n d p r o d u c t s , e s p e c i a l ly i n

a u t o m o t i v e a n d a e r o s p a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s .

T h r o u g h 2 0 0 9 , c o m m e r c i a l b r e a k t h r o u g h s u n l o c k

marke t s for nan otechn ology innova t ions . E lec t ronics

a n d I T a p p l i c a t i o n s d o m i n a t e a s m i c r o p r o c e s s o r s

a n d m e m o r y c h i p s b u i lt u s i n g n e w n a n o s c a le

p r o c e s se s c o m e o n t o t h e m a r k e t .

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F ro m 2 0 1 0 o n w a r d s , n a n o t e c h n o lo g y

b e c o m e s c o m m o n p l a c e in m a n u f a c t u r e d g o o d s .

H e a l t h c a r e a n d l i fe s c i e n c e s a p p l ic a t i o n s f i n a l ly

become s igni f i cant a s nano-enabled pharmaceut i ca l s

a n d m e d i c a l d e v i c e s e m e r g e f r o m l e n g t h y h u m a n

t r i a l s .

1.2. Investments in nanotechnology

The financ ia l s ec tor wi l l have a key ro le in t rans fe r r ing

t e c h n o l o g y k n o w l e d g e f ro m t h e r e s e a r c h c e n t r e s t o

t h e i n d u s t r y a n d t h e m a r k e t s . F o r t h e d e v e lo p m e n t

o f n e w p r o d u c t s a n d p r o c e s s e s a n d a l s o f o r t h e

p e n e t r a t i o n o f n e w m a r k e t s , si z e a b le i n v e s t m e n t s a r e

n e e d e d , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e s e e d p h a s e . A c l o s e r c o -

o p e r a t io n b e t w e e n t h e f in a n c i a l c o m m u n i t y a n d

nanotechnology companies can he lp to overcome these

b a r r i e r s .

By t h e e n d o f 2 0 0 4 v e n t u r e c a p it a li st s h a d a l r e a d y

i n v e s t e d $ 1 b i ll io n i n n a n o c o m p a n i e s , n e a r l y h a l f o f

t h a t a lo n e i n 2 0 0 3 a n d 2 0 0 4 . I t i s e x p ec t e d t h a t m o s t

o f t h e s e n a n o t e c h n o l o g y c o m p a n i e s w i l l b e s o l d

t h r o u g h t r a d e s a l e s.

F o r s u c c e s s fu l i n v e s t m e n t s t w o a s p e c t s w i l l b e o f

c r i t i c a l i m p o r t a n c e : t i m i n g a n d t a r g e t s e l e c t i o n .

Applying the pr oces s of t ech nica l due d i ligence w i ll

b e e s s e n t i a l i n m a k i n g a c q u i si t io n s .

T h e d i f f i c u l t y a n d e x p e n s e i n v o l v e d i n b u i l d i n g u p

n a n o t e c h n o l o g y c o m p a n i e s s u g ge s t s t h a t f u t u r e

w i n n e r s i n t h e s e c t o r w i ll b e w e l l-fu n d e d c o m p a n i e s

and ins t i tu t es tha t can a t t rac t and nu r ture th e s c ien t i fi c

a n d t e c h n i c al e x p e r t is e n e e d e d t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e

p r o b l e m s a n d c h a l l e n g e s . M o r e o v e r , t h e l o n g l e a d

t i m e s i n v o lv e d i n m o v in g f r o m c o n c e p t t o

c o m m e r c i a li sa t i o n n e c e s s i t a t e c o n s id e r a b l e l o n g -t e r m

c o m m i t m e n t t o p r o j e c t s.

1.3. The environmental, health andsafety discussion related tonanoparticles

A lo n g w i t h t h e d i sc u s s io n o f t h e i r e n o r m o u s

t e c h n o l o gi c al a n d e c o n o m i c p o t e n t i a l , a d e b a t e a b o u t

new and spec i f i c r i sks re l a t ed to nanotechnologies has

s t a r t e d .

The ca tch-a l l t e rm nanotechnology i s so broad as to

be ine f fec t ive as a gu ide to t ackl ing i s sue s of r isk

m a n a g e m e n t , r i s k g o v e r n a n c e a n d i n s u r a n c e .A more d i ffe rent i a t ed approach i s nee ded regard ing a l l

t h e r e l e v a n t r i sk m a n a g e m e n t a s p e c t s.

Wi th respec t to h ea l th , envi ronm enta l and sa fe ty r i sks ,

a l m o s t a ll c o n c e r n s t h a t h a v e b e e n r a i se d a r e r e l a t e d

to f ree , ra the r than f ixed manufac tured nanopar t i c l es .

The r i sk and sa fe ty d i scuss ion re l a t ed to f ree

nan opart ic les wil l be relevan t only for a certa in po rt ion

o f t h e w i d e s p r e a d a p p l i c a t io n s o f n a n o t e c h n o l o g ie s .

Epidemiologica l s tudies on ambient f ine and u l t ra f inepar t i c l es inc identa l ly produ ced in ind us t r i a l proces ses

a n d f r o m t r a f fi c sh o w a c o r r e l a t io n b e t w e e n a m b i e n t

ai r concentrat ion an d m ortal ity ra tes . The heal th effects

of u l t ra fine pa r t i c l es on resp i ra tory and ca rd iovascula r

e n d p o i n t s h i gh l i gh t t h e n e e d f o r r e s e a r c h a l so o n

m a n u f a c t u r e d n a n o p a r t i cl e s t h a t a r e i n t e n t i o n a l ly

p r o d u c e d .

I n i n i t i al s t u d i e s , m a n u f a c t u r e d n a n o p a r t i c le s h a v e

s h o w n t o x i c p r o p e r t i e s . T h e y c a n e n t e r t h e h u m a n

body in va r ious w ays , reach v i t a l organs v ia the b lood

s t ream, an d poss ib ly damage t i ssue . Du e to the i r smal l

s i ze , t he proper t i e s of nanopar t i c l es not only d i f fe r

fr o m b u l k m a t e r i a l o f t h e s a m e c o m p o s i t io n b u t a l s o

s h o w d i ffe r e n t i n t e r a c t i o n p a t t e r n s w i t h t h e h u m a n

body.

A r i sk as ses sment for bulk mate r i a l s i s the re fore not

suf f i c i en t to charac te r i s e the s ame mate r i a l i n

n a n o p a r t ic u l a t e f o r m .

The impl i ca t ions of the spec ia l proper t i e s of

n a n o p a r t ic l e s w i t h r e s p e c t t o h e a l t h a n d s a fe t y h a v e

n o t y e t b e e n t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t b y r e g u l a t o r s . Si z e

e f fec t s a re not addres sed in the f ramework of the new

Europe an ch em icals pol icy REACH. Nan opart ic les ra ise

a n u m b e r o f s afe t y a n d r e g u l a t o r y is su e s t h a t

governme nts a re now s t a r t ing to t ackle . F rom Al li anzs

perspec t ive , a rev iew of cur rent l eg i s l a t ion and

cont inuous moni tor ing by the au thor i t i e s i s needed.

A t p r e se n t , t h e e x p o s u r e o f t h e g e n e r a l p o p u l a t io n t o

nanopar t i c l es or ig ina t ing f rom dedica ted indus t r i a l

proces ses i s margina l in re l a t ion to tho se produced and

re leased un in tent iona l ly e .g . v i a com bus t ion proces ses .The exposure to manufac tured nanopar t i c l es i s ma in ly

c o n c e n t r a t e d o n w o r k e r s i n n a n o t e c h n o l o g y r e s e a r c h

a n d n a n o t e c h n o l o g y c o m p a n i e s . O v e r t h e n e x t f e w

y e a r s, m o r e a n d m o r e c o n s u m e r s w i ll b e e x p o s e d t o

m a n u f a c t u r e d n a n o p a r t i c le s . L ab e l li n g r e q u i r e m e n t s

for nanopar t i c l es do not ex i s t . I t i s i nevi t ab le tha t in

fu t u r e m a n u fa c t u r e d n a n o p a r t i cl e s w i ll b e r e l e a s e d

gradual ly and accidental ly into the environm ent . Studies

o n b i o p e r si st e n c e , b i o a c cu m u l a t io n a n d e c o t o x i c it y

h a v e o n l y ju s t s t a r t e d .

F rom Al l ianz s pe rspec t ive m ore fun ding for

i n d e p e n d e n t r e s e a r c h o n r i sk i s su e s i s n e c e s s ar y a n d

w e p r o p o s e a d e d i c a t e d r e s e a r ch c e n t e r a t E u r o p e a n

level .

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1.4. Allianzs position on industrial

insurance cover

F r o m a n i n s u r a n c e p e r s p e c t i v e , s e v e r a l b a s i c p o i n t s

d e f i n e p o s s i b le r i s k s c e n a r i o s f r o m n a n o p a r t i c le s :

a n i n c r e a s i n g l y h i g h n u m b e r o f p e r s o n s w i l l b ee x p o s e d ,

p o t e n t i a l h a r m f u l e f f e c t s a r e e x p e c t e d t o e v o l v e

o v e r l o n g e r p e r i o d s o f m a n y y e a r s ,

in indiv idua l cases i t w i l l be d i f f i cu l t t o e s t ab l i sh a

c a u s a l r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n a c t i o n s o f a c o m p a n y

a n d t h e r e s u l ti n g i n ju r y o r d a m a g e ,

o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p o su r e i s a m a in c o n c e r n ,

a ce r t a in c loseness to m ajor li ab i li ty los ses from th e

p a s t w i l l b e e v i d e n t .

I n t h e a b s e n c e o f m o r e b a s i c e v i d e n c e , a l l p a r t i e s

i n v o l v e d s h o u l d t a k e i n t e r i m s t e p s t o m a n a g e r i s k .

T h e m e c h a n i s m s t h a t c o u l d l e a d t o l i a b i l i t y c a s e s

i n v o l v e n o t o n l y t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f o u r s c i e n t i f ic

unders t anding of the e f fec t s of nanopar t i c l es , bu t a l so

i n c l u d e l e g a l a n d s o c i o - e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t s t h a t

a re d i ff icu l t t o foresee . More an d m ore w e rea l i se tha t

long-t e rm i llnes ses a re caused by a com plex in te rac t ion

of d i f fe rent r i sk fac tors . I t i s l i ke ly tha t nanopar t i c l es

w i ll be not be so m uch a s ingle cause or cen t ra l or igino f a n i l l n e s s b u t m o r e o f a c o n t r i b u t i o n t o a g e n e r a l

h e a l t h c o n d i t io n . I n t h e t r a d i t io n a l r e g i m e o f l ia b i li t y

a n d c o m p e n s a t io n , a c a u s a l re l a t io n s h i p b a s e d o n a

o n e - t o - o n e a s s i g n m e n t o f d a m a g i n g a g e n t a n d i n j u r y

n e e d s t o b e e s t a b li sh e d . I n t h e E u r o p e a n l e g a l

f r a m e w o r k , t h a t c a u s a l r e l a t i o n s h i p h a s t o b e p r o v e n

a t l e a s t fr o m t o d a y s p e r s p e c t i v e .

F o r A ll ia n z i t s e e m s n e i t h e r f e a s i b le n o r a p p r o p r i a t e

t o s t a r t a d e b a t e a b o u t a generale x c l u s i o n o f

n a n o t e c h n o l o gi e s f ro m t h e c o m m e r c i a l a n d i n d u s t r ia li n s u r a n c e c o v e r t o d a y .

F r o m t h e a v a il ab l e e v id e n c e , w e b e l i e ve t h a t t h e

q u e s t i o n i s n o t w h e t h e r o r n o t n a n o t e c h n o l o gy r is k s

c a n b e c o n t r o l le d a n d i n s u r e d b u t r a t h e r h o w t h e y

can bes t be man aged and insured in a respons ib le way.

For a succes s fu l r i sk management of nanotechnologies

fr o m o u r p e r s p e c t iv e , t h e f o ll o w i n g f ra m e w o r k i s

n e e d e d :

s u ffi c ie n t fu n d i n g o f i n d e p e n d e n t r e s e a r c h o nnanotechnology re l a t ed r i sks wi th ac t ive s t ee r ing by

g o v e r n m e n t s ,

t r a n s p a r e n c y a b o u t a n d o p e n a c c e s s t o t h e r e s u l t s o f

re sea rch ac t iv i t ie s ,

o n g o i n g d ia l o gu e b e t w e e n i n s u r e r s a n d c o m m e r c i a l

and indus t r i a l c l i en t s ,

i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s a n d n o m e n c l a t u r e ,

adequa te regula t ion of r i sk i s sues ,

a g loba l r i sk governance approach .

All ianzs ro le i s to m ee t c l ien t s deman ds w hi l e , a t t h e

same t ime , prudent ly pro tec t ing i t s ba lance shee t . We

have s t a r t ed moni tor ing sc ien t i f i c , l ega l , soc ia l and

econom ic t rends in th i s fi e ld . We wi l l cons tant ly adapt

o u r p o l i c y t o w a r d s n a n o t e c h n o l o gi e s a s n e w e v i d e n c e

appears an d , po ss ib ly, a s c l a ims in th i s fi e ld a re m ade .

Given the fac t tha t nanote chn ologies have an enabl ing

charac te r and wi l l pene t ra t e a lmos t every indu s t ry over

the com ing years , we expec t tha t n anotechn ology r iskswi l l be pa r t of the indus t r i a l i nsurance por t fo l io .

However , we wi l l c lose ly wa tch changes in the f i e ld .

W h e r e d o u b t s a r i s e , w e w o u l d , w h e r e a p p r o p r i a t e ,

t a lk wi th c l i en t s . We would a l so ac t ive ly s t ee r our

por t fo l io . Th i s might ran ge f rom as ses s ing th e r i sk

appe t i t e for ce r t a in c l as ses of bus ines s to pos ing

quest ions abou t t r igger of coverage and m aking detai led

indiv idua l r i sk as ses sment s .

Al l i anz want s to cont r ibute to a d ia logue-or i en ted

approach us ing sus ta inabi l i ty a s both a v i s ion and ayards t i ck of succes s .

5


6/46

2. What is nanotechnology andwhat makes it different?

2.1. Introduction

A nanom ete r (nm ) is one th ousand m i ll ionth of a me te r.

A si n g le h u m a n h a i r is a b o u t 8 0 , 0 0 0 n m w i d e , a r e d

b l o o d c e ll is a p p r o x im a t e l y 7 , 0 0 0 n m w i d e , a D N A

m o l e c u le 2 t o 2 . 5 n m , a n d a w a t e r m o le c u l e a lm o s t

0 . 3 n m . T h e t e rm nanotechnology w a s c r e a t e d b y

Norio Taniguch i of Tokyo Un iversi ty in 1 97 4 t o describe

the prec i s ion m anufac ture of ma te r i a l s wi th n anom ete r

t o l e r a n c e s1 , bu t i t s or ig ins da te back to R ichard

F e yn m a n s 1 9 5 9 t a l k T h e r e s P l e n t y o f Ro o m a t t h e

Bot tom 2 i n wh ich he proposed the d i rec t manipula t ion

of individual a toms as a m ore pow erful form of synthe t ic

chemis t ry . Er i c Drexle r of MIT expanded Taniguchi s

de f in i t ion and popu la r is ed nano techn ology in h i s 1986

b o o k E n g i n e s o f C r e a t io n : T h e C o m i n g E r a o f

N a n o t e c h n o l o g y 3 . O n a n a n o s c a l e , i. e . fr o m a r o u n d

1 0 0 n m d o w n t o t h e s i z e o f a t o m s ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y 0 . 2

nm) the proper t i e s of ma te r i a l s can be ve ry d i f fe rent

f rom those on a l a rge r s ca le . Nanosc ience i s the s tudy

of phenom ena an d m anipula t ion of ma te r i a ls a t a tomic ,

m o l e c u l a r a n d m a c r o m o l e c u l a r s c al e s, i n o r d e r t o

un ders tand and exploi t propert ies that di ffer s ignificant ly

from those on a l a rge r s ca le . Nan otechn ologies a re the

d e s i gn , c h a r a c t e r i sa t i o n , p r o d u c t i o n a n d a p p l ic a t io n

of s t ruc tures , devices and sys tems by con t ro l ling shape

a n d s i z e o n a n a n o m e t e r s c a le .

M o d e r n i n d u s t r i a l n a n o t e c h n o l o gy h a d i t s o r ig in s i n

t h e 1 9 3 0 s , in p r o c e s se s u s e d t o c r e a t e s i lv e r c o a t i n g s

for photo graphic fi lm; and chem ist s have been m akingp o l ym e r s , w h i c h a r e l a r ge m o l e c u l e s m a d e u p o f

n a n o s c a l e s u b u n i t s , fo r m a n y d e c a d e s . H o w e v e r, t h e

e a r l ie s t k n o w n u s e o f n a n o p a r t i c l e s is i n t h e n i n t h

centu ry dur ing th e Abbas id dyn as ty. Arab pot t e rs used

nanopar t i c l es in the i r g l azes so tha t objec t s would

c h a n g e c o l o u r d e p e n d i n g o n t h e v i e w i n g a n g le ( t h e

so-cal led polychrome lus t re)4 . Todays nan otech no logy,

i .e . the planned man ipulat ion of materia ls and prope rt ies

o n a n a n o s c a le , e x p l o i t s t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h r e e

t e c h n o l o gi c al s t r e a m s5 :

1 . n e w a n d i m p r o v e d c o n t r o l o f t h e s i z e a n dm a n i p u l a t io n o f n a n o s c a le b u i l d in g b l o c k s

2 . n e w a n d i m p r o v e d c h a r a c t e r i s at i o n o f m a t e r i a ls o n

a nanosca le (e .g . , spa t i a l re so lu t ion , chemica l

sensi t ivi ty)

3 . new and improved und ers t anding of the re l a tionships

be tween n anos t ruc ture and proper t ie s and how these

c a n b e e n g i n e e r e d .

6

1 Nano-technology' mainly consists of the processing of separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one

atom or one molecule.

N. Taniguchi, "On the Basic Concept of 'Nano-Technology'," Proc. Intl. Conf. Prod. Eng. Tokyo, Part I I ,

Japan Society of Precision Engineering, 1974.

2A tr an sc ri pt of th e cl as si c ta lk th at Ri ch ar d Fe yn ma n ga ve on De ce mb er 29 th 19 59 at th e an nu al me et in g of th e Am er ic an

Physical Society at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was first published in the February 1960 issue of

Caltech's Engineering and Science which owns the copyright. I t has been made available on the web at

http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html wi th th ei r ki nd pe rm is si on .3 Engines of Creation was originally published in hardcover by Anchor Books in 1986, and in paperback in 1987. The web

ve rs io n pu bl is he d he re http://www.foresight.org/EOC/ was reprinted and adapted by Russell Whitaker with permission of the

copyright holder.

4 The oldest known nanotechnology dates back to the ninth century New Materials International, March 2004

http://www.newmaterials.com/news/680.asp

5 US National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Technology, Interagency Working Group on

NanoScience, Engineering and Technology: Nanostructure Science and Technology, A Worldwide Study.

September 1999. http://www.wtec.org/loyola/nano/


7/46

The proper t i e s of ma te r i a l s can be d i f fe rent on a

n a n o s c a l e f o r t w o m a i n r e a s o n s . F ir s t , n a n o m a t e r i a ls

have , re l a t ive ly , a l a rge r sur face a rea than the same

mass of ma te r i a l produced in a l a rge r form. Thi s can

make materia ls more chemical ly react ive ( in some cases

mate r i a l s tha t a re ine r t i n th e i r la rge r form a re reac t ive

w h e n p r o d u c e d i n t h e i r n a n o s c a le f o r m ) , a n d a ffe c tthe i r s t rength or e l ec t r i ca l proper t i e s . Second, be low

50 nm , the laws of c lassical physics give w ay to quan tum

effec t s , p rovoking opt i ca l , e l ec t r i ca l and magne t i c

b e h a v i o u r s d i ffe r e n t fr o m t h o s e o f t h e s a m e m a t e r i a l

a t a l a rge r s ca le . These e f fec t s can g ive mate r i a ls ve ry

useful physical propert ies such as except ional e lectr ical

cond uc t ion or re s is t ance , or a h igh capac i ty for stor ing

o r t r a n s f e r r in g h e a t , a n d c a n e v e n m o d i fy b i o lo g ic a l

p r o p e r t i e s, w i t h s i lv e r f o r e x a m p l e b e c o m i n g a

bac te r i c ide on a nan osca le . These proper t i e s , how ever,

can be ve ry d i f f i cu l t t o cont ro l . For example , i f

n a n o p a r t ic l e s t o u c h e a c h o t h e r , t h e y c a n f u s e , l o si n g

b o t h t h e i r sh a p e a n d t h o s e s p e c ia l p r o p e r ti e s s u c h a s

t h e m a g n e t i sm t h a t s c i e n t i st s h o p e t o e x p l o it f o r a

new genera t ion of mic roe lec t ronic devices and sensors .

On a n anoscale , ch em istry, biology, e lectron ics, ph ysics ,

m a t e r i a l s sc i e n c e , a n d e n g i n e e r i n g s t a r t t o c o n v e r g e

a n d t h e d i st i n c t io n s a s t o w h i c h p r o p e r t y a p a r t i c u l a r

discipline measures no longer apply. All these disciplines

c o n t r i b u t e t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d e x p l o i t in g t h e

poss ibil it ies offered by nan otech no logy, bu t i f th e bas ic

sc ience i s converging , the potent i a l appl i ca t ions a reinfin i t e ly va r i ed , en comp assing every th ing f rom tenn i s

r a c k e t s t o m e d i c in e s t o e n t i r e l y n e w e n e r g y s y st e m s .

T h i s t w i n d y n a m i c o f c o n v e r g e n t s c i e n c e a n d

mul t ip ly ing appl i ca t ions means tha t nanotechnologys

b i gg e s t im p a c t s m a y a r i se f r o m u n e x p e c t e d

combina t ions of previous ly separa te a spec t s , j us t a s

t h e i n t e r n e t c a m e a b o u t t h r o u g h t h e c o n v e r ge n c e o f

t e l e p h o n y a n d c o m p u t i n g .

7


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2.2. Nanomaterials: basic building

blocks

This sect ion out l ines the propert ies of three of the most

t a l k e d -a b o u t n a n o t e c h n o l o g ie s : c a r b o n n a n o t u b e s ,

n a n o p a r t i c l e s , a n d q u a n t u m d o t s

6

.

Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nan otube s , long th in cy linders of a tomic layers

o f gr a p h i t e , m a y b e t h e m o s t s i g n if ic a n t n e w m a t e r i a l

s ince p las t i c s and a re the m os t s igni fi cant of tod ays

n a n o m a t e r i a ls . T h e y c o m e i n a r a n g e o f d iffe r e n t

8

s t ruc ture s , a llowing a w ide va r i e ty of proper t i e s . They

are general ly c lass i f ied as s ingle-wal led (SWNT),

cons i s t ing of a s ingle cy l indr i ca l wa l l , o r m ul t iwa l l ed

n a n o t u b e s (M W N T ) , w h i c h h a v e c y li n d e r s w i t h i n t h e

c y li n d e r s . W h e n t h e p r e s s m e n t i o n s t h e a m a z i n g

proper t i e s of nanotu bes , i t is genera l ly SWNT th ey a re

re fe r r ing to . Th e fo llowing t ab le sum mar i ses the m ainprope r t i e s of SWN T:

H e a t

Transmission

Pr ed ic t ed to b e a s h ig h a s

6 , 0 0 0 w a t t s p e r m e t e r p e r

k e l vi n a t r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e

N e a r l y p u r e d i am o n d t r a n s m i t s

3 ,3 2 0 W / m .K

C u r r e n t

C a r r y in g

C ap ac i ty

E s t im a ted a t 1 b i l l i o n am p s

p e r s q u a r e c e n t im e t e r

C o p p e r w i r e s b u r n o u t a t a b o u t

1 m i ll io n A / c m 2

Size 0 . 6 t o 1 . 8 n a n o m e t e r

i n d i am e t e r

E lec t r o n b eam l i t h o g r ap h y can

c r e a t e li n e s 5 0 n m w i d e ,

a fe w n m t h i c k

Tensile

S t r en g th

4 5 b illio n p a sca ls H igh -s t r e n gt h s t e e l a llo ys

b r eak a t ab o u t 2 b i l li o n Pa

T e m p e r a t u r e

Stab i l i ty

S t ab l e u p t o 2 , 8 0 0 d e g r e e s

C e l s iu s i n v a c u u m , 7 5 0

d eg r ee s C in a i r

M e t a l w i r e s in m i c r o c h i p s m e l t

a t 6 0 0 t o 1 , 0 0 0 d e g re e s C

Field

Emission

C a n a c t iv a t e p h o s p h o r s a t

1 t o 3 v o l t s if e l e c t r o d es a r e

s p a c e d 1 m i c ro n a p a r t

Mo ly b d en u m t ip s r eq u i r e f i e ld s

o f 5 0 t o 1 0 0 V / m a n d h a v e

v e r y l im i t ed l ife t im e s

Resi l ience C a n b e b e n t a t l a rg e a n g le s

a n d r e s t r a ig h t e n e d

w i t h o u t d a m a ge

Meta l s an d ca r b o n f ib e r s

f r ac tu r e a t g r a in b o u n d a r i e s

D e n s i t y 1 . 3 3 t o 1 . 4 0 g r a m s p e r

c u b i c c e n t im e t e r

A lu m i n iu m h a s a d e n s it y o f

2 . 7 g/ c m 3

Scientific American December 2000 7

6 Nanotechnology white papers published by Cientif ica at

http://www.cientif ica.com/html/Whitepapers/whitepapers.htm were particularly useful for this section. Registration

(free) is required to consult the documents.

7 Philip G. Collins and Phaedon Avouris "Nanotubes for electronics" Scientif ic American, December 2000, page 69


9/46

H o w e v e r, S W N T a r e m o r e d i ff ic u l t t o m a k e t h a n

M W N T, a n d c o n f u s io n a r i s e s a b o u t t h e q u a n t i t ie s o f

n a n o t u b e s a c t u a l ly b e i n g m a n u fa c t u r e d . C a r b o n

Nano techn ologies of Houston, on e of the w orlds leading

producers , on ly makes up to 5 00g pe r day. On e problem

is tha t eco nom ies of sca le a re pr ac t i ca l ly imposs ib le

w i t h t o d a y s p r o d u c t i o n t e c h n o l o gi e s t h e m a c h i n e su s e d t o m a n u f a c t u r e t h e t u b e s c a n n o t b e s c al e d u p , s o

produ cing bigger quant i t ies mean s us ing mo re mach ines .

Another drawback i s tha t i t i s d i f f i cu l t t o make

n a n o t u b e s in t e r a c t w i t h o t h e r m a t e r ia ls . Fo r e x a m p l e ,

to fu l ly explo i t t he i r s t rength in compos i t e ma te r i a l s ,

n a n o t u b e s n e e d t o b e a t t a c h e d t o a p o ly m e r. T h e y

are ch em ica lly mod i fi ed to fac i li t a t e th i s (a proce s s

know n as func t iona l iza t ion) , bu t th i s proces s reduces

t h e v e r y p r o p e r t i e s t h e n a n o t u b e s a r e b e i n g u s e d f o r.

I n t h e l o n g -t e r m , t h e i d e a l so l u t i o n w o u l d b e t o u s e

p u r e n a n o m a t e r ia l s, e . g . n a n o t u b e s s p u n i n t o fi b e r s o f

any des i red l ength , but such a deve lopme nt i s unl ike ly

i n t h e n e x t c o u p l e o f d e c a d e s u n l e ss a r a d i c a ll y m o r e

e f f i c i en t produc t ion proces s i s deve loped.

T h e m o s t p r o m i s in g a p p l i ca t i o n s o f n a n o t u b e s m a y b e

i n e l e c t r o n i c s a n d o p t o e l e c t r o n i c s8 . Today, th e

e lec t ronics indus t ry i s produc ing the v i t a l component s

known as MOSFETs (meta l oxide semiconduc tor f i e ld-

effect t ran s istors) wi th c ri t ical dime nsions of jus t u nd er

1 0 0 n m , w i t h h a l f t h a t s iz e p r o je c t e d b y 2 0 0 9 a n d 2 2

nm by 2016 . However, t he indus t ry wi l l t hen en counte r

t e c h n o l o gi c al b a r r i e r s a n d f u n d a m e n t a l p h y s ic a l

l im i t a t i o n s t o s iz e r e d u c t i o n . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e r e

a re s t rong f inanc ia l incent ives to cont inue the proces s

o f sc a li n g , w h i c h h a s b e e n c e n t r a l i n t h e e f fo r t t o

i n c r e a se t h e p e r fo r m a n c e o f c o m p u t i n g s y st e m s i n t h e

past . A new microchip man ufacturing plant cos ts around

$1 .5 b i l lion , so ex te nd ing the t echn ologys l ife beyond

2 0 1 0 i s i m p o r t a n t . O n e a p p r o a c h t o o v e r c o m i n g t h e

impen ding barriers whi le preserving m ost of the e xis t ing

technology, i s to use new mate r i a l s .

W i t h c a r b o n n a n o t u b e s , i t is p o s si b le t o g e t h i g h e r

p e r fo r m a n c e w i t h o u t h a v in g t o u s e u l t r a t h i n s il ic o n

dioxide ga te insu la t ing f i lms . In addi t ion ,

semicondu c t ing SWNTs , un l ike s i li con , d i rec t ly absorb

and emi t l i gh t , t hus poss ib ly enabl ing a fu ture

optoe lec t ronics t echnology. The SWNT devices would

s t il l p o s e m a n u f a c t u r in g p r o b l e m s d u e t o q u a n t u m

effec t s a t t he nanosca le , so the mos t l ike ly advantage

in the foreseeable fu tu re i s tha t ca rbon nan otub es wi l l

a l low a s imple r fabr i ca t ion of devices wi th super ior

p e r fo r m a n c e a t a b o u t t h e s a m e l e n g t h a s t h e i r s c a le d

s i l i con counte rpa r t s .

O t h e r p r o p o s e d u s e s f o r n a n o t u b e s :

Chemical and Genetic ProbesA nanotu be-t ipped atomic

force microscope can t race a s t rand of DNA and ident i fy

chem ica l markers th a t revea l wh ich of s evera l poss ib le

var i an t s of a gene i s present in the s t rand . Thi s i s the

o n l y m e t h o d y e t in v e n t e d f o r im a g i n g t h e c h e m i st r y

of a sur face , but i t i s no t ye t used w ide ly. So fa r i t has

been used only on re l a t ive ly shor t p i eces of DNA.

Mechanical memory(non vola t i le RAM). A sc reen of

n a n o t u b e s l ai d o n s u p p o r t b l o c k s h a s b e e n t e s t e d a s a

b i n a r y m e m o r y d e v i c e , w i t h v o l t ag e s fo r c i n g s o m e

tubes to contac t ( the on s t a t e ) and o th e rs to s eparate

(of f ) . The swi tch ing speed of the device was not

measured , bu t the speed l imi t for a m echanica l mem ory

i s p r o b a b l y a r o u n d o n e m e g a h e r t z , w h i c h is m u c h

s lo w e r t h a n c o n v e n t i o n a l m e m o r y c h ip s .

Field Emission Based Devices. Carbon Nanotubes have

b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d t o b e e f fi c ie n t f i e ld e m i t t e r s a n d

are current ly being incorporated in several appl icat ions

inc ludin g f la t -pane l d i sp lay for t e l ev i s ion se t s or

c o m p u t e r s o r a n y d e v i c e s r e q u i r in g a n e l e c t r o n

produc ing ca thode such as X-ray sources (e .g . for

me dica l appl ica t ions ) .

Nanotweezers. Two nanotubes , a t t ached to e l ec t rodes

o n a g l a ss r o d , c a n b e o p e n e d a n d c lo s e d b y c h a n g i n g

v o lt a g e . Su c h t w e e z e r s h a v e b e e n u s e d t o p i c k u p a n d

m o v e o b j e c t s t h a t a r e 5 0 0 n m i n s i z e . Al t h o u g h t h e

t w e e z e r s c a n p i c k u p o b j e c t s t h a t a r e l a r ge c o m p a r e d

w i t h t h e i r w i d t h , n a n o t u b e s a r e s o s t ic k y t h a t m o s t

objec t s can t be re l eased . And the re a re s imple r ways

t o m o v e s u c h t i n y o b j e c t s.

Supersensitive Sensors. S e m i c o n d u c t i n g n a n o t u b e s

c h a n g e t h e i r e l e c t r i c a l r e si st a n c e d r a m a t i c a l ly w h e n

e x p o s e d t o a l k a li s, h a l o g e n s a n d o t h e r g a se s a t r o o m

temp era ture , ra i s ing h opes for be t t e r chem ica l s ensors .

The sens i t iv i ty of these devices i s 1 ,000 t imes tha t of

s t andard so l id s t a t e devices .

9

8 Phaedon Avouris and Joerg Appenzeller: Electronics and optoelectronics with carbon nanotubes:

New discoveries brighten the outlook for innovative technologies The Industrial Physicist, June/July 2004, American Institute of Physics


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Hydrogen and Ion Storage. N a n o t u b e s m i g h t st o r e

hydrogen in their hol low cente rs and release it gradual ly

in e f fi c ien t and inexp ens ive fue l ce l l s. They can a l so

hold l i th ium ions , which could l ead to longer - l ived

b a t t e r i e s. S o fa r t h e b e s t r e p o r t s i n d i c a te 6 . 5 p e r c e n t

h y d r o g e n u p t a k e , w h i c h i s n o t q u i t e d e n s e e n o u g h t o

m a k e fu e l c e l ls e c o n o m i c al . T h e w o r k w i t h l it h i u mions is s t i l l prel iminary.

Sharper Scanning Microscope. A t t ac h e d t o t h e t i p o f

a s c a n n i n g p r o b e m i c r o sc o p e , n a n o t u b e s c a n b o o s t t h e

ins t rument s l a t e ra l re so lu t ion by a fac tor of 10 or

m o r e , a l lo w i n g c le a r e r v i e w s o f p r o t e in s a n d o t h e r

large molecu les . Al thou gh com m ercial ly available , each

t ip i s s t i ll mad e indiv idua l ly. The nan otu be t ips don t

improve ve r t i ca l re so lu t ion , but th ey do a l low im aging

deep pi ts in nanostructures that were previously hidden.

Superstrong Materials. E m b e d d e d i n t o a c o m p o s i t e ,

nanotubes have enormous res i l ience and tens i le s t rength

and cou ld be used to make m ate r i a ls wi th be t t e r s a fe ty

fe a t u r e s , s u c h a s c a r s w i t h p a n e l s t h a t a b s o r b

s igni f icant ly more of the force of a co l li s ion than

t r a d i t io n a l m a t e r i a l s, o r g i r d e r s t h a t b e n d r a t h e r t h a n

r u p t u r e i n a n e a r t h q u a k e . N a n o t u b e s s t il l c o s t 1 0 t o

1 ,00 0 t imes more th an the ca rbon f ibe rs cur rent ly used

i n c o m p o s it e s . An d n a n o t u b e s a r e s o s m o o t h t h a t t h e y

s l ip ou t of the m at r ix , a l lowing i t t o f rac ture eas i ly.

T h e r e a r e s t i ll m a n y t e c h n i c al o b s t a c le s t o o v e r c o m e

b e f o r e ca r b o n n a n o t u b e s c a n b e u s e d o n a n i n d u s t r i a l

s c a le , b u t t h e i r e n o r m o u s p o t e n t i a l i n a w i d e v a r ie t y

o f a p p li c a t io n s h a s m a d e t h e m t h e s t a r o f t h e

nanowor ld 9 and encou raged many companies to comm i t

t h e r e s o u r c e s n e e d e d t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e p r o b l e m s w i ll

be so lved . Fuj i t su , for example , expec t s to use ca rbon

n a n o t u b e s in 4 5 n m c h i p s b y 2 0 1 0 a n d i n 3 2 n m

d e v i c e s i n 2 0 1 3 1 0 .

NanoparticlesN a n o p a r t i c l e s h a v e b e e n u s e d s i n c e a n t i q u i t y b y

c e r a m i s t s i n C h i n a a n d t h e W e s t , w h i le 1 . 5 m i l li o n

tons of ca rbon b lack , the m os t abundant nanopar t i cu la t e

m a t e r i a l , a r e p r o d u c e d e v e r y y e a r. B u t , a s m e n t i o n e d

ear l i e r , nanotechnology i s de f ined as knowingly

e x p l o it i n g t h e n a n o s c a le n a t u r e o f m a t e r i al s, t h e r e b y

e x c l u d i n g t h e s e e x a m p l e s. A lt h o u g h m e t a l o x id e

c e r a m i c , m e t a l , a n d s il ic a t e n a n o p a r t i c le s c o n s t i t u t e

t h e m o s t c o m m o n o f t h e n e w g e n e r a t io n o f

nan opar t i c les , t he re a re o the rs too . A subs tance ca l l ed

c h i t o s an f o r e x a m p l e , u s e d i n h a i r c o n d i t i o n e r s a n d

s k in c r e a m s , h a s b e e n m a d e i n n a n o p a r t i cl e fo r m t o

i m p r o v e a b s o r p t i o n .

M o v i n g t o n a n o s c a le c h a n g e s t h e p h y si c a l p r o p e r t i e s

of pa r t i c les , no t ably by inc re as ing the ra t io of sur face

a rea to volum e, and th e eme rgence of quan tum e f fec t s .

High surface area is a cr i t ical factor in th e perform ance

of ca ta lys is and s t ruc tures such as e l ec t rodes , a l lowing

i m p r o v e m e n t i n p e r fo r m a n c e o f su c h t e c h n o l o gi e s a s

fue l ce l ls and b a t t e r i e s . The l a rge sur face a rea a l so

resul t s in use fu l in t e rac t ions be tween the mate r i a l s in

nanocompos i t e s , l eading to spec ia l proper t i e s such as

i n c re a se d s t r e n g th a n d / o r i n c r ea se d c h e m i ca l/ h e a t

res is t ance . The fac t tha t nanop ar t ic l es have d imen s ions

b e l o w t h e c r i t ic a l w a v e l e n g t h o f l ig h t r e n d e r s t h e m

transparent , an effect exploi ted in packaging, cosmetics

a n d c o a t i n g s.

Quantum dots

Ju s t a s c a r b o n n a n o t u b e s a r e o f t e n d e s c r i b e d a s t h e

n e w p l a st i c s, s o q u a n t u m d o t s a r e d e f in e d a s t h e b a l l

bea r ings of the nano-age 1 1 . Q u a n t u m d o t s a r e li k e

a r t i fi c ia l a t o m s . T h e y a r e 1 n m s t r u c t u r e s m a d e o f

materia ls such as s i l icon, capable of confining a s ingle

e l e c t r o n , o r a fe w t h o u s a n d , w h o s e e n e r g y s t a t e s c a n

be cont ro l l ed by apply ing a g iven vol t age . In theory ,

th i s could be used to fu l f i l t he a l chemis t s dream of

c h a n g i n g t h e c h e m i c a l n a t u r e o f a m a t e r i a l , m a k i n g

l e a d e m u l a t e g o ld , f o r e x a m p l e .

On e m ore l ike ly se t of poss ib le appl i ca t ions explo i t s

t h e f a c t t h a t q u a n t u m d o t s c a n b e m a d e t o e m i t li gh t

a t d i ffe r e n t w a v e le n g t h s , w i t h t h e s m a l le r t h e d o t t h e

b l u e r t h e l i gh t . T h e d o t s e m i t o v e r a n a r r o w s p e c t ru m

making them wel l su i t ed to imaging , pa r t i cu la r ly for

biological samples . Current ly, biological molecules are

imaged us ing na tura l ly f luorescent molecules , such as

o r g a n i c d y e s, w i t h a d i f fe r e n t d y e a t t a c h e d t o e a c h

k i n d o f m o l e c u l e i n a s a m p l e . Bu t t h e d y e s e m i t li gh t

o v e r a b r o a d r a n g e o f w a v e le n g t h s , w h i c h m e a n s t h a t

t h e i r s p e c t r a o v e r l ap a n d o n l y a b o u t t h r e e d i ff e r e n t

1 0

9 Nanotubes 2003 http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/220255/220255.htm

10

Paul Kallender Fujitsu touts carbon nanotubes for chip wiring IDG News Service, March 2005http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/03/01/HNfujinanotubes_1.html

11 Paul OBrien Physics World, December 2003. A summary is available here: http://www.nanotechweb.org/articles/feature/2/12/1/1


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d y e s e m i t l ig h t o v e r a b r o a d r a n g e o f w a v e l e n g t h s ,

w h i ch m e a n s t h a t t h e i r sp e c t r a o v e r la p a n d o n l y a b o u t

three d i ffe rent d yes can be used a t th e s ame t ime . Wi th

quantum dot s , fu l l -co lour imaging i s poss ib le because

la rge num bers of dot s of d i ffe rent s i zes can be ex c i t ed

b y a l ig h t s o u r c e w i t h a s i n g le w a v e l e n g t h .

T h e w i d e r a n g e o f c o l o r s t h a t c a n b e p r o d u c e d b y

q u a n t u m d o t s a ls o m e a n s t h e y h a v e g r e a t p o t e n t i a l i n

s e c u r i t y. T h e y c o u l d , fo r e x a m p l e , b e h i d d e n i n b a n k

notes or c red i t ca rds , produc ing a un ique v i sib le image

w h e n e x p o s e d t o u l t r a v i o le t l ig h t .

I t i s poss ible to m ake l ight-emit t ing d iodes (LEDs) from

q u a n t u m d o t s w h i c h c o u l d p r o d u c e w h i te l ig h t e . g . fo r

bui ld ings or ca rs. By cont ro l ling the am oun t of b lue in

the em iss ion-cont ro l the " fl avor" or " tone" of the wh i t e

l ig h t c a n b e t u n e d .

Q u a n t u m d o t s a r e a l s o p o s s ib l e m a t e r i a l s fo r m a k i n g

ul t ra fast , a l l -opt i ca l swi t ches an d logic ga tes tha t wo rk

fa s t e r t h a n 1 5 t e r a b i t s a s e c o n d . F o r c o m p a r i s o n , t h e

E t h e r n e t g e n e r a l ly c a n h a n d l e o n l y 1 0 m e g a b it s p e r

second . Oth er poss ib le appl i ca t ions a re a l l-opt i ca l

demul t ip lexers ( for s epara t ing va r ious mul t ip l exed

s igna l s in an opt i ca l fibe r ) , a l l-opt i ca l com put ing , and

e n c r y p t i o n , w h e r e b y t h e s p i n o f a n e l e c t r o n i n a

q u a n t u m d o t r e p r e se n t a q u a n t u m b it o r q u b i t o f

i n f o r m a t i o n .

B io logis t s a re expe r imen t ing w i th com pos i t e s of liv ing

c e l ls a n d q u a n t u m d o t s . T h e s e c o u l d p o s si b ly b e u s e d

t o r e p a i r d a m a g e d n e u r a l p a th w a y s o r t o d e l iv e r d r u g s

b y a c t i va t i n g t h e d o t s w i t h l ig h t .

On ce aga in , s igni fi cant advances in man ufac tur ing wi l l

be need ed to rea l i se the pote nt i a l of quantum dot s . For

e x a m p l e, t h e q u a n t u m s t at e n e e d e d t o m a k e a q u a n t u m

com pute r i s re la t ive ly eas i ly to c rea te , bu t i t s behavior

i s s t il l unpr edic tab le .

2.3. Nano tools and fabrication

techniques

Le g e n d h a s it t h a t t h e p e o p l e w h o p r o f it e d m o s t fr o m

t h e K lo n d i k e g o l d r u s h a t t h e e n d o f t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y

w e r e t h e s e ll e r s o f p i c k s an d s h o v e l s. T h e s a m e m a yh o l d t r u e f o r n a n o t e c h n o l o gy, a t l e a st i n t h e c o m i n g

d e c a d e b e f o r e p r o d u c t i o n t e c h n i q u e s a r e i m p r o v e d .

A cc o r d i n g t o m a r k e t r e s e a r c h e r s F r e e d o n i a , t h e $ 2 4 5

m i l li o n n a n o t e c h t o o l s i n d u s t r y w i l l g r o w b y 3 0 %

a n n u a l ly o v e r t h e n e x t fe w y e a r s1 2 . M i c r o sc o p e s a n d

r e l a t e d t o o l s d o m i n a t e n o w , b u t m e a s u r e m e n t ,

fabr i cat ion/ produc t ion and s imu la t ion/ mod e l ling tool s

w i ll g row th e fas t es t . E lec t ron ics and l i fe s c i ences

marke t s wi l l emerge f i r s t ; i ndus t r i a l , cons t ruc t ion ,

e n e r g y g e n e r a t i o n a n d o t h e r a p p l ic a t io n s w i ll a r i se

later.

Microscopy

N a n o t e c h n o l o g y u s e s t w o m a i n k i n d s o f m i c r o sc o p y.

The f i r s t i nvolves a s t a t ionary sample in l ine wi th a

h i g h -s p e e d e l e c t r o n g u n . B o t h t h e s c a n n i n g e l e c t r o n

microscope (SEM) and t ransmiss ion electron m icroscope

( T EM ) a r e b a s e d o n t h i s t e c h n i q u e . T h e s e c o n d c l a s s

of mic roscopy involves a s t a t ionary scanner and a

moving sample . The two mic roscopes in th i s c l as s a re

t h e a t o m i c fo r c e m i c r o sc o p e ( AF M ) a n d t h e s c a n n i n g

tunne l l ing mic roscope (STM).

Microscopy p lays a pa radoxica l ro le in n anotech nology

b e c a u s e , a l th o u g h i t is t h e k e y t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g

m a t e r i a l s an d p r o c e s se s , o n a n a n o s c a le s a m p l e s c a n

be dam aged by the h igh-energy e l ec t rons fi red a t them .

Thi s is not a problem w i th STM, bu t a fur the r drawback

i s tha t m os t mic roscopes requi re ve ry s t r ingent s ample

p r e p a r a t io n . T h e S EM , T E M , a n d S T M n e e d w e l l

prepared samples tha t a re a l so e l ec t r i ca lly conduc t ive .

There a re w ays to ge t a round th i s , bu t the fac t remains

t h a t i t c a n t a k e h o u r s t o p r e p a r e a n d m o u n t a s am p l e

correct ly (and hours to actual ly synthes ise the sample) .

Top-down and bottom-up synthesistechniques

T h e r e a r e t w o a p p r o a c h e s t o b u i l d in g n a n o s t r u c t u r e s ,

b o t h h a v in g t h e i r o r i g in s i n t h e s e m i c o n d u c t o r

i n d u s t r y1 3 . I n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l t o p -d o w n a p p r o a c h a

1 1

12Nanotech Tools to 2008 August 2004 http://freedonia.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0285-21108_ITM

13 Materials Research Society Bulletin, July 2001, special focus on Emerging Methods of Micro- and Nanofabrication


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l a rge r ma te r i a l such as a s il icon w afe r i s proces sed by

r e m o v i n g m a t t e r u n t i l o n l y t h e n a n o s c a le f e a t u r e s

r e m a i n . U n fo r t u n a t e l y, t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s r e q u i r e t h e

u s e o f l it h o g r a p h y, w h i c h r e q u i r e s a m a s k t h a t

se lec t ive ly pro tec t s por t ions of the wafe r f rom l ight .

T h e d i s t a n c e fr o m t h e m a s k t o t h e w a fe r, a n d t h e s iz e

of the s l it de fine th e m inimum fea ture s ize poss ib le fora given frequen cy of l ight , e .g. ex trem e ul t raviolet l ight

y ie lds fea ture s i zes of 90 nm ac ros s , bu t th i s s ca le i s

nea r th e fundam enta l l imi t of li t hography. Non e the less

l i thography can be used for pa t t e rn ing subs t ra t es used

t o p r o d u c e n a n o m a t e r i a ls , e . g. g u i d in g t h e g r o w t h o f

q u a n t u m d o t s a n d n a n o w i r e s.

T h e b o t t o m -u p a p p r o a c h s t a r t s w i t h c o n s t it u e n t

mate r i a l s (of t en gases or l iqu ids ) and uses chemica l ,

e l ec t r i ca l , o r phys ica l forces to bui ld a nanomate r i a l

a tom -by-a tom or molecu le -by-m olecule1 4 . The s imples t

bot tom up synthes i s route i s e l ec t ropla t ing to c rea te a

ma te r i a l l aye r -by-l ayer, a to m-by-a tom . By ind uc ing an

e lec t r ic f ie ld w i th an appl ied vol t age , ch a rged pa r t i c l es

are at t racted to the surface of a substrate wh ere bond ing

w i l l o c c u r. M o s t n a n o s t r u c t u r e d m e t a l s w i t h h i gh

h a r d n e s s v al u e s a r e c r e a t e d w i t h t h i s a p p r o a c h .

Che mical vapour deposi t ion (CVD) uses a mix of volat i le

gases and t akes advantage of the rm odynam ic pr inc ip les

t o h a v e t h e s o u r c e m a t e r i a l m i gr a t e t o t h e s u b s t r a t e

a n d t h e n b o n d t o t h e s u r f ac e . T h i s i s t h e o n e p r o v e n

m e t h o d f o r cr e a t in g n a n o w i r e s a n d c a r b o n n a n o t u b e s ,

a n d i s a m e t h o d o f ch o i c e fo r c r e a t in g q u a n t u m d o t s .

Molecula r s e l f-as sem bly promises to b e a revolu t ionary

n e w w a y o f c r e a t in g m a t e r i al s f ro m t h e b o t t o m u p .

One way to achieve se l f -as sembly i s to use a t t rac t ive

forces l ike s ta t ic e lectr ic i ty, Van der Waals forces , and

a variety of other short -range forces to orient const i tuen t

molecules in a regula r a r ray . Thi s has proven ve ry

ef fec t ive in c rea t ing l a rge gr ids of quantum dot s .

T h e b o t t o m u p a p p r o a c h p r o m i se s a n u n h e a r d - o f l e v e l

of cus tom isabi l ity in m ateria ls synth es is, bu t con trol l ing

t h e p r o c e s s i s n o t e a s y a n d c a n o n l y p r o d u c e s i m p l e

s t ruc tures , i n t ime-consum ing proces ses wi th ex t rem elylow yie lds . It i s no t ye t poss ib le to prod uce in t egra ted

devices from the bot tom up, an d an y overa ll o rde r a s ide

from repe a t ing gr ids cann ot be done w i thout some sor t

of top-down inf luence l ike l i t hographic pa t t e rn ing .

N a n o t e c h n o l o g y s yn t h e s is i s t h u s m a i n ly a c a d e m i c ,

wi th on ly a few co mpan ies in the w or ld tha t can c l a im

t o b e n a n o t e c h n o l o g y m a n u fa c t u r e r s . An d u n t i l

unders t anding of synthes i s i s comple te , i t w i l l be

i m p o s s ib l e t o r e a c h a p o i n t o f m a s s p r o d u c t i o n .

2.4. Present and future areas of

application

What is nanotechnology al ready used

for15?N a n o s c a le m a t e r i a ls , a s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , h a v e b e e n

used for many decades in s evera l appl i ca t ions , a re

a l ready present in a wide range of produc t s , i nc luding

mass -marke t con sumer produ c t s . Amon g the m os t we l l-

k n o w n a r e a g l a ss fo r w i n d o w s w h i c h i s co a t e d w i t h

t i t a n iu m o x i d e n a n o p a r t i c le s t h a t r e a c t t o s u n l ig h t t o

break down di r t . When wa te r h i t s the g las s , i t spreads

evenly over the sur face , ins t ead of forming drople t s ,

and runs of f rap id ly , t ak ing the d i r t w i th i t .

N a n o t e c h n o l o g ie s a r e u s e d b y t h e c a r i n d u s t r y t o

r e i n fo r c e c e r t a i n p r o p e r t i e s o f ca r b u m p e r s a n d t o

i m p r o v e t h e a d h e s i v e p r o p e r t i e s o f p a i n t s. O t h e r u s e s

o f n a n o t e c h n o l o gi e s i n c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s i n c l u d e :

Sunglasses us ing pro tec t ive and ant i re f l ec t iveul t ra th in p olymer coa t ings. N anotech nology a l so of fe rs

s c r a t ch - r e si st a n t c o a t i n g s b a se d o n n a n o c o m p o s i t e s

that are t ransparent , ul t ra- thin, s imple to care for , wel l -

su i t ed for da i ly use and reasonably pr i ced .

Textiles c a n i n c o r p o r a t e n a n o t e c h n o l o g y t o m a k ep r a c t ic a l im p r o v e m e n t s t o s u c h p r o p e r t i e s a s

wind proof ing and w a te rproof ing , prevent ing w r inkl ing

or s t a in ing , and guard ing aga ins t e l ec t ros t a t i c

d i sc h a r g e s . T h e w i n d p r o o f a n d w a t e r p r o o f p r o p e r t ie s

o f o n e s k i ja c k e t , f o r e x a m p l e , a r e o b t a i n e d n o t b y a

s u r fa c e c o a t i n g o f t h e j a ck e t b u t b y t h e u s e o f

nanof ibe rs. G iven th a t low-cost coun t r i e s a re captur ing

an ever - inc reas ing sha re of c lo thes manufac tur ing ,

high-cost regions are l ikely to focus on high-tech clothes

w i t h t h e a d d i t io n a l b e n e f i t s fo r u s e r s t h a t n a n o t e c h

c a n h e l p i m p l e m e n t . F u t u r e p r o j e c t s i n c lu d e c l o t h e s

w i th add i t iona l e l ec t ronic fun c t iona l i t i e s , so-ca ll ed

smar t c lo thes or we arable e l ec t ronics . These could

i n c lu d e s e n s o r s t o m o n i t o r b o d y f u n c t i o n s o r r e l e a se

1 2

14 A laypersons guide to fabrication techniques can be found here, in the section called Synthesis

http://www.ringsurf.com/info/Technology_/Nanotechnology/

15 Current Consumer Products using Nanotechnology http://www.azonano.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1001


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d r u g s i n t h e r e q u i r e d a m o u n t s , s e l f-r e p a i r in g

m e c h a n i s m s o r a cc e s s t o t h e I n t e r n e t .

Sports equipmentman ufacture rs a re a l so tu rn ingt o n a n o t e c h . A h i g h -p e r fo r m a n c e s k i w a x , w h i c h

produ ces a ha rd an d fas t -g l id ing sur face , i s a l ready in

use . The u l t ra - th in coa t ing l a s t s longer thanc o n v e n t i o n a l w a x i n g s y st e m s . T e n n i s r a c k e t s w i t h

c a r b o n n a n o t u b e s h a v e i n c r e a s e d t o r s io n a n d f le x

r e s is t a n c e . T h e r a c k e t s a r e m o r e r i gi d t h a n c u r r e n t

c a r b o n r a c k e t s a n d p a c k m o r e p o w e r. L o n g -l a st i n g

t e n n i s-b a l ls a r e m a d e b y c o a t i n g t h e i n n e r c o r e w i t h

c l ay p o ly m e r n a n o c o m p o s it e s a n d h a v e t w i c e t h e

l ife t im e of con ven t iona l ba l l s.

Sunscreens and cosmeticsbased on nanotecha r e a l r e a d y w i d e l y u s e d . C u s t o m e r s l i k e p r o d u c t s t h a t

a r e t r a n s l u c e n t b e c a u s e t h e y s u g ge s t p u r i t y a n dc leanl ines s , and LOra l d i scovered t ha t w hen lo t ions

a r e g ro u n d d o w n t o 5 0 o r 6 0 n m s , t h e y l e t li gh t

t h r o u g h . F o r s u n s c r e e n s , m i n e r a l n a n o p a r t i c le s s u c h

as t i tanium dioxide offer several advan tages . Tradi t ional

chemical UV protect ion suffers from i ts poor long-term

s tabi l i ty . T i t an ium dioxide nanopar t i c l es have a

comp arable UV protect ion prop erty as the bulk mate ria l,

bu t lose the cosmet i ca l ly undes i rab le whi t en ing as the

par t i c l e s i ze i s dec reased . For an t i -wr inkle c reams , a

polymer capsu le is used to t ran spor t ac t ive agent s l ike

vi t amins .

Televisions u s i n g c a r b o n n a n o t u b e s c o u l d b e i nuse by l a te 2 006 according to Samsung 16 . M anufacture rs

expe c t th ese " fi e ld e f fec t d i sp lays , " (FED) to co nsu m e

less energy than plasma or l iquid crys tal display (LCD)

s e t s a n d c o m b i n e t h e t h i n n e s s o f L C D a n d t h e i m a g e

qua l i ty of t rad i t iona l ca thode ray tubes (CRT) . The

e l e c t r o n s in a n F ED a r e f ir e d t h r o u g h a v a c u u m a t a

l ayer of phosph orescent g lass covered w i th p ixe l s . But

unl ike CRT, the e l ec t ron source , the ca rbon, i s only 1

t o 2 m m f r o m t h e t a r g e t g la s s i n s t e a d o f 6 0 c m w i t h

CRT, and , ins t ead of one e l ec t ron source , the e l ec t ron

gun, the re a re thousands . FED conta in l e s s e l ec t ronics

than LCD and can be produ ced in a w ide range of si zes.

Toshiba, for example, wi l l offer screen s izes of a t leas t

5 0 i n c h e s , a r o u n d 1 3 0 c m .

What applications are foreseen in the

medium term17?The fo l low ing l is t g ives a quick overv iew of the m any

d o m a i n s w h e r e n a n o t e c h n o l o g y i s e x p e c t e d t o

f u n d a m e n t a l l y c h a n g e p r o d u c t s a n d h o w t h e y a r e

p r o d u c e d o v e r t h e n e x t t w o d e c a d e s . S o m e o f t h e s e

u s e s w i l l b e e x a m i n e d i n m o r e d e t a i l in t h e s e c t i o n

e n t i t l e d S e c t o r a l e x a m p l e s .

Electronics and communications:r e c o r d i n gusing nanolayers and dots , f la t -panel displays , wireless

techn ology, new devices and processes across the e nt i re

range of commu nica t ion an d informat ion t echn ologies,

factors of thou sands to m i ll ions improvem ents in both

da ta s torage capac i ty and proces s ing speeds and a t

l o w e r c o s t a n d i m p r o v e d p o w e r e f fi c ie n c y c o m p a r e d

t o p r e s e n t e l e c t r o n ic c i r c u i t s

Chemicals and materials: ca ta lyst s tha t inc reasethe energy e f f i c i ency of chemica l p l an t s and improve

the combus t ion e f f i c i ency ( thus lower ing pol lu t ion

emiss ion) of motor vehicles , super-hard and tough ( i .e . ,

not bri t t le) dril l bi ts and cu t t ing tools , "smart" m agnet ic

f lu ids for vacuum sea l s and lubr i cant s

Pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and life sciences:n a n o s t r u c t u r e d d r u g s , g e n e a n d d r u g d e l i ve r y s ys t e m s

ta rge ted to spec i f ic s i t e s in the body, b io-com pat ib le

replacements for body parts and f luids , sel f-diagnost ics

for use in the h om e, sensors for labs-on-a-chip, m ateria l

fo r b o n e a n d t i ss u e r e g e n e r a t i o n

Manufacturing: p r e c i si o n e n g in e e r i n g b a s e d o nn e w g e n e r a t i o n s o f m i c r o s c o p e s a n d m e a s u r i n g

t e c h n i q u e s , n e w p r o c e s s e s a n d t o o l s t o m a n i p u l at e

mat ter a t an atom ic level, nanopow ders that are s intered

i n t o b u l k m a t e r i a ls w i t h s p e c ia l p r o p e r t i e s t h a t m a y

include sensors to de tect incipient fa ilures and actu ators

to repair problems, chemical-mechanical pol ishing with

nan opar t i c l es , s e l f-as sembl ing of s t ruc tu res f rom

molecules , b io- inspi red mate r i a l s and b ios t ruc tures

Energy technologies: n e w t y p e s o f b a t t e r ie s ,ar t i fic ia l photosynth es is for c lean e nergy, quantu m w el l

1 3

16 Michael Kanellos, Carbon TVs to edge out liquid crystal, plasma? ZDNET News, January 56th , 2005

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9596_22-5512225.html17 Nanosciences et nanotechnologies Ministre dlgu, recherches et nouvelles technologies, Paris, 2003. English site here:

English site here: http://www.nanomicro.recherche.gouv.fr/uk_index.html


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so la r ce l ls , s a fe s torage o f hydrogen for use as a c l ean

fue l , ene rgy savings f rom us ing l ighte r ma te r i a l s and

smal l e r c i rcu i t s

Space exploration: l i gh twe ight space vehic les ,e c o n o m i c e n e r g y g e n e r a t i o n a n d m a n a g e m e n t , u l t r a -

smal l and capable robot i c sys tems

Environment:se lec t ive membranes tha t can f i l t e rc o n t a m i n a n t s o r e v e n s a lt f r o m w a t e r , n a n o s t r u c t u r e d

t raps for removing p ol lu tan t s f rom indu s t r i al e f fluent s ,

charac te r i s a t ion of the e f fec t s of nanos t ruc tu res in the

e n v i r o n m e n t , m a i n t e n a n c e o f i n d u s t r i al s u s t a in a b i li t y

by s igni f i cant reduc t ions in mate r i a l s and energy use ,

r e d u c e d s o u r c e s o f p o ll u t i o n , i n c r e a s e d o p p o r t u n i t ie s

for recyc l ing

National security:d e t e c t o r s a n d d e t o x i fi e r s o f chemica l and b io logica l agent s , d ramat i ca l ly more

capable electronic c i rcui ts, hard n anostructu red coat ings

and mate r i a l s , camouf lage mate r i a l s , l i gh t and se l f -

r e p a i r in g t e x t i le s , b l o o d r e p l a c e m e n t , m i n i a t u r i se d

surve i l l ance sys tems .

3. Market prospects andopportunities

A s an O E C D s u r v e y e m p h a s i se s 1 8 , m os t s t a t i s t ica l

of f i ces do not co l l ec t da ta on nanotechnology R&D,

h u m a n r e s o u r c e s o r in d u s t r ia l d e v e lo p m e n t , i n p a r tbecause n anotech nology remains a re l a t ive ly new f ie ld

o f sc i e n c e a n d t e c h n o l o g y ( a n d e v e n m o r e s o o f

government pol i cy) and a l so because of i t s

in t e rd i sc ip l ina ry and c ros s -sec tora l ch a rac te r . G iven

t h i s , e st i m a t e s o f p o t e n t i a l n a n o t e c h m a r k e t s t e n d t o

come f rom pr iva te sources such as spec ia l i s ed

consul t ancy fi rms who survey a wide nu mbe r of ac tors

in the f i e ld . Lux Research , for example , s t a t es tha t :

Sa les of produc t s incorpora t ing emerging

nan otechn ology wi ll r i se f rom les s than 0 .1 % of g loba l

m a n u f a c tu r i n g o u t p u t t o d a y t o 1 5 % i n 2 0 1 4 , t o t a ll in g$2.6 t r i l l i on . Thi s va lue wi l l approach the s i ze of the

i n fo r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y a n d t e l e c o m i n d u s t r ie s

c o m b i n e d a n d w i ll b e 1 0 t i m e s l a r ge r t h a n

bio technology revenues 1 9 . Insure rs Sw issRe echo th is :

S a le s r e v e n u e s f r o m p r o d u c t s m a n u f ac t u r e d u s in g

n a n o t e c h n o l o gy h a v e a l r e a d y r e a c h e d e l e v e n -d i g it

figures an d a re pro jec ted to gene ra te tw e lve-d ig it sum s

b y 2 0 1 0 , e v e n t h i r t e e n - d i g i t s u m s b y 2 0 1 5 2 0 . T h e

c h a r t b e l o w s h o w s a p r o je c t i o n fo r t h e U S e c o n o m y

fr o m t h e N a t i o n a l Sc i e n c e F o u n d a t i o n .

1 4

New Mate r i a ls 33%

Electron ics 30 %

Pharmaceut i ca ls 1 8%

Chem ica ls 10%

Aerospace 7%Tools 2%

Projected contribution of nanotechnology to the US economy, 2015

S o u r c e : U S N a t i o n a l Sc i e n c e F o u n d a t i o n , 2 0 0 3 2 1

18 OECD, Working Party on Innovation and Technology Policy Results of OECD Mini-Survey on Nanotechnology

R&D Programmes 7-8 June 2004

19 Lux Research, October 25, 2004: Revenue from nanotechnology-enabled products to equal IT and telecom by 2014, exceed biotech

by 10 times. http://www.luxresearchinc.com/press/RELEASE_SizingReport.pdf

20

Swiss Re, 2004 Nanotechnology: Small matter, many unknownshttp://www.swissre.com/INTERNET/pwswpspr.nsf/fmBookMarkFrameSet?ReadForm&BM=../vwAllbyIDKeyLu/yhan-5yucvt?OpenDocument

21 OECD Information Technology Outlook 2004, ch. 7, page 264, from M.C. Roco "The Future of National

Nanotechnology Initiative" NSF, November 7, 2003


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These es t imates shou ld be t reated w ith caut ion, because,

a s t h e i r a u t h o r s p o in t o u t , t h e y r e f e r t o p r o d u c t s

incorporat ing nanotechnology or manufactured us ing

n a n o t e c h n o l o g y , n o t t o n a n o t e c h n o l o g y p r o d u c t s a s

such. (It s as i f the value tex t i le indu stry were calculated

by inc luding every th ing incorpora t ing t ex t i l e s , be i t

c lothes , a i rcraft or automobiles .) Lux actual ly evaluatessa les of bas ic nanomate r i a l s l i ke ca rbon nanotubes a t

$ 1 3 b i l li o n i n 2 0 1 4 , a c o n s i d e r a b le s u m , b u t fa r fr o m

$ 2 . 6 t r i ll io n . A lt h o u g h t h e a c c o u n t a n c y m a y b e

contes t ed , the pro jec ted three -phase growth pa th seems

credib le :

1 . In the present phase , nan otechnology is incorpora ted

se lec t ive ly in to h igh-end prod uc t s , e spe c ia lly in

a u t o m o t i v e a n d a e r o s p a c e a p p l ic a t io n s .

2 . T h r o u g h 2 0 0 9 , c o m m e r c ia l b r e ak t h r o u g h s u n l o c k

marke t s for n anotech nology inn ova t ions . E lec t ronicsand IT appl ica t ions d omina te as mic roprocessors and

m e m o r y c h i p s b u i l t u s in g n e w n a n o s c a l e p r o c e s se s

c o m e t o m a r k e t.

3 . F ro m 2 0 1 0 o n w a r d s , n a n o t e c h n o l o gy b e c o m e s

c o m m o n p l a c e i n m a n u fa c t u r e d g o o d s . H e a l t h - c a r e

and l ife s c ienc es appl i ca t ions f ina l ly becom e

s igni f i cant a s nano-enabled pharmaceut i ca l s and

m e d i c al d e v i ce s e m e r g e f r o m l e n g t h y h u m a n t r i a ls .

Fol lowing the dotcom f i asco , potent i a l i nves tors a re

ju st if ia b ly w ary of t re a t in g n an o te ch (o r an yth in g e ls e )as the next b ig th ing . Whi le the exc i t ement and h ype

g e n e r a t e d b y n a n o t e c h s a p o s t le s m a y b e r e m i n i s c e n t

o f h o w i n t e r n e t w a s go i n g t o c h a n g e t h e w o r l d a n d

make e verybody r i ch , the re a re tw o c ruc ia l d i ffe ren ces

t h a t c o u n t e r a c t t h e l ik e l ih o o d o f a n a n o b u b b l e :

n a n o t e c h n o l o g y i s e x t r e m e l y d i ffi c u l t a n d e x t r e m e l y

e x p e n s iv e , w h i c h i s w h y it i s c o n c e n t r a t e d i n w e l l-

fu n d e d c o m p a n i e s a n d i n s t it u t e s t h a t c a n a t t r a c t a n d

n u r t u r e t h e s c a r ce s c i e n t i fi c a n d t e c h n i c a l e x p e r t i se

n e e d e d t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e p r o b l e m s a n d c h a l l e n g e s .

Moreover , t he long l ead t imes involved in m oving fromc o n c e p t t o c o m m e r c i al is a t io n m a k e n a n o t e c h

par t i cu la r ly unsui t ab le for making money fas t .

3.1. Sectoral example: Medicine22

Medica l and l i fe -c i ence appl i ca t ions may prove to be

the mos t luc ra t ive marke t s for nanotechnologies , w i th

lab-on-a -chip devices a l ready be ing manufac tured

and anim al t e s t ing and e a r ly c lin i ca l t r ia l s st a r t ing on

n a n o t e c h n i q u e s f o r d r u g d e l iv e r y. H o w e v e r, t h e l o n g

produc t approva l proces ses typica l of the domain may

m e a n t h a t t h e h e a l t h b e n e f it s t o u s e r s a n d e c o n o m i c

benef i t s to companies wi l l t ake longer to rea l i s e than

in o the r domains . Nanotechs promise comes f rom the

fa c t t h a t n a n o s c a le d e v i c e s a re a h u n d r e d t o t e n

thou sand t imes smal ler than hu man cel ls and are s imilar

in s i ze to l a rge b io logica l mo lecules ( "b iom olecules" )

s u c h a s e n z y m e s a n d r e c e p t o r s . Fo r e x a m p l e ,

h a e m o g lo b i n , t h e m o l e c u le t h a t c a r r ie s o x y g e n i n r e d

b l o o d c e l ls , i s a p p r o x im a t e l y 5 n m i n d i a m e t e r , D N A

2 . 5 , w h i l e a q u a n t u m d o t i s a b o u t t h e s a m e s iz e a s a

smal l pro te in (


16/46

c l in ica l t ran s la t ion ,

Mu lt ifunct ional , targeted devices capable of bypass ing

bio logica l ba r r i e rs to de l ive r mul t ip l e the rapeut i c

agent s d i rec t ly to cancer ce l l s and those t i s sues in

the mic roenvi ronment tha t p l ay a c r i t i ca l ro le in the

growth and metas t as i s of cancer ,

Agent s tha t can m oni tor predic t ive m olecula r chan ges

a n d p r e v e n t p r e c a n c e r o u s c e l ls fr o m b e c o m i n g

m a l i g n a n t ,

N o v e l m e t h o d s t o m a n a g e t h e s y m p t o m s o f c a n c e r

tha t adverse ly impa c t qu a l i ty of l ife ,

Resea rch tool s tha t wi l l enable rap id ident i f i ca t ion

o f n e w t a r g e t s fo r c l in i c a l d e v e lo p m e n t a n d p r e d i c t

d r u g r e s is t a n c e .

Drug delivery

This may be the mos t prof i t ab le appl i ca t ion of

n a n o t e c h n o l o g y in m e d i c in e , a n d e v e n g e n e r a ll y, o v e r

t h e n e x t t w o d e c a d e s . D r u g s n e e d t o b e p r o t e c t e d

d u r i n g t h e i r t r a n s i t t h r o u g h t h e b o d y t o t h e t a r g e t , t o

main ta in the i r b io logica l and chemica l s proper t i e s or

to s top them damaging the pa r t s of the body they t rave l

throu gh. On ce a dru g a r r ives a t it s des t ina t ion , i t needs

to be released at an appro priate ra te for i t to be effect ive.

This process is cal led e ncapsulat ion, and nan otechn ology

c a n i m p r o v e b o t h t h e d i ffu s i o n a n d d e g r a d a t i o n

charac te r i s t i c s of the encapsula t ion mate r i a l , a l lowing

the drug to t ravel effic ient ly to the target and be releasedin an opt imal way. Nanopar t i c l e encapsula t ion i s a l so

b e i n g i n v e s t ig a t e d f o r t h e t r e a t m e n t o f n e u r o l o gi c al

d i sorders to de l ive r the rapeut i c molecules d i rec t ly to

t h e c e n t r a l n e r v o u s s ys t e m b e y o n d t h e b l o o d - b r a in

bar r i e r, and to th e eye beyon d th e b lood- re t ina ba r r i e r.

Appl i ca t ions could inc lude Park insons , Hunt ingtons

chor ea , Alzhe im ers , ALS and d i seases of the e ye .

Repair and replacement

D a m a g e d t i ss u e s a n d o r g a n s a r e o f t e n r e p l a c e d b yart i f ic ia l subst i tutes , and nanotechnology offers a range

o f n e w b i o c o m p a t i b le c o a t i n g s fo r t h e i m p l a n t s t h a t

improves the i r adhes ion , durabi l i ty and l i fe span . New

t y p e s o f n a n o m a t e r i a ls a r e b e i n g e v a l u a t e d a s i m p l a n t

coa t ings to im prove in te r face proper t i e s . For exam ple ,

n a n o p o l ym e r s c a n b e u s e d t o c o a t d e v i c e s in c o n t a c t

wi th b lood (e .g . a r t i f ic i a l hea r t s , ca the t e rs ) to d i spe rse

c l o t s o r p r e v e n t t h e i r f o r m a t i o n . N a n o m a t e r i a l s an d

n a n o t e c h n o l o g y fa b r i c at i o n t e c h n i q u e s a r e b e i n g

inves t iga ted as t i s sue regenera t ion sca f fo lds . The

ul t imate goal is to grow large com plex organs . Examp lesinc lude nan osca le polymers mou lded in to hea r t va lves ,

a n d p o l ym e r n a n o c o m p o s i t e s fo r b o n e s c a ff o ld s .

C o m m e r c i a l ly v i ab l e s o lu t i o n s a r e t h o u g h t t o b e 5 t o

10 years away, g iven the sc i en t i f i c cha l l enges re l a t ed

t o a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f m o l e c u l a r / c e l l b i o lo g y

a n d fa b r i c at i o n m e t h o d s f o r p r o d u c i n g la r g e t h r e e -

d ime ns iona l s ca f fo lds .

Nanos t ruc tures a re promis ing for t empora ry implant s ,e . g . t h a t b io d e g r a d e a n d d o n o t h a v e t o b e r e m o v e d

in a subsequen t opera t ion . Resea rch i s a lso be ing done

o n a f le x i b le n a n o fi b e r m e m b r a n e m e s h t h a t c a n b e

appl ied to hea r t t i s sue in open -hear t surgery. The mesh

can be infused wi th an t ib io t i c s , pa inki l l e r s and

medic ines in smal l quant i t i e s and d i rec t ly appl i ed to

in te rna l t i s sues .

S u b c u t a n e o u s c h i p s a r e a lr e a d y b e i n g d e v e l o p e d t o

c o n t i n u o u s ly m o n i t o r k e y b o d y p a r a m e t e r s i n c lu d i n g

p u l s e , t e m p e r a t u r e a n d b l o o d g lu c o s e . A n o t h e r

appl i ca t ion uses opt i ca l mic rosensors implanted in to

subdermal or deep t i s sue to moni tor t i s sue c i rcu la t ion

af t e r surgery, w hi l e a th i rd type of s ensor u ses MEMS

( m i c r o e le c t r o m e c h a n i c a l s ys t e m ) d e v i c e s a n d

acce le romete rs to m easure s t ra in , acce le rat ion , angula r

ra t e and re l a t ed pa ramete rs for m oni tor ing and t rea t ing

para lysed l imbs , and to imp rove th e d es ign of a r t i fi c ia l

l imbs . Imp lantable s ensors can a l so w ork w i th devices

t h a t a d m i n i st e r t r e a t m e n t a u t o m a t i ca l ly i f r e q u i r e d ,

e .g . f lu id in j ec t ion sys tems to d i spense drugs . In i t i a l

a p p l ic a t i o n s m a y i n c l u d e c h e m o t h e r a p y t h a t d i r e c t ly

t a r g e t s t u m o r s in t h e c o l o n a n d a r e p r o g r a m m e d t o

di spense prec i se amount s of medica t ion a t convenient

t imes , such as a ft e r a pa t i en t h as fa l len as leep . Sensors

tha t moni tor the hea r t s ac t iv i ty l eve l can a l so work

with an implantable defibri l la tor to regulate heartbeats .

Hearing and vision

N a n o a n d r e l a t e d m i c ro t e c h n o l o gi e s a r e b e i n g u s e d

to deve lop a new genera t ion of smal le r and potent i a lly

m o r e p o w e r fu l d e v i c e s t o r e s t o r e l o s t v i si o n a n d

h e a r i n g . O n e a p p r o a c h u s e s a m i n ia t u r e v i d e o c a m e r a

a t t ached to a b l ind pe rsons g las ses to capture v i sua l

s ig n a l s p r o c e s se d b y a m i c r o c o m p u t e r w o r n o n t h e

b e l t a n d t r a n s m i t t e d t o a n a r r a y o f e l e c t r o d e s p la c e d

i n t h e e y e . An o t h e r a p p r o a c h u s e s o f a s u b r e t i n a l

i m p l a n t d e s i gn e d t o r e p l a c e p h o t o r e c e p t o r s i n t h e

ret ina. The implant uses a microelectrode array pow ered

by up to 3500 mic roscopic so la r ce l l s .

For hea r ing , an implanted t ransdu cer i s pres sure - fi t t ed

o n t o a b o n e i n t h e i n n e r e a r, c a u s in g t h e b o n e s t o

v i b r at e a n d m o v e t h e f l u id i n t h e i n n e r e a r, w h i c hs t im u l a t e s t h e a u d i t o r y n e r v e . A n a r r a y a t t h e t i p o f

the d evice uses up to 12 8 e l ec t rodes , f ive t imes h igher

1 6


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t h a n c u r r e n t d e v i c e s, t o s i m u l a t e a f u l le r r a n g e o f

s o u n d s . T h e i m p l a n t i s c o n n e c t e d t o a s m a l l

mic roprocessor and a mic rophone in a w earable device

t h a t c l i p s b e h i n d t h e e a r . T h i s c a p t u r e s a n d t r a n s la t e s

sounds in to e l ec t r i c pul ses t ransmi t t ed by w i re through

a t i n y h o l e m a d e i n t h e m i d d l e e a r.

3.2. Sectoral example: Food and

agriculture

Nanotech nology is rap id ly converging w i th b io tech an d

i n fo r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o gy t o r a d i c a ll y c h a n g e f o o d a n d

a g r ic u l t u r a l sy s t e m s . O v e r t h e n e x t t w o d e c a d e s , t h e

impac t s of nano-sca le con vergence on farmers an d food

c o u l d e v e n e x c e e d t h a t o f fa r m m e c h a n i s a t io n o r o f

t h e G r e e n R e v o l u t io n a c c o r d in g t o s o m e s o u r c e s s u c h

a s t h e E T C g r o u p 2 4 .

Healt Effect

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