Initial

Healing
Glass

After 103 days

The Wound Healing Power of Glass
Nanotechnology Innovation in Singapore
Nanofluids: Fascinating Alternative to
Conventional Heat Transfer Fluids
Nanotechnology-Enhanced Curcumin: Symbiosis
of Ancient Wisdom of East with Modern Medical
Science
Global Carbon Nanotubes Market Outlook:
Industry Beckons
Editor-in-chief:
G. Sundararajan
Editors:
Y. R. Mahajan
S. V. Joshi
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H. Purushotham
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Editorial
It is again with a sense of excitement that we welcome our readers to yet another thought-
provoking issue of Nanotech Insights. The entire publication team at CKMNT is extremely
appreciative of your overwhelming response, unstinted support and encouragement to
our endeavour to bring out a newsletter every quarter that is looked forward to by all. It is
this positive response from our readers that makes it such a wonderful experience for all
of us. We have been continuously striving to ensure that this publication is unique and an
invaluable source of information in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, and have
also attempted to highlight noteworthy Indian efforts in this rapidly expanding field. We
also take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the numerous Guest Authors,
who have readily responded to our call to contribute.
It is particularly satisfying to us that the technical content of Nanotech Insights is extremely
well-received. In this context, we are happy to inform you that the article “Nanotechnology-
based Solutions for Oil Spills”, which featured in the January 2011 issue of Nanotech
Insights was reprinted by the Nano Digest magazine in its entirety, based on the value and
relevance of its subject matter. Another article on “Patent Analysis and Product Survey of
Nanomaterials in Lithium-ion Batteries” published in the same issue was also posted by
prestigious websites of Forbes and Times of India.
Consistent with our unrelenting efforts to make Nanotech Insights a forum for showcasing
the latest technological advances in this rapidly expanding field, the present issue also
encompasses a wide range of topics. Currently, 285 million people suffer from diabetes
worldwide and it is fair to say that the disease has become a global epidemic. One of the
most significant complications arising from diabetes is the diabetic foot ulcer/wound, which
usually take years to heal. The Guest Article in the present issue features a revolutionary
approach that involves using inexpensive, easy-to-use candy-like borate glass nanofiber
that appears to speed up the healing process. Considering that both cutting-edge R&D
in the field, as well as subsequent commercialization, are funding-intensive efforts, the
role of Governments in promoting nanoscience & nanotechnology also assumes great
significance. Singapore’s extensive and well-developed R&D infrastructure has proved
to be an ideal platform to springboard nanotechnology to greater heights. Another Guest
Article in this issue provides an overview of the latest nanotechnology policy, infrastructure,
research and development highlights and business trends in Singapore. Cooling is one
of the most important technical challenges facing many diverse industries, including
microelectronics, transportation, solid-state lighting, and manufacturing. The concept
of “nanofluids” has been proposed as a route for surpassing the performance of heat
transfer fluids currently available. This issue presents an overview of this novel approach,
especially emphasizing the research being carried out at IIT-Madras.
Curcumin (an active component of turmeric) has recently elicited great interest from the
scientific community across the globe due to its outstanding combination of chemo-
preventive/chemo-therapeutic attributes that can have a positive influence in combating
almost every known disease. The current issue presents an overview of this fascinating
material, including the role of nanotechnology in enhancing its bioavailability and efficacy.
In the Emerging Nanotechnology Products section, various aspects of a novel nano-
biotech product, which represents a fourth generation super-fertilizer and ultrafast nano
cleaner for environmental remediation, have been featured.
Demand for carbon nanotubes is increasing rapidly in electrical, mechanical and health &
medical applications due to their thermal, electrical conductive and other properties. The
global carbon nanotubes market is projected to grow to US$1.1 billion by 2016, at a CAGR
of 10.5% according to a survey carried out by CKMNT. The Technology Update segment of
the present issue covers a few excerpts from a forthcoming market research report on the
subject, entitled ”Global Carbon Nanotubes Market”, to be published by CKMNT shortly.
Nanosensors are emerging as a key enabling technology, finding applications in a wide
variety of sectors including transportation, telecommunications, healthcare, defence and
security etc. Nanosensors are any biological, chemical, or surgical sensory points used to
convey information about nanoparticles to the macroscopic world. In the Indian Scenario
section, the current status of nanosensors in India has been covered. The current issue
also includes other usual features like R&D Highlights, Green Nanotechnologies, Nanotech
Patents Roundup, Commercial & Business Focus and Forthcoming Events.
Besides soliciting your comments and feedback on the contents of this issue to enable
us to further develop, customize and improve the quality of the newsletter, we need to
garner support on one other front. Although Nanotech Insights is presently sponsored by
the Nano Mission, its longevity is intimately linked to our success in making its publication
self-financing. We will require all round help to realize the above goal; it appears that some
indulgence by the readers to translate accolades into subscriptions would do the trick! In
this regard, we are also pleased to announce that we have now expanded our drive to
make this publication self-supporting by launching an online subscription portal for the
convenience of our subscribers. Happy reading !!!
About the Cover: Wound dressing made from bioactive borate glass nanofibers
speeds up the healing process of a diabetic foot ulcer with minimal scarring.
Courtesy: Steven Jung, Mo-Sci Corporation, Missouri, U.S.A
 EMERGING NANOTECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS

Contents
Guest Articles R & D Highlights
• The Wound Healing Power of Glass • Machinable Nanolayered Ceramic:
• Nanotechnology Innovation In Singapore Now for High Temperature Use
• Nanofluids: Fascinating Alternative to
Conventional Heat Transfer Fluids • Nanostructured Barium Oxide Overcomes Problem
of Choking in SOFCs
• Nanoporous
Silica-Liposome Nanoporous
silica core

Hybrid: An Poly ethylene glycol Supported

Innovative Design lipid bilayer

for Targeted Drug

Delivery
Fusogenic peptide

• Wonder Material: Drug cargos

Graphene Targeting peptide

Toughens
Hot Technologies
Structural
Nanotechnology-Enhanced Curcumin:
Ceramics
Symbiosis of Ancient Wisdom of East
with Modern Medical Science Green Nano Technologies
Silicon Quantum Dots: A Non-Toxic
Nanotechnology Alternative to other Toxic Quantum
Dots

Indian Scenario
Nano-Enabled Sensors in India
Eastern Traditional Western Medical Sciences
Wisdom
Dawn of
Future
Medicine

National Physical Laboratory

No. of Publications: 29

Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi

No. of Publications: 12

University of Lucknow
No. of Publications: 13

Emerging Nanotechnology Products

Nualgi for Environmental Remediation
and Nano Agriculture
Bhabha Atomic Research Center Jadavpur University
No. of Publications: 13 No. of Publication:14
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur
National Chemical Laboratory No. of Publications:11
No. of Publications: 18
Shri Shivaji Science College
University of Pune No. of Publications :15
No. of Publications: 13

Technology Update Indian Institute of Technology-Madras

No. of Publications: 11

Global Carbon Nanotubes Market

Outlook: Industry Beckons

 Nanotech Patents Spotlight



&17V3URGXFWLRQ&DSDFLW\ LQ07


 Commercial / Business Focus

• Technologies Available for Licensing
 

• Business News


• Investment & Funding


     
<HDU
Forthcoming Events

1
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
The Wound Healing Power of Glass
Guest Article
If you asked someone randomly, “How would you treat
a cut on your finger?” you might expect a response similar
to: step 1 - disinfect the cut, step 2 - apply an antibacterial
cream, and step 3 - cover with a tape bandage. In fact,
these three steps serve the essential functions needed
to initiate wound healing: reduce/eliminate bacteria,
keep the wound bed moist, and cover the wound. Now,
if you asked someone how they would treat a large open
wound like a pressure ulcer, the respondent would likely
admit that they did not know. The answer is basically
the same, the wound needs to be free of micro-
organisms, not wet or dry but moist, and be covered.
In the case of large wounds, especially in unhealthy
people, additional steps may be needed to improve or
induce healing beyond the simplified example above.
For instance, low blood flow may require growth of new
blood vessels, or a deep wound may need a scaffold to
stimulate and guide tissue regeneration. These additional
steps require advanced wound dressings beyond the
norm. This is where nanotechnology comes into play.
The body is an intricate and dynamic system with the
means to regenerate itself. Most tissues, hard or soft
are classified as connective tissues. Therefore, tissues
like muscle, bone, and skin while dramatically different
in form and function actually heal in a similar manner.
DermaFuse (Fig. 1) is a multifunctional dressing in that
the bioactive borate glass fibers release ions beneficial
to the wound healing process while having antibacterial,
angiogenic, and anti-inflammatory effects. The concept
of developing Dermafuse was a two pronged approach,
Fig. 1: Image of a DermaFuse pad (left) and a high magnification SEM image of the fibers on the right
2
Steven Jung
develop a material that gives the desired wound
healing properties in-vivo and then form that material
into a microstructure that is biologically beneficial. The
glass composition was based on the idea of using a
degradable glass that would react within a few days and
deliver as many beneficial wound healing properties
as possible. The glasses that are showing the most
success are: angiogenic, antibacterial, degradable,
anti-inflammatory, and highly compatible with soft tissue.
The microstructure of DermaFuse (Fig. 1) is a highly
porous dynamic structure that has several important
physical properties useful in wound healing such as:
high liquid adsorption, the microstructure is similar to
a blood clot, and the material is flexible and formable.
When connective tissue is damaged, the first thing
that typically happens is your blood clots and stops
bleeding. This blood clot is actually an agglomeration
of nano-sized fibrin fibers that acts to cap the wound
and stop blood flow while facilitating the recruitment of
cells needed for healing. The ability to mimic the natural
microstructures of the body is one property that sets
DermaFuse apart from other wound dressings. This
novel material is composed of nano-sized bioactive
borate glass fibers which mimic the microstructure
of the first major event after injury as shown in Fig. 2,
blood clot formation, and the microstructure additionally
promotes blood clot formation (hemostasis).
Clotted blood forms a natural barrier to stop blood
loss, covers the damaged tissues, keeps out microbes,
and starts the healing process by releasing growth
 GUEST ARTICLE

6WDJHVRI+HDOLQJ  promoting anti-inflammatory

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Fig. 2: The stages of healing for a connective tissue wound
factors. As one can imagine, this is an important event
in the process of healing. For a normal healthy person,
these events occur naturally and in a timely order in
which the wound heals with no problems (Fig. 2).
People with diabetes or other health issues, specifically
vascular deficiencies, wound healing can be problematic.
Skipping or delaying any of the steps shown in Fig. 2 can
drastically change the overall healing path for a wound,
i.e. delayed or stagnant wounds. As the population of
the world ages, the number of people with delayed or
non-healing wounds is increasing at an astonishing
rate. In the United States alone, there are an estimated
four million people that suffer from such delayed or non-
healing wounds. Therefore there is a significant need
for advanced wound healing systems that can correct
the wound healing path and promote wound closure.
DermaFuse has several possible applications from
treatment of chronic ulcers, to use by a first responder
for individuals injured in accidents/natural disasters, or
as a battlefield dressing. The unique properties of the
highly porous pads will pull liquid exudates away from
the wound bed which is imperative in the case of a
highly exudating non-healing ulcer while degrading and
and anti-bacterial effects. In
a traumatic wound, the pad
can act as a hemostatic
6WRSVEOHHGLQJUHOHDVHVJURZWK device that uses the micro and
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separate the solid and liquid
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FHOOSUROLIHUDWLRQ portions of the blood. The
solids such as red blood cells
&HOOVPXOWLSO\GLIIHUHQWLDWH and platelets collect at the
wound interface which quickly
&HOOVIRUPWLVVXHV forms a blood clot while the
liquids are pulled throughout
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the pad by capillary action.
DermaFuse is currently
7LPH being studied in an IRB (Internal
Review Board) approved
human clinical trial at a hospital
in central Missouri (Phelps County Regional Medical
Center, Rolla, MO, USA) in non-healing wounds. Many
of the patients in the study are diabetic and have had
wounds for several months to years. The method
of treatment prior to the application of DermaFuse
pads has been a combination of good wound care
management with the available wound treatments
and dressings currently on the market. Currently the
study is on-going, but thus far 17 people have fully
healed and been released from hospital care, while the
remainder continue making progress towards healing.
The wound sites that have been successfully treated
include: lower leg venous stasis wounds, an amputee
stump revision, a pressure ulcer located on the heel
of the foot, and a sacral pressure wound (bed sore,
lower back). Examples of some of these wound types
that have been successfully treated are shown below.
Figure 3 shows an example of a pressure ulcer that
occurred in the outer portion of the heel in a person
that is bed ridden. The wound was initially 3.75 cm
in length, 2.25 cm in width, and 0.75 cm deep. After
33 days the wound had healed, and two months after
hospital discharge the wound has stayed resolved.

Initial 10 Days 33 Days

Fig. 3: Pressure wound located on outer heel treated with DermaFuse pad

3
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

Initial Resolved (32 Days) turned from red to pink

in color and the size of
the wound continually
decreased until full
closure. An important
and suprising outcome
from this wound was
the lack of scarring
that occurred during
the healing process.
Throughout the
hospital trial, minimal
scarring has become
an expected outcome
as the wounds that
Fig. 4: Stump wound treated with DermaFuse pad
have resolved are often
DermaFuse has been used to make surgical difficult to find without knowing where they once were
revisions as shown on a lower leg stump wound in located.
Fig. 4. After the initial stitching (post surgery), the upper
and lower tissue flaps had not fully joined and there In conclusion, DermaFuse is a novel multifunctional
were spaces across the joint. The holes and spaces wound dressing that will hopefully one day soon
between the upper and lower flaps were filled with become another tool available in the wound care
DermaFuse, and within a month (32 days) the holes had world to treat soft tissue wounds of all types. The
resolved, and the flaps were more tightly joined. The DermaFuse technology is a platform material that
Dermafuse treatments significantly improved the overall can be applied to various dressings and bandages
appearance of the wound while filling the holes and gaps that may one day span from the pad on a simple
in the skin, reducing the chances of a future infection. tape bandage to the most intricate of wound dressing
systems. As noted previously, 17 patients that had
The final example is of a venous stasis ulcer located difficulty healing have fully healed with the assistance of
on the lower leg (Fig. 5). This particular wound had DermaFuse pads and been released from hospital care.

Initial Day 12
Day 103

Fig. 5: Lower leg venous stasis ulcer treated with DermaFuse pads. After the wound had resolved (Day 103), minimal scarring was
noted
existed for several months without forward progress
with normal debridement (cleaning) and coverage with Steven Jung, Ph.D.
several types of wound dressings (silver and non-silver). Senior Research Engineer
After the first treatment with the DermaFuse pad, the Mo-Sci Corporation
wound started to reduce in size. Initially, the wound was Rolla, MO, U.S.A.
red and inflammed as shown, but the wound quickly Phone: 573-364-2338
Email:sjung@mo-sci.com

4

Nanotechnology Innovation in Singapore
Guest Article
Singapore is the smallest country in Southeast Asia.
Due to its small size and lack of natural resources,
it has relied on building its manufacturing base and
increasingly its knowledge based economy to
sustain its high standard of living and provide future
growth. In fact, Singapore’s allocation for R&D in
2006-2010 was double the previous five-year plan at
$13.5 billion and these efforts are starting to bear fruit.
Business expenditure in R&D has been increasing
with the private sector currently spending two dollars for
every dollar of public R&D expenditure. The proportion
of number of research scientists and engineers in the
total labor force was 87.8 per 10,000 workers in 2009.
The number of patent applications increased from 142
in 1993 to 1569 in 2009, with a corresponding increase
in the number of patents awarded from 52 in 1993 to
827 in 2009. Singapore also had over 4785 granted US
patents1 between 2000 and 2010. The recent Global
Innovation Index (GII) published by INSEAD2 ranks
Singapore as number 3 for innovation among the high
income countries. Its human capital and research, and
business sophistication are ranked number 1 by the report.
Singapore is building on these strengths and has
increased its R&D spending to SGD $16.1 billion in the
current five-year period, which represents an increase
of 20% over the previous five-year period3. Nearly 70%
of this budget will be spent on economic outcomes i.e.,
working in closer collaboration with industry, creating more
Intellectual Properties (IPs), leading to innovative products
and services that can be commercialized. A significant
portion of the budget nearly 6% is set aside to support
the work of technology transfer offices, translational
and innovation centers, enterprise incubators and
accelerators. One of the key objectives of the current plan
is to increase private sector participation in R&D so that
the overall gross expenditure in R&D will reach 3.5% of the
Gross Domestic Product by 2015. To encourage private
sector R&D, $2.5 billion will be set aside via the Economic
Development Board’s (EDB) Research Incentive Scheme
to co-fund the establishment of corporate centers of R&D
excellence in Singapore. A new $1.35 billion ‘Industry
Alignment Fund’ (IAF) for projects that bring together
Singapore’s public sector R&D performers with industry
players, to work on projects with industry relevance, will
also be introduced. Greater funding priority will be given to
multi-disciplinary and collaborative efforts not only within
public sector R&D organizations but also in corporate R&D
laboratories so that the commercial value of Singapore’s
public sector IP is increased. A $450 million Co-Innovation
GUEST ARTICLE
Hiran Vedam
Partnership Programme (CIPP) to help private enterprises
collaborate with the public sector to develop innovative
solutions for specific needs in the public sector, where
each project can receive up to $1.75 million, will be set
up as part of the budget. About 19% of the budget is
set aside to strengthen Singapore’s knowledge base
with enhanced flexibility to capture new opportunities
that may arise during the course of the next five years.
The above mentioned steps would help in creating
a very innovative environment to perform high quality
research and commercialize it. In this article, I will discuss
the innovative environment in Singapore specifically with
respect to nanotechnology and some of the success stories.
Research Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) Framework
of Singapore
As part of the S&T Plan 20104, a holistic R&D
framework to manage Singapore’s research and ensure
long-term relevance for Singapore’s R&D investments was
developed, as shown in Fig. 1. The National Research
Foundation (NRF) established in 2006 sets the national
direction for R&D, funds strategic initiatives, builds up
R&D capabilities and coordinates the overall national
research agenda in Singapore5. The Agency for Science,
Technology and Research (A*Star) under the Ministry of
Trade and Industry (MTI) is the lead agency for fostering
world-class scientific research and talent in Singapore.
A*Star oversees 14 biomedical and physical sciences
and engineering research institutes, apart from providing
funding for other research organizations in Singapore6.
Together with the Economic Development Board (EDB),
A*Star helps anchor various flagship R&D projects and
attract more MNCs to locate the corporate R&D activities in
Singapore. A*Star works with The Standards, Productivity
and Innovation Board (SPRING) Singapore to assist small
and medium enterprises of Singapore in upgrading their
technology capabilities. The Ministry of Education (MOE)
and its Academic Research Fund (AcRF) mainly fund the
academic institutions such as universities and polytechnics.
Over the last S&T Plan, a number of incentives
and funding schemes were announced to foster
research, innovation and enterprise in Singapore.
A summary of these schemes is outlined in Fig. 2.
Nanotechnology in Singapore
Nanotechnology is recognized as a key enabler to
sustain the future development of the Singapore economy
and the agencies in Singapore have been emphasizing
on it since the late 1990s. While there are no concrete
5
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
Research, Innovation
& Enterprise Council Cabinet
(RIEC)
National Research Ministry of Trade and
Foundation (NRF) Industry (MTI)
A* Star EDB SPRING
Funding
Universities RIs Polytechnics
Fig. 1: Singapore National R&D Framework (Adapted from Singapore Science
&Technology 2010 plan)4
figures on Singapore’s spending on nanotechnology,
there is no doubt that funding for nanotechnology-related
R&D and manpower development has been going up
over the years due to increased emphasis on research
in energy, water and biomedical sciences. It is estimated
that the number of researchers and engineers working
in nanotechnology-related fields in the Republic, in both
the public and private sectors, totals more than 1,000.
Singapore is an active member of the Asia Nano Forum
(ANF)7 as well as a participating member of the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Singapore presently
chairs the standardization working group in the ANF.
Research Infrastructure
Research in nanotechnology mainly takes place in the two
technological universities in Singapore namely, National
University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological
University (NTU), and A*Star Research Institutes (RIs).
At NUS, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative
(NUSNNI) provides the focal point for nanotechnology
related activities in six strategic areas, namely:
nanobiotechnology, nanomagnetics and spintronics,
nano/microfabrication, nanophotonics, sustainable energy
and health & environmental impacts of nanomaterials8. It
consists of a loose network of more than 120 academic
staff spanning 14 research labs and 5 research centers
across the science and engineering faculties. One of
these research centers is the Singapore Synchrotron Light
Source (SSLS) which provides synchrotron radiation based
fabrication and characterization services to academia
and industry around the world. NUS is also home to the
Center for Ion Beam Applications (CIBA) housing a proton
beam radiation source which can be used to fabricate
high aspect ratio 3D nanostructures and to image deep
tissues. Some state-of-the art labs at NUS include the
Organic Nano Devices Laboratory (ONDL), Silicon Nano
6
GUEST ARTICLE
Devices Laboratory (SNDL) and Surface
Science Laboratory (SSL). NUS launched
NanoCore9, an embedded entity within
NUSNNI, in 2008 to build a focused group
of interdisciplinary labs of excellence in
selected areas where NUS can build world
Ministry of Eductation class teams and make global impact.
(MTI)
These areas include oxide electronics,
graphene electronics, active plasmonics,
AcRF spintronic materials, optoelectronics,
ion-beam imaging and fabrication and
bionanotechnology. NanoCore has state-
of-the-art infrastructure like the Orion
He-Ion sub-nm microscope and e-beam
writer. The Solar Energy Research
Other Public
and Private
Institute of Singapore (SERIS) located
Organizations in NUS conducts industry-oriented
research and technology development
and use-inspired basic research in
the field of solar energy conversion,
in close collaboration with industrial partners.
NanoCluster10 is an NTU-wide network of research
centers with shared facilities for nanofabrication,
nanocharacterization, and exploitation of nanotechnology
applications in nanodevices, energy & catalysis,
nanobiotechnology, nanomaterial synthesis, organic,
molecular electronics and nanomagnetics & photonics. It
consists of a loose network of 90 academic staff across
five research centers. Major facilities include three
cleanrooms (net area of 1,000 sq.m) for semiconductor
processing, MEMs, Bio/ Organic/ Glass/ Metal fabrication
/ processing, advanced characterization (TEMs/FIB
surface analysis) and advanced materials synthesis. NTU
also houses the Computational Nanoelectronics Initiative
which coordinates nanoelectronics modeling work
among the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and RIs.
Among the 14 A*Star RIs, nanotechnology
related research is concentrated in the Institute of
Microelectronics (IME), Institute of Materials Research &
Engineering (IMRE), Singapore Institute of Manufacturing
Technology (SIMTech) and Institute of Bioengineering &
Nanotechnology (IBN). IME has an 8” wafer fab and state-
of-the-art laboratories in optoelectronics and microfluidics.
A*Star has set up the Science and Engineering Research
Council's (SERC) Nanofabrication and Characterization
Facility (SNFC) to provide access to all the fabrication and
characterization facilities available under its SERC to the
Singapore's nanotech community. This facility, managed
by IMRE, consists of fabrication facilities such as inkjet
printing system, metalorganic CVD systems and e-beam
lithography equipment. It also has characterization
equipment such as microRaman system, UHV TEM, TOF-
SIMS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. IMRE also
manages a wafer scale nanoimprint lithography facility that
provides commercial prototyping and foundry services.
SIMTech has setup a Microfluidics Research Foundry (IMF)
 GUEST ARTICLE

Commercialization Infrastructure
IDEATION PROTOTYPE SEED EARLY STAGE GROWTH
Technology transfer is well
developed at IHLs and A*Star RIs
in Singapore. At NUS, technology
Proof-Of-Concept (NRF) SEEDS (SPRING) transfer and collaborations are
Technology Incubation Scheme (NRF) managed by the Industry Liaison
Polytechnic Translation Garants MOE Early Stage Venture Funds (NRF) Office (ILO) which is part of the
Technology Enterprise Commercialization Scheme (SPRING) NUS Enterprise. NUS Enterprise11
Sector Specific Incubators (SPRING) also has a division called the NUS
ETPL Gape funding COT/ Flagship (A* Star)
Entrepreneurship Center (NEC)
which administers the proof-of-
GET-UP(SPRING-A*-MOE) concept grants, assists in the
Exploit Technologies(A*Star)
formation of spin-offs and selectively
provides seed stage funding
University Technologies Transfer Officers (MOE)
for them. NEC also manages a
Center for Innovations in Polytecnics (SPRING-MOE) cleantech incubator to mentor
University Innovation Fund (NRF)
cleantech startups under EDB’s
Fast-tech program. NanoCore
Innovation and Enterprise Institute (NRF)
supports the commercialization
University&
Beneficiary - - - - Polytechnics
Enterprizes A*Star RI and entrepreneurship activities
specifically in nanotechnology
Fig. 2: Singapore Innovation and Enterprise Landscape (Adapted from Research, through NanoSpark.
Innovation and Enterprise 20153)
The Innovation & Technology
to accelerate prototyping and pilot run base for microfluidic Transfer Office (ITTO) at NTU is the key point of contact for
development. A*Star also has a Center for Nanometrology technology transfer and collaborations at NTU12. In 2005,
Excellence, a 200 mm Si-based wafer processing and NTU, with the support of EDB, set up a nanotechnology
MEMS prototyping facility that are available for use by the incubator named NanoFrontier Pte. Ltd., to provide a
wider nanotech community in Singapore. In 2010, A*Star platform for companies of various industries to expand
along with EDB, SPRING and IE Singapore initiated an their research and development efforts in nanotechnology-
Industrial Consortium for Nanoimprinting (ICON) to foster related areas13. NanoFrontier also provides start-ups and
the sharing and transfer of nanoimprint technology with technopreneurs a safe and strategic place to develop their
industry and to enhance the commercial readiness and nanotech inventions both technically and commercially.
adoption of the technology in a number of areas such All IPs generated by the A*Star institutions are
as optical components, biomedical devices, consumer commercialized by Exploit Technologies Pte. Ltd (ETPL).
products and even construction materials. In 2010, A*Star ETPL actively licenses the technologies developed
along with EDB also launched the Singapore MEMS by A*Star institutions and provides technology and
Consortium to promote collaboration among companies commercialization intelligence to researchers in the form
for an integrated solution for MEMS manufacturing. of specific industry trends and market needs prior to
In addition to world-class research infrastructure, the start of the research projects. Exploit Technologies
Singapore also has a wide variety of programs to train (ETPL) also manages collaborations with A*Star RIs and
manpower required for nanotech companies at different provides seed funding for their spin-offs companies14.
levels of expertise. The Institute of Bioengineering and In order to bridge the gap between the research
Nanotechnology (IBN), an A*Star RI, launched Nano- developed by its RIs and commercialization,
Bio kits to educate school children and these kits have A*Star has two types of in-house funding, namely
been incorporated into the secondary school curriculum Commercialization of Technology (COT) and
in Singapore. The Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Flagship funds, in addition to in-depth technology
Polytechnic offer diploma level courses in nanotechnology. and business intelligence and business planning.
The National University of Singapore offers a dual degree
B.S. in Physics and Material Science which emphasizes In addition to the grants schemes discussed in the
nanotechnology, and an Engineering Science program previous section and the commercialization infrastructure
in Nanotechnology. Both NUS and NTU offer a variety of summarized here, Singapore also has a number of private
research programs in nanotechnology at masters and sector venture capital firms actively investing in nanotech
Ph.D level through their traditional departments. In a first companies. These companies are shown in Fig. 3.
for Singapore, NUS’ NUSNNI started offering NUSNNI-
Application-Specific Strengths
NanoCore scholarships for a research based PhD
Singapore’s investment in nanotechnology has
program in nanoscience and nanotechnology in 2010.
already resulted in a growth of nanotechnology related

7
NANOTECH INSIGHTS GUEST ARTICLE

products and services at a rate of about 8-21%

and the number of nanotechnology companies in
Singapore has also grown from 10 in 2004 to the
present 58. Multi-national companies such as BASF,
Bayer, ST Microelectronics and Zyvex have decided
to set up substantial R&D facilities in Singapore to
take advantage of and contribute to the growing
nanotechnology ecosystem in Singapore. Here,
we highlight a few application-specific strengths of
Singapore and the ecosystem to capitalize on them.

Biomedical Applications
Singapore hosts world class research in drug Fig.2: Venture Capital Firms Investing in Nanotech Companies
delivery systems, tissue engineering and bio-imaging in Singapore
applications of nanotechnology. NUS is ranked number Bioimaging
1 in drug targeting and drug delivery systems (based
on citations from 2003-2009) and number 2 (after Bioimaging is an area of intense research by various
MIT) in tissue engineering and bio-imaging applications. groups in Singapore. Most notable among them is IBN
NUS also contributed 6 of the top 10 researchers in which developed water soluble silica-coated magnetic
this area in Singapore, while NTU and A*Star’s IBN quantum dot nanocomposites. At NUS, researchers are
contributed 2 researchers each to round up the top 10 list. developing water-dispersible magnetic nanoparticles
for MRI applications and thermotherapy. Other groups
Drug Delivery Systems at NUS are developing water soluble upconversion
Researchers at NUS have developed novel nanoparticles for bio-imaging, as they reduce photo-
biodegradable copolymers for sustained and controlled damage, and for phototherapy, as they can be excited
release of anti-cancer and AIDS drugs increasing the oral using infrared light to generate heat at targeted sites.
bioavailability to 91% while decreasing side effects. They
are also using these polymers for developing vaccines
Energy Applications
Energy was recognized as one of the 12 priority
and gene therapies with minimal side effects. Another
research areas by A*Star as part of a tech scan exercise
group at NUS is studying the role of nano-biomechanics
it carried out prior to the launch of Singapore’s Science
to understand the patho-physiology of malaria and cancer
& Technology 2010 plan. A significant portion of
to develop highly sensitive and accurate high-throughput
energy related nanotechnology research in Singapore
assays that can help detect diseases in early stages.
is focused on third generation solar cells – specifically
Researchers at NTU are developing biodegradable stents
in organic and dye sensitized solar cells. Another
with the capacity to deliver multiple drugs and to reduce
significant area of research related to energy is the
restenosis and thrombosis. IMRE is developing thermal
development of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs)
and pH - responsive degradable polymers via graft of
NIPAAm (N-isopropylacrylamide) that can be used in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
hydrogels and micelles for drug delivery applications.
Researchers at NUS are investigating the use of
Tissue Engineering diameter controlled anatase TiO2 nanofibers in dye-
sensitized solar cells. They are also researching the
Researchers at NUS are developing a novel intra-
impact of electrospinning and hot pressing 1D metal
guidance channel using electrospun biodegradable
oxide nanorods on to substrates as guides for electron
poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) that can be used
transport. Initial results indicate that they can produce
with commercially available nerve conduit. Other tissue
dye-sensitized solar cells with conversion efficiencies of
engineering applications of nanofibers being investigated
~6%. Another group at NUS is investigating mesoscopic
include biomineralized scaffolds for bone and cartilage
metal oxide electrodes (TiO2, Al2O3, etc.) and their
repair, skin grafts for wound dressing and nanofiber
assemblies with functional molecules to produce high-
covered stents to reduce restenosis. Another group at
efficiency, low cost dye sensitized and 3D solar cells.
NUS is developing methods to combat bio-material
Other groups are investigating the use of conjugate
- centered infection using surface functionalization
polymers and nanocrystalline inorganic materials for
techniques especially in Ti implants. Researchers at
solid state dye-sensitized solar cells. At NTU, researchers
IBN have developed novel fibrous scaffolds where the
have developed dye-sensitized solar cells based on
porosity can be manipulated by hydroentanglement and
ZnO nanoflowers with a conversion efficiency of 1.9%.
use of microparticles. These scaffolds can deliver growth
factors customized to the cells and mimic the extracellular Organic Solar Cells
matrix to promote effective tissue regeneration.
A*Star’s IMRE has developed translucent organic

8

solar cells that can be easily printed on flexible substrates.
These solar cells not only can be produced cheaply but
also have a wide variety of applications from window
panes to portable electronics. At NTU, researchers are
incorporating silver nanoprisms as the median layer
between the electron and the hole to increase the amount
of light absorbed and enhance charge transport. At NUS,
platform technologies such as advanced nanometal inks,
Deep Ultra-Violet (DUV) and i-line crosslinkable formulations
for producing organic transistors and novel columnar
hetrostructures for highly efficiency photovoltaics are being
developed. Researchers at NUS are also investigating the
production of low-cost, high quality graphene by chemical
exfoliation and its use in transistors and solar cells.
OLED
IMRE and NUS researchers have developed a
technology to fabricate all-in-one white LEDs by growing
multiple quantum wells using InGaN/GaN on a sapphire
substrate. This is an important milestone in obtaining
white light LEDs that are cheaper, stable and less complex
without using phosphors. Another research group at IMRE
is developing top emitting OLEDs on flexible substrates and
has developed robust plastic substrates with an effective
barrier against oxygen and moisture to increase their life
time. They have also achieved significant improvement
in electroluminescent efficiency in top emitting OLEDs by
overlaying an optical coupling layer on a semitransparent
cathode. Researchers at IMRE have also developed blue
emitters with increased lifetime and efficiency that is solution-
processible, which makes the production cost cheaper.
Environment and Water Related Applications
Environment and water sector was recognized as one
of two new strategic sectors for growth in Singapore in the
Singapore Science & Technology 2010 plan. A significant
part of environment and water-related applications of
nanotechnology is in the area of membranes with NUS
being recognized as a world leader. Environmental sensors
is another area witnessing a growth in research activity.
Membranes
NUS is the first to publish a study of forward osmosis
by fabricating nanofiltration (NF) hollow fiber membranes
for osmotically driven membrane processes. Researchers
there are studying novel membrane materials for natural
gas applications and have synthesized several novel and
promising flourinated polyimides with high gas permeability
and selectivity. They have enhanced the anti-plasticization
properties of the membranes using innovative chemical
cross-linking technologies and have achieved a significant
breakthrough in membrane distillation using dual-layer
microporous hollow fibers. Another group at NUS is
exploring the use of surface modification techniques such
as plasma-induced graft copolymerization on electrospun
nanofibrous membranes to achieve smaller pores
while retaining their high flux performance with potential
applications in water filtration. At NTU, researchers are
GUEST ARTICLE
investigating the use of TiO2 nanofiber membranes for
concurrent photocatalytic oxidation and filtration to reduce
membrane fouling problems in large-scale water treatment
applications. They are also developing bimetallic zerovalent
metal particles for catalytic reduction of contaminants in
water and nanostructured materials such as layered double
hydroxides to adsorb trace inorganic contaminants and
biomaterials. NTU has set up the Singapore Membrane
Technology Center (SMTC), a world class research
center for developing advanced membrane technology.
Environmental Sensors
Researchers at NUS have developed an instrumentation-
free sensor system to detect the presence of mercury at
room temperature using DNA-modified gold nanoparticles.
Another group there has developed a liquid crystal-
based detection system for environmental applications.
At IBN, researchers have developed an ultrasensitive
electrochemical detection system for biomolecules using
nanoparticle tagging. NTU’s researchers, meanwhile,
have synthesized semiconductor and ferroelectric nano-
structured metal oxide and composite materials for use in
gas sensors. Another group there has developed sensors
based on modified gold electrodes using ZnO nanocombs.
Electronic Applications
Electronics is one of the main industry clusters in the
Singapore manufacturing sector and data storage and
semiconductors are the two most important sectors
within it. Hence there is a critical mass of research in this
area and the infrastructure to support it in Singapore.
Nanodevices
NUS is the first in the world to demonstrate the use
of a new material comprising silicon and carbon in
transistors to enhance the speed of electronics. NUS
broke the world’s sub-threshold record for semiconductor
devices by developing a CMOS-compatible L-shaped
impact-ionization MOS (IMOS) technology based on
silicon-germanium (SiGe) to enable the next generation of
ultra-low power devices. It is also the first in the world to
demonstrate HfN/SiO2 and HfN/HfO2 gate stack technology
and to develop a proton beam writing technology with the
unique ability to direct-write 3-dimensional structures down
to the 30nm level in both polymer and semi-conductor
materials. NTU developed the world’s first metamorphic
indium phosphide double-heterojunction bipolar transistor
technology to manufacture high performance III-V
monolithic microwave-integrated circuits cheaply. It has
also developed a novel Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc
(FCVA) coating technology which overcomes many of the
disadvantages in existing FCVA technologies. Potential
applications of FCVA technology being explored include
the deposition and characterization of ZrO2 to replace
SiO2 as a gate dielectric and the deposition of ZnO on
silicon substrates for optoelectronic applications. IMRE
successfully fabricated high-k oxides of high quality on
semiconductors and achieved improved performance of
9
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
Ge-based MOSFETS by using Germanides such as NiGe
as a Schottky source/drain. Researchers there have also
been successful in using silicide materials such as NiSi
and ErSi2 in sub-90nm nanodevices. IME successfully
demonstrated the integration of Gate-All-Around (GAA)
Si-nanowire transistors into CMOS inverters using a top-
down approach. They also fabricated P-channel omega-
gated SiGe nanowire FETs with high-k/metal gate using
a top-down approach, thus enabling the integration of
nearly pure Ge nanowire transistors into CMOS logic
circuits. Another key result achieved by researchers at IME
is the development of Wafer Transfer Technology to effect
wafer level transfer of circuit patterns from Si onto plastic,
glass or rubber. Researchers at SIMTech have developed
lead-free nanocomposite solders by strengthening
the solder with fine second phase particles to provide
good mechanical, electrical and thermal properties.
Photonics and Magnetics
NUS researchers are developing novel spintronic
materials such as oxide-based ferromagnets created by
doping wide bandgap oxides such as TiO2, HfO2, Cu2O,
SnO2, ZnO and using them to build multifunctional spintronic
devices for information storage and processing. Another
group at NUS is exploring heterostructure, superlattices,
or/and quantum wells between various epitaxial films with
particular emphasis on materials with unconventional
electronic, optical, magnetic and thermal properties. Other
groups at NUS are examining nonlinear optical effects of
intense laser pulses on novel materials with large higher-
order nonlinear optical susceptibility to identify materials
for applications in optical switching, optical limiting, and
optical imaging. Researchers at NTU are developing
mesoscopic structures for routing and processing light that
can be integrated with active devices such as lasers and
detectors in a very compact form factor. They are exploring
the integration of photonic devices based on III-V quantum
dots grown using the molecular beam epitaxy process
into a silicon-based substrate platform. Another group at
the NTU has fabricated ZnO waveguides which achieve
amplified spontaneous emission, pointing the way to
directional ZnO lasers. That work is part of a larger program
to fabricate ZnO optoelectronics based on a silicon
substrate and to integrate them with silicon electronics
using the FCVA deposition technique. IMRE researchers
have developed perfluorinated materials for use as barrier
films and lubricants for hard disk drives. At IME, researchers
have established a full suite of passive components library-
based SOI nanowires and SiN waveguides with an ultimate
goal of achieving monolithic integration of all electronic
and photonic devices on a single chip. They have also
monolithically integrated a Ge-Photodetector onto a Sia Si-
CMOS compatible photonics platform. Another group at
IME has reported electron luminescence in an electrically
pumped silicon light-emitting device with a thin multi-
layer stacked amorphous silicon/silicon nitride structure.
10
GUEST ARTICLE
Organic and Molecular electronics
NTU researchers have developed a tunable computer-
generated hologram stored in polymer-dispersed liquid
crystals bringing them one step closer to rewritable
holographic disks. Another group there is developing
superior semiconductor single-wall carbon nanotubes
networks to build Field Effect Transistors (FETs) with high
mobility, on/off ratio and yield for printed electronics. As
mentioned in previous sections, NUS researchers are
setting up a technology platform to develop organic
electronic systems. Another group at NUS is developing
new methods to make graphene-related materials using
chemical and physical means and integrating these
materials into a specially created device structure for
investigating electron transport. NUS is also studying
charge and spin transport in lithographically patterned
graphene nanostructures and the manipulation of the
magnetization of nanoscale ferromagnets by means of
spin currents. As mentioned earlier, IMRE researchers have
developed top-emitting OLEDs on flexible substrates. They
are also experimenting with developing nanocomposite
dendrimers consisting of a rigid core with active
organic peripheries for use in solar cells and transistors.
Characterization
NUS is home to the invention of the portable scanning
electron microscope(SEM) concept and researchers there
have developed several attachments to SEM to significantly
enhance the performance of a standard SEM. Another
group has developed an image collection and processing
system to control, capture, store and process images from
SEMs. This group developed a cathodoluminescence
detection system capable of performing monochromatic
imaging and extended the capabilities of the SEM for
deep and sub-surface analysis, presently not detectable
in the SEM, using the detection of thermo-acoustically
generated signals. There is also ongoing research at NUS
to build Photoelectron Emission Microscope (PEEM) to
enable imaging of plasmonic devices with high spatial
and temporal resolution. IMRE researchers are using
photoemission spectroscopy to determine hetero-junction
band offsets to optimize and tune devices to specific
applications. Another group there has developed Ballistic
Electron Emission Microscopy (BEEM), which is a modified
version of Scanning Tunnel Microscope (STM) that allows
local charge injection barrier measurements for a buried
interface such as in electronic devices. Researchers there
have also developed a high-sensitivity oxygen and water
vapor permeation measurement system for studying the
lifetime and degradation properties of flexible OLED devices.
Success Stories
One of the early success stories in nanotechnology space
based on research and development in Singapore is
SingularID15. SingularID was a spin-off from A*Star’s IMRE
that uses inherent disorder in magnetic composites resulting
in a unique pattern or “fingerprint” which can be used for anti-

Nanotechnology-Based Solutions for Oil Spills
counterfeiting. SingularID was formed in May 2005 after it
secured initial funding from BioVenture Center of Beckton
Dickson and was bought over by BilCare to form its BilCare
Technologies,15 winning numerous awards along the way.
Hot Technologies16
Curiox Biosystems is a spin-off from A*Star’s
IBN to commercialize innovative assay platforms by
offering DropArray™ systems based on its expertise
in surface chemistry and engineering. It started out as
a flagship project funded by ETPL that was spun-off
in 2008, as the number of the initiatives described in
Fig. 2 started to be implemented after receiving its first
funding from NanoStart Asia, the Asian subsidiary of
NanoStart AG. Recently, NanoStart sold its share in
the company to a strategic investor Zicom Group that
increased its stake in Curiox to 41%. NanoStart Asia
is one of the VC firms under the Early Stage Venture
Funding scheme of NRF. Curiox also took advantage
of SPRING’s TECS grants to develop its products.
Tera-barrier17 is a spin-off from A*Star’s IMRE to
commercialize barrier films for flexible electronics. The
fundamental research for this project started in 1999
with the first patents filed in 2000. It was incubated by
Exploit Technologies as a flagship project and was
spunoff in 2009 after it received funding from Applied
Ventures. Tera-barrier signed an exclusive distribution
agreement in Asia Pacific and received strategic
investment from KISCO Ltd in 2010 and is now in the
process of building a production facility to increase the
production of the barrier film for photovoltaic applications.
A more complete overview of Singapore’s
nanotechnology research and commercialization
infrastructure and the companies working in this area can
be obtained from [18] and [19].
Conclusions
Singapore has focused its R&D funding on developing
building capabilities and innovations that are most
relevant to its socio-economic development and building
the ecosystem to successfully use them. The government
views Singapore as a “living lab” to experiment with
cutting edge innovations and de-risk them via various
grant schemes. These efforts are starting to show some
early successes and RIE 2015 provides the impetus
to push these efforts even further. Some challenges in
commercializing the technologies still remain even in this
vibrant environment. These include lack of experienced
entrepreneurs and engineering skills to steer the young
companies to success, gaps in availability of finance for
later-stage companies (series B stage), small domestic
market and gaps in supply chains in taking the company
from technology to market. These gaps become even
more apparent for companies that are not based on
technologies coming out of Singapore’s academic and
research institutions. However, the recent launch of the
Asia Nanotechology Fund by Rusnano, EDB and 360ip20
will give a boost to the availability of growth funds for
GUEST ARTICLE
nanotech companies in Singapore. Singapore’s companies
are tackling the other issues by starting out with a global
outlook, hiring foreign talent and forming strong networks
outside Singapore, and more needs to be done to boost
the entrepreneurial eco-system to address these gaps.
References
1. http://www.uspto.gov/go/oeip/taf/cst_all.htm
2. http://www.globalinnovationindex.org/gii/
3. Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2015, http://app.
mti.gov.sg/default.asp?id=885
4. Singapore Science & Technology 2010, http://app.
mti.gov.sg/default.asp?id=885
5. NRF National Framework for Innovation
and Enterprise, http://www.nrf.gov.sg/nrf/
otherProgrammes.aspx?id=1206
6. A*Star: http://www.a-star.edu.sg/
7. Asia Nano Forum, http://www.asia-anf.org/index.php
8. NUS Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Initative, http://
www.nusnni.nus.edu.sg/
9. NUS NanoCore, http://www.nanocore.nus.edu.sg/
10. NTU NanoCluster, http://www.ntu.edu.sg/nanocluster
11. NUS Enterprise, http://www.nus.edu.sg/enterprise/
12. NTU Innovation & Technology Transfer Office, http://
www.ntu.edu.sg/itto/Pages/default.aspx
13. NanoFrontier , http://www.nanofrontier.com.sg/
14. A*Star Technology Commercialization, http://www.
exploit-tech.com/For-Industry/A-STAR-Technology-
Commercialisation.aspx
15. BilCare Technologies: http://www.bilcaretech.com/
index.htm
16. Curiox BioSystems, http://www.curiox.com/
17. Tera-Barrier, http://www.tera-barrier.com/
18. Singapore Nanotechnology Ecosystem Report:
http://www.nanoconsulting.com.sg/doc/
SingNanoReport2009Feb.pdf
19. Singapore Nanotech Capability Report, http://nano-
globe.biz/intro_report.html
20. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2011-
06/16/c_13934009.htm
Hiran Vedam
Managing Director
NanoConsulting Pte. Ltd.,
20 Maxwell Road, #09-17 Maxwell House
Singapore 069113
Phone: +65 81005837
11
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
Nanofluids:
Nanofluids
Fascinating Alternative to
Conventional Heat Transfer Fluids
Guest Article Tessy Theres Baby, S. S. Jyothirmayee Aravind and S. Ramaprabhu
The energy conservation strategy developed to
make power available to all by 2012 focuses on two
important aspects: avoiding the unwanted usage of
energy systems and power, and utilizing the available
energy effectively. Since the overproduction of thermal
energy is the cause of unusual climate change, it may
be controllable, to some extent, by energy conservation.
The miniaturization of electronic circuits leads to
overheating of the system which damages and reduces
the performance of electronic devices. The continuous
growth in technology and upcoming miniaturized powerful
devices in various sectors such as communication and
electronics demand improved cooling performance,
which is an important aspect of thermal management.
Though the electronics industry uses conventional
cooling systems like air coolant and liquid coolants to
remove the excess heat, they are not very effective due
to their poor thermal properties. The conventional liquid
coolants are deionised (DI) water, ethylene glycol (EG)
and a combination of water and ethylene glycol. One way
of improving the thermal property of these fluids is the
addition of solid materials to these fluids, considering the
fact that solids have higher thermal conductivities than
liquids. The scientific community has investigated the
thermal property of macro and micro materials-dispersed
a) b)
Fig. 1: (a) Al2O3 nanoparticles and (b)TiO2 nanoparticles
dispersed deionized water-based nanofluids
12
fluids to synthesize macrofluids and microfluids, but due to
sedimentation and clogging in the pipe lines, these fluids
are not efficient for heat transfer applications. In 1995
Choi and coworkers1 from Argonne National Laboratory
introduced a new type of interesting fluid, called
‘Nanofluid’. Nanofluid, a suspension of nanoparticles in
a base liquid, has been found to provide a considerable
heat-transfer enhancement compared to the base fluids
since the suspended crystalline nanoparticles have
thermal conductivities which are several orders higher
than those of the base fluids. Besides, with proper
synthesis techniques, there is no settling, sedimentation
and clogging in nanofluids. Moreover, the high specific
surface area of the nanomaterials provides more surfaces
for enhancing heat transfer between nanoparticles and
fluids. The dispersion stability is good for nanofluids with
predominant Brownian motion of nanoparticles. Thus,
nanofluids have several advantages such as better
stability and higher enhancement of thermal conductivity
over microfluids. The property of a nanofluid can be tuned
by varying the property of the additive nanomaterial.
Thus, nanofluid technology offers great potential for
further developments of advanced, highly efficient,
compact and cost-effective liquid cooling systems.
Nanofluids can be used in a wide variety of industries,
ranging from transportation to energy production and
in electronics systems like microprocessors, Micro-
Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and in the fleld of
biotechnology. Recently, a number of companies have
acknowledged the potential of nanofluids technology
and focusing their efforts on utilizing this technology. In
the transportation industry, Tata Motors, GM and Ford,
among others, are focusing on nanofluids research
projects2. Nanofluids can be used to cool automobile
engines, welding equipment, and heat flux devices
such as high-power microwave tubes and high-
power laser diode arrays. A nanofluid coolant could
flow through tiny passages in MEMS to improve its
efficiency. The measurement of the Critical Heat Flux
(CHF) of a nanofluid in a forced convection loop is
useful for nuclear applications2. If nanofluids improve
chiller efficiency by 1%, a saving of 320 billion kWh
of electricity per annum could be realized. Further,
nanofluids find potential use in deep drilling applications.
Thermal conductivity is one of the attractive
characteristics of a nanofluid. Nanofluids dispersed
with metal nanoparticles such as copper, silver and
gold show increased effective thermal conductivity
 G UU EE SS TT AA RR TT II CC LL EE
G

candidates for use in nanofluids10. The synthesis of

a) b)
Fig. 2: Photographs of CNT nanofluids (a) functionalized CNTs
and (b) non-functionalized CNTs in deionized water
compared with the base fluids. Cu nanoparticles coated
with thioglycolic acid gave a 40 % increase in the thermal
conductivity of ethylene glycol at a particle loading of
only 0.3% volume fraction.3 Enhancement in thermal
conductivity has been reported for kerosene-based
nanofluids prepared using silver nanoparticles4. Recent
work on Ag nanoparticles-dispersed oil-based nanofluids
describes the physicochemical properties of Ag
nanofluids5. Saterlie et al.6 have reported that nanofluids
with 0.55% volume fraction of Cu nanoparticles exhibit a
thermal conductivity enhancement of approximately 22%.
The most widely studied metal oxides for nanofluids are
aluminium oxide (Al2O3), copper oxide (CuO) and titanium
dioxide (TiO2). Heris et al.7 reported a heat transfer
enhancement as high as 40% with Al2O3 particles.
Karthikeyan et al.8 have reported an enhancement of
~ 31% for a 1 volume percent of CuO nanoparticles in
deionized (DI) water based
nanofluid. With 3% volume a)

fraction of TiO2 nanoparticles, the 

reported value of enhancement 
7KHUPDOFRQGXFWLYLW\:P.
carbon- based nanofluids is a very tricky issue, and none
of the carbon-related materials can be dispersed in polar
solvents without surface modification or surfactants.
Of late, Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high thermal
conductivity have been considered as an ideal choice for
nanofluid applications. The efficient utilization of CNTs in
nanofluids would require modification of their surface with
oxygen containing functional groups. These functional
groups are essential as they can impart hydrophilicity
and provide anchoring sites for further decorating them
with metal nanoparticles. Efficient functionalization has
been carried out by treating CNTs with acid (Fig. 2).
Further, silver nanoparticle-decorated CNT has been
dispersed in base fluids for nanofluid applications.
Gharagozloo et al.11 have reported an increase of 11.6%
in the convection coefficient for DI water-based nanofluid
with 0.2% volume fraction of CNTs. Jha et al.12 have
reported higher thermal conductivity for different metal
nanoparticle-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes
(MWNTs). A 27% enhancement in thermal conductivity
has been reported by adding 0.5 wt% of carbon-coated
Cu nanoparticles in polyethylene glycol, and 49%, 40%,
and 30% enhancement in thermal conductivity for carbon-
coated Cu, Al, and Fe nanoparticles with a loading of 1.5
wt%, respectively13. With a volume fraction of 5% CuO
in ethylene glycol, 1% MWNTs in ethylene glycol, 1.5%
MWNT in DI water and 2% MWNTs in synthetic engine
oil, thermal conductivity has found to be enhanced
by 22.4%, 12.4%, 17% and 30%, respectively14.
Temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity
of nanofluids has been studied for different concentrations
of constituent nanoparticles. An enhancement in
thermal conductivity of 7.5% has been obtained with
0.02 volume % CNT in DI water at room temperature.
At higher temperatures, the enhancement is nearly 22%
(Fig 3a). Ethylene glycol-based CNT systems show an
enhancement in thermal conductivity of 7.7% and 17%
at 25ºC and 50ºC, respectively. An enhancement in
thermal conductivity of 9.9% has been obtained with 20
wt% loading of Ag over CNT in DI water at 25ºC at 0.02
b)
 


 
7KHUPDOFRQGXFWLYLW\:P.


for DI water-based nanofluid is  

~ 7.4% at 13 ºC . Figures 1a
9


and 1b show the photograph

of Al2O3 and TiO2 nanoparticle-

dispersed deionized water 
-based nanofluids, respectively.
The large intrinsic thermal  

conductivity of carbon-based            
nanostructures, combined with
7HPSHUDWXUH &

7HPSHUDWXUH & 

their low densities compared

with metals and metal oxides, Fig. 3: Thermal conductivity enhancements of (a) CNT and (b) Ag/CNT in DI water at different
makes them attractive temperatures

13
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

water with non-functionalized

a) b) graphene and functionalized
graphene respectively. The
thermal conductivity and
heat transfer measurements
of functionalized graphene-
dispersed DI water-based
nanofluid is given in Fig. 7a
and 7b, respectively. For
0.05% volume fraction, the
enhancement in thermal
conductivity is about 16%
500nm 200nm
at 25°C and about 75% at
50°C. The flow of heat can
be calculated based on Q =
Fig. 4: Field emission scanning electron microscopy images of (a) CNT and (b) CNT- graphene h.A.∆T, where Q is the heat
composite flux, h is the heat transfer
% volume fraction (Fig 3b). With ethylene glycol as a coefficient, A is the heat transfer area and ∆T is the
base fluid, an enhancement of 9.5% and 24% at low and temperature difference which causes the heat flow. For
high temperatures, respectively could be obtained. Field a Reynolds number (Re) of 15500, the enhancement
emission scanning electron microscope images of CNT in heat transfer coefficient at the entrance of the pipe
and CNT-graphene are shown in Fig. 4. Hybrid composites is about 108% for 0.005% and 171% for 0.01% volume
of CNT and graphene exhibit superior thermal properties as fractions of functionalized graphene respectively16. Heat
compared with the individual nanomaterials. The thermal transfer of a nanofluid can be improved by increasing the
conductivity enhancement is nearly 15% and 6.9% in DI heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluid, or by improving
water and EG based nanofluids respectively, at 25ºC for the transport properties of the heat transfer materials.
0.04% volume fraction of CNT-graphene hybrid composite.
Various mechanisms such as Brownian motion of
The recent experimental investigation of the thermal nanoparticles, the interfacial ordering of liquid molecules
conductivity of single layer graphene (~5300 W/mK) on the surface of nanoparticles, the ballistic transport
by Balandin et al.15 suggests that this material can give of energy carriers within individual nanoparticles and
greater thermal enhancement for nanofluids compared to between nanoparticles that are in contact, as well as the
any other carbon nanostructures. Our research group has nanoparticle structuring/networking are being proposed
developed graphene/graphene composites-dispersed for the enhancement in the thermal conductivity of
nanofluids by modifying the surface of graphene with nanofluids. The Brownian motion of nanoparticles could
functional groups. Figures 5a and 5b show the field contribute to the thermal conduction enhancement
emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission through two ways, either by a direct contribution due
electron microscopy images of hydrogen exfoliated to the motion of nanoparticles that transport heat, or
graphene. Figures 6a and 6b show the photograph of DI by an indirect contribution due to micro-convection
of fluid surrounding
individual nanoparticles.
a) b)
A theoretical study
suggests that contribution
to thermal conductivity
from Brownian motion is
negligible. At the solid-
liquid interface, liquid
molecules could be
significantly more ordered
than those in the bulk
liquid. In analogy with
the thermal behavior
500nm 100 nm
of crystalline solids,
the ordered structure
could be responsible
Fig 5: (a) Field emission scanning electron microscopy and (b) transmission electron microscopy
for thermal conductivity
images of hydrogen-exfoliated graphene e n h a n c e m e n t .

14
 GUEST ARTICLE

data. This discrepancy between theoretical prediction

a) b)
Fig. 6: (a) Photograph of DI water with (a) non- functionalized
graphene and (b) functionalized graphene
There are different theoretical models available
which calculate the effective thermal conductivity of a
nanofluid by considering it as a matrix (fluid) component
and particle component. Maxwell and Lord Rayleigh
calculated the effective thermal conductivity by classical
theory. Hasselman and Johnson17 have extended the
classical work to consider simple spherical particulate
and cylindrical fiber-reinforced matrix composites and
derived a Maxwell–Garnett type effective medium
approximation (MG-EMA) for calculating the effective
thermal conductivity (k*) in which the interface effect
and particle size are included. Maxwell–Garnett
and Hamilton–Crosser have not considered particle
Brownian motion in their effective medium theory. Xuan
et al.18 have developed a dynamic model that takes into
account the effects of Brownian motion of nanoparticles
and fractals. But all the static and dynamic models
developed with conduction-based mechanisms still fail
to predict the magnitude and trends of the experimental
a)  
and experimental calculation is due to the unexpected
settling and sedimentation of additive particles.
The efficient cooling of electronic (electrical) circuits can
be achieved using insulating (dielectric) nanofluids. The
properties of insulating nanofluids are best characterized
by their good thermal conductivity with negligible
increment in electrical conductivity to avoid any short-
circuiting. Most of the carbon-based highly conducting
nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes and graphene) can be
used to make nanofluids, which
will result in enhancement of
both the thermal conductivity and
electrical conductivity. Therefore,
it is essential to consider use of
semiconducting metal oxides as
a solute to make the nanofluids for
coolant applications in electrical
circuits. One dimensional metal
oxide nanotubes, because of
their good aspect ratio, will be
more suitable compared to
three dimensional metal oxide
nanoparticles as a solute material
in DI water and EG base fluids.
TiO2 nanotubes were prepared
by hydrothermal method and
dispersed in DI water and
ethylene glycol for the preparation Fig. 8: Photograph of
stable TiO nanotubes/
of nanofluids (Fig. 8). The thermal EG based 2nanofluid
conductivity of the nanofluids has
been systematically studied by considering the effect of
temperature and concentration of the nanoparticles in
it. The concentration of nanoparticles was varied from
0.005-0.02 % volume fractions in the temperature range
of 25-50ºC. An enhancement in thermal conductivity of
5% has been achieved with 0.01% TiO2 nanotubes in DI
water at 25ºC, whereas TiO2 nanotubes in EG nanofluid
 exhibit 4.8% improvement.
b)


 We are also working
 
  on insulating nanofluids by
dispersing some metal oxide
1XVVHOWVQXPEHU1X


 

nanoparticles and nanotubes

in transformer oil. A nanofluid
NQNI



can also be used for increasing
 
the dielectric strength and life of


the transformer oil by dispersing

nano diamond particles2.
     
      
Recently our group has
['
7HPSHUDWXUH &

developed magnetic nanofluids
using magnetic nanoparticle-
Fig. 7: (a) Thermal conductivity study of functionalized graphene dispersed in DI water decorated MWNTs. These
for different volume fractions at different temperatures. (b) heat transfer measurement of
nanofluids show enhancement
functionalized graphene dispersed DI water based nanofluids for different Reynolds number,
Re=4500 (n ), Re=8700 (l) and Re=15500 (p). Black dotted lines, blue solid lines and red in thermal conductivity in the
dashed lines are for DI water, DI water with 0.005% of functionalized graphene and 0.01% of presence of a magnetic field
functionalized graphene, respectively due to the chain formation of
magnetic nanomaterials. The

15
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

outcome of nanofluid-related research from our group has 15. A. A. Balandin, S. Ghosh, W. Bao, I. Calizo, D. Tewel-
been presented as published papers and patents12,16,19-27. debrhan, F. Miao and C.N. Lau, “Superior Thermal
Conductivity of Single-Layer Graphene”, Nano Lett.,
References 8(2008)902
16. T. T. Baby and S. Ramaprabhu, “Enhanced Convective
1. S. U. S.Choi and J.A. Eastman, “ Enhancing Thermal
Heat Transfer Using Graphene Dispersed Nanofluids",
Conductivity of Fluids with Nanoparticles”,American So-
Nanoscale Res. Lett., 6(2011) 289
ciety of Mechanical Engineers, Fluids Engineering Divi-
17. D. P. H. Hasselman and L.F. Johnson, “ Effective Ther-
sion, 231(1995)99
mal Conductivity of Composites With Interfacial Thermal
2. R. Saidur, K. Y. Leong and H. A. Mohammad, “A Review
Barrier Resistance”, J.Compos.Mater., 21( 1987)508
on Applications and Challenges of Nanofluids”, Renew
18. Y. Xuan, and Q. Li, “Investigation on Convective Heat
Sustain Energ Rev.,15 (2011) 1646
Transfer and Flow Features of Nanofluids”, ASME J.
3. J. A. Eastman, S. U. S. Choi, S. Li, W. Yu and L. J.
Heat Transfer, 125(2003)151
Thompson, “Anomalously Increased Effective Thermal
19. T. T. Baby and S. Ramaprabhu, “Investigation of Thermal
Conductivities of Ethylene Glycol-Based Nanofluids
and Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Based Nanoflu-
Containing Copper Nanoparticles”, J. Appl. Phys. Lett.,
ids”, J. Appl. Phys., 108(2010)124308
78 (2001)1341218
20. T. T. Baby and S. Ramaprabhu, “Synthesis and Trans-
4. D. Li, B. Hong, W. Fang, Y. Guo and R. Lin, “Prepara-
port Properties of Metal Oxide Decorated Graphene Dis-
tion of Well-Dispersed Silver Nanoparticles for Oil-Based
persed Nanofluids”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 115(2011)8527
Nanofluids” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 49(2010)1697
21. T. T. Baby and S. Ramaprabhu, “Synthesis and Nano-
5. S. S. Botha, P. Ndungu and B.J. Bladergroen, “Physico-
fluid Application of Silver Nanoparticles Decorated Gra-
chemical Properties of Oil-Based Nanofluids Containing
phene”, J. Mat. Chem., 21(2011)9702
Hybrid Structures of Silver Nanoparticles Supported on
22. T. T. Baby and S. Ramaprabhu, “Experimental investi-
Silica”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 50(2011)3071
gation of the Thermal Transport Properties of a Carbon
6. M. Saterlie, H. Sahin, B. Kavlicoglu, Y. Liu and O. Graeve,
Nanohybrid Dispersed Nanofluid”, Nanoscale, 3(2011)
“Particle Size Effects in the Thermal Conductivity En-
2208
hancement of Copper-Based Nanofluids”, Nanoscale
23. S. S. Jyothirmayee Aravind and S. Ramaprabhu, “Syn-
Res. Lett., 6(2011) 217
thesis and Thermal Transport Studies of Nanofluids
7. S. Z. Heris, S.G.Etemad and M. N.Esfahany, “Experi-
Based on Metal Decorated Photochemically Oxidized
mental Investigation of Oxide Nanofluids Laminar Flow
Multi walled Carbon Nanotubes", J. Nanosci.Nanotech-
Convective Heat Transfer”, Int. Commun. Heat and
nol., (In press)2011
Mass Transfer,33(2006)529
24. S. S. Jyothirmayee Aravind, Prathab Baskar, T. T. Baby, R.
8. N. R. Karthikeyan J. Philip and B. Raj, “Effect of Cluster-
Krishna Sabareesh, Sumitesh Das and S. Ramaprabhu,
ing on the Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids”,Mater.
Investingation of Structural stability, Dispersion, Viscos-
Chem. Phys., 109(2008) 50
ity and Conductive Heat Transfer properties of Funtion-
9. A. Turgut, I. Tavman, M. Chirtoc, H.P. Schuchmann, C.
alized Carbon Nanotubes based Nanofluids", J. Phys.
Sauter and S. Tavman, “Thermal Conductivity and Vis-
chem. C, (In press)2011
cosity Measurements of Water-Based TiO2 Nanofluids”,
25. S. Ramaprabhu and N. Jha , “Nanofluids for Coolant
Int. J. Thermophys., 30(2009)1213
Application”, IN-800559(2010)
10. J. A. Eastman, S. R. Phillpot, S. U. S. Choi and P. Ke-
26. S. Ramaprabhu and S. S. Jyothirmayee Aravind, “Metal
blinski, “Thermal Transport in Nanofluids”, Annu. Rev.
Oxide Nanotube based Nanofluids as Coolants”, IN-
Mater. Sci., 34(2004) 219
813955 (2011)
11. J. Lee, P. E. Gharagozloo, B. Kolade, J. K. Eaton and K.
27. S. Ramaprabhu, N. Jha and A. L. M. Reddy , “CNT
E. Goodson, “Nanofluid Convection in Microtubes”, J.
Based Magnetic Nanofluids”, 408/CHE/2008(2008)
Heat Transfer, 132 (2010)092401
12. N. Jha and S. Ramaprabhu, “Thermal Conductivity
Studies of Metal Dispersed Multiwalled Carbon Nano- Tessy Theres Baby, S. S. Jyothirmayee Aravind
tubes in Water and Ethylene Glycol Based Nanofluids", and S. Ramaprabhu
J. Appl. Phys., 106(2009) 084317 Alternative Energy and Nanotechnology
13. H. Zhang, Q. Wu, J. Lin, J. Chen and Z. Xu, “Thermal Laboratory (AENL), Nano Functional
Conductivity of Polyethylene glycol Nanofluids Contain- Materials Technology Centre (NFMTC),
ing Carbon Coated Metal Nanoparticles”, J. Appl. Phys., Department of Physics, Indian Institute of
108(2010)124304 Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
14. M. S. Liu, M. C. C.Lin and C. C. Wang, “Enhancements Phone: +91(44) 22574862
of Thermal Conductivities with Cu, CuO, and Carbon Email: tessytheres@physics.iitm.ac.in,
Nanotube Nanofluids and Application of MWNT/Water
jyothiss@physics.iitm.ac.in, ramp@iitm.ac.in
Nanofluid on a Water Chiller System", Nanoscale Res.
Lett., 6(2011)297

16

Nanotechnology-Enhanced Curcumin: Symbiosis of
Ancient Wisdom of East with Modern Medical Science
Hot Technologies
“If I had only a single herb to depend upon for all
possible health and dietary needs, I would without
much hesitation choose the Indian spice turmeric”
David Frawley
Introduction
Modern medicine (allopathic medicine) follows a
scientific approach to diagnose and treat the disease
and has made astounding advances in recent years. It is
ideally suited in emergencies involving accidents, trauma
and life threatening situations by applying surgery,
antibiotics, steroids, chemotherapy, radiation therapy etc.
However, the greatest problem associated with modern
medicine is that it just treats the symptoms of the disease
and not its root causes. Moreover, it may cause adverse
side effects and serious allergic reactions.Of late,there
is also an increase in multidrug-resistant strains, which
is a threat to modern medicine. In contarst, alternative
medicine follows a holistic (i.e. with an understanding of
the whole being, mind, body, spirit) and cost-effective
approach while focusing on the underlying cause and
provides an ideal solution in treating chronic illnesses. In
the realm of medicine, nanotechnology holds enormous
promise for benefit of the society by potentially reducing
the miseries of people suffering from grave illnesses and
Nanotechnology
Eastern Traditional
Western Medical Sciences
Wisdom
Dawn of
Future
Medicine
Fig. 1: A fusion of Eastern and Western medicinal systems integrated with
nanotechnology may usher in a new era of future medicine
HOT TECHNOLOGIES
save a great number of lives. The traditional medicinal
system (Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Yog and Pranayam,
Herbalism, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Siddha
medicine, Traditional medicine (Chinese/Mongolian/
Tibetan), Unani etc.) would greatly benefit by integrating
with the scientific advancements in medical science
and diagnostics in concert with nanotechnology.
This trinity may usher in a new era of affordable, safe
and effective medicinal system as shown in Fig.1.
Today, we are experiencing an unprecedented
resurgence of interest in herbal healing, and ‘herbal
renaissance’ is happening all over the globe. The Western
world has begun to acknowledge the importance of
traditional medicines as they symbolize safety in contrast
to the allopathic medicines, which tend to produce
undesirable side effects and are lacking in curative
value. Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is the shining star
among the cornucopia of traditional medicinal plants.
It has a long history of usage in traditional medicine
in India and China. Ancient Indians have known the
medicinal properties of turmeric, thus curcumin, for
several millennia. The cultivation of turmeric plants
began in Harappan civilization in 3000 B.C.1 and Susruta
Samhita, dating back to 250 B.C., highly recommends
use of an ointment based on turmeric for relieving food
poisoning effect2. Turmeric was introduced to China
from India by 700 A.D.3 and has been said to be long
used as a medicinal herb. It has been
used in Ayurvedic medicines internally
as a stomach tonic and blood
purifier, and topically in the prevention
and treatment of skin diseases.
Recently, turmeric came into the
global limelight when the controversial
patent “Use of Turmeric in Wound
Healing” was awarded4, in 1995, to
the University of Mississippi Medical
Center, USA. Indian Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR)
aggressively contested this award of
the patent. It was argued by them that
turmeric has been an integral part of
the traditional Indian medicinal system
over several centuries, and therefore,
is deemed to be ‘prior art’, hence is in
the public domain. Subsequently, after
protracted technical/legal battle USPTO
decreed that turmeric is an Indian
discovery and revoked the patent.
17
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

synthetic curcuminoids etc.

HO OH
In the scientific literature there
ENOLATE is a large body of evidence(8-14)
CH3O OCH3
showing that curcuminoids
O O exhibit a broad spectrum of
H biological and pharmacological
activities including anti-oxidant,
anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial,
anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-
mutagen, anti-cancer and detox
HO OH properties as represented in Fig.
3. Curcumin’s unique ability to
Bis - keto
work through so many different
CH3O OCH3 pathways with its extraordinary
O O antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
attributes can have a positive
Fig. 2: Curcuma longa plant and chemical structure of curcumin, the active ingredient
influence in combating
of rhizome turmeric. The tautomerism of curcumin is demonstrated under different
physiological conditions. Under acidic and neutral conditions, the bis-keto form (bottom) is almost every known disease.
more predominant than the enolate form. (Courtesy: Anti cancer effects of curcumin: cycle Extensive studies carried out
of life and death, Gaurisankar Sa and Tanya Das, Cell Division 2008, 3:14, BioMed Central) by researchers around the globe
The significance of turmeric in medicine has have clearly demonstrated curcumin’s great potential
changed considerably since the very recent discovery as a therapeutic agent, and have paved the way towards
of the anti-oxidant properties of naturally occurring conducting clinical trials for a variety of diseases including
phenolic compounds. The same ground dried cancer, cardiovascular, neurological and gastrointestinal
rhizome of Curcuma longa, which has been used disorders, multiple sclerosis, diabetes type II, skin
for centuries as a spice, food preservative and a diseases, cystic fibrosis, cataract etc. as depicted in Fig. 4.
coloring agent, has been found to be a rich source of
phenolic compounds. The bio-active polyphenol
component of turmeric is curcumin, Anti-thrombosis Nephroprotective
also known as diferuloylmethane
Anti-inflammatory
(C21H20O6), with an ability to Hepatoprotective

prevent and cure diseases.

Turmeric contains about Anti-oxidant Cardioprotective
2-5% curcumin alone.
Commercial curcumin Anti-bacterial Neuroprotective
contains three main
types of curcuminoids,
Anti-fungal
i.e., curcumin Wound –healing
(diferuloylmethane
or“ Curcumin I” about Anti-viral
Chemopreventive
77%), demethoxy
curcumin(“Curcumin II”
Anti-venom
~ 17%) and bis Radioprotective
demethoxy curcumin
(“Curcumin III” ~ 3%)5. Anti-diabetic Anti-angeogenic
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane)
renders its bright yellow color Anti-aging Anti-fibrotic
to turmeric. The typical turmeric
plant along with the chemical structure Anti-carcinogenic Anti-fertility
curcumin is shown6 in Fig. 2. In addition to
natural curcumin, several analogues of curcumin
have been synthesized and studied7. These include
Fig. 3: Biological and chemopreventive activities of curcumin.
tetrahydrocurcumin (antioxidative), 4-hydroxy-3- One can see a plate full of Indian curry containing turmeric
methoxybenzoic acid methyl ester (HMBME), aromatic (curcumin). Other ingredients such as oil, black pepper etc.
enone and dienone analogues, metal chelates of present in the curry enhance the bioavailability of curcumin

18

Cataract
Inflammation of muscles
Cardiovascular Disorders
• Myocardial infraction
• Artheros clerosis or restenosis
• Abnormal cholesterol levels
• Heart attack
Biliary cirrhosis
Gallbladder stone formation
Kidney diseases
Urinary tract infection
Fig. 4: Human anatomy and potential of curcumin as a therapeutic agent to prevent or treat various diseases
Anticancer Attributes of Curcumin
Cancer, probably the most dreaded disease afflicting
humans ever since time immemorial, but most of us
know little about it other than the fact that it originates
from uncontrolled growth of a single cell. Siddhartha
Mukherjee, in his Pulitzer Prize-winning monumental
piece of work15 “The Emperor of all maladies: A biography
of cancer”, meticulously outlines the trajectory of cancer.
He describes cancer as being "unleashed by mutations–
changes in DNA that specifically affect genes that incite
unlimited cell growth." Their unrestrained growth if
unchecked and untreated eventually kills the patient. In
order to win the battle against this dreadful scourge, we
shall require new tools and out-of-the-box approaches.
Nano-enabled traditional medicines based on herbs
(e,g,. curcumin, coptis chinensis (Huang Lian), coriolis
versicolor, ashwagandha, resveratrol, pomegranate,
HOT TECHNOLOGIES
Neurological Disorders
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease
Cystic fibrosis
Pancreatitis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Inflammation of joints
Gastrointestinal Disorders
• Crohn’s disease
• Indigestion/dyspepsia
• Inflammatory bowel
disease (IBD)
green tea etc.) integrated with the clinical and evidence-
based approach of modern medical science may
provide a long lasting solution to this age-old problem.
Curcumin offers significant potential as a cancer
chemopreventive agent. There is a wealth of evidence in
the literature suggesting that the incidence and mortality
rates of common types of cancer such as breast, colon,
prostate and lung are considerably lower in India than
those in western nations such as the USA 16,as shown
in Fig.5. The lower incidence of cancer in India has
been attributed to high consumption of curcumin (in the
form of turmeric) by the Indian population. Of course,
other ingredients of their diet such as garlic, ginger,
onion, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables, chillies,
green tea etc. also might be playing an important role
in their ability to resist the onslaught of these cancers.
19
NANOTECH INSIGHTS


86 ,QGLD





No. of Cancer Incidences










W WH DV D
DV QJ HU K D U H\ U\ P LD

HP
%UH VWD WXP /LY FUH DF GH OR D H

G
3UR HF /X RP GQ YD HP P DV

RL
Q DG \H

VW
U 3D P Q .L N SR
%O 2 VH

\U
R HOD

6\
ORQ 6W 0 HX L

7K
&R OH / \P '

V
0 V
WLS /

X
XO Q·

YR
V NL
LQ·

HU
0 J
JN RG

1
RG +

Q
DL
+

%U
Q
1R

Fig. 5: Comparison of cancer incidence in USA (curcumin non-users) and INDIA (curcumin users) showing cases per 1 million
persons calculated on the basis of current consensus16

In addition to the remarkable ability of curcumin to • Curcumin induces apoptosis (genetically directed
prevent cancer, it also shows the potential to inhibit the programmed cell death) in unhealthy, abnormal
growth of cancer throughout the body by metastasis (i.e. and rapidly reproducing cancerous cells, without
the process by which cancer cells spread to other parts affecting healthy cells. Curcumin has the unique
of the body via lymph or blood). Curcumin has also been ability to identify the cancerous cells by their abnormal
found to enhance cancer cells' sensitivity to some of the chemistry and to transmit “self-destruct” signals,
anti-cancer drugs making chemotherapy more effective thereby inducing apoptosis of the diseased cells.
in combating this deadly disease. Curcumin’s cancer-
• Curcumin strengthens the immune system and can
fighting capabilities against breast cancer, lung cancer,
help the body to fight off cancer should certain cells
brain tumours, leukemia, liver, intestine, esophagus,
escape apoptosis. Ingestion of curcumin boosts
and bowel cancers, melanoma, gynecological cancers
the killing power of immune system cells, such as T
etc. have been demonstrated based on numerous well
cells, NK cells, and macrophages. Strengthening of
established scientific studies(17-24) and preclinical and
the immune system also helps in lessening the side
clinical trials being carried out by researchers in the
effects that may be caused by some cancer treatments
US, India, Japan, Israel, Australia, China and Holland.
such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery.
Protective Abilities of Curcumin Against Cancer
• Angiogenesis is a process of growth of new
The various mechanisms involved in anti-cancer capillary blood vessels, which plays a crucial
activities have been summarized and presented in a role in promoting the growth of tumours and
simplified form in the following paragraphs. The interested metastases. Curcumin inhibits blood cell formation,
readers may like to look at more comprehensive and thereby, restricts the blood supply to cancer
publications (Ref: 17-24) for further details. cells resulting in their death due to starvation.
• Curcumin has the ability to work at a cellular level. • Cancer patients suffer from various treatment-induced
At the embryonic stage itself, it regulates the cellular symptoms like neuropathic pain, severe depression,
replication cycle and helps in blocking an uncontrolled lack of sleep, fatigue, loss of appetite etc. Curcumin
multiplication of new tissue cells into tumours. has the potential to act against a wide variety of these
Curcumin being a potent anti-oxidant is able to inhibit symptoms by suppressing the activation of NF-kB and
the activity of enzymes (e.g., cyclooxygenase-2 (COX- NF-kB regulated TNF, IL-1 and IL-6 expression, and in
2)) responsible for cancer causing inflammation. turn, provide some relief from misery to the patients.
Inflammation is one of the major causes for the
Nanotechnology Approaches to Enhance the
development of cancer as it releases powerful free
Bioavailability of Curcumin
radicals which both induce cell division and mutation,
thus the anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin plays a Today curcumin has been widely acknowledged
key role in the treatment of cancer. globally as a “wonder drug of the future” because of
its great potential abilities to prevent and treat a wide

20
 HOT TECHNOLOGIES

spectrum of incurable and chronic diseases. In addition, novel strategies are being aggressively explored
it has been proved to be remarkably safe in animal worldwide to enhance curcumin’s bioavailability
studies and in phase I clinical trials even at high doses and reduce perceived toxicity as they offer several
(up to 12g/day). However, the major problem limiting other additional benefits such as improved cellular
the exploitation of its potentially valuable therapeutic uptake, enhanced dissolution rates, excellent blood
effects is its low bioavailability25. In practice, only very stability, controlled release functions, multifunctional
low or undetectable levels of curcumin can be achieved design, enhancement in its pharmacological activities
in blood by oral administration of curcumin. The low (e.g. antioxidant and antihepatoma activities) etc.
bioavailability of curcumin has been attributed to its
A 2010 article on polymer nanoparticle-encapsulated
very low aqueous solubility, tendency to degrade in the
curcumin27 has been ranked as one of the top ten most
gastroinenstinal tract in the physiological environment,
accessed articles (48029 accesses) for all time by the
high rate of metabolism, and rapid systemic elimination.
Journal of Nanobiotechnology. This clearly demonstrates
The low bioavailability of curcumin has so far limited
the emerging importance of this field (nanotechnology-
its medical use. It has been suggested that a person
based drug delivery of curcumin based systems). In
is required to consume large doses (about 12-20g/day)
this pioneering work, researchers from Johns Hopkins
of curcumin in order to achieve its therapeutic effects
University School of Medicine and the University of
on the human body26. That means one has to swallow
Delhi have jointly developed a polymer nanoparticle-
24 to 40 curcumin capsules of 500mg each. These
encapsulated form of curcumin, “nanocurcumin”,
doses are considered to be too high, and therefore,
which can be readily dispersed in aqueous media
not feasible to be incorporated in clinical trials due to
(Fig. 6). In this process, they have coated ordinary
unbearable after-taste to the palate, possibility of giving
hydrophobic curcumin particles with hydrophilic polymer
rise to nauseatic feeling and perceived toxicity issues.
(N-isopropylacrylamide with N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidonne and
Therefore, to achieve the maximum response of this poly(ethylene glycol) monoacryalate) nanoparticles.
potentially useful chemopreventive agent, a number This nanocurcumin is soluble in water and can be
of approaches such as the use of adjuvants like readily absorbed into the bloodstream. It has already
piperine, synthetic analogues, chelating of curcumin been tested in vitro on pancreatic cancer cells and it was
with metals, combination with other dietary agents shown to have equal or better effects than free curcumin
etc. have been investigated. Nanotechnology-based on the human cancer cells, such as inhibition of NF-
kB and downregulation of
IL-6. Nanocurcumin was
a) b) also given to mice, and
did not show any evidence
of undesirable effects.
In addition to
p o l y m e r- e n c a p s u l a t e d
curcumin, other nano-
based drug delivery
systems being employed
for curcumin include
curcumin nanocrystals,
curcumin nanoparticles,
nanoemulsions,
n a n o l i p o s o m e -
encapsulated curcumin,
curcumin-loaded polymeric
micelles, cyclodextrin/
curcumin self-assembly,
curcumin nanosuspension,
solid-lipid nanoparticles
etc. These systems along
with their expected benefits
are briefly presented in
Fig. 6: Nano-encapsulation renders curcumin completely dispersible in aqueous media. (a) free
curcumin is poorly soluble in aqueous media, and macroscopic flakes can be seen floating in the Table 1.
bottle. In contrast, the equivalent quantity of curcumin encapsulated in polymeric nanoparticles is
fully dispersible in aqueous media (b). (Courtesy: Bisht et al., Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 2007,
5:3 doi:10.1186/1477-3155-5-3)

21
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

Table 1: Nanotechnology Strategies to Improve Bioavailability and Therapeutic Efficacy of Curcumin

Nanotechnology strategy
Antimicrobial Curcumin
Nanoparticles
Polymeric nanoparticle-
encapsulated curcumin
(nanocurcumin)
Oil-in-water nanoemulsions Enhancement of anti-inflammation activity
to encapsulate curcumin
Curcumin loaded solid-
lipid nanoparticles
Nanocrystal solid
dispersion of curcumin
Curcumin-loaded hydrogel
nanoparticles
Curcumin-loaded
biodegradable polymeric
micelles
Nanoliposomes decorated
with curcumin
Curcumin-phospholipid
complex
Cyclodextrin/curcumin self
assembly
Intravenously injectable
curcumin nanosuspension
Curcumin nanoparticles
Expected benefits Reference
Curcumin nanoparticles exhibit superior antimicrobial activity as (26)
compared to that of of a solution of a regular curcumin in DMSO
Nanocurcumin shows that it is as effective as the larger amounts of the (27)
free compound against pancreatic cancer cell growth
(28)
Improved bioavailability resulting in remarkable reduction in dose (29)
(32-155 times) and enhancement in curcumin’s efficacy, which shows
its promise as a potential therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative
disorders and cancer in humans.
Enhanced bioavailability along with high photochemical stability (30)
Exhibits large improvement in anti-malarial action as compared to that (31)
of curcumin control sample
It is an excellent intravenous injectable aqueous formulation having (32)
significant potential in the treatment of colon carcinoma
Exhibits antifibrillogenic activity having potential to target Alzheimer (33)
disease’s pathogenic markers (amyloid-ß aggregates) for diagnostic
and/or therapeutic purposes
Curcumin-phospholipid complex shows better hepatoprotective activity (34)
due to its excellent antioxidant property as compared to free curcumin
at the same dose level. The superior protective ability of curcumin-
phospholipid complex was demonstrated on carbon tetrachloride
induced acute liver damage in rats
Poly(ß-cyclodextrin)/curcumin formulation improves the bioavailability (35)
and delivery of free curcumin, and therefore, can be used for effective
treatment of prostate cancer.
Novel nanosuspension of curcumin made by high pressure (36)
homogenization shows huge enhancement of solubility (> 600 fold)
and dissolution rate > 10 fold) compared than pristine curcumin. These
nanosuspensions show great promise for intravenous administration of
conventional curcumin
Improvent of physicochemical characteristics of curcumin, and in turn, (37)
enhancement of its antioxidant and antihepatoma potential

of novel multifunctional hybrid nanogels amenable to

Recent R&D Activities and Breakthroughs in Nano
photothermal therapy48, “nanodiscs” with phospholipids
Curcumin
bilayers49, biocompatible thermoresponsive polymeric
In view of the enormous potential of curcumin in
nanoparticles loaded with curcumin50, yeast cell-
the prevention and therapy of a wide spectrum of
encapsulated-curcumin with high stability against
diseases, in recent years, intense R&D activities have
heat, light and humidity etc. are being developed51 to
been undertaken throughout the world in various
enhance the bioavailability of curcumin combined with
establishments.
multifunctional attributes.
Table 2 highlights some of these issues by
A number of commercial nanotechnology based curcumin
providing selected examples of ongoing R&D activities
products with enhanced bioavailability have been
on nanotech-based curcumin across the globe.
developed by companies from the USA, India, Japan,
In addition to these approaches, a number of other and Canada. These products and their manufacturers
unique nanotech-based techniques including a class are listed in Table 3, along with the key features.

22
 HOT TECHNOLOGIES

Table 2- Recent R&D Activities and Breakthroughs poly(ethylene glycol)-poly( -caprolactone) (MPEG-
in Nano-based Curcumin PCL) biodegradable micelles were prepared by a
nano-precipitation technique. These curcumin-loaded
micelles are an intravenously injectable formulation of
• Theracurcumin – A new curcumin formulation with
curcumin. They were shown to supress the growth of
markedly improved absorptivity38
colon carcinoma by inhibiting angiogenesis and killing
Japanese researchers have recently developed a the cancer cells.
new form of nanoparticle curcumin (Theracurcumin)
• Curcumin loaded PBCN nanoparticles for
containing 10% curcumin, 2% other curcuminoids
enhanced transport of curcumin to brain43
and balance glycerin, gum ghatti and water. Its oral
Polybutylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles (PBCN) loaded
intake in rat model as well as humans shows 30
with curcumin were synthesized by modified anionic
fold improvement in bioavailability as compared to
polymerization technique. Curcumin loaded PBCN
conventional curcumin. It shows excellent safety
shows enhanced transport of curcumin to the brain
profile even at high dose levels. Theracurcumin
and has excellent potential to cross the blood-brain
can be used as a promising tool to evaluate the anti-
barrier. This novel delivery system will find applications
cancer potential of curcumin in clinical trials.
for blocking brain tumor formation and curing
• Curcumin nanoparticles with enhanced antioxidant Alzheimer’s disease.
and antihepatoma activities39
• Curcumin loaded Lipo-PEG-PEI complex with
Curcumin-based nanoscale particle system (CURN) enhanced antitumor effects on curcumin-sensitive/
was developed by following a nanoprecipitation curcumin resistant cells44
route with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a hydrophilic
A cationic liposome containing PEI and PEG as a
carrier. The physiochemical properties including
carrier complex (LPPC) was developed to encapsulate
water solubility and drug release were improved by
curcumin for the treatment of cancer. It was found that
the reduction of particle size and formation of an
curcumin/LPPC exhibits enhanced cytotoxicity and
amorphous phase with hydrogen bonding. In vitro
is able to rapidly penetrate curcumin-sensitive and
studies clearly demonstrated that nanosized curcumin
resistant cells. It was observed that curcumin/LPPC
shows superior antioxidant and antihepatoma activities
is able to inhibit the colon/melanoma tumor growth in
as compared to conventional curcumin.
mice.
• Curcumin nanoparticles with highly potent
• Nanoemulsion formulation and coadministration
antimicrobial properties40
of Paclitaxel and curcumin to overcome multidrug
Water-soluble curcumin nanoparticles (2-40 nm) were resistance in tumour cells45
prepared by wet milling method. These nanocurcumin
Intracellular co-administration of Paclitaxel (mitotic
showed marked improvement in their antibacterial and
inhibitor)) and curcumin ( NF-kB activity inhibitor)
antifungal activities as compared to that of curcumin
in the form of nanoemulsion exhibits remarkable
in DMSO. The antibacterial activity of nanocurcumin
enhancement in cytotoxicity in wild type (SKV3)
particles was attributed to their ability to penetrate
and drug resistant (SKOV-3TR ) human ovarian
inside the bacterial cell by breaking the cell wall,
adenocarcinoma cells by promoting apoptotic
resulting to cell death.
response. This dual strategy shows great promise
• Chitosan-PVA-Curcumin-Silver nanocomposite in the clinical management of refractory diseases
antimicrobial films for wound dressing41 (diseases that resist treatment) such as ovarian
cancer.
Chitosan-PVA-Silver nanocomposite antimicrobial
films were fabricated by a chemical method in view of • Chemo/radio-sensitization in ovarian cancer cells
their potential applications in antimicrobial packaging using nano-curcumin46
and wound/burn dressing. Incorporation of curcumin
Ovarian cancer cells are resistant both to radiation
into chitosan-PVA-silver nanocomposite films
therapy and cisplatin-based drugs used in
improve their therapeutic efficacy as anti-microbial
chemotherapy. Nano-enabled curcumin pretreatment
agent. Curcumin-encapsulated chitosan-PVA-silver
strategy with enhanced efficacy and specificity was
nanocomposite films show enormous growth inhibition
employed to induce chemo/radio sensitization
of E-coli in comparison with curcumin or chitosan-
in ovarian cancer cells. It was shown that this
PVA-silver nanoparticles film alone.
pretreatment with nano-curcumin improves in vivo
• Curcumin/MPEG-PCL micelles for colon cancer therapeutic efficacy of curcumin, and thereby, inhibits
therapy42 the ovarian cancer cell growth.

Curcumin encapsulated into monomethoxy

23
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
• Coformulation of Doxorubicin (DOX) and curcumin
in the clinical management of leukemia47
The coadministration of DOX and curcumin in PLGA
nanoparticle formulation can help in enhancing
efficacy of DOX, thereby leading to cytotoxicity in
erythroleukamia type K562 cells. The synergistic
growth inhibition is clinically important and may
provide combinatorial strategies in a variety of
cancers, especially leukemia.
Table 3: Curcumin Products Based on
Nanotechnologies for Medical Applications
NanoLiposomal Curcumin
Company: NanoLiposomal Nutritionals., USA, http://
www.nanoliposomals.com/
Key Features: Nano-particles of curcumin encapsulated
in lecithin phospholipid liposomes.
N-Curcusorb
Company: KONARK HERBALS & HEALTH CARE.,
India, www.konarkgroup.com
Key Features:
• Nanoemulsion of curcumin
• NCurcusorb is better absorbed in the body as the size
of the particles in the emulsion is very small.
• N-Curcusorb does not get destroyed in acidic
conditions of stomach and its property is protected till
it reaches the intestine.
Biocurcumax™(BCM-95®, BIOCURCUMIN®)
Company: Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd, India,
http://www.arjunanatural.com/
Key Features: Significantly enhances the bioavailability,
and thus the bioactivity is retained for a longer period at
an appreciably higher level as compared to conventional
curcumin,leading to enhanced efficacy, safety and usage
convenience.
Curcu-Gel®
Company: Tishcon Corp., USA, http://www.tishcon.com/
Key Features: Bioavailability in a recent human study
was found to be more than eight (8) times higher
compared to standard commercial curcumin.
Life Enhancement NanoCurcuminoids
Company: Life Enhancement Products, Inc, USA, http://
www.life-enhancement.com/
Key Features: NanoBioSphere Delivery System,
NanoBioSphere complex (sunflower oil, phospholipids,
safflower oil, ethanol, medium-chain triglycerides,
glycerin, glyceryl stearate, ascorbyl palmitate), Curcumin
C3 Complex.
NanoCurc™
24
Company: SignPath Pharma, Inc., USA, http://www.
signpathpharma.com/
Key Features: Polymeric nanoparticle formulation
of curcumin, enhances antioxidant levels in the liver
and inhibits pro-fibrogenic transcripts associated with
activated myofibroblasts.
THERACURMIN
Company: THERAVALUES CORPORATION, Japan.
Key Features: Highly absorptive curcumin dispersed
with colloidal nano-particles,has a much higher
absorption capacity (bioavailability) compared with
curcumin powder.
CURCUMIN, CurcuPlus D ULTRA, CurcuPlus D
Company: Advanced Orthomolecular Research Inc.,
Canada, http://www.aor.ca/html/
Key Features:
• Nano-emulsified Curcuma longa Linn, Extract
750mg, Suspended in Sesame Oil (95% Curcumin),
Encapsulation in these tiny particles allows lipid-
soluble curcumin to be better absorbed.
• Solid-Lipid Particle Curcumin NanotechnologyTM
incorporation of curcumin into a solid-lipid particle
matrix.
Longvida®
Company: Verdure Sciences, USA, http://www.vs-corp.
com/
Key Features: Solid-Lipid Particle Curcumin
NanotechnologyTM SLCP is the ideal absorption-
promoting system, protects curcumin from the harsh
environment of the stomach.
MicroActive® curcumin
Company: BioActives LLC,Worcester, MA, USA, http://
www.bioactives.com/ and Maypro Industries , Purchase,
NY, USA, www.maypro.com/
Key Features: Micronized, multistage time-released
curcumin. The ingredient’s curcuminoids were
solubilized to reduce their particle size. The enhanced
bioavailability is a combination of the nano size and the
12-hour sustained release that improves absorption.
Curcumin C3 Complex®
Company: Sabinsa Corporation, USA, http://www.
curcuminoids.com/
Key Features: Curcumin C3 Complex contains
three main chemical compounds – 70-80%Curcumin,
15-20% Demethoxycurcumin and 2.5-6.5%
Bisdemethoxycurcumin. It has also received Generally
Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status by USFDA.

It is pertinent to note that the above mentioned
products based on curcumin are treated as herbal/
dietary supplements only 52 and are regulated by the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but not as
pharmaceutical drugs. They fall under a category
called dietary supplements. Manufacturers must follow
good manufacturing practices (GMPs) to ensure that
supplements are processed consistently and meet quality
standards. Once a dietary supplement is on the market,
the FDA is responsible for monitoring its safety.
It is interesting to note that Johnson & Johnson has
been marketing turmeric band-aids in India53, which are
making use of a traditional cure for cuts. It would be
worthwhile to consider use of curcumin nanoparticles
in place of turmeric for band-aids/dressings for cuts,
wounds and other infections as they exhibit enhanced
antibacterial/anti-infection properties.
Challenges and Future Directions
Curcumin has only recently captured the attention
of the scientific community as providing potential
health benefits on account of its antitumor, antioxidant,
antiarthritic, antiamyloid, anti-ischemic, and anti-
inflammatory properties. One of the greatest challenges
in developing curcumin for clinical efficacy is its low oral
bioavailability. Curcumin’s poor bioavailability within the
body can be attributed to its poor absorption and high
rate of metabolism in the intenstines and rapid elimination
from the body. This has been a major obstacle in
preventing its progress from the lab to clinic; therefore,
not much progress could be made in conducting
clinical trials beyond Phase I. In view of this, curcumin’s
chemoprevention and therapeutic potential has not
been fully exploited for the prevention and treatment of
diseases. As has been discussed earlier, nano-enabled
drug delivery systems have been developed, which
show good promise in overcoming the problem of low
bioavailability of curcumin27.
In the United States, turmeric (curcumin) is generally
recognized as a safe (GRAS) food additive by the FDA.
Doctors often prescribe curcumin as a natural, non-toxic
remedy that has very few side effects. No serious adverse
effects have been reported in humans taking even high
doses of curcumin. In a recently conducted Phase I
clinical trial54 on 24 adults, it was found that single oral
dosages up to 12 g could be well tolerated.
However, contrary to the general perception that
curcumin is quite safe there is some evidence suggesting
that curcumin may cause toxic effects under specific
conditions and these have been discussed in a recent
review by Burgos-Mor‘on et al.55 These include commonly
reported side effects like stomach upset, nausea and
diarrhea, an allergic skin reaction and anti-thrombosis
activity interfering with blood clot formation. There is
some evidence suggesting that high dose administration
of curcumin in rodents for long-term duration can be
tumourigenic.
HOT TECHNOLOGIES
Although side effects have been limited in animal and
Phase I short-term clinical studies, long-term, large scale
and randomized clinical trials on humans are needed
to establish the safety of curcumin at antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory doses. These clinical studies are also
necessary to determine the optimal dosage, bioavailability
and bioefficacy of curcumin-based drugs.
The major challenge is to develop drugs based on
curcumin with scientific evidence acceptable to the
global community. An effective drug should exhibit
adequate absorption, low toxicity, acceptable distribution,
metabolism and excretion, and should be capable of
treating the targeted disease with specificity and efficacy.
The traditional medicinal system may need to adopt
novel strategies such as combinatorial chemistry route
combined with nanotechnology to develop curcumin-
based drugs having enhanced bioavailability and efficacy.
The challenges and technological prospects in realizing
nano-curcumin based drugs for the future of medicine
and healthcare56 will be covered in a forthcoming issue of
this newsletter. In the same issue, global scenario based
on literature and patent analysis57 will also be presented.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Ratnesh Kumar of
CKMNT for providing valuable inputs on nano-enabled
curcumin products.
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HOT TECHNOLOGIES
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Cancer Drug Delivery”, Colloid Interface Sci.,
360(1), (2011) p.39-51
51) T. E. Paramera, S. J. Konteles, and V. T. Karathanos,
“ Stability and Release Properties of Curcumin
Encapsulated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
ß-cyclodextrin and Modified Starch”, Food
Chemistry, 125(3), (2011) p.913-922
52. http://www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements/
consumerinformation/ucm110567.htm.
53. H. MacGregor, “Out of the Spice Box, into the Lab:
Turmeric, an Indian staple, has long had Medicinal
Uses. Now the West is Taking Notice” Los Angeles
Times (2006)
54. C.D. Lao et al., “Dose Escalation of a Curcuminoid
Formulation”, BMC Complement. Altern. Med., 6
(2006) p. 10
55. E. Burgos-Mor‘on et al., “The Dark Side of
Curcumin”, Int. J. Cancer, 126 (2010) p. 1771-1775)
56. Y. R. Mahajan and I. Sophia Rani, “The Challenges
and Technological Prospects in Realizing Nano-
Curcumin based Drugs for the Future of Medicine
and Healthcare”, to be published in Nanotech
Insights, Vol. 2 (4) (2011)
Nano-enabled Curcumin- Literature and Patent
Analysis”, to be published in Nanotech Insights, Vol.
2 (4) (2011)
Contributed by Yashwant Mahajan, CKMNT
27
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
Emerging Nanotechnology Products
Nualgi for Environmental Remediation and Nano Agriculture
Can nanotechnology clean-up large polluted rivers
of India? How can it boost agricultural productivity?
What does nanotechnology have to do with
prevention of mosquitoes from breeding in polluted
water bodies and absorption of excess carbon
dioxide in oceans?
Nualgi Nanobiotech
Nualgi Nanobiotech is one of the first nanotechnology
based companies in India to suceed in inventing and
launching an inexpensive product of a nanonutrient
formulation (Composition for Growth of Diatom Algae, US
Patent No 7585898). The product is named as “Nualgi”
and is presented in two forms: “Nualgi aqua” is useful
to clean up polluted water bodies, whereas “Nualgi
foliar spray” is ideally suited for improving agricultural
productivity. The story of Nualgi began in 1994, with
the goal of exploring how fishes are fed perpetually in
the marine water bodies. The expedition unravelled the
mysteries of the main food producer in the marine food
chain, algae, that produces its food from sunlight by
Sewage effluents
containing nutrients
and dissolved CO2
Man/Birds
Good aquatic
environment with
balanced ecosystem
Fishes feed on zoo
plankton
Zooplankton
feed on diatoms
and bacteria
Fig. 1: Nualgi for environmental remediation
28
photosynthesis. A distinct kind of algae, called diatom
algae, produces more than 50% of the food and donates
oxygen, thereby, increasing the dissolved oxygen
content of the water. This would encourage bacteria
to grow and decompose the pollutants present in the
water. These grass-like microscopic plants are soon
consumed by zoo planktons which are the favourite food
for small fishes which, in turn are habitually consumed
by the big fishes. These diatom algae, if grown in
polluted water bodies, not only would serve as a basic
food for the water dwelling animals, but would also clean
the system creating a balanced ecosystem (Fig. 1).
Nualgi Aqua
The purpose of growing diatom algae in water bodies
led to the discovery of its single- cell structure that
comprises of a special glass-like cell wall, decorated with
tiny holes. Besides sunlight, water and carbon dioxide,
they need nutrients like silica, iron and several other
trace elements for their growth. The pursuit of making
nutrients for these micro-sized diatom algae led to the
invention of Nualgi, which is made up of nano-sized
silica loaded up with selected nutrients (silica, iron,
manganese, calcium, magnesium,
zinc, copper, boron, sulphur,
molybdenum, etc.). The process of
making nano silica-based nutrient
became easy with the ownership of a
chemical company that was already
Diatom bloom working on many silica compounds.
In 1950s, a number of chemical
companies, while working on silica
compounds in the hope of creating
Oxygen released silica-based organic compounds and
during photo
synthesis
polymers, established a procedure
for making nano silica. Nualgi could
adopt the know-how of making
nano silica from these companies.
Aerobic bacteria Colloidal suspension of nano sized
breaks down
organics
silica, with good stability in marine
water conditions was commercially
available (Ludox AM from Du Pont),
but a process for adsorbing micro
quantities of soluble nano sized
nutrients on to the silica particles had
to be developed. This was achieved
by mixing appropriate amounts of
 EMERGING NANOTECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS

a) b) c)

Fig. 2: Photos of lake after treatment with Nualgi: a. oxygen bubbles appear after 15 minutes use b. still more bubbles appear after
2 hours c. bubbles keep appearing up to 10 days after use

the respective salt solutions of the nutrients in the about 100 kg of oxygen by absorbing 137.5 kg of
silica suspension. Just as the silica nanoparticles stay carbon dioxide. This nanonutrient is being used by the
suspended in marine water, the nutrients adsorbed onto fishermen of Bangalore, especially the ones who grow
the silica nanoparticles also stay suspended without their fishes in polluted lakes, where the fishes seldom
settling or precipitating, so that the nutrients could be withstand the low oxygen content of the contaminated
readily available for algal consumption. The diatoms water. The product can also be used on a larger scale
were found to consume both the silica and the adsorbed to clean up polluted rivers like Ganges, Yamuna, etc.
nutrients in a way similar to humans consuming an ice However, the lack of any government body that can
cream cone, where both the ice-cream and the cone take up the process of testing and certifying the product
are consumed. After several trials in the back waters of is preventing their use for large water bodies. In a
Chennai, an optimal composition of nutrients to grow systematic study by Thomas Kiran, a research scholar at
copious quantities of diatoms in marine water was Andhra University, the influence of Nualgi medium on the
formulated. However, the formulation had to be suitably growth of diatoms was compared with that of six different
modified for growing diatom algae in fresh water
Table 1: Influence of Nualgi and another Commercially
bodies. Further studies led to the invention of ’Nualgi
Available f/2 Medium on the Growth of Diatoms
Aqua’ which could be used in lakes, ponds and rivers.
Cylindrotheca Cylindrotheca
By introducing an appropriate quantity of the product
fusiformis clostridium
(1-2 kg of Nualgi Aqua/4 million litres of water) in the
polluted region of the water body, heavily polluted lakes Medium f/2 Nualgi f/2 Nualgi
and ponds could be cleaned in a natural way. Nualgi
Aqua seems to trigger the growth of diatoms, and in Cell size 28x4 26x4 46x5 46x5
turn, diatoms produce oxygen through photosynthesis. (µm)a
Bubbles appear on the water surface within a few minutes Cell count 1.99 2.94 1.65 2.81
of dissolving Nualgi Aqua in polluted regions (Fig. 2). (Cells
It is estimated that the use of 1 kg of Nualgi releases mL-1x 106)b
Maximum 0.427 0.482 0.400 0.475
 specific
1XDOJLPHGLXP
I6LPHGLXP
(6:PHGLXP
growth rate

%HQDPRW]PHGLXP
$OJDH
(µ)b
'HZDOQHVPHGLXP
 Dry weight 0.48 0.79 0.53 0.81
&HOOQXPEHU[FHOOVPO

&1PHGLXP

(g L-1)b

Total lipid 26.7 23.4 21.3 19.3
 content
(% dry

weight)b
 Total lipid 128.16 184.86 112.89 156.33
      
yield
&XOWLYDWLRQWLPHGD\V
(mg L-1)b
Fig. 3: Effect of Nualgi on the growth of Cylindrotheca a. Dimensions: length x width b. values represent estimates at
fusiformis and Cylindrotheca clostridium stationary phase (8th day)

29
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

traditional media (Fig. 3). Nualgi proved to enhance

the growth of diatoms compared to the other
Before treatment
media. Moreover, the biomass productivity (weight
of the diatom produced) and lipid productivity
(total lipid content and lipid yield) were higher than
in the case of a conventional medium (Table 1).
Interestingly, the use of Nualgi is also found
to eradicate the mosquito larvae from the water
bodies, as the zoo planktons which are nurtured
by the diatom algae consume the mosquito
larvae during their early developmental stage.
The well-known Southern Ocean Iron
Experiment (SOFeX) experiment to fertilize the
oceans in an attempt to surge algal growth by
adding patches of iron to surface waters would
have been successful with the use of nano nutrients
like Nualgi instead of adding inorganic compounds After treatment
that tend to precipitate out. Nualgi Aqua also
has the potential to replace the excess carbon
dioxide dissolved in the oceans with oxygen. By
inducing the growth of diatom algae, acidification
of oceans that diminishes the capacity of an ocean
to absorb carbon dioxide can be reduced. In
addition, Nualgi corrects the nutrient imbalance
in oceans by absorbing the excess nitrates and
phosphates by exploiting them to grow diatom
algae, thus avoiding calamities like Red tides.
Nualgi Foliar Spray
As Nualgi contains nano-sized nutrients, it can
be quickly and easily absorbed by the leaves of
plants and trees and can be used to increase Fig. 4: Nualgi prevents the yellowing of leaves and thickens the foliage of
agricultural productivity. The product named as banana plantations
Nualgi Foliar Spray can be used once a week in diluted leaf burning in potato plants, chlorosis in sapota leaves
form in very small quantities, based on the severity of and nut drop in coconut trees, besides increasing the
the soil deficiencies. This way, the nutrients necessary sizes of their fruits. The product was tested in a paddy
for photosynthesis (Mn, Zn, B, Mg, etc.) are provided field in the Department of Rice Research (an ICAR lab)
directly to the plants and the nanonutrient can be very at Hyderabad and was found to improve the yield of
useful in areas where the soil conditions are poor paddy. The product is under field trial evaluation by the
due to the over-usage of fertilizer or other nutritional Karnataka State Sericulture Research and Development
deficiencies. The spray speeds up photosynthesis, Institute (KSSRDI) at Talaghatpura, India on mulberry
and can be used along with nitrogen and phosphate plants that are being used to grow silk worms.
fertilizers such as Urea, Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP),
With these remarkable achievements, Nualgi
Single Super Phosphate (SSP), etc. for better results.
stands as a fourth generation super fertilizer and
Though the farmers were reluctant to try the product super-fast nano cleaner for environmental remediation,
in the beginning, Nualgi Foliar spray is now being with nanotechnology behind its accomplishment.
used on different plants and encouraging results have
been achieved. When tested on a banana plantation in
Tumkur district, Karnataka, India, the yellow coloration T.Sampath Kumar
of the leaves was significantly reduced after two CEO, Nualgi Nanobiotech 651,
months and flowering was observed to proceed
11th Main road, V Block, Jayanagar,
faster (Fig. 4).The rest of the field, where Nualgi
was not used, showed leaves with yellow patches. Bangalore-560 041.
Tel: 91-80-26591524, 26595314
Nualgi speeded up the growth of Napier grass from
E mail: sampath@nualgi.com
45 days to 25 days, prevented leaf curl in tomato plants,

30

Technology Update
Global Carbon Nanotubes Market Outlook: Industry Beckons
Introduction
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have recently emerged
as one of the most important classes of nanomaterials
having enormous potential to spark off the next
industrial revolution. CNTs’ unique and extraordinary
properties such as extremely high electrical and
thermal conductivities, very small diameters (less
than 100 nm), large aspect ratios (length/diameter
ratios, greater than 1000), outstanding mechanical
properties, a tip-surface area near the theoretical
limit (the smaller the tip-surface area, the more
concentrated the electric field, and the greater the
field enhancement factor)1 and an excellent price-
performance ratio, make it an ideal candidate for
electronic devices, chemical/electrochemical and bio-
sensors, transistors, electron field emitters, lithium-ion
batteries, white light sources, hydrogen storage cells,
cathode ray tubes (CRTs), electrostatic discharge
(ESD) and electrical-shielding applications. In fact,
several products enabled by carbon nanotubes are
already in the market, such as racquets, golf clubs,
surfboards, ice hockey sticks, mass transportation
fuel system components, battery electrode additives,
Table 1. Summary of CNTs-Enabled Applications
Large-volume applications
Present Sporting goods such as golf
shafts, tennis rackets, baseball
bats etc., battery electrode
additives, plastics additives and
masterbatches, fuel line systems
Near term Supercapacitor electrodes,
(less than five transparent conducting films,
years) field emission displays, LCDs
and OLED-based displays, fuel
cell electrodes, inks for printing,
adhesives
Long term Power transmission cables,
(beyond five structural composites
years) applications for aerospace and
automobile, photovoltaic devices
Adapted from the paper on “Potential Applications of Carbon Nanotubes” by P. M. Ajayan et al.2
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
plastics additives and masterbatches. MWCNTs-
enabled engineering and specialty thermoplastics
such as polycarbonate (PC), Polyetherimide (PEI),
and Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) have been used in
cleanrooms for the production of computer chips and
hard drives, because they dissipate static electricity
and, therefore, will not attract airborne contaminants.
More than 100 companies around the world today are
manufacturing carbon nanotubes and this number
is expected to increase to more than 200 within
the next five years, while there are more than 1,000
companies and institutions that are actively engaged
in CNTs Research and Development (R&D). Currently,
carbon nanotubes account for a 28% market share of
overall nanomaterials demand. In terms of production
capacity, Asia-Pacific leads, followed by North America
and the European Union. Table 1 shows CNTs-enabled
applications grouped as present, near term and long
term, and as categories related to large volume and
limited volume segments and their key attributes.
This article looks at the market size, applications,
processing technology and end-user products of
carbon nanotubes. In addition, the study looked
Limited-volume applications Key attributes
Battery electrodes, boat hulls Excellent mechanical
& decks, wind turbine blades, and electrical
prepregs, scanning probe tips, conductivity properties,
sensors, catheters, membrane compatibility, high
filters, flat panel displays, textiles, surface area (~1000
printing & packaging m2/g), excellent
chemical stability in
Electromechanical memory
acidic environments,
device, hydrogen-storage
distinguished
electrodes, biosensors, multitip
optoelectronic
array X-ray sources, probe array
properties, insensitivity
test systems, brush contacts,
to electromigration,
thermal-management systems
excellent thermal
Field-Effect Transistors (FET), conductivities and
interconnects, flexible electronics, semiconducting
drug-delivery systems properties
31
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
at industry leaders in the value chain, potential
applications, products which are under development
and are likely to enter the market in the next five to
ten years. For this study, we have surveyed industry
professionals/stakeholders in the CNTs value chain,
extracted information from our proprietary in-house
databases/ inter-linked databases as well as researched
other primary and secondary sources and triangulated
data and the findings are presented in this article.
Market Outlook
The market size findings are based on the analysis
carried out by the CKMNT’s teams. We present here an
excerpt from the upcoming market research report titled
“Global Carbon Nanotubes Market”.
The global CNTs market is highly consolidated
and oligopolistic in nature, dominated by a few large
suppliers/producers operating in multiple industry
segments. The global CNTs industry turned over
around $668.3 million in 2010, with multi-walled carbon
nanotubes (MWCNTs) production value of approximately
$631.5 million and single-walled carbon nanotubes
(SWCNTs) production value of around $36.8 million,
and is forecast to grow to $1.1 billion by 2016 at a
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.5%. Used
across a wide range of industries including plastics and
composites, electrical and electronics, and energy as
well as a range of industrial sectors, CNTs have become
an essential ingredient or reinforcement material for
these industries, with its usage growing broadly in line
with the global economy. The production capacity of
CNTs has increased significantly in the last five years,
nowadays hundreds of tons are produced to meet the
market demand. CNTs market is on the upswing with
lowering costs and improving performance, availability
and end user adaptability. Table
2 shows major carbon nanotubes 
producers and their annual
production capacity for 2010. It is
also to be noted that there are a 
for CNTs reached an estimated 2,500 metric tons and
is expected to exceed 12,800 metric tons in 2016 at
a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 32.5%
(Fig. 1). During the same year, Asia-Pacific accounted
for the largest share of CNTs production at 1122.6 metric
tons (44.2%), ahead of North America at 740.1 metric
tons (29.2%) and Europe at 608.5 metric tons (24%) (Fig.
2). Asia-Pacific has the largest installed capacity of CNTs
mainly due to the significant presence of electrical &
electronics market, which is dominated by Japan, South
Korea, Taiwan, China and Singapore. In 2010, the US
captured the first largest share of the CNTs market while
Japan ranked second, ahead of China and Germany.
Japan is the prominent leader in the production of carbon
nanotubes including MWCNTs and SWCNTs, but China
and South Korea are expeditiously catching up. Among
the European Union, France is expected to take the lead
in CNTs production. A number of developing nations,
most notably China and India, will become increasingly
important, as high-end plastics & composites and
electronics production shifts to these regions. In the next
five years, the proposed production capacities for CNTs
are bound to take a big leap forward. MWCNTs production
capacities will reach nearly 12766 metric tons by 2016,
mainly driven by polymers and composites applications
in automotive components, aerospace structural
parts, lithium-ion battery, Electrostatic Discharge
(ESD) and other markets, while SWCNT’s growth will
be steady but not as high as in the case of MWCNTs,
due to higher prices and limited end-user adaptability
such as electrical & electronics market (Table 3).
CNTs market is facing a huge gap between demand and
supply due to low volume utilisation of CNTs by end-
users. In order to bridge this gap, manufacturers should
be ready to capitalize on that future demand, which is
expected to grow rapidly over the next five to ten years.

&17V3URGXFWLRQ&DSDFLW\ LQ07

number of MWCNT producers other

than those shown in Table 2 such 
as Nanocomp Technologies Inc. 
(NCTI), USA, Eden Energy Limited, 
Australia, Iljin Nanotech, South
Korea, NanoCarbon Technologies  
(NCT) Ltd., Japan, Ube Industries, 

Japan etc., but they have not been

included here as their production
capacity is less than 50 MT annum.
Only about 25% of the global CNTs 
production capacity was produced in      
2010 while average production at full
capacity is estimated to be about 40- <HDU
50% in 2016. At the end of the 2010
calendar year, production capacity Fig. 1: Next five years forecast (2011-2016) for global CNTs market

32
 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Table 2: Major Carbon Nanotubes Producers and their Annual Production Capacity for 2010

Manufacturers Annual produc- Processing routes Country

tion capacity
(Metric tonnes)
Unidym, Inc. (acquired by Wisepower 1.5 High-pressure USA
Co.), http://www.unidym.com carbon monoxide
(HiPco)
Toray Industries, Inc. 1.5 CCVD Japan
http://www.toray.com
SWCNTs
Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd. 1.2 CVD Japan
http://www.mrc.co.jp/english/index.html

SouthWest NanoTechnologies Inc. 1.0 Cobaltmolybdenum USA

catalyst
http://www.swentnano.com
(CoMoCAT)®
Kleancarbon Inc. http://www. 1.0 CVD Canada
kleancarbon.com

Showa Denko K.K http://www.sdk. 500 CCVD Japan

co.jp/english
CNano Technology Limited http://www. 500 CCVD USA
cnanotechnology.com
MWCNTs Nanocyl S.A., http://www.nanocyl.com* 400 CCVD Belgium
Bayer MaterialScience AG http://www. 260 CCVD Germany
bayermaterialscience.com

Arkema Inc., http://www.arkema-inc. 50 CCVD France

com

Hyperion Catalysis International, Inc. 50 CVD USA

http://www.hyperioncatalysis.com

* Nanocyl also produces SWCNTs and DWCNTs, but on a smaller scale.

Table 3: Proposed Global CNTs Production Capac-
ity by Types of Carbon Nanotubes (Metric Tonnes)
Year SWCNTs MWCNTs
2012 17.3 3976
2013 20.7 5176
2014 25.3 6876
2015 31.6 9226
2016 40.3 12766
Demand is growing for CNTs used in the production of
technology-intensive products. The expanding range
of applications includes electronic packaging, touch
panels, automotive parts, industrial components,
medical devices, racquets, golf clubs, surfboards,
ice hockey sticks, mass transportation fuel system
components, battery electrode additives, plastics
additives and masterbatches. Carbon nanotubes
encompass a wide range of markets across plastics
& composites, electrical and electronics, energy and
others. The largest share of global CNTs is accounted
for by plastics and composites with sales of $472.9
million in 2010, representing 69% of the market (Fig. 3).
Plastics and composites will remain the most significant
markets through to 2016. Electrical and electronics
industries accounted for 10% of the CNTs market share
followed by energy (8%). The electronics and data
storage market is likely to see the biggest penetration
by 2016, with the performance-enhancing properties of

33
NANOTECH INSIGHTS




$VLD3DFLILF 1$ (XURSH 5R:
Fig. 2: Global CNTs market by region
carbon nanotubes allowing electronics manufacturers
to meet demanding market needs across a variety of
applications, including interconnects, displays, memory,
storage and others. The energy sector will also witness
rapid growth, with enhanced performance requirements
for batteries, wind turbine blades, photovoltaic cells and
other applications in the next five to ten years.
Market Drivers
CNT’s demand is influenced by a number of diverse
factors. While the economy plays a most important
role in influencing the size and growth of the market,
there are a number of other market drivers which can
be seen as having a direct influence on CNTs demand
or, at any rate, the nature of this demand, irrespective
of the performance of the economy. These include:
• Need to replace the brittle and expensive Indium
tin oxide (ITO) coated films currently used in such
products as LCD displays, solar cells, touch screens,
and organic light emitting diode (OLED) lighting with
flexible and mechanically robust CNT-based films.
• Alternative materials to carbon black for electrostatic
discharge applications in the automotive market. Any
automotive components that come in contact with fuel
must have electrostatic discharge properties and the
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recommends
a maximum specific volume resistance of 106 ohm/
cm for materials used for parts with fuel contact.
• As an additive or reinforcement material for
plastics (automotives & structural components)
and composites (aerospace/defense) industries
in conductive and thermal applications. The higher
aspect ratio of CNTs in plastic parts enables to
achieve reasonable conductivity at modest loadings.
• Due to the unique conducting and semiconducting
properties of CNTs, market demand for CNTs
34
has increased for CNT-FETs memory devices,
interconnects etc. as a replacement for state-of-the-
art silicon devices.
• The increased demand for longer wind turbine blades
(> 60 m), better performance and quality are pushing
the use of CNTs. Longer blades are subjected to
higher mechanical stresses during operation (due to
the unsteady nature of the wind). Weight reduction
is also a key factor because weight increases faster
with blade length than energy throughput. Carbon
nanotubes are an ideal choice because of their high
impact strength and tubular structures, which enable
to withstand high mechanical stresses as well as
provide strength, and their light weight maximizes
the lifetime and efficiency.
• Burgeoning demand for advanced and
sophisticated medical and healthcare devices.
Despite more than 100 CNTs manufacturing
companies, the majority of the market share (66%) is
held by four relatively large-scale manufacturers (Fig.4).
Plastics & composites, fuel line systems, batteries,
electrostatic discharge, and field emission devices are
the most prominent and commercially viable current
applications. Next generation products will be adopting
CNTs in nano electromechanical systems (NEMS),
supercapacitor electrodes, power transmission cables,
structural composites applications for aerospace and
automobile sectors, photovoltaic devices, transparent
conducting films, field-effect transistors, interconnects,
flexible electronics, and drug-delivery systems, which
will yield greatly increased revenues for the CNTs
players over the next 5-10 years. International industrial
giants such as IBM, Intel, Hexcel, Samsung, NEC Corp.,
Renault, Yonex, EcoloCap Solutions, and Hunstman
Corp. are developing a variety of current and future
CNTs-enabled applications for various industries.
Prices for CNTs are expected to fall by an average of
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PLOOLRQ
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Fig. 3: Global CNTs market by industry

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Fig. 4: Global CNTs market by major players
about 15% over the next five years as large companies
begin to produce commercial-scale volumes of CNTs
as well as expanding CNTs production capacity. For
example, Arkema’s 400 ton/year plant is scheduled for
startup in 20113 while Bayer MaterialScience AG has
envisioned to build an industrial-scale production plant
with an annual capacity of 3,000 metric tons by the
financial year 2012-20134. Large multi-nationals such as
Showa Denko K.K, Arkema Inc., Toray Industries, and
Bayer MaterialScience AG have significantly ramped
up production levels. In addition to capacity expansion,
companies in China and Russia are also producing
significantly cheaper carbon nanotubes.
The most widely used techniques for CNT synthesis
are: Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Catalytic
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD), arc discharge and
laser ablation. In 2010, CVD and CCVD techniques
together captured approximately 83% of the global
carbon nanotubes market share, followed by arc
discharge (12%) processing method and laser ablation
(5%), primarily due to its high degree of control, easy
scalability, large-scale production output, high purity and
yield compared to other available technologies. As for
large-scale production of carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs),
Morinobu Endo developed Catalytic Chemical Vapor
Deposition (CCVD) continuous process, wherein metal
catalyst (iron particles), benzene (for the pyrolysis), and
Ar/H2 gases are fed from the upper end of a vertical
furnace, and the resulting CNTs are collected from
the lower end while the furnace temperature is kept
at 11000C5. In 2003, Prof. Morinobu Endo, Faculty of
Engineering, Shinshu University, and Showa Denko K.K.
established a joint venture for the commercialization of
MWCNTs.
Conclusions
There are over a hundred companies around the
world in the carbon nanotubes market, making it
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
extremely competitive. The major players such
as Arkema Inc., Showa Denko K.K., Nanocyl
S.A., Bayer MaterialScience AG, Hyperion
Catalysis International Inc., and Thomas Swan
are building commercial levels of capacity and
bringing prices down significantly. Established
manufactures may have excellent market
and cost advantages due to their proprietary
product technology, favourable access to raw
materials, government subsidies, favourable
locations, and learning or experience curve
efficiencies. Product know-how is a key
factor for success in CNTs. Most recently,
 producers have increasingly focused on the
production of multi-walled carbon nanotubes,
with significant efforts being directed towards
purity and yields as well as lowering the costs.
The main markets at present are plastics and
composites, electrical and electronics and
energy. These will remain the most significant markets
through to 2016.
However, a number of issues, including high costs,
inconsistent quality across the supply chain, dispersion
and compatibility with matrix materials, and toxicology
still need to be addressed. Once these issues are
resolved, growth in global CNTs demand is expected to
accelerate in the next five years.
Note: A comprehensive Report on “Global Carbon
Nanotubes Market” is slated to be released by CKMNT
in the future. Interested readers may contact info@
ckmnt.com for further details.
References
1. “Production and Applications of Carbon nanotubes,
Carbon nanofibers, Fullerenes, Graphene and
Nanodiamonds: A Global Technology Survey and
Market Analysis”, February 2011, published by
Innovative Research and Products, Inc http://www.
innoresearch.net/report_summary.aspx?id=77&pg
=531&rcd=ET113&pd=2/1/2011
2. M. Endo, M. S. Strano and P. M. Ajayan, "Potential
Applications of Carbon nanotubes" Topics in Applied
Physics, 111(2008) 13-61
3. http://www.reinforcedplastics.com/view/9908/
arkema-ready-to-market-carbon nanotubes-in-usa
4. http://www.baytubes.com/news_and_services/
press_releases.html
5. M. Endo, “Grow Carbon Fibers in the Vapor Phase”,
American Chemical Society, ChemTech,18 (1988)
568-576
Contributed by Vivek Patel, CKMNT
35
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

R & D Highlights
Machinable Nanolayered Ceramic: Now for magnetic property of Nb4AlC3 crystals, which is due to its
anisotropic crystal structure, the Nb4AlC3 crystals in the slip
High Temperature Use align themselves with their C axis parallel to the magnetic
It is hard to increase the toughness of a ceramic
field. Cold isostatic pressing (392 MPa) and spark plasma
material without compromising on its strength. Attempts
sintering (1450 ºC, 30 MPa) offered a dense sample with
to mimic nature’s way of making tough ceramics with
a fracture toughness of 17.9 MPa m1/2 along the c-axis
good strength has been successful to an extent, attaining
and a flexural strength of 17.9 MPa m1/2 perpendicular to
a 300-fold increase in the toughness of alumina/PMMA
the c-axis direction. The simultaneous improvement in the
nano layered ceramics (with a strength as high as 200
strength and toughness (3.5 and 2.5 times respectively,
MPa). Though difficult, these outstanding results could be
for untextured Nb4AlC3 ceramics sintered by hot pressing)
obtained by copying the structure of Nacre which consists
is attributed to the formation of orderly plate-like grains
of 95 vol% ceramic and a very little amount of organic
forming a microstructure resembling that of nacre. The
phase distributed throughout the microstructure in the form
textured ceramic prepared by this technology can be
of a thin film 2-3 nm in thickness. The organic nano film acts
machined into complex structural parts owing to its
as a lubricant and allows the grains of the brittle ceramic
combination of high toughness and strength and can
to slide to a large extent without fracturing. However, the
be used at high temperature, as the ceramic is found
presence of the organic phase makes this hybrid material
to retain its bending strength up to 1400º C without
unsuitable for high temperature structural applications.
degradation. The authors propose that the strength and
A group of researchers in Japan, have identified fracture toughness can be further enhanced by modifying
Nb4AlC3, a MAX phase material as an ideal candidate to the microstructure further, e.g. the flexural strength can
reproduce Nacre’s structure while avoiding the usage of be improved by increasing the degree of alignment
organic composition, thereby making it suitable for high of Nb4AlC3 crystals and by reducing the grain growth.
temperature applications. The weak bonding that exists
Source:
between the aluminium atom layer and other niobium and
carbon atoms offers weak interfaces between the layers of 1. C. Hu et al., “Shell-Like Nanolayered Nb4AlC3 Ceramic
Nb4AlC3 and permits slipping of grains, imparting a plastic- with High Strength and Toughness” Scr. Mater., 64
like behavior and easy machinability to the bulk material. (2011) 765–768
The authors used strong magnetic field alignment 2. C. Hu et al., “Fabrication of Textured Nb4AlC3 Ceramic
technology for texturing and spark plasma sintering for by Slip Casting in a Strong Magnetic Field and Spark
obtaining a nanolayered structure resembling that of a Plasma Sintering”, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 94 (2011) 410-
nacre shell. The key technique is to prepare a Nb4AlC3 415
slip with high dispersion level and low viscosity and to slip
cast the slurry in the presence of a large magnetic field
Nanostructured Barium Oxide Overcomes
(12 T) in an argon atmosphere. Due to the anisotropic Problem of Choking in SOFCs
50

45
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) promise
40
Mild steel
both a clean environment and effectual use
35 of conventional hydrocarbon fuels owing to
Fracture Toughness (MPa m 1/2)

30 their high conversion efficiency (chemical to

25
Alumina/PMMA(Nacre-like)
electrical energy). The anode of the fuel cell
20 Nb4AlC3(Nacre-like) contributes to the production of electrical energy
15 by (i) receiving the oxygen ions sent by the
10 Alumina-MWCNT SiC
SiAION/SiC
cathode via the electrolyte (ii) catalyzing the
5 SiC/B4C/ CNT Alumina/ BN nanotubes oxidization of the fuel and (iii) transferring the
0
byproduct of the reaction (electrical current)
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
to the interconnects. Though the existing
Flexural Strength MPa anodes made of nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia
Comparison of flexural strength and fracture toughness of textured Nb4AlC3 contribute well to the above said functions, they
ceramic with those of other advanced ceramics and steel. suffer from de-activation when used with carbon-

36

containing fuels. When used with coal gas at temperatures
less than 850º C, the anodes get choked with carbon
deposits (dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons and CO
disproportionation) and stops working within 30 minutes
of operation. The challenge of decoking the anodes
(and hence increasing the operation period) has been
resolved by the research group led by Professor Meilin
Liu of Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta by utilizing
the hygroscopic nature of barium oxide nanostructures.
The researchers have grown nano-islands of barium
oxide on the surface of the conventional nickel-yttria
stabilized zirconia anodes by vapor deposition. Barium
oxide, being hygroscopic, adsorbs moisture and cleans
off the carbon deposits by oxidizing them into carbon
dioxide. Analysis showed that this water-mediated self-
cleaning process was favoured, especially at the barium
oxide/nickel interface implying that the nickel, as a catalyst,
worked synergistically with the barium oxide. The challenge
was to create a number of nanostructured interfaces
rather than depositing a continuous thin film of barium
oxide on the surface of the anode, to avoid blocking the
path of the electrons. This was achieved by depositing a
layer of the barium oxide on nickel oxide-yttria stabilized
zirconia surface by vapour deposition followed by the
reduction of nickel oxide into nickel with the formation
of nanoislands of nickel-brium oxide. When tested with
dry propane, the cells produced stable current for 100
hours without getting choked (attained a power density
of ~0.88 Wcm-2 at 750 °C), demonstrating a significant
improvement in operation period and power density.
Source: L.Yang et al., “Promotion of Water-Mediated
Carbon Removal by Nanostructured Barium Oxide/
Nickel Interfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Nature
Communications, doi: 10.1038/ncomms1359
Nanoporous Silica-Liposome Hybrid: An
Innovative Design for Targeted Drug Delivery
Targeted drug delivery is still a relatively new
treatment for cancer, where concentrated doses of
toxic chemotherapeutic drugs are specifically delivered
to the cancer cells and is well-known for its reduced
side effects. Nanosized drug carriers are under serious
investigation as they can enter the porous tumour
cells at ease and are being engineered for (i) carrying
high concentrations of various combinations of drugs
(ii) circulate in the blood without getting expelled by
immune system and (iii) bind specifically to the cancer
cells while avoiding other healthy cells. Owing to their
low immunogenicity (less bothersome to the immune
system), biocompatibility and excellent safety profiles,
liposome based nanoparticle drug delivery systems
are now in clinical use. However, no nanoparticle
system for ‘targeted’ drug delivery has been approved
R&D HIGHLIGHTS
Nanoporous
silica core
Supported
lipid bilayer
Poly ethylene glycol
Fusogenic
peptide
Drug cargos
Targeting peptide
Fig. 1: The proto cell design: Nanoporous silica core wrapped
by functionalized lipid-bilayer. Figure adapted from [1]
so far by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
which reveals the complexity of engineering a safe
nanoparticle system that meets all of the design criteria.
C. E. Ashley of the University of New Mexico
has designed a new class of nano-carrier that can
specifically target and bind to cancer cells with 100-
fold greater accuracy and supply 1000-fold increased
chemo doses than the equivalent fluid phase liposome
carrier, by overcoming the following main challenges:
More the number of targeting ligands (proteins, nucleic
acids or small molecules) on the nano-carrier, more
are the chances of binding onto the targeted cancer
cells. But nano carriers with many such ligands would
resemble the structure of a virus and hence evoke the
immune system, consequently decreasing the effect of
the treatment. Hence a design that allows the targeting
ligands to move freely is desirable for a nano-carrier. This
can be realized by employing fluid phase liposomes,
as they allow the targeting ligands to move freely,
thereby reducing the number of ligands needed for the
targeting. However, fluid phase liposomes are more
permeable and cannot hold high doses of drugs without
leaking. The researchers have resolved this problem by
wrapping the fluid phase liposome membrane around
a nanoporous silica core, which in turn is loaded with
a cargo of drugs. As the membrane of the liposome
stretches over the nanoporous silica core, it gains the
ability to confine the drugs within the nanosilica core,
possibly due to the membrane tension developed
and the gradients in adhesion. The membrane in this
design allows the target ligands to move freely and bind
with 100 fold increased accuracy on cancer cells. Yet
another challenge is to load and maintain the stability of
a combination of drugs of different charges, polarities
and molecular weights into the nano-carrier. The
nanoporous silica core in the present design supports
37
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
high doses of different drugs via adsorption, contributing
to a 1000-fold increased dosage. In vitro studies proved
that just a single protocell of this design kills a drug-
resistant liver cancer cell and the operative design
is expected to be commercialized within five years.
Source:
1. D.J. Irvine “One Nanoparticle, One Kill”, Nature
Mater. 10(2011) 342–343
2. L.Yang et al., “Promotion of Water-Mediated
Carbon Removal by Nanostructured Barium Oxide/
Nickel Interfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Nature
Communications, doi: 10.1038/ncomms1359
Wonder Material: Graphene Toughens
Structural Ceramics
Structural ceramics are being increasingly exploited
for high temperature applications. Among these, silicon
nitride (Si3N4) has emerged as the most important high
temperature-resistant ceramic. However, it is still not
being widely used in many elevated temperature (>1000
o
C) applications because of its inadequate toughness
leading to unreliable performance. Researchers from the
University of Arizona and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
have reported for the first time a method making use of
graphene sheets to improve the fracture toughness and
mechanical robustness of bulk silicon nitride ceramics.
In silicon nitride ceramic, the interlocking
microstructure composed of long rod-like ß- Si3N4 grains
within the matrix of α- Si3N4 simultaneously confers
high hardness and toughness. The presence of this
unique two-phase structure and the ability to tailor the
properties by microstructural engineering are the major
reasons for considering Si3N4 as a leading structural
ceramic candidate. Graphene with its outstanding
combination of properties such as large specific surface
area, two dimensional high aspect ratio sheet geometry
and exceptional mechanical properties proves to be a
a) b)
graphene necking
& crack bridging
crack deflection
indentation
0.5 µm
Fig 1: (a) Micro hardness testing resulting in the creation of radial cracks stemming from the micro hardness indent (inset image)
(b) examination of the radial cracks indicating that they follow a tortuous crack propagation path (c) SEM image of graphene sheet
following the grain boundaries of the matrix.
Reprinted with permission from American Chemical Society (ACS), Luke S. Walker et al., ACS Nano, 5(2011)3182-3190
38
promising candidate as nanofiller in composite materials.
Generally, Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) method is
used to densify the nanocomposite powders with precise
control of the matrix microstructure and to minimize the
possibility of thermally induced structural damage to the
Graphene platelets (GPLs) by avoiding long processing
times at elevated temperatures. In this study, the SPS
technique has been used to demonstrate the impact of
the incorporation of GPL on the fracture toughness of
Si3N4 nanocomposites.
Figure 1(a) shows an image of the micro hardness
induced radial cracks (inset picture) of 1.0 vol% GPL-
Si3N4 nanocomposite, further it can been seen that the
crack deflection results in a branched crack structure
.As one can see from the figure 1(a) and (b) various
toughening mechanisms including crack bridging,
graphene sheet pull out, necking of GPL within the crack
wake simultaneously occur in GPL reinforced Si3N4
ceramics.
Most exciting, novel toughening mechanism was
observed that shows GPLs wrapping and anchoring
themselves around individual ceramic grains to resist
sheet pullout. The resulting cage-like graphene structure
encapsulating the individual grains, arrests and forces the
cracks to propagate in not just two, but three dimensions.
It is clearly seen in figure 1(c) that graphene sheets
have wrapped around the matrix grains and formed a
continuous wall around the grain boundaries. Such
fracture behaviour has not heretofore been observed
in ceramics. It was found that the incorporation of GPL
in Si3N4 ceramic has resulted in the improvement of the
fracture toughness by up to ~235% (~2.8 to ~6.6 MPa.
√m) at ~1.5% volume fraction. Thus, graphene nanofiller
reinforcement could potentially be used to enhance the
toughness of the structural ceramics, enabling their
widespread use in high temperature applications.
Source:
L.S. Walker et al., “Toughening in Graphene Ceramic
Composites”, ACS Nano, 5(2011) 3182-3190
c)
graphene sheet
pull-out graphene wrapping
graphene crack
bridging
0.5 µm 0.5 µm

Technologies Available for Licensing
Green Nano Technologies
Silicon Quantum Dots: A Non-Toxic Alternative to Other Toxic Quantum Dots
Quantum dots (QDs) are nano-sized semiconductor
nanocrystals that are being investigated for applications
in biomedical imaging due to their size-tunable
luminescence and wide emission spectra. In particular,
QDs cloaked with biocompatible substances (e.g. PEG)
can be employed for imaging applications to facilitate
easy binding of QDs to the target cells. However, they
may have toxic effects on the human body once the
biocompatible coating degrades exposing the potentially
toxic semiconductor core material under certain
conditions. This issue of cytotoxicity restricts the progress
of QDs to clinical trial phases and commercialization.
Silicon QDs (SiQDs) are being increasingly accepted as a
non-toxic alternative to the other toxic quantum dots due
their low inherent toxicity and high excretability from the
human system through urine. They are often encapsulated
with a biocompatible material like silica to impart
stability (prolongs its residence time in the living body),
hydrophilicity, bioaffinity and low rates of self-destruction.
Based on their promising performances in animal systems,
recently, FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
has approved the first clinical trial of the so called
“C dots” in human systems, which is basically a silica
shell (less than 8nm) packed with several dye molecules1.
Organic or bioorganic shells are also used to shield the
SiQD cores and the type and structure of the covering
often determine their imaging performance in terms of
colloidal stability, solubility in physiological fluids, degree
of influence of the basic physiological parameters and
cytotoxicity.
a) b)
Folic acid grafted Si QDs
Lysine grafted Si QDs
24.1 μm
Fig. 1: False-color confocal images of human pancreatic cancer cells incubated with (a) lysine grafted Si QDs (b) folic acid grafted
Si QDs and (c) antimesothelin grafted Si QDs. Reprinted with permission from ACS, E. Folarin et al, Bioconjugate Chemistry, 22
(2011) 1081-1088
EMERGING NANOTECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
Researchers at the University of Buffalo2 insist on the usage
of SiQDs for cancer cells imaging and have practically
proved their stability (a minimum period of two weeks)
in biological conditions by conjugating them with bio
recognition molecules like lysine, folate, antimesothelin,
etc. The grafting of these biomolecules was done by
carbodiimide chemistry and undecylenic acid was chosen
to link the surface of SiQDs and the biomolecules, which
also protected the SiQDs from oxidation. In vitro testing
showed selective uptake of Si QDs by human pancreatic
cells (Fig. 1). The SiQDs grafted with lysine were found
to be in the vicinity of the cancer cells, whereas the
SiQDs grafted with folate molecules and antimesothelin
molecules were found to be uptaken selectively inside the
cells. These nanostructures (20 nm size after grafting),
termed as nanoprobes, selectively bind to cancer cells
and tag them for targeted diagnosis and therapies. When
the cytotoxicity of the core material (SiQDs of 4-5 nm size,
in this case) was compared with that of CdTe QDs in vitro
conditions, Si QDs demonstrated better toxicity profile.
With 24 hr treatment, the IC50 value (concentration of
QDs that cause 50% cell death) was 40 μg/ml for CdSe
QDs whereas it was more than 500 μg/ml for SiQDs.
Source:
1.http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Jan11/
CUdotsClinical.html
2. E. Folarin et al., “Bioconjugation of Luminescent Silicon
Quantum Dots for Selective Uptake by Cancer Cells”,
Bioconjugate Chem., 22 (2011) 1081-1088
c) Antimesothelin grafted Si QDs
19.29 μm 33.09 μm
39
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

Indian Scenario

Nano-Enabled Sensors in India

Nanosensors are emerging as a key enabling
technology finding applications in a wide variety of sectors
ranging from transportation, telecommunications,
health, defence and security etc. Nanosensors in other
words are detectors that use biological, chemical or
surgical sensory edges or points to transfer nanoparticle
information to microscopic or macroscopic devices.
The definition of nanosensor is not only confined to
a device whose size is reduced to a few nanometers,
but one which makes use of the excellent properties
of nanomaterials and nanoparticles in detecting and
measuring events at the nanoscale. Thus, nanosensors
are nanotechnology-enabled sensors characterized by
either the size of the sensor or its sensitivity which is in
the nanoscale regime, or by the nanometer-range spatial
interaction distance between the sensor and the object.
Researchers are engaged in attempts to exploit
the exceptional properties of nanomaterials and
nanoparticles such as high surface area-to volume
ratios and large reactive area to develop high-tech
nanosensors. With these incomparable properties, such
engineered nanostructures provide the advantages of
reduced size, weight, power requirements etc. of the
resulting monitoring devices compared to conventional,

Table 1: Research Institutes and Organizations Involved in R&D on Nano-Enabled Sensors

Name of Institution Thrust Area(s) Reference
National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi Bio-sensors http://www.nplindia.org/
National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune Gas sensors http://www.ncl-india.org/
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Gas sensors http://www.jncasr.ac.in/
Research (JNCAR), Bangalore
University of Pune, Pune Gas Chemical and http://www.unipune.ac.in/
Humidity sensors
University of Delhi, Delhi Gas sensors http://www.du.ac.in/
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT Gas,Bio and Moisture http://www.iitkgp.ernet.in/
KGP) sensors
Jadavpur University, Kolkata Gas sensors http://www.jaduniv.edu.in/
University of Lucknow, Lucknow Gas and Humidity sensors http://www.lkouniv.ac.in/

Shri Shivaji Science College, Amravati Gas sensors http://www.shivajiscamt.org/

Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM), Gas and Bio-sensors http://www.iitm.ac.in/
Madras
Shivaji University, Kolhapur Gas sensors http://www.unishivaji.ac.in/
Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT- Bio-sensors http://www.iitr.ac.in/
Roorkee)
Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur, (IIT- Bio-chemical sensors http://www.iitk.ac.in/
Kanpur)
Banaras Hindu University (BHU),Varanasi Bio-sensors http://www.bhu.ac.in/
Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay(IITB) Bio- medical sensors http://www.iitb.ac.in/
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore Flow sensors http://www.iisc.ernet.in/
Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bio-medical sensors http://www.cmti-india.net/
(CMTI), Bangalore

40
 INDIAN SCENARIO

macroscale alternatives. Today, nano-enabled sensor Table 4: Projects on Nano-enabled Sensors

designs are being made for various applications Supported by Nano Mission
such as improving industrial process monitoring and Project Title Principle Investigators
leak detection, environmental monitoring (air and
water quality), food- quality surveillance, medical Synthesis of functionalized Dr. S. Abraham John
diagnostics, and to enable the reliable, real-time gold nanoparticles and their Dept. of Chemistry
detection of chemical, biological, radiological and self-assembly on electrode Gandhigram Rural
nuclear hazards for the military and anti-terrorism. substrates for sensing of University, Tamilnadu
biomolecules
In India, owing to the growing importance of
Development of magneto Dr. Prasanta
nanotechnology and in particular nanosensors, the
resistive thin film sensor Chowdhury
National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC)
for magnetic field sensing Surface Engineering
has assigned the task of bringing out a compendium
applications Division National
about the technologies developed for, or the technology
Aerospace
leads available on, nanosensors or nano-enabled
Laboratories, Bangalore
sensors in various institutes/organizations across the
country to the Nano Mission, Department of Science and Development of electrically Dr. M. Jayakannan
conducting polyaniline Dept. Of Chemistry
Table 2: R&D Efforts on Nano-enabled Sensors in nano-materials via self- Indian Institute of
Defence Research and Development Organisation assembly approach and Science Education &
(DRDO) their application in sensors Research, Pune
and opto-electronics
Name of Thrust Areas/Activities
Institution Development of Dr. C. Retna Raj
nanostructured transducers Dept. of Chemistry
Solid State • Development of enabling for amperometric and IIT-Kharagpur,
Physics technologies for carbon nanotube- microgravimetric sensing Kharagpur
Laboratory based sensors applications
(SSPL), Delhi
• Development of cold cathode field Synthesis and Prof. Indranil Manna
emitter enabling technology for characterization of Dept. of Metallurgical &
vacuum microelectronic devices nanostructured materials Materials Engineering,
Defence • Development of enabling for functional (magnetic, IIT-Kharagpur
Research & technologies for carbon nanotube- sensor, opto-electronic
Development based sensors and chemical) and
Establishment, structural (hard coating and
• Screen printed electrodes heterostructure) applications
(DRDE),
modified with nanomaterials for
Gwalior Functionalised carbon Prof. Sriman Narayanan
biosensor (immuno- sensing)
applications nanotube sol-gel composite Dept.of Analytical
mateials for chemical and Chemistry
• Development of immuno-based biosensor fabrication and Madras University,
detection systems and kits for applications Guindy Campus,
biological and chemical agents Chennai
Table 3: R&D Efforts on Nano-enabled Sensors in
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Oxide-based nanomaterials Dr.S.Annapoorni
and nanocomposites for Dept.of Physics &
Name of Thrust Areas/Activities magnetic memory and Astrophysics
Organisations sensor applications University of Delhi
Bhabha Atomic Nanostructures for sensor New Delhi
Research Centre, applications Carbon nanotube-based Prof.A.K.Sood
Mumbai, (BARC) sensors Dept. of Physics
Indira Gandhi • Novel nanostructures for Indian Institute of
Centre For sensor applications Science, Bangalore
Atomic Research, Nano sized semi-conducting Dr.K.Srinivas
• Carbon nanotube(CNT)for gas
Kalpakkam, oxide powders, films and Dept. of Physics and
sensor applications
(IGCAR) catalysts by gas phase Astrophysics
• Development of thin films for codensation for gas sensor University of Delhi,
sensor applications applications Delhi

41
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

Structural electronic and Dr. B.R. Mehta
gas-sensing properties Dept. of Physics
of SnO2 Ag composite IIT Delhi, New Delhi
nanoparticle thin films
Technology (DST). Centre for Knowledge Management
of Nanoscience & Technology (CKMNT) has been
assisting the Nano-Mission in accomplishing this task.
The present article focuses on the research and
development (R&D) activities related to the nanosensor
technologies developed in India. This has been assessed
through scientific publications and patents to provide
Table 5: Nano-Enabled Sensors related R&D in Units
and Centres Supported by Nano Mission
Unit/Centre Research Activities
Centre for Nanotechnology, Nanoparticles,
Madurai Kamaraj University nanosensors and
nanodrug delivery
an overview of the present scenario in the country.
The literature analysis that is being presented in the latter
part of this article forms the basis for all the data listed below.
The following table provides details of various research
institutes and organizations involved in R&D of nano-
enabled sensors along with their potential thrust areas.
Nanotechnologies, in general, offer significant scope
for enhancing the reliability, efficiency, and safety of
various defence systems and open up new avenues
for innovative technologies. Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) has taken up a
major initiative in nanotechnology in order to support
a variety of battlefield technologies. These include
high-strength materials, materials for stealth and
camouflage, energetic materials, sensor devices, and
various other electronic and photonic applications.
The R&D activities on nano-enabled sensors that
are being pursued in various research laboratories/
establishments of DRDO are presented in table 2.

Centre for Nanotechnology, Nanoelectronics, The units/centres belonging to the Department of

IIT-Bombay, Mumbai polymer nanosensors, Atomic Energy involved in research activities related
nanobiotechnology to nano-enabled sensors are listed in table 3. For the
development of Nanotechnology in India, Nano Mission
Centre for Nanotechnology, Nanodevices, provides financial support to the research institutes that
Indian Institute of Science, nanocomposites, are actively involved in this technology. Tables 4 and 5
Bangalore nanobiosensors provide the details of Nano Mission-supported individual
Centre for Nanotechnology, Photovoltaic’s & Sensor projects and units/centers involved in research and
Indian Association for the Devices development activities related to nano-enabled sensors.
Cultivation of Science Details of research organizations involved in prototype
Unit on Nanoscience, IIT Nanoparticles and development of nanosensors are presented in table 6.
Delhi nanorod structures for Table 6: Research Organizations involved in
sensors applications Prototype Development of Nano-Enabled Sensors
Unit on Nanoscience IIT Nanomaterials and Name of the Research activities towards
Kanpur, Kanpur nanostructures for organization the development of nano-
sensor applications enabled sensors
Unit on Nanoscience, Nanomaterials for Indian Institute Nanoparticle-based sensors for
JNCASR, Bangalore potential sensing of Technology explosive detection
application -Bombay (IITB) LSPR phenomenon due to
Unit on Nanoscience, Nanostructures for gas metal nanoparticles based
University of Pune sensors sensors for pathogen detection
Unit on Nanoscience, IIT Nanotubes for gas NEMS for cardiac diagnosis
Madras, Chennai sensors
Indian Institute CNT based sensors
Unit on Nanoscience, Metal-oxide of Science (IISc),
IACS, Kolkata nanostructures for sensor Bangalore
application
Central Scientific CNT based sensors for
Unit on Nanoscience, NCL, Nanomaterials and Instruments estimation of blood hemoglobin
Pune thin films for sensor Organization
application (CISO),
Diagnosis kit based on
Unit on Nanoscience, BHU, CNT based biosensor, Chandigarh
nanomaterial for leishmania
Varanasi butane sensor
Unit on Nanoscience, IISc, Nanomaterials for gas IIT Kharagpur Nano-structured ceramics based
Bangalore sensors prototype gas sensor

42
 INDIAN SCENARIO

90
Computer Science, Engineering, Materials Science,
80 Medicine, Physics, Pharmacology, etc.
80

The following search string has been used to extract the

70
62 published journal literature on nanosensors, with the search
60
53
being limited to the last 10 years:TS=((nano* sensor*)
50
OR (nanosensor*)) AND CU= (India) NOT PY= (2011)
37
Databases=SCI-EXPANDED, CPCI-S, CPCI-SSH, CCR-
40
EXPANDED, IC Timespan=2001-2010
30 26
The above search string retrieved 864 records.
20
12
All these records were further examined and the
10 6 6 irrelevant records were filtered out. Finally a dataset
3
2
consisting of 285 records was complied for our
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
further analysis to meet the objective of this study.
Based on this dataset the year-wise growth of
Fig 1: Year wise growth of Publications
publications starting from the year 2001 to 2010 is shown
Literature Analysis in Fig. 1 and as can be seen, there is no significant growth
in publications till 2004. The research in nanotechnology
A literature survey of nanosensors in the Indian scenario
became more visible starting from 2005 with a steady
has been carried out based on published journal literature on
rise in the journal output being seen during 2005-
nanosensors from India over the last 10 years. The popular
2009. It is also found that the number of publications
Abstracting and Indexing (A&I) database, Web of Science
has decreased by about 23% in 2010, relative to 2009.
(WoS) has been used to find the number of journal articles
published by Indian researchers in this area. Web of Science Based on an analysis of the dataset generated, we
indexes over 8000 peer reviewed journals in various subject have listed out in the map (Fig. 2), the R & D organizations
areas such as Agriculture, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, /Institutions ranked from one to ten in terms of the
number of publications
over the period 2001-2010.

National Physical Laboratory

National Physical
No. of Publications: 29 Laboratory (NPL), New
Delhi has emerged as the
Indian Institute of Technology-
Delhi No. of Publications: 12 top publishing institute with
University of Lucknow 29 publications followed by
No. of Publications: 13 National Chemical Laboratory
(NCL), Pune with 18
publications, and Shri Shivaji
Science College with 15
publications. It can be seen
that three IITs have figured in
the top 10 institutes list. We
have also categorized the
major thrust areas the top
Bhabha Atomic Research Cen- Jadavpur University
No. of Publication:14 ten R & D organizations/
ter No. of Publications: 13
institutions are working in;
Indian Institute of Technology-
National Chemical Labora- Kharagpur No. of Publications:11 this is being represented in
tory No. of Publications: the form of a pie chart in Fig.
18
Shri Shivaji Science College 3. and table 7 lists the top 10
University of Pune No. of Publications :15
No. of Publications: 13 journals containing articles
on nano-enabled sensors.
The top 10 highly cited
Indian Institute of Technology- papers according to our
Madras No. of Publications: 11
literature survey are as
follows:
1. C. S. Rout, S. H. Krishna,
Fig 2: Illustration of top 10 R&D and academic institutes based on publication during the year S.R.C.Vivekchand,
2001-2010 “Hydrogen and Ethanol

43
NANOTECH INSIGHTS

Between A Polymer Matrix and Gold Nanoparticles

pH-sensors
2 for Selecztive Determination of Dopamine”, Journal
Flow- Temperature-sensors
Optical-sensors Sensors 2 Pressure- of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 578, 95-103, 2005,
3 2 sensors
Chemical-sensors 1
Average no. of citations/year-7.0
6
9. S. Sharma, C. Nirkhe, “ Chloroform Vapor Sensor Based
Humidity-
on Copper/Polyaniline Nanocomposites”, Sensors And
sensors Actuators B-Chemical, 85 , 131-136, 2002, Average no.
30 of citations/year-6.6
10. L. Sathyanarayana, K.M .Reddy, “Nanosized Spinel
NiFe2O4: A Novel Material for the Detection of Liquefied
Bio-sensors
63 Gas-sensors
Petroleum Gas in Air”, Materials Chemistry and Physics,
176 82 21-26, 2003, Average no. of citations/year- 6.55

Table 7: Top 10 Journals carrying Published Articles

on Nano-enabled Sensors

# Journal No. of Publi-

cations/ (2010
Fig: 3 Pie-chart showing the thrust areas of work towards the
Impact Factor)
development of nano-enabled sensors by the top 10 R & D
organizations/institutions 1 Sensors and Actuators 67/(3.368)
Sensors Based on ZnO Nanorods, Nanowires and B-Chemical
Nanotubes”, Chemical Physics Letters, 418, 586-590, 2 Talanta 14 /(3.722)
2006, Average no. of citations/year-13
3 Journal of Nanoscience and 13/(1.351)
2. B. K. Jena, C.R. Raj, “ Enzyme-Free Amperometric
Sensing of Glucose by Using Gold Nanoparticles” , Nanotechnology
Chemistry-A European Journal, 12, 2702-2708, 2006, 4 Sensor Letters 13/(0.602)
Average no. of citations/year-12.83
5 Applied Physics Letters 6/(3.820)
3. B. Baruwati, D.K Kumar, “Hydrothermal Synthesis
of Highly Crystalline ZnO Nanoparticles: A 6 Electro analysis 6/(2.721)
Competitive Sensor for LPG and EtOH”, Sensors 7 Materials Chemistry and 6/(2.353)
And Actuators B-Chemical, 119, 676-782, 2006, Physics
Average no. of citations/year-10.83
8 Biosensors &Bioelectronics 5/(5.361)
4. D. R. S. Jeykumari, S. Ramprabhu , S.S Narayanan,
“A Thionine Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon 9 Materials Letters 5/(2.117)
Nanotube Modified Electrode for the Determination of 10 Sensors and Actuators 5/(1.933)
Hydrogen-Peroxide” , Carbon, 46 1340-1353, 2007, A-Physical
Average no. of citations/year-10.2
Conclusion
5. A. Chowdhuri, V. Gupta, K . Sreenivas, “ Response
Nanotechnology-based sensors are being recognized
Speed of SnO2-Based H2S Gas Sensors With CuO
as promising devices for the future sensor market. The
Nanoparticles”, Applied Physics Letters, 84,1180-1182,
R & D towards nano-enabled sensors has received
2004, Average no. of citations/year-9.5
considerable government, private and industrial funding
6. M. K. Kumar, S. Ramaprabhu, “Nanostructured Pt and the growing trend in these activities is quite visible
Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Based from the scientific publications. In India, NMCC has been
Hydrogen Sensor”, Journal of Physical Chemistry encouraging institutes and organizations to pursue research
B,110,11291-11298, 2006, Average no. of citations/ towards the development of nano-enabled sensors.
year-8.0
References
7. K. Suri, S. Annapoorni, A. K. Sarkar, “Gas and
• http://www.isiknowledge.com
and Humidity Sensors Based on Iron Oxide-
Polypyrrolenanocomposites”, Sensors And Actuators • http://www.nanomission.gov.in
B-Chemical, 81, 277-282, 2002, Average no. of
citations/year-7.8 Contributed by Madhuri Karanam, CKMNT
8. S. S .Kumar, J. Mathiyarasu, “Exploration of Synergism and R. Vijaya Chandar, ARCI

44

Nanotech Patents Spotlight
Nanotech Patents Spotlight
Biosensor having Nano Wire for Detecting Food
Additive Monosodium Glutamate and Manufacturing
Method thereof
Publication No.: WO 2007/114650
Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
Inventors: Hong Seung Hun (KR),
Lee Byung Yang (KR), Lee Dong Joon (KR
Filing Date: April 4, 2007
Abstract: With the development of the food industry,
many kinds of processed food products have appeared
recently and the consumption of an additive such as
monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancing
agent, is on the rise. Use of monosodium glutamate
in food is associated with 'Chinese-restaurant-
syndrome', causing symptoms like numbness,
palpitation and weakness. The amount of glutamate
used as a food additive is generally within the range
of 0.1% to 0.8%. Therefore, a demand for a high-
sensitivity biosensor device, having excellent electrical
characteristics has increased very significantly.
The present invention relates to a method for the
preparation of a biosensor device, in particular, for
detecting sensitivity of a target substance of glutamate
that includes monosodium glutamate and L-glutamate,
by using a nano wire (carbon nanotube) having excellent
electrical properties and by thus immobilizing a receptor
of glutamate to be detected on a solid substrate. The
biosensor manufacturing consists of the following steps
(Fig. 1): (a) Incorporation of nano wires on the surface
of a solid substrate such as silicon oxide film or a glass
substrate (b) The electrodes are deposited (c) Next, the
functional groups are adhered between the nano wires
which is on the surface of the solid substrate (d) Then
glutaraldehyde, as a linker, is adhered to the functional
a) b)
e) d) c)
Fig. 1: Schematic of biosensor manufacturing process
EMERGING NANOTECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
groups on the surface of the solid substrate (e) Finally,
glutamate oxidase (enzyme), as a catalyst which initiates
an oxidation reaction of monosodium glutamate into
glutaraldehyde. The advantages of nano wires make
them useful for detecting mono sodium glutamate.
Advantages: Incorporation of nano wire in the
biosensor offers excellent electrical characteristics and
high detection sensitivity to glutamate, especially for
the food additive monosodium L-glutamate, even with
very low concentrations in processed foods. Moreover,
since it is possible to minimize the size of the biosensor,
it can be attached to a portable food additive detector,
a personal digital assistant, or a hand-held phone.
Applications: The nano wire-enabled biosensor
can be used in the food industry to detect toxic food
additives like monosodium glutamate. It can also be
used for protein scanning, blood sugar measurement,
environmental toxic material detection, harmful
virus scanning, and as a diagnostic for cancer.
Nano or Sub-nano FIR and Anion Fuel Pipes for
Motor Vehicles and Ships
Publication No: US 2011/0048568 A1
Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
Inventors: Guo Yixin (US)
Filing Date: August 31, 2009
Abstract: Petroleum prices around the world have
climbed steeply over the past few years, which
translates into higher transportation costs and
increased inflation. Petroleum-powered vehicles
significantly contribute to environmental pollution,
eanvironmental noise and global warming, and their
noxious exhaust fumes pose a health hazard serious.
The present invention relates to a fuel pipe designed
to reduce excessive fuel consumption and toxic exhausts
such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide etc., specifically
for use in gasoline or diesel engines of vehicles and
ships. The fuel pipe comprises of a pipe body and
carrier structures with dual- function of both fuel
transmission and fuel saving. The pipe body constitutes
80-95% of the total weight, and is made from nano or
sub-nano plastic or rubber materials, with the carrier
made up of nano or sub-nano tourmaline or tourmaline
and germanium ore granules with 5-20 wt% loadings.
This Far Infrared Ray (FIR) anion fuel pipe is based
on the following principle: when fuel flows through
the pipe, the carrier of the pipe emits FIR and anion.
45
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
Schematic of a fuel pipe for vehicles and ships, made up of
tourmaline or tourmaline and germanium nano or sub-nano
ore granules
This emission overcomes the van der Waals forces
between the fuel molecules, breaking down long-chain
molecules to single/short-chain molecules. As a result,
the average distance between molecules increases
and the fuel molecules have more free space to move,
thus resulting in improved burning efficiency of the
fuel and reduced exhaust emissions of toxic gases.
Advantages: The fuel pipe with the incorporation
of tourmaline and germanium nanoparticles can
save up to 12% more fuel than conventional fuel
pipes. The proportion of toxic gases in the exhaust
is also correspondingly reduced. In addition to
fuel economy improvement, the emission rate of
FIR and anions is also increased up to 96% from
85% by a pipe without nano or sub-nano granules.
Applications:Thenano-enabledfuelpipecanbeusedinmotor
vehicles and ships’ with gasoline or diesel engines and can
pronetobeeffectiveforfuelsavingwithenvironmentalbenefits.
Nano-crystal Austenitic Steel Bulk Material having
Ultra-Hardness and Toughness and Excellent
Corrosion Resistance, and Method for Production
Thereof
Publication No: WO 2004/029312 A1
Date of Patent: February 16, 2010
Inventors: Harumatsu Miura (JP), Nobuaki Miyao
(JP), Hidenori Ogawa (JP), Kazuo Oda (JP),
Munehide Katsumura (JP), Masaru Mizutani (JP)
Filing Date: September 26, 2003
Abstract: In today's world, the need to protect steel
against corrosion is one of the most important
scientific, technical and economical problems. The
corrosion of steel, a spontaneous process, occurs
due to chemical or electrochemical reaction with its
service environment and degrades its properties
such as strength, hardness and toughness. There are
many traditional technologies available to mitigate
the corrosion of steel but not all have been fruitful.
Nanotechnology can play a vital role in mitigating steel
corrosion through the incorporation of nanomaterials.
The present invention, offering a nano-crystal
austenite steel bulk material with improved corrosion
resistance and superior hardness, and toughness and
46
high strength, comprises of an aggregate of austenite
nano-crystal grains containing a small amount of solid-
solution type nitrogen (0.1 to 2.0% by mass). The non-
magnetic, high-nitrogen nano-crystal austenite steel
material is prepared by Mechanical Alloying (MA) of
a finely powdered mixture of iron, chromium, nickel,
manganese and carbon or the like with a nitrogen
containing substance (e.g., N2, NH3, and nitride of Fe,
Cr, and Mn), followed by forming-by-sintering treatment
and subsequent annealing. The mechanical alloying of
the component elements in the raw powders, without
recourse to any melting process, yields austenite steel
powders having a nano-size crystal grain structure that
can never be achieved by conventional processes.
This structure is further reinforced by solid-solution
strengthening of nitrogen into an austenite phase. The
crystal grains are more finely divided on a nanometer
scale by mixing a crystal grain dispersant such as AlN,
NbN, TaN, Si3N4 and TiN (3 to 5% by volume) or mixing
a metal oxide or a semimetal oxide in the MA process.
Furthermore, an oxide, nitride, carbide, silicide, or boride
of a metal or semimetal exists as a crystal grain growth
inhibitor between and/or in the nano-crystal grains,
preventing them from becoming coarse in the forming-by-
sintering process. Such stainless steel materials have a
high nitrogen concentration, which offers much improved
resistance to all types of corrosion, particularly pitting
corrosion as well as Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC).
16 16
14
12
Si
14 Si
D co [nm]
10
8
B Ni
P
12 6
C Cr
4 Cu
2
Mn
10 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 B
D co [nm]
D Fe [nm] V W
8
M
6 P
C
Ti
4
Nb
2
N
Ta
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
D Fe [nm]
Illustration of changes in the mean crystal grain diameter of
each mechanically alloyed element
Advantages: The nano-crystal austenitic steel bulk
material exhibits superior hardness and toughness, high
strength and excellent corrosion resistance.
Applications: Nano-crystal austenitic steel bulk
materials can be used in bulletproof steel sheets and
vests, medical tools, high tensile strength bolts and
nuts, bearings, gears and tools for hot processing and
extrusion techniques.

Commercial / Business Focus
Technology Update
Technologies Available for Licensing
Fabrication of Tailored Hardness Nanocomposite
Coating with Low Coefficient of Friction
Technology: The present invention relates to the
fabrication of nano-composite coatings with tailored
hardness between 10 to 50Gpa, and a low coefficient
of friction between 0.1 to 0.2, consisting of a transition
metal element and other element borides, carbides and
nitrides by sputtering process from a single target. This
invention also relates to a reproducible and plasma-
based process on different kinds of substrates having
an amorphous matrix with nano-crystalline phases in
the range of 2-100nm. The hardness of the coatings
can be tailored from low to high values (10 to 50 GPa)
for different applications.
Applications: As a coating material in automobile
or cutting tools to protect against wear resistance or
oxidation resistance. can be applied to steel, aluminium
alloys, Ni-base super alloys, titanium alloys, glass, and
silicon.
IP Status: Indian patent application no. 0770/DEL/2010
Contact: Dr.I.Chattoraj
Head-Business Development & Monitoring, National
Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831007
Tel:+91-657-2345000-001, 2345028, 2345205, Fax:
91-6572345213, 2345153
E-Mail:director@nmlindia.org, www. nmlindia.org
Business News
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Kicks off Partnership
with Deakin University to Augment Research in
Areas of Nanotechnology-Enabled Drug Delivery
System to Fight Cancer
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), India's
leading research institution and Australia’s Deakin
University are all set for augmenting research in areas
of nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems
to target cancer stem cells. As per the joint research
collaboration, IISc will be developing nano-sized lipid
particles while Deakin’s team will take care of chemical
antibodies.
A handsome amount of about US$ 920,309 (Rs.
41.4 million) is set aside for this project with US$
177,837 (Rs.8 million) sanctioned by the Department
of Science and Technology (DST), India and $700,000
(Rs.33.4 million) by the Australia-India Strategic
Research Fund (AISRF).
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
The nano-sized lipid aggregates that will encapsulate
the desired drug and other cancer-targeting epitopes
(part of a molecule recognized by the immune system),
being developed by the IISc team, will be combined with
the antibody (being developed by the Deakin team) and
pre-clinical tests will take place at Deakin University’s
laboratory. It is likely that the product will reach the
market over the next five years.
Source: http://www.livemint.com/2011/04/25214812/
IISc-Deakin-join-hands-to fig.html?atype=tp, April 26,
2011
Wipro Announces High-end Nanotech R&D Centre
with Belgian Research Institute IMEC in Bengaluru
India’s third-biggest tech firm Wipro Limited
has announced the establishment of a high-end
nanotechnology Research & Development (R&D) centre
in Bengaluru, Karnataka with the signing of an R&D
partnership agreement with Belgian research institute
IMEC. The joint venture will combine IMEC's know-
how and research capabilities with Wipro's systems
engineering skills to develop next generation intelligent
systems, called Applied Research in Intelligent Systems
Engineering (ARISE), for use in healthcare, energy, and
imaging and vision.
Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.
com/2011-05-24/news/29577857_1_r-d-india-centre-
high-end-research, May 24, 2011
Investment & Funding
Michigan State University spinoff XG Sciences
Announces Partnership with POSCO to Advance
Graphene Manufacturing
Graphene manufacturer XG Sciences Inc. has entered
into a series of agreements with POSCO, a Korean
corporation and world's third-biggest steel producer,
to create a strategic partnership for the advancement
of graphene manufacturing and product development
based on XG Sciences' proprietary technologies.
Under the terms of the agreement, POSCO will
purchase a 20 % share of XG Sciences, Inc. and will
obtain production licenses to manufacture and sell
xGnP® brand graphene nanoplatelets.
Source: Michigan State University (press release), June
13, 2011
http://news.msu.edu/story/9477
47
 Synergize Knowledge and
NANOTECH INSIGHTS
4th Business Networking
8th - 9th December 2011
Bangalore Nano is India’s largest international
nanotechnology conference and exhibition featuring
world renowned researchers, Venture Capitalists
(VCs)/investors, entrepreneurs and organisations. It
is being organised by the Departments of Information
Technology (IT), Bio-Technology (BT) and Science &
Technology (S&T), Government of Karnataka under the
able guidance of the Vision Group on Nanotechnology
led by Prof CNR Rao, FRS and Honorary President,
Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific
Research (JNCASR), Bangalore.
The Government of India has launched a Mission
on Nano Science and Technology (Nano Mission) that
has been a concrete step in this direction. Capacity-
building in the area of nanotechnology research will
be of utmost importance for the Nano Mission so that
India emerges as a global knowledge hub in this field
replicating its success in Information Technology and
Biotechnology. In this context, it may be mentioned that
Karnataka is emerging as a major global player in the
field of nanoscience and nanotechnology to add to its
status as an IT hub.
According to the RNCOS report, the global market
for nanotechnology-enabled manufactured goods is
forcasted to grow to US$1.6 trillion during the 2009-
2013 period at a Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of around 50%. The major driver for the market
growth is the increasing investment and acceptance
of nanotechnology-based manufactured goods in
emerging economies such as India, China and Russia.
4th Bangalore Nano will discuss a wide range of issues
pertaining to research and development, technology
transfer, skills requirement, institutions involved, risks
issues, regulatory & governance structure, investment
and collaborations among stakeholders such as
Academia, R&D institutions and industry etc. This event
will be featuring inspiring talks, high quality research
papers and will showcase innovative and ground
breaking nano-applications through the participation of
Chief Scientific Officers, Policy Makers, Vice Presidents,
Directors, Heads, Scientists, Chemists, and Research
Leaders/Fellows/Advisors from Industry, Governments
and Research Institutions.
4th Bangalore Nano will also offer an unparalleled
opportunity for business networking and for knowledge
sharing in the exciting field of nanoscience and
nanotechnology. Over a hundred leading international and
Indian companies will be participating in this event with a
48
large international delegation from various corners of the
world such as Russia, Germany, USA, Canada, Poland
etc. Over 60 expert speakers will address the gathering
and some of the leading international speakers include
Dr E.W Meijer- Eindhoven, University of Technology,
Dr Timothy Fisher, Purdue University and eminent
speakers from Biomedical Engineering Materials
Technology, The Netherlands, Birck Nanotechnology
Center, USA etc. The main focus areas of this event are
advanced nanomaterials, fabrication, characterisation &
tools, medicine, food, agriculture and biotech, energy &
environment and education & public engagement.
“Research-Industry Collaboration Hub” (RICH)
is a programme as part of this event offering unique
partnering opportunities for showcasing innovations
in nanotechnology. RICH will facilitate podium
presentations and one-to-one meetings for emerging
entrepreneurs in nanotechnology. A special programme
"Nano for the Young” will also be a part of this event in
which students from various engineering, medical and
biotech colleges across Bangalore would be invited to
attend a special session to be addressed by Prof CNR
Rao.
Apart from the prestigious “Bangalore Nano National
Award” that is being presented for achievements in the
field of nanotechnology, “India Nanotech Innovation
Awards” have been included in this 4th edition of
Bangalore Nano for innovative and pioneering initiatives
and achievements in the field of nanotechnology.
This year, too, Bangalore Nano will have delegates
from all over the world just as last year, which witnessed
410 delegates from 250 plus organisations hailing from
12 countries. Over 50 eminent internationally acclaimed
speakers have addressed the conference in the past,
including Prof Sir Richard Friend, Dr Anthony Cheetham,
Prof Yoshio Bando, Dr Dunbar Birnie, Ingo Hollein, Stefan
Bill, Dr Henning Zoz and Gregory Favaro to name a few.
Venue
Royal Orchid Resort & Convention Center,
Allalasandra, Bellary Road,
Yelahanka, Near Jakkur Flying Club,
Bangalore 560 065, India.
Contact Phone Numbers:
+91 80 2856 0668
Fax: +91 80 2856 0671
www.bangalorenano.in
Forthcoming Events
Nanoforum 2011, Torino, Italy
September 14-15, 2011
http://www.iter.it
Email: iter@iter.it
4th Annual NanoScience Technology Symposium,
NanoFlorida 2011, College of Engineering and
Computing at Florida International University,
Miami, USA
September 30-October 1, 2011
http://www.nanoflorida.fiu.edu/
Email: nanoflorida2011@fiu.edu
BIT’s 1st Annual World Congress of Nano-S&T
Dalian, PR China
October 23-26, 2011
http://www.bitconferences.com/.bitconferences.com
Email: stella@bitconferences.com
Nanomaterials for Sustainable Energy- EU-
India workshop and school, Indian Institute of
Technology, New Delhi, India,
November 01-04, 2011
http://www.eicoon.eu
Email: eicoon.iitd@gmail.com
BIT’s 2nd Annual World Congress of
NanoMedicine-2011, Shenzhen, China
November 3-5, 2011
http://www.bitconferences.com/nanomedicine2011/
default.asp
Email: eva@bitconferences.com
7th International Conference on MEMS NANO and
Smart Systems (ICMENS 2011), Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
November 4-6, 2011
http://www.icmens.org/index.htm,
Email: icmens@vip.163.com
BioNanoTox and Applications International
Research Conference, Arkansas, USA
November 17-18, 2011
http://sites.google.com/site/bntconference/home,
Email: bionanotox@gmail.com
International Conference on Nano Science,
Engineering and Technology, Chennai, India
November 28-30, 2011
http://www.iconset2011.com/index.html,
Email: info@iconset2011.com
International Conference on Nano Science,
Technology & Societal Implications (NSTSI11),
Bhubaneswar, India
December 8-10, 2011
http://cvrgi.edu.in/NSTSI11/home.htm
Email: nstsi11@cvrce.edu.in
2nd International Conference on ‘Advanced
Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (ICANN-2011)’,
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), India
December 8-10, 2011
http://www.iitg.ernet.in/icann2011/index.htm,
Email: icann2011@gmail.com
3rd International Conference on “Current
Developments in Atomic, Molecular, Optical & Nano
Physics with Applications”, (CDAMOP-2011 ), New
Delhi, India
December 14-16, 2011
https://www.tbimice.com/cdamop2011/index.asp,
Email: cdamop2011@gmail.com
International Conference on Nanomaterials and
Nanotechnology (ICNANO-2011), New Delhi, India
December 18-21, 2011
http://www.icbn2011.com/index.html,
Email: convener@icbn2011.com
Nanotech India 2011, Kerala, India
November 19-21, 2011
http://www.nanotechindia.in
Email: info@nanotechindia.in
International Conference on Advances in Materials
and Materials Processing (ICAMMP-2011), Indian
Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
December 9-11, 2011
http://www.icammp2011.org/index.html
Email: chair@icammp2011.org
National Seminar on Emerging Trends in
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology-2011, Nagpur,
India
December 20-21, 2011
Enysstrus_ngp@sancharnet.in
XVI International Workshop on the Physics of
Semiconductor Devices, IIT, Kanpur, India
December 19-22, 2011
http://www.iitk.ac.in/iwpsd2011/index.php
Email: iwpsd@iitk.ac.in
Centre for Knowledge Management of Nanoscience & Technology (CKMNT)
Synergizing Knowledge Management in Nanoscience and Technology
CKMNT has been set up by the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New
Materials (ARCI), with partial financial assistance from DST’s Nano Mission. The centre aims to offer
comprehensive one-stop nanoscience and technology information services to researchers, industries,
policy makers, venture capitalists and funding agencies.
Apart from many other services, CKMNT brings out Technology Briefs from time to time with a view to
create awareness about the cutting edge nanotechnology applications in various sectors. These Technology
Briefs can be further developed into fully blown complete techno-comercial reports on demand.

Nanotechnologies to
Mitigate Global Warming
Technology Brief

In Pursuit of the Nanotechnology-Based

Ultimate Body Armor Solutions for Oil Spills

August 13, 1941

CNT THREADS

Muir Glacier, Alaska

August 31, 2004

Technology
Nano-Engineered Steels
Briefs Nanotechnology in Glass
for Structural Applications and Glass Ceramics

Technology Brief

Nanotechnology-based Protective
Facial Masks for Swine Flu Control

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