1

CONTENTS:
---------------------------------------------------------
1. INTRODUCTION TO NANO SCIENCE AND TECH----------------------3
1.1 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY----------------------------- 3
2. HISTORY OF NANOTECHNOLOGY ------------------------------------------6
2.1 EARLY USES OF NANOMATERIALS ----------------------------------------8
3. TYPES OF NANOPARTICLES-------------------------------------------------9
4. CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOPARTICLES----------------------------11
5 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES IN NANOTECHNOLOGY---------------------12
6. APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY--------------------- ------------15
7.NANOTECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT ------------------------------17
7.1 ADVANTAGES OF NANOTECHNOLOGY -------------------------------- 17
7.2 IMPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY --------------------------------19
8. NANOTECHNOLOGY IN INDIA----------------------------------------------21
9. LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF NANO SCIENCE AND TECH.
------------------------------22
10. NANO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE FUTURE ---------------29
11. CONCLUSION -----------------------------------------------------------------30
12. REFERENCES ------------------------------------------------------------------31
 2
OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH

• The objective of the research on Nano science and

technology is that how we can improve our daily lives and
improve quality of technology by using nanoscience.

• To support the creation of comprehensive knowledge base

for evaluation of the potential risks and benefits of
nanotechnology to the environment and to human health
and safety.

• To incorporate sustainability in the responsible

development of nanotechnology.

• To Develop the nation capacity to identify, define, and

responsibly address concepts and challenges specific to the
ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of
nanotechnology.

• Although every research study has its own specific

objectives, the research objectives may be broadly grouped
as follows.
 3
NANO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO NANO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Nanoscience breakthroughs in almost every field of science and
nanotechnologies make life easier in this era. Nanoscience and
nanotechnology represent an expanding research area, which involves
structures, devices, and systems with novel properties and functions
due to the arrangement of their atoms on the 1–100 nm scale. The field
was subject to a growing public awareness and controversy in the early
2000s, and in turn, the beginnings of commercial applications of
nanotechnology. Nanotechnologies contribute to almost every field of
science, including physics, materials science, chemistry, biology,
computer science, and engineering. In recent years nanotechnologies
have been applied to human health with promising results, especially in
the field of cancer treatment. To understand the nature of
nanotechnology, it is helpful to review the timeline of discoveries that
brought us to the current understanding of this science. This review
illustrates the progress and main principles of nanoscience and
nanotechnology and represents the pre-modern as well as modern
timeline era of discoveries and milestones in these fields.

NANOSCIENCE
Nanoscience is the study of structures and molecules on the scales of
nanometers ranging between 1 and 100 nm, and the technology that
utilizes it in practical applications such as devices etc. is called
nanotechnology. As a comparison, one must realize that a single human
hair is 60,000 nm thickness and the DNA double helix has a radius of 1
nm. The development of nanoscience can be traced to the time of the
Greeks and Democritus in the 5th century B.C., when scientists
considered the question of whether matter is continuous, and thus
infinitely divisible into smaller pieces, or composed of small, invisible,
and indestructible particles, which scientists now call atoms.

The ability to manipulate structures at the atomic scale allows for the
creation of nanomaterials. Nanomaterials have unique optical, electrical
and/or magnetic properties at the nanoscale, and these can be used in
the fields of electronics and medicine, amongst other scenarios.
Nanomaterials are unique as they provide a large surface area to volume
ratio. Unlike other large-scaled engineered objects and systems,
nanomaterials are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics instead
of the classical laws of physics and chemistry. In short, nanotechnology
is the engineering of useful objects and functional systems at the
molecular or atomic scale.

A comparison of sizes of nanomaterials

NANOTECHNOLOGY 5
Nanotechnology is one of the most promising technologies of the 21st
century. It is the ability to convert the nanoscience theory to useful
applications by observing, measuring, manipulating, assembling,
controlling, and manufacturing matter at the nanometre scale. The
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in the United States define
Nanotechnology as “a science, engineering, and technology conducted
at the nanoscale (1 to 100 nm), where unique phenomena enable novel
applications in a wide range of fields, from chemistry, physics and
biology, to medicine, engineering and electronics”. This definition
suggests the presence of two conditions for nanotechnology. The first is
an issue of scale: nanotechnology is concerned to use structures by
controlling their shape and size at nanometre scale. The second issue
has to do with novelty: nanotechnology must deal with small things in a
way that takes advantage of some properties because of the nanoscale.
Nanotechnologies have had a significant impact in almost all industries
and areas of society as it offers better built, safer and cleaner, longer-
lasting, and smarter products for medicine, communications, everyday
life, agriculture, and other industries.
• Nanoscience is a convergence of physics, materials science, and
biology, which deal with manipulation of materials at atomic and
molecular scales; while nanotechnology is the ability to observe
measure, manipulate, assemble, control, and manufacture matter
at the manometer scale.
• There are some reports available, which provided the history of
nanoscience and technology, but no report is available which
summarize the nanoscience and technology from the beginning to
that era with progressive events. Therefore, it is of the utmost
requirements to summarize main events in nanoscience and
technology to completely understand their development in this
field.
 HISTORY OF NANOTECHNOLOGY 6

• The concepts that seeded nanotechnology were first discussed in

1959 by renowned physicist Richard Feynman in his talk There's
Plenty of Room at the Bottom, in which he described the possibility
of synthesis via direct manipulation of atoms.

• Feynman had described a process by which the ability to

manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed,
using one set of precise tools to build and operate another
proportionally smaller set, so on down to the needed scale. During
this, he noted, scaling issues would arise from the changing
magnitude of various physical phenomena: gravity would become
less important, surface tension and Van der Waals
attraction would become more important.
• The term "nano-technology" was first used by Norio Taniguchi in
1974, though it was not widely known. Inspired by Feynman's
concepts, K. Eric Drexler used the term "nanotechnology" in his
1986 book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of
Nanotechnology, which proposed the idea of a nanoscale
"assembler" which would be able to build a copy of itself and of
other items of arbitrary complexity with atomic control.

• Also in 1986, Drexler co-founded The Foresight Institute (with

which he is no longer affiliated) to help increase public awareness
and understanding of nanotechnology concepts and implications.

• The emergence of nanotechnology as a field in the 1980s occurred

through convergence of Drexler's theoretical and public work,
which developed and popularized a conceptual framework for
nanotechnology, and high-visibility experimental advances that
drew additional wide-scale attention to the prospects of atomic
control of matter.

• In the 1980s, two major breakthroughs sparked the growth of

nanotechnology in the modern era. First, the invention of
the scanning tunneling microscope in 1981 which provided
unprecedented visualization of individual atoms and bonds, and
was successfully used to manipulate individual atoms in 1989. The
microscope's developers Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM
Zurich Research Laboratory received a Nobel Prize in Physics in
1986. Binnig, Quate, and Gerber also invented the
analogous atomic force microscope that year.
 EARLY USES OF NANOMATERIALS 8

• Carbon nanotubes have been found in pottery from Keeladi, India,

dating to c. 600–300 BC, though it is not known how they formed
or whether the substance containing them was employed
deliberately. Cementite nanowires have been observed
in Damascus steel, a material dating back to c. 900 AD, their origin
and means of manufacture also unknown.

• Although nanoparticles are associated with modern science, they

were used by artisans as far back as the ninth century
in Mesopotamia for creating a glittering effect on the surface of
pots.

In modern times, pottery from the Middle Ages and Renaissance often
retains a distinct gold- or copper-colored metallic glitter. This luster is
caused by a metallic film that was applied to the transparent surface of
a glazing, which contains silver and copper nanoparticles dispersed
homogeneously in the glassy matrix of the ceramic glaze.

These nanoparticles are created by the artisans by

adding copper and silver salts and oxides together with vinegar, ochre,
and clay on the surface of previously-glazed pottery. The technique
originated in the Muslim world. As Muslims were not allowed to use gold
in artistic representations, they sought a way to create a similar effect
without using real gold. The solution they found was using lustre.
TYPES OF NANOPARTICLES 9
Several nanoparticles and nanomaterials have been investigated and
approved for clinical use. Some common types of nanoparticles are
discussed below.
Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical molecules that consist of rolled-up
sheets of a single-layer of carbon atoms (graphene). They can be single-
walled or multi-walled, or composed of several concentrically
interlinked nanotubes. Due to their high external surface area, carbon
nanotubes can achieve considerably high loading capacities as drug
carriers. Additionally, their unique optical, mechanical, and electronic
properties have made carbon tubes appealing as imaging contrast
agents and biological sensors.

Quantum Dots
Quantum dots (QDs) are fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals (1-100
nm) and have shown potential use for several biomedical applications,
such as drug delivery and cellular imaging. Quantum dots possess a shell-
core structure, in which the core structure is typically composed of II-VI
or III-V group elements of the periodic table. Due to their distinctive
optical properties and size, with high brightness and stability, quantum
dots have been employed in the field of medical imaging.

Micelles
Micelles are amphiphilic surfactant molecules that consist of lipids and
amphiphilic molecules. Micelles spontaneously aggregate and self-
assemble into spherical vesicles under aqueous conditions with a
hydrophilic outer monolayer and a hydrophobic core, and thus can be
used to incorporate hydrophobic therapeutic agents. The unique
properties of micelles allow for the enhancement of the solubility of
hydrophobic drugs, thus improving bioavailability. The diameter of
micelles ranges from 10-100 nm. Micelles have various applications,
such as drug delivery agents, imaging agents, contrast agents and
therapeutic agents.

Metallic nanoparticles
Metallic nanoparticles include iron oxide and gold nanoparticles. Iron
oxide nanoparticles consist of a magnetic core (4-5 nm) and hydrophilic
polymers, such as dextran or PEG. Conversely, gold nanoparticles are
composed of a gold atom core surrounded by negative reactive groups
on the surface that can be functionalized by adding a monolayer of
surface moieties as ligands for active targeting. Metallic nanoparticles
have been used as imaging contrast agents, in laser-based treatment,
as optical biosensors, and drug delivery vehicles.

Liposomes
Liposomes are spherical vesicles with particle sizes ranging from 30 nm
to several microns, that consist of lipid bilayers. Liposomes can be used
to incorporate hydrophilic therapeutic agents inside the aqueous phase
and hydrophobic agents in the liposomal membrane layer. Liposomes
are versatile; their surface characteristics can be modified with
polymers, antibodies and/or proteins, enabling macromolecular drugs,
including nucleic acids and crystalline metals, to be integrated into
liposomes. Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG)ylated liposomal doxorubicin
(Doxil) is the first FDA-approved nanomedicine, which has been used
for treatment of breast cancer, and it enhances the effective drug
concentration in malignant effusions without the need to increase the
overall dose.

Dendrimers
Dendrimers are macromolecules with branched repeating units
expanding from a central core and consists of exterior functional groups
dendrimers are promising particulate systems for biomedical
applications, such as in imaging and drug delivery, due to their
transformable properties.
CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOPARTICLES 11

The characterization of nanoparticles is a branch of nanometrology that

deals with the characterization, or measurement of the physical and
chemical properties of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles measure less than
100 nanometers in at least one of their external dimensions, and are
often engineered for their unique properties. Nanoparticles are unlike
conventional chemicals in that their chemical composition and
concentration are not sufficient metrics for a complete description,
because they vary in other physical properties such as size, shape,
surface properties, crystallinity, and dispersion state.

Nanoparticles differ in their physical properties such as size, shape, and dispersion.

Nanoparticles are characterized for various purposes, including

Nanotoxicology studies and exposure assessment in workplaces to
assess their health and safety hazards, as well as manufacturing process
control. There is a wide range of instrumentation to measure these
properties, including microscopy and spectroscopy methods as well as
particles counters. Metrology standards and reference materials for
nanotechnology, while still a new discipline, are available from many
organizations.
 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES IN NANOTECHNOLOGY 12

There are several important modern developments. The atomic force

microscope (AFM) and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) are
two early versions of scanning probes that launched nanotechnology.
There are other types of scanning probe microscopy. Although
conceptually like the scanning confocal microscope developed
by Marvin Minsky in 1961 and the scanning acoustic microscope (SAM)
developed by Calvin Quate and co-workers in the 1970s, newer
scanning probe microscopes have much higher resolution, since they are
not limited by the wavelength of sound or light.
The tip of a scanning probe can also be used to manipulate
nanostructures (a process called positional assembly). Feature-oriented
scanning methodology may be a promising way to implement these
nanomanipulations in automatic mode. However, this is still a slow
process because of low scanning velocity of the microscope.

Typical AFM setup

 13
• Various techniques of nanolithography such as optical
lithography, X-ray lithography, dip pen nanolithography,
electron beam lithography or nanoimprint lithography were
also developed. Lithography is a top-down fabrication
technique where a bulk material is reduced in size to
nanoscale pattern.

• Another group of nanotechnological techniques include

those used for fabrication of nanotubes and nanowires,
those used in semiconductor fabrication such as deep
ultraviolet lithography, electron beam lithography, focused
ion beam machining, nanoimprint lithography, atomic layer
deposition, and molecular vapor deposition, and further
including molecular self-assembly techniques such as those
employing di-block copolymers.

• The top-down approach anticipates nanodevices that must

be built piece by piece in stages, much as manufactured
items are made. Scanning probe microscopy is an important
technique both for characterization and synthesis of
nanomaterials. Atomic force microscopes and scanning
tunneling microscopes can be used to look at surfaces and
to move atoms around. By designing different tips for these
microscopes, they can be used for carving out structures on
surfaces and to help guide self-assembling structures.
• In contrast, bottom-up techniques build or grow larger
structures atom by atom or molecule by molecule. These
techniques include chemical synthesis, self-assembly and
positional assembly. Dual polarisation interferometry is one
tool suitable for characterisation of self-assembled thin
films. Another variation of the bottom-up approach
is molecular beam epitaxy or MBE. Researchers at Bell
Telephone Laboratories like John R. Arthur. Alfred Y. Cho,
and Art C. Gossard developed and implemented MBE as a
research tool in the late 1960s and 1970s. Samples made by
MBE were key to the discovery of the fractional quantum
Hall effect for which the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics was
awarded. MBE allows scientists to lay down atomically
precise layers of atoms and, in the process, build up complex
structures. Important for research on semiconductors, MBE
is also widely used to make samples and devices for the
newly emerging field of spintronics.

• However, new therapeutic products, based on responsive

nanomaterials, such as the ultra-deformable, stress-
sensitive Transfersome vesicles, are under development and
already approved for human use in some countries.
APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY 15
Nanotechnology and nanomaterials can be applied in all kinds of
industrial sectors. They are usually found in these areas:

ELECTRONICS
Carbon Nanotubes are close to replacing silicon as a material for
making smaller, faster, and more efficient microchips and
devices, as well as lighter, more conductive, and stronger
quantum nanowires. Graphene’s (allotrope of carbon)
properties make it an ideal candidate for the development of
flexible touchscreens.

ENERGY
A new semiconductor developed by KYOTO University makes it
possible to manufacture solar panels that double the amount of
sunlight converted into electricity. Nanotechnology also lowers
costs, produces stronger and lighter wind turbines, improves fuel
efficiency and, thanks to the thermal insulation of some
nanocomponents, can save energy.

BIOMEDICINE
The properties of some nanomaterials make them ideal for
improving early diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative
diseases or Cancer. They can attack cancer cells selectively
without harming other healthy cells. Some nanoparticles are
used to enhance pharmaceutical products such as sunscreen.
FOOD
In this field, nano biosensors could be used to detect the
presence of pathogens in food or nanocomposites to improve
food production by increasing mechanical and thermal resistance
and decreasing oxygen transfer in packaged products.

TEXTILES
Nanotechnology makes it possible to develop smart fabrics that
do not stain nor wrinkle, as well as stronger, lighter, and more
durable materials to make motorcycle helmets or sports
equipment’s.
NANOTECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT 17

ADVANTAGES OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

SAVE THE SEAS:

• Oil spills can be catastrophic for oceans, rivers, and the
wildlife that reside within it. Conventional methods of
clearing spillages are inadequate, and although still in their
infancy, nano-based solutions show great promise as an
alternative means of tackling the clean-up operations.

• Following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, in 2010,

researchers from the State University of New York (SUNY)
Stony Brook developed a nano grid of photocatalytic copper
tungsten oxide nanoparticles. When activated by Sunlight,
these nanoparticles break oil down into biodegradable
compounds.

WATER CLEANLINESS:
Nanotechnology-based solutions can contribute to the long-term
quality, availability, and viability of water in several ways:

Treatment and remediation

• Nanotechnology could yield a new generation of
nanomembranes for separation to enable greater water
 purification and desalinization and better means of
removing, reducing, and neutralizing water contaminants.
The latter might include zeolites, carbon nanotubes, self-
assembled monolayer on mesoporous supports (SAMMs),
biopolymers, and single- enzyme nanoparticles, to name a
few.

Sensing and Detection

• Nanomaterials also make it possible to use photochemical
analysis, integrating light response and chemical sensing for
biological and chemical monitoring and negating the need
for expensive and sophisticated instruments and operations.

POLLUTION PREVENTION
• Practical water-cleaning applications already in use include
utilizing iron nanoparticles to remove organic solvents in
groundwater. The Nanoparticles disperse through the water
and decompose solvents without the need to pump water
out of the ground, making the method more effective and
less expensive.

• Nanotechnology based solutions can also remove

radioactive waste. Titanate nanofibers act as good
absorbents to remove radioactive ions such as Cesium and
Iodine from water.
 19
CLEASING THE AIR
• Current methods to separate CO2 from waste gases are
expansive. However, membranes constructed from
Nanomaterials could work in the same way at a fraction of
the cost and without additional compounds.

• Researchers say the material could be used to treat large gas

streams under low pressure, such as CO2 capture from flue
gases in coal-fired power plants.

IMPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY:

Understanding of the environmental effects and risks associated

with nanotechnology is very limited and inconsistent. The
potential environmental harm through nanotechnology can be
summarised as follows:
• High energy requirements for synthesizing nanoparticles
causing high energy demand.
• Dissemination of toxic, persistent nanosubstance originating
environmental harm.
• Lower recovery and recycling rates.
• Lack of trained engineers and workers causing further
concerns.
Health and environmental concerns:

• Nanofibers are used in several areas and in different

products, in everything from aircraft wings to tennis rackets.
Inhaling airborne nanoparticles and nanofibers may lead to
several pulmonary diseases, e.g., Fibrosis.

• Nanotoxicology is the field which studies potential health

risks of nanomaterials. The extremely small size of
nanomaterials means that they are much more readily taken
up by the human body than larger sized particles.

• How these nanoparticles behave inside the organism is one

of the significant issues that needs to be resolved. The
behaviour of nanoparticles is a function of their size, shape,
and surface reactivity with the surrounding tissue.

• For example, they could cause overload on phagocytes, cells

that ingest and destroy foreign matter, thereby triggering
stress reactions that lead to inflammation and weaken the
body’s defence against other pathogens.
NANOTECHNOLOGY IN INDIA 21

• Research and work on nanotechnology in India started in

2001 with the formation of the Nanoscience and Technology
initiative with initial funding of Rs 60 Crores.

• In 2007, the GOI launched a 5-year program called Nano

Mission, it was allocated a budget of Rs 1,000 Crores.

• It had wider scope of objectives and much larger funding.

Fields involved in the mission were: basic research in
nanotechnology, infrastructure development, human
resources development, and global collaboration.

• Many institutions and departments were roped in for the

work such as the Department of IT, DRDO, Department of
Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR), etc. In both IIT Bombay and IISC Bangalore, National
Centres for Nanofabrication and Nanoelectronics were
established.

• Despite all this, India spends only a fraction of the amount

spent by countries such as the USA, China, Japan, etc. on
Nanotechnology.
TOP 10 LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF NANO
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Superflexible Chips that Can Encircle a Strand of Hair

Swiss scientists have created nanotech-based electronic chips

that are so flexible they can be wrapped around a hair strand.
Based at ETH Zurich, the researchers were able to accomplish
this feat by creating thin layers of stacked polyvinyl that are
topped with an electronic circuit. When submerged in water, two
of the polyvinyl layers dissolve, leaving a tiny circuit embedded
in a sheet of perylene that is one micrometer thick.

The researchers found that the transistors still function when

wrapped around a human hair. The flexible electronics can
adhere to a range of materials. Potentially suited for wearables
and a whole range of medical applications, the chip has already
been used in an artificial eye and in a glaucoma monitor.
 2. Nanotech Meets Contact Lenses and Virtual Reality 23
Nanotech could end up providing a solution to the need for bulky
headsets in virtual reality environments, and the answer involves
contact lenses.

Bellevue, WA-based Innovega with its iOptik platform

embedded a center filter and display lens at the center of a
contact lens. The optical elements are smaller than the eye's
pupil and therefore do not interfere with vision. A projector can
hit those tiny optical elements, which guide images to the retina.
But the retina is still getting the overall normal vision provided
through the entire pupil, so the brain ends up viewing the
projected images and the overall normal field of vision as one.

3. A Nanotech Detector for Heart Attacks

Nanosensors that detect heart attacks before they happen
could save both lives and money. That is exactly what Eric Topol,
MD, at San Diego-based Scripps Health has been working on with Axel
Scherer, PhD, of Caltech. Their technology involves tiny blood stream
nanosensor chips that might sense the precursor of a heart attack. A
person with such a tiny chip might get a warning on their smartphone
or another wireless device that they should immediately see their
cardiologist.
 4. A nanocarrier to improve targeted drug delivery

Targeted drug delivery is a revolutionary approach for disease

treatment, where a concentrated dose of medication is
transported directly to a disease site, thereby avoiding negative
side effects on healthy tissue. However, despite this promising
science, efficient carriers with the ability to improve stability and
selectivity of a drug within the body and reduce unwanted
immune responses are a rarity, thus limiting the effective
delivery of therapeutic compounds.

To address this challenge, a team of scientists at the State

University of New York have developed a customised
nanocarrier platform with the capability of structure-based
design and systematic optimisation. The technology provides
multiple chemical formulations of biocompatible nanoparticles,
consisting of polyethylene glycol, amino acids, and natural
compounds, enabling the effective delivery of therapeutic drugs
for the likes of infectious and autoimmune diseases, as well as
cancer.

5. Silver Germ-Killers

Silver nanoparticles are increasingly being used in everything

from self-sanitizing toothbrushes to clothes. It may eventually be
used in toothpaste. The ability of tiny particles of silver to kill
bacteria has been known for some time, though the research
appears to be light on whether the silver also carries health risks.
Radio-Canada reports that the Washington, D.C.-based Wilson
Center counts around 400 products presently using silver
nanoparticles.
 6. A new frontier for droplets in droplets 25

Multiple emulsions (mixes of immiscible liquids formed as

droplets inside droplets) are present in everyday life in a wide
range of products, such as pharmaceuticals, paints and coatings,
cosmetics, and foods. However, current technologies to create
these encapsulated products present some limitations as they
are slow, require specific equipment and often create too-large
droplets.

A new frontier for droplets in droplets

The researchers behind this project at the University of

California, Santa Barbara have found a way to overcome such
limitations and create multi-nanoemulsions and nanoparticles,
with diameters as small as 100-200 nm. These nanoparticles are
stable and can be created using standard, scalable equipment.
This new nanotechnology innovation is set to have an impact on
many industries: improving agricultural products, aiding the
delivery of pharmaceutical drugs, and even creating low-calorie
food emulsions by adding water droplets in fat oils.
7.The world’s smallest (and most useful) hacky sacks

Nanoparticle drug delivery has become an increasingly important

strategy in healthcare, including in treatments for COVID-19, crossing
the blood-brain barrier, and providing cell-specific targeting for disease
treatments. These new nanoparticles from Puerto Rico scientists,
formed by small molecules which self-assemble under specific
temperature or pH conditions, display several key benefits: they are easy
to synthesize and reproduce at different scales, they maintain integrity
under various key conditions (freeze-drying, pipetting etc.), and exhibit
encapsulation and controlled release of therapeutic agents such as
nucleic acids and proteins.

This nanotechnology innovation is already patented and the team are

seeking development or commercial partners as well as exclusive or
non-exclusive licensing.

7. Agricultural production and food processing

Agriculture will need to scale to keep pace with these changes
and ensure consistent access to healthy and safe foods.
Fortunately, nanotechnology has many possible use cases in
agriculture, from farming to food packaging.

• Nanocapsules might enable improved delivery of fertilizers

and pesticides. Plant and animal pathogens might also
become easier to detect with nanosensors.
• In packaging, nanoparticles might be used to resist heat and
light-related spoilage and block contaminants.
• Coiled nanoparticles could even be incorporated into foods
to increase nutrient absorption without affecting color or
taste.
 8. Renewable energy infrastructure, especially solar cells
The prices of solar cells have been falling for years, leading to a
rapid expansion of renewable energy infrastructure. Between
2008 and 2017, the price per watt of a solar panel installation fell
from $8.82 to $3.36 – a decrease of more than 60 percent.
However, solar still accounted for only 1 percent of electricity
production in the U.S. in 2016 and was dwarfed by other
renewables, not to mention non-renewables. To increase its
market share, it needs even better affordability compared to
cheap non-renewable sources such as natural gas.
Nanotechnology can help on this front by providing:
• Better light absorption.
• More efficient conversion of light to electricity.
• Improved storage and transport of solar energy.

More specifically, nanoscopic structures made from gold and

magnesium fluoride may be the key to the development of
thermophotovoltaic cells, which in theory are much more
efficient than conventional solar technology. They can harvest
energy even in the dark via infrared radiation and emit their heat
within specific spectral ranges, instead of equally in all directions
across a broad range.
 9. Charging the Electric Vehicle Revolution 28
Lithium-ion batteries are becoming more common as an energy
source for electric vehicles, but current battery technology has
limitations such as long charging times and short driving range,
and therefore cannot support the growing demands of the
market. New developments are focussing on improving
properties such as the energy density of lithium-ion batteries to
increase driving range by replacing graphite anodes with silicon.
Whilst silicon has a high capacity for lithium, it cracks easily in
batteries, reducing the lifetime of an anode.

Silicon-based nanoparticles developed by scientists at

the University of East Anglia can be compacted together,
preventing cracking of the anode in a major leap forward for the
industry. The nanoparticles also provide double the energy
capacity of graphite anodes.
NANO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE FUTURE 29

• There are bright and dark spots in the future of

Nanotechnology.

• On the other hand, the sector is expected to grow globally,

driven by technological advances, increased government
support, increased private investment and growing demand
for smaller devices, to name a few.

• However, the environmental, health and safety risks of

Nanotechnology and concerns related to its
commercialisation could hamper market expansion.

• Accessing the role of Nanotechnology and guiding its

progression will require cross-sectoral involvement of
scientists, governments, civil society organisations and the
general public.

• In the future, Nanotechnology could also enable objects to

harvest energy from their environment. New nano-materials
and concepts are currently being developed that show
potential for producing energy from movement, light,
variations in temperature, glucose, and other energy sources
with high conversion efficiency.
 CONCLUSION 30

• The progress of nanoscience and technology in different

fields of science has expanded in different directions, to
observe things from micro to nano, to even smaller scale
sizes by different microscopes in physics, from micro size
bulk matter to small size carbon dots in chemistry, from
room size computers to mobile slim size laptops in computer
science, and to observe deeply the behaviour of the cell′s
nucleus to study single complicated biomolecules at the
nano level in biological science.

• In only a few decades, nanotechnology and nanoscience

have become of fundamental importance to industrial
applications and medical devices, such as diagnostic
biosensors, drug delivery systems, and imaging probes.

• For example, in the food industry, nanomaterials have been

exploited to increase drastically the production, packaging,
shelf life, and bioavailability of nutrients. In contrast, zinc
oxide nanostructures display antimicrobial activity against
food-borne bacteria, and a plethora of different
nanomaterials are nowadays used for diagnostic purposes as
food sensors to detect food quality and safety.

• I learned a lot of things from this inspire summer project and

very happy to say that representation of Nano Science and
Technology.
 REFERENCES 31

I have taken information from books, websites, and YouTube

channels that are mentioned below.
I have also taken some knowledge from my supervisor regarding
the research.

YOUTUBE CHANNELS: PHYSICS FOR ALL Dr. LALIT KUMAR

Harshit Dwivedi Education
WEBSITES AND BOOKS:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6982820/

"Press Release: the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics". Nobelprize.org. 15

October 1986. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 12
May 2011.

Kroto, H. W.; Heath, J. R.; O'Brien, S. C.; Curl, R. F.; Smalley, R. E.

Kokarneswaran, M., Selvaraj, P., Ashokan, T., Mohan, N., Chadrasekaran

V (2020). "Discovery of carbon nanotubes in sixth century BC potteries
from Keeladi, India". Scientific Reports.

Sanderson, Katharine (2006-11-15). "Sharpest cut from nanotube

sword". Nature News: news061113–11. doi:10.1038/news061113-
11. S2CID 136774602.

Reiss, Gunter; Hutten, Andreas (2010). "Magnetic Nanoparticles". In

Sattler, Klaus D. (ed.). Handbook of Nanophysics: Nanoparticles and
Quantum Dots.
Khan, Firdos Alam (2012). Biotechnology Fundamentals. CRC Press.
p. 328. ISBN 9781439820094.

Rawson, Philip S. (1984). Ceramics. University of Pennsylvania

Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1156-6.
Katsuki S, Matoba T, Koga JI, Nakano K and Egashira K: Anti-inflamm
atory Nanomedicine for Cardiovascular Disease. Front Cardiovasc M
ed. 4(87)2017.PubMed/NCBI View Article: Google Scholar

https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/br.2021.1418

Morgan MT, Carnahan MA, Finkelstein S, Prata CA, DeGrazia L, Lee SJ,
and Grinstaff MW: Dendritic supramolecular assemblies for drug
delivery. Chem Commun (Camb). 97:4309–4311.
2005.PubMed/NCBI View Article: Google Scholar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characterization_of_nanoparticles

Lapshin, R. V. (2004). "Feature-oriented scanning methodology for

probe microscopy and nanotechnology" (PDF). Nanotechnology.

Lapshin, R. V. (2011). "Feature-oriented scanning probe microscopy". In

H. S. Nalwa (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology (PDF). Vol. 14. USA: American Scientific Publishers.

https://in-part.com/blog/new-nanotechnology-innovations-top-10/
https://engineeringonline.ucr.edu/blog/3-nanotechnology-
innovations-on-the-horizon/

https://www.mddionline.com/rd/10-nanotech-breakthroughs-you-
should-know-about-updated

https://phys.org/news/2016-03-ways-nanotechnology-future.html
https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/br.2021.1418