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Introduction
Manufactured products are made from atoms. The properties of these products depend
on how the atoms are arranged. If we rearrange the atoms in coal, we can make diamond. If
we rearranged the atoms in sand (and add a few other trace elements) we can make computer
chips. If rearranges the atoms in dirt, water and air we can make potatoes.
Many scientific and technological advances recently made depend on properties of
materials at a very small scale such technological advances are known as nanotechnology.
The development and practical applications of structure and devices on a nanometer scale
(between 1 and 100 nanometers). A nano meter is one-billionth of a meter, 1nm=10 -9m
Nano technology is an applied science focused on the design, synthesis,
characterization and application of materials and devices on the nano scale
Nano and Nature
Man has learnt a lot from nature. Yet his manufacturing practices are primitive. Everyone
knows that a lot more needs to be done to get closer to nature. For example, no one has
reached the efficiency of photosynthesis in storing energy. No one can facilitate energy
transfer (or electron transfer) as efficiently as biomolecules. No factory does water
purification and storage as efficiently as coconut trees or watermelons. The brain of one
person can, in principle, store and process more information than todays computer. It is
unlikely for any movie camera to capture visuals more vividly than the human eye. The
olfactory receptors of the dog are much more sensitive than the sensors we have developed,
though single molecule detectors have been reported. Most early warning systems are
primitive when compared to the sixth sense of animals. Well, all these functions are
performed in nature without any fanfare; this has been happening since time immemorial and
with precision each time.
Conventional wisdom says that what happens in a factory is high-tech. Technology
converts primitive, unusable materials into modern, useful materials. But technology has a
much greater impact on nature especially as the complexity of the technology increases. The
impact of the wheel is not as significant as that of the automobile. When spaced in time, the
impact of technology increases along with the progress of civilization. The chisel symbolized
the highest technology of the Neolithic era. The man who could make his chisels better would
get a greater share of food. The best or most high-tech product today would be the super
chips used in the fastest computers. These, in the course of production from sand to wafers
and then to integrated circuits, have caused severe damage to the environment, even as they
contribute to the information explosion. The impact of modern technology is evident on all
natural resourceswater, air and everything around us. Of course, what we have developed
is not high-tech in totality.
The use of conventional technology has not ensured optimum efficiency in energy
conversion. Our best photovoltaic devices convert light with only 16 per cent efficiency. Our
best internal combustion engines work at around 52 per cent efficiency. While cooking, we
use 38 per cent (at best) of the thermal energy produced by gas. But our body utilizes almost
the entire chemical energy it produces. Plants utilize this energy much better, as do bacteria.
If we were to be as inefficient as an electric motor we would be consuming several times
more food than we do today and there would not be enough food for all of us! It is therefore
clear that ultimate efficiency or value for money is achieved only if we traverse natures way.
Nano the Beginning
What are the historical milestones in the saga of nano. Many nano forms of matter exist
around us. One of the earliest nano-sized objects known to us was made of gold. Faraday
prepared colloidal gold in 1856 and called it divided metals. In his diary dated 2 April 1856,
Faraday called the particles he made the divided state of gold. The solutions he prepared are
preserved in the Royal Institution,
Metallic gold, when divided into fine particles ranging from sizes of 10500 nm particles,
can be suspended in water. In 1890, the German bacteriologist Robert Koch found that
compounds made with gold inhibited the growth of bacteria. He won the Nobel Prize for
medicine in 1905. The use of gold in medicinal preparations is not new. In the Indian medical
system called Ayurveda, gold is used in several preparations. One popular preparation is
called Saraswatharishtam, prescribed for memory enhancement. Gold is also added in
certain medicinal preparations for babies, in order to enhance their mental capability. All
these preparations use finely ground gold. The metal was also used for medical purposes in
ancient Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry. In Alexandria,
alchemists developed a powerful colloidal elixir known as liquid gold, a preparation that
was meant to restore youth. The great alchemist and founder of modern medicine, Paracelsus,
developed many highly successful treatments from metallic minerals including gold. In
China, people cook their rice with a gold coin in order to help replenish gold in their bodies.
Colloidal gold has been incorporated in glasses and vases to give them colour. The oldest of
these is the fourth Century AD Lycurgus cup made by the Romans. The cup appears red in
transmitted light (if a light source is kept within the cup) and appears green in reflected light
(if the light source is outside).
The science of nanometer scale objects was not discussed until much later. On
December 29, 1959, the Nobel Prize winning physicist, Richard Feynman gave a talk at the
annual meeting of the American Physical Society entitled theres plenty of room at the
bottom. In this talk, he stated, The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak
against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. He, in a way, suggested the
bottom up approach, ...it is interesting that it would be, in principle, possible for a physicist
to synthesize any chemical substance that the chemist writes down. Give the orders and the
physicist synthesizes it. How put the atoms down where the chemist says, and so you make
the substance. The problems of chemistry and biology can be greatly helped if our ability to
see what we are doing, and to do things on an atomic level, is ultimately developed-a
development which I think cannot be avoided However, the world had to wait a long time
to put down atoms at the required place. In 1981, the scanning tunneling microscope was
made and later a number of tools collectively called scanning probe microscopes were
developed. The team associated with these developments got the 1986 Nobel Prize for
physics. The tools they developed can help see and place atoms and molecules wherever
needed.
The current growth of technology suggests that reductions are needed in the dimensions
of devices and active materials. This is evident in the case of computer technology. The
number of transistors used in an integrated circuit has increased phenomenally in the past 40
years. In 1965, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, observed that the number of
transistors per square inch on integrated circuits doubled every year since the integrated
circuit was invented. Moore predicted that this trend would continue in the foreseeable
future. In the subsequent years, this pace slowed down, but the data density doubled
approximately every 18 months. This is the current definition of Moores Law. Most experts,
including Moore himself, expect Moores Law to hold for some more time. For this to
happen the device dimension must shrink, touching the nanometer regime very soon. The
Pentium 4 of 2000, used a 130 nm technology, i.e. the device structure drawn on silicon was
as small as this dimension. In 2004, the technology graduated to 90 nm, well into the
nanotechnology domain (under 100 nm) and 45 nm technology is being discussed currently.
Obviously, with all these developments, new nanotech products will indeed reach the
marketplace in the immediate future. However, the answer to when this need will be felt by
the people varies. Many believe that there will be nanotech laws in the near future as there
can be economic, social, health and security implications related to nanotechnology which
would be of concern to many nations. The implications of nanotechnology for society may
be significant enough for nations to discuss it as part of their election campaigns.
The phenomenal expansion and growth of nanoscience and nanotechnology has been
historically unprecedented. Further the convergence of these two with the growth of
information science and molecular biology has heralded new challenges for society and
natural environment. Technological revolutions have shown that pioneering scientific
discoveries have the potential to pave the way for radically innovative and integrated
approaches and for providing new solutions to the international communitys most pressing
problems. In order to enable decision-makers to devise policies in keeping with the needs of
the society, communities and nations, it is important to understand the societal implications
of these newly emerging fields. Nanotechnology, unlike any other technology, can find
application in virtually all areas of human life. Because of its distinctiveness and
pervasiveness it has the potential to revolutionize the way we live, think, behave and act. In
spite of the fact that it is an infant in terms of its evolution, some of the issues related to
nanotech indicate a wide spectrum of potential societal impacts. These need to be studied
further, especially in the context of the developing countries, where nano commodities,
devices and services have the potential to make a significant difference, especially with
regard to economic and social development. The current public nano-discourse offers
sociology a unique opportunity to switch from a merely passive, observational role to an
active participating one, especially wherein the key players involved meet to find joint and
concerted solutions for the development of advanced sciences and technologies.
Nanotechnologys unique and distinct features have the potential to bridge the technological
gap between the developed and the developing worlds, if designed and implemented to serve
the needs of people who were left out of the ambit of previous technological evolutionary
processes. This larger objective necessitates the fusion of several ideas and experiences, from
abstract science to the realities of the downtrodden, from sociology to materials science;
nevertheless the realm of nano appears to possess the necessary ingredients to attain these
goals
Harnessing Nanotechnology for Economic and Social Development
The manner in which industrialization advanced in the developing world has no parallels in
the highly industrialized countries. In the former, various kinds of technologies -from
indigenous to state-of-the- art technologies-co-exist and a plurality of different kind of
societies live together, ranging from pre- industrial to emerging knowledge societies. The
ongoing industrialization and modernization trend in the developing world has generated a
range of problems that have culminated in the global phenomena of environmental pollution,
widespread diseases and urbanization. The situation in the developing world has not
significantly improved and in certain countries, the condition of the people has deteriorated
further. The worlds most pressing problems are manifold and relate to a variety of issues.
Extreme poverty, lack of education, high rates of mortality and morbidity, widespread
epidemics and environmental problems are rampant. Innovative and holistic approaches and
strategies thus need to be developed and implemented while addressing these highly complex
and intertwined problems, and no technology should be considered irrelevant in this effort.
We stated earlier that nanotech techniques can find applications in societies and economies,
irrespective of their development or status and that at least theoretically, everyone can benefit
from their potential applications. Nanoscale techniques have the potential to be in harmony
with both traditions and technological development, which makes them a valid tool in the
struggle against poverty. They can indeed make a significant difference in the current
scenario and contribute to a more sustainable economic and social development. Several
developing countries have recognized nanotech as a catalyst for economic, human, social,
technological and environmental development and launched national nanotechnology
initiatives. Worldwide, more than one-third of all the nations are promoting research and
development, including education and training of nanoscientists and nanotechnologists, and
more than seven of these countries belong to the developing world . To put it in the right
perspective, in India for instance, the Department of Science and Technology, has allocated $
20 million in the present Five-Year Plan for the national Nanomaterials Science and
Technology Initiative. Several academic institutions in India already possess the necessary
ingredients to compete at a global level and to become research centers of excellence, with
highly educated and trained workforce, state-of-the-art research infrastructure and well
established links with industry and business. Figure shows the investment in nano research in
a number of countries, grouped separately. It is clear that the investment in India is still very
low in comparison to other countries in the region.
Developing countries are rich in human capital and their brainpower will, in the medium and
long-term, reshape the imbalance between the North and South. Nanotech offers a new
opportunity to the manufacturing industry in the developing world. The wide range of
possible applications of nanoscale technologies suggests that if the industrial sector of
developing countries enters the field of manufacturing of nanomaterials, it can enhance its
competitiveness in manufacturing at the global level.
1. Economic Development
Among the numerous possible applications of nanotechnology, the most widespread impact
as far as the developing world is concerned may be in the area of water purification. Access
to safe drinking water is one of the major concerns in the developing world since almost half
of the world population has no access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Water
purification systems, equipped with nanomaterials and using new kinds of membrane
technologies with variable pore sizes as filters, could provide people in any area with safe
drinking water. These are easy in application and maintenance, and are already available in
the market; the forward-osmosis membrane technology of Hydration Technologies is one
technique utilizing nanotechnology. Thus a combination of nanotechnologies will be useful in
providing safe drinking water through cost-effective measures, which will be less dependent
on energy resources. Although the product is currently marketed only to provide emergency
water supply, large-scale water purification is indeed feasible in the future. To substantiate
the validity of these suggestions, we mention the following. Carbon nanotube-based filters
can be developed for water purification. The development of a filter which can separate
petroleum hydrocarbons from crude oil has been demonstrated. The filters also remove
bacteria from water. With nanotubes, smart sensors can be incorporated into the filter as
several nanotube-based sensors are already known. Nanoparticles have been shown to
degrade pesticides and pollutants. Several nanomaterials are known to be anti-bacterial and
can be incorporated on various kinds of substrates. It may be mentioned that we have not
listed numerous other discoveries in the area related to this application.
Nanoscale techniques have the potential to revolutionize the health sector, particularly in the
fields of diagnosis, screening and monitoring of diseases and health conditions . A large
spectrum of novel applications using nanoscale techniques in healthcare is possible and this is
the beginning of a new paradigm for healthcare. Lack of accurate, affordable and accessible
diagnostic tests impedes global health efforts, especially in the remote and inaccessible
regions of the world. Many communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and
others can be diagnosed with the help of screening devices using nanotechnology. The
standard diagnostic tests for these diseases in the developing world are costly, complex, and
poorly suited to resource-limited settings. A radically new approach to health diagnosis has
been developed in India by the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO).
Theoretical simulation and design parameters for a micro-diagnostic kit using nano-sized
biosensors were completed in 2004 and are ready for clinical trials . The techniques are based
on highly selective and specific biosensors and receptors like antibodies, antigens and DNA,
which enable an early and precise diagnosis of various diseases. The diagnostic kit Bio-
MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical-system) has a size of about 1 cm 1 cm, costs around Rs
30 per piece is easy to apply. The testing time in this is very fast and only requires a tiny
amount of blood. This novel diagnostic tool could also find application in the detection of
other diseases and pollutants in the environment, including water and food . In order to
develop therapeutics to combat malaria caused by the parasite plasmodium falciparum, a
common disease in many parts of the developing world, Subra Suresh and his team at MIT
are using nanotechnology to systematically measure the mechanical properties of biological
systems in response to the onset and progression of the disease . Innovative drug delivery
systems, using nanotechnology constitute another area wherein nanotechnology can find
application. Cancer is widely prevalent in the developing world as elsewhere and poses a big
challenge to human health. The latest results obtained in cancer detection and treatments with
nanoscale techniques give the hope that nanotechnology could be heading for a breakthrough
in defeating this disease. One way of detecting cancer early, safely and economically, is by
the injection of molecular beacons into the body. Britton Chance and his colleagues at the
University of Pennsylvania have developed tiny capsules that use the specific biochemical
activity associated with a tumor to detect breast cancer. As far as cancer treatment is
concerned, Jennifer L. West and her team at Rice University, Houston, Texas have developed
gold nano bullets that can destroy inoperable human cancers. The nanoshells consist of tiny
silica particles plated with gold, which when heated with infrared light, because the cancer
cells to die. Carbon nanotubes have been transported into the cell nucleus and continuous
near infrared radiation absorption of nanotubes causes cell death. This methodology has been
used for cancer cell destruction.
5. Environmental Pollution
6. Energy Storage,
Production and Conversion Chronic power shortages and increased need for energy
resources because of the rapidly g rowing population and economies of the developing world,
are posing challenges to the energy market. Since almost all sources of energy are not
renewable, the world will soon face a global energy supply problem. Solar energy is an
interesting and valid alternative, especially in the tropical sunny South. Scientific studies
have demonstrated that nanoscale techniques involving nanotubes and nanoparticles lead to
increased conversion efficiencies. Semiconducting particles of titanium dioxide, coated with
light-absorbing dyes bathed in an electrolyte and embedded in plastic films, are cheap and
easy to manufacture and offer a viable alternative to conventional energy production and
storage. Because of their low cost-structure, photovoltaics using nanotech constitute a valid
alternative for overcoming the problem of power shortage, especially in the developing
world. Researchers at Nanosolar, a venture capital start-up based in Palo Alto, California, are
developing cheaper methods for producing photovoltaic solar cells by using nanotechnology.
The objective is to boost the power output of nano solar cells and make them easier to deploy
by spraying them directly on surfaces. This approach is simple and can be easily replicated in
the developing world. These highly efficient solar cells can be made of a mix of alcohol
surfactants and titanium compounds sprayed on a metal foil. Within 30 seconds, a block of
titanium oxide perforated with holes of nano-meter size rises from the foil. The solar cells
form when the holes are filled with conductive polymer and electrodes are added and then
covered with a transparent plastic. These are concrete examples wherein nanotechnology can
be used for energy storage, production and conversion in the developing world.
7. Global Partnerships
The inclusion of the South in the nano-dialogue has created new platforms and alliances
between the North and South and strengthens their ties. The allocation of some of the large
public scientific funding of nanoscience and technology could be directed to developing
countries in order to foster the development, diffusion and dissemination of nanoscience,
engineering and technology in the developing world. Global research networks of excellence
create more value for the international scientific community. It is certainly important to
encourage international partnerships between the North and South, similar to the first North-
South expert group meeting of nanoscientists and nanotechnologists in Trieste (Italy) in
February 2005, but there is also a growing need for scientific exchange and alliances among
countries of the developing world in view of the ongoing regionalization trends in politics
and economics. Global research networks, including scientific co-operation and
collaboration, are needed to find joint solutions for the most pressing problems of the world
community. Since partnerships at the regional level are likely to gain importance in the long
term, the establishment of South-South nano-networks must be envisaged.