By: -

Dhaval Malhotra (07BIC020) Bhavya Chauhan (07BIC006)

(Receipt no. 211) (Receipt no. 167)
+91-9376124696 +91-9925388606
malhotradd1990@gmail.com bhavya.chauhan@gmail.com
College: Institute of Technology, Nirma University
 INDEX

Sr. Topic Pg.

No No

1. Introduction-The Fundamentals of Nano 3

2. Applications of Nanotechnology 4
a) Nanosensors
b) Nanomedicine
c) Nanomaterials
d) Energy Applications
e) Nanorobots
3. Dark sides of Nanotechnology 10
4. Nanotechnology: Earth’s Friend or Foe?? 12
Solving the Dilemma
5. Bibliography 13

2
 Introduction This power, in fact, facilitates the creation of
all man made products. That is
The Fundamentals of
nanotechnology!!!
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, shortened to "Nanotech", is
the study of the control of matter on an atomic
and molecular scale. Generally
nanotechnology deals with structures of the
size 100 nanometres or smaller, and involves
developing materials or devices within that
size.

"'Nanotechnology' mainly consists of the

processing of, separation, consolidation, and
deformation of materials by one atom or by
one molecule. Two main approaches are used
in nanotechnology:
Man has learnt a lot from nature. Yet his
I. Bottom-up Approach
manufacturing practices are primitive.
II. Top-Down Approach
Everyone knows that a lot more needs to be
In the "bottom-up" approach, materials and
done to get closer to nature. For example, no
devices are built from molecular components
one has reached the efficiency of
which assemble themselves chemically by
photosynthesis in storing energy.
principles of molecular recognition.
No factory does water purification & storage
In the "top-down" approach, nano-objects are
as efficiently as coconut trees or water
constructed from larger entities without
melons. The constitution of watermelon is far
atomic-level control.
more complex than the most complex
integrated circuit, yet it costs far less. On the
other hand, the power to manipulate atoms &
arrange them in the way we please can
facilitate the creation of complex inorganic
structures merely at the price of vegetables. Applications of Nanotechnology

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 Nanosensors are any biological, chemical, or
surgery sensory points used to convey
While conventional chemistry uses inexact
information about nanoparticles to the
processes driven toward some balance to
macroscopic world. Their uses mainly include
obtain inexact results, and biology exploits
medicinal purposes. Nanomedicine seeks to
inexact processes to obtain definitive results,
deliver a valuable set of research tools and
nanotechnology would employ original
clinically helpful devices in the near future.
definitive processes to obtain definitive
Medicinal uses of nanosensors mainly revolve
results. Nanoparticles can strongly influence
around the potential of nanosensors to
the mechanical properties of the material, like
accurately identify particular cells or places in
stiffness or elasticity. With nanotechnology, a
the body in need. By measuring changes in
large set of materials and improved products
volume, concentration, displacement and
rely on a change in the physical properties
velocity, gravitational, electrical, and
when the feature sizes are shrunk. As of
magnetic forces, pressure, or temperature of
August 21, 2008, the ‘Project on Emerging
cells in a body, nanosensors may be able to
Nanotechnologies’ estimates that over 800
distinguish between and recognize certain
manufacturer-identified nanotech products are
cells, most notably those of cancer, at the
publicly available, with new ones hitting the
molecular level in order to deliver medicine or
market at a pace of 3-4 per week. Some major
monitor development to specific places in the
applications of nanotechnology are:
body[2]. In addition, they may be able to
detect macroscopic variations from outside the
 Nanosensors
body and communicate these changes to other
 Nanomedicine
nanoproducts working within the body. One
 Nanomaterials
example of nanosensors involves using the
 Energy applications
fluorescence properties of cadmium selenide
 Nanorobots
quantum dots as sensors to uncover tumours
within the body. By injecting a body with
There are many applications of nano
these quantum dots, a doctor could see where
technology; few of them are discussed
a tumour or cancer cell was by finding the
here:
injected quantum dots. A nanosensor probe
carrying a laser beam (blue) penetrating a
 Nanosensors living cell to detect the presence of a product

IV
indicating that the cell has been exposed to a  Nanomedicine
cancer-causing substance is shown in the Nanomedicine is the medical application of
image. nanotechnology. The approaches to
nanomedicine range from the medical use of
nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors,
and even possible future applications of
molecular nanotechnology. Nanomedicine is a
large industry, with nanomedicine sales
reaching 6.8 billion dollars in 2004, and with
over 200 companies and 38 products
worldwide, a minimum of 3.8 billion dollars
in nanotechnology R&D is being invested
every year. As the nanomedicine industry
Other applications except medicinal using continues to grow, it is expected to have a
nanosensors are building smaller integrated significant impact on the economy.
circuits, as well as incorporating them into
various other commodities made using other
 Drug delivery
forms of nanotechnology for use in a variety
Bioavailability refers to the presence of drug
of situations including transportation,
molecules where they are needed in the body
communication, improvements in structural
and where they will do the most good. Drug
integrity, and robotics. Nanosensors may also
delivery focuses on maximizing
eventually be valuable as
bioavailability both at specific places in the
more accurate monitors
body and over a period of time. This will be
of material states for use
achieved by molecular targeting by
in systems where size
nanoengineered devices. It is all about
and weight are
targeting the molecules and delivering drugs
constrained, such as in satellites and other
with cell precision. Drug delivery systems,
aeronautic machines.
lipid- or polymer-based nanoparticles, can be
designed to improve the pharmacological and
therapeutic properties of drugs.

V
 Surgery  Cancer Treatment
A flesh welder is used to fuse two pieces of The small size of nanoparticles endows them
chicken meat into a single piece. The two with properties very useful in curing cancer.
pieces of chicken are placed together Quantum dots (nanoparticles with quantum
touching. A greenish liquid containing gold- confinement properties, such as size-tunable
coated nanoshells is dribbled along the seam. light emission), when used in conjunction with
An infrared laser is traced along the seam, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), can
causing the two sides to weld together. This produce exceptional images of tumour sites.
could solve the difficulties and blood leaks How nanotechnology can be used in cancer
caused when the surgeon tries to restitch the treatment is shown in the figure.

arteries he/she has cut during a kidney or heart

Nanorobots are also used in medical field.
transplant. The flesh welder could meld the
Their applications are discussed in later part.
artery into a perfect seal.

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 Nanomaterials
One proposed application of MNT is the
development of so-called smart materials.
This term refers to any sort of material
designed and engineered at the nanometre
scale to perform a specific task, and
encompasses a wide variety of possible
commercial applications. One example would
be materials designed to respond differently to
various molecules; such a capability could
lead, for example, to artificial drugs which
would recognize and render inert specific
viruses. Another is the idea of self-healing
structures, which would repair small tears in a magnetic, optical, chemical and other

surface naturally in the same way as self- properties. Nanoparticles have been used as

sealing tires or human skin. quantum dots and as chemical catalysts. When
materials are made into nanoparticles, their

Materials referred to as "nanomaterials" surface area to volume ratio increases. The

generally fall into two categories: Fullerenes greater specific surface area (surface area per

and Inorganic nanoparticles. unit weight) may lead to increased rate of

absorption through the skin, lungs, or

Fullerenes are under study for potential digestive tract and may cause unwanted

medicinal use: binding specific antibiotics to effects to the lungs as well as other organs.

the structure of resistant bacteria and even However, the particles must be absorbed in

target certain types of cancer cells such as sufficient quantities in order to pose health

melanoma. They are also used as light- risks. Nanomaterials behave differently than

activated antimicrobial agents. other similarly-sized particles. It is therefore

necessary to develop specialized approaches

Nanoparticles or nanocrystals made of metals, to testing and monitoring their effects on

semiconductors, or oxides are of particular human health and on the environment.

interest for their mechanical, electrical,

VII
 Energy Applications  Increasing the efficiency of energy
production

Over the past few decades, the fields of Today's best solar cells have layers of several

science and engineering have been seeking to different semiconductors stacked together to

develop new and improved types of energy absorb light at different energies but they still

technologies that have the capability of only manage to use 40 percent of the Sun's

improving life all over the world. In order to energy. Commercially available solar cells

make the next leap forward from the current have much lower efficiencies (15-20%).

generation of technology, scientists and Nanotechnology could help increase the

engineers have been developing Energy efficiency of light conversion by using

Applications of Nanotechnology. The most nanostructures with a continuum of bandgaps.

advanced nanotechnology projects related to The degree of efficiency of the internal

energy are: storage, conversion, combustion engine is about 30-40% at the

manufacturing improvements by reducing moment. Nanotechnology could improve

materials and process rates, energy saving (by combustion by designing specific catalysts

better thermal insulation for example), and with maximized surface area. In 2005,

enhanced renewable energy sources. scientists at the University of Toronto

developed a spray-on nanoparticle substance

 Reduction of energy consumption that, when applied to a surface, instantly

A reduction of energy consumption can be transforms it into a solar collector.

reached by better insulation systems, by the

use of more efficient lighting or combustion  The use of more environmentally friendly

systems, and by use of lighter and stronger energy systems

materials in the transportation sector.

Currently used light bulbs only convert An example for an environmentally friendly

approximately 5% of the electrical energy into form of energy is the use of fuel cells powered

light. Nanotechnological approaches like by hydrogen, which is ideally produced by

light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or quantum renewable energies. Probably the most

caged atoms (QCAs) could lead to a strong prominent nanostructured material in fuel cells

reduction of energy consumption for is the catalyst consisting of carbon supported

illumination. noble metal particles with diameters of 1-5

nm. Suitable materials for hydrogen storage

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contain a large number of small nanosized
pores. Therefore many nanostructured
materials like nanotubes, zeolites or alanates
are under investigation. Nanotechnology can
contribute to the further reduction of
combustion engine pollutants by nanoporous application is the detection of toxic chemicals,
filters, which can clean the exhaust and the measurement of their concentrations,
mechanically, by catalytic converters based on in the environment.
nanoscale noble metal particles or by catalytic
coatings on cylinder walls and catalytic
nanoparticles as additive for fuels.
Some other general purpose applications of
 Recycling of batteries Nanotechnology & nanomaterials are
Because of the relatively low energy density discussed below:
of batteries the operating time is limited and a  Memory Storage
replacement or recharging is needed. The huge  Novel semiconductor & optoelectronic
number of spent batteries and accumulators Devices
represent a disposal problem. The use of  Quantum computers
batteries with higher energy content or the use  Strong materials for constructions
of rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors
 Production, Processing, safety and
with higher rate of recharging using
 Packaging of food
nanomaterials could be helpful for the battery
 Consumer Goods in textiles, optics etc
disposal problem.
 Self-cleaning or “easy-to-clean” surfaces
& scratch resistant surface coatings
 Nanorobots
The first useful application of nanorobots is in
medical technology, where they might be used
to identify cancer cells and destroy them.
Nanorobots make possible the rapid
elimination of disease and the reliable and
relatively painless recovery. Another potential

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 Dark Side of Nanotechnology nanoelectronics-based sensors are another
active goal of research. The speculative field
of molecular nanotechnology believes that cell
Risks include environmental, health, safety repair machines could revolutionize medicine
issues. Potential risks of nanotechnology can and the medical field.
broadly be grouped into four areas:

 Environmental issues
 Health issues
(Nanopollution)
These are the effects of nanomaterials on
All waste generated by nanodevices or during
human biology due to surface reactivity with
the nanomaterials manufacturing process
the surrounding tissue. The extremely small
creates environmental problems. This kind of
size of nanomaterials means that they are
waste may be very dangerous because of its
much more readily taken up by the human
size. It can float in the air and might easily
body than larger sized particles. These non-
penetrate animal and plant cells causing
degradable or slowly degradable nanoparticles
unknown effects.
accumulate in organs. Another concern is their
potential interaction with biological processes
On the other hand, some possible future
inside the body; because of their large surface,
applications of nanotechnology like
nanoparticles on exposure to tissue and fluids
Nanofiltration ( suitable for a mechanical
will immediately adsorb onto their surface
filtration for the removal of ions or the
some of the macromolecules they encounter.
separation of different fluids), removal of
The large number of variables influencing
heavy metal contaminants from waste water
toxicity means that it is difficult to generalise
using magnetic nanoparticles, clean energy
about health risks associated with exposure to
production by using nanomaterials for more
nanomaterials – each new nanomaterial must
efficient solar cells, practical fuel cells,
be assessed individually and all material
environmentally-friendly batteries etc can not
properties must be taken into account. . But
be overlooked.
on the other side Nanomedicine seeks to
deliver a valuable set of research tools and
 Social issues
clinically helpful devices in the near future
These are the effects that the availability of
applications like vivo imaging. Neuro-
nanotechnological devices will have on
electronic interfaces and other

X
politics and human interaction. Many social  Grey goo
scientists and organizations in civil society Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world
suggest that technology assessment should be scenario involving molecular nanotechnology
done and governance should also involve
public participation to raise societal risks from
the use of nanotechnology.

On the instrumental level, these include the

in which out-of-control self-replicating robots

consume all matter on earth while building
more of themselves. The disaster is posited to
result from a deliberate doomsday device or
from an accidental mutation in a self-
replicating nanomachine used only for other
possibility of military applications of purposes, but designed to operate in a natural
nanotechnology (for instance, as in implants environment.
and other means for soldier enhancement like
those being developed at the Institute for
Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT [3]) as well
as enhanced surveillance capabilities through
nano-sensors.

On the structural level, critics of

nanotechnology point to a new world of
ownership and corporate control opened up by
nanotechnology.

XI
 Solving The Dilemma Nanotechnology could potentially have a great
impact on clean energy production.

Every coin has two sides. One may be the Nanomaterials can be used for purposes

dark one & another may be the bright one. But including more efficient solar cells, practical

it depends on us how we take the problem. fuel cells, and environmentally-friendly

Nanotechnology on one hand serves a great batteries. Filtration of water using magnetic

impact to human being & nature and on the nano-particles is far more efficient than any

other hand it creates hazardous effects on other method of filtration, thereby decreasing

environment if not treated properly. water pollution. Nanomedicines seek to

The mere presence of nanoparticles is not deliver a valuable set of research tools and

itself a threat but its increased mobility & its clinically helpful devices in the near future.

high reactivity can cause hazardous effects to Cell repair machines, using molecular

living beings & environment, if exposed nanotech, can revolutionize medicine &

directly. Again according to "Centre For medical field. Clean and highly efficient

Responsible Nanotechnology", 'Molecular manufacturing is possible by the use of

manufacturing allows the cheap creation of nanotechnology. Atomically engineered food

incredibly powerful devices and products. and crops resulting in greater agricultural

The range of possible damage is vast, from productivity with less labour requirements is

personal low-flying supersonic aircraft also possible by the use of nanotech.

injuring large numbers of animals to Hence just because of some of the

collection of solar energy on a sufficiently implications of nanotech we can’t discard it.

large scale to modify the planet's albedo and We should take the steps to solve those

directly affect the environment. Stronger implications by setting the laws for the use of

materials will allow the creation of much nanotechnology on large scale. Since

larger machines, capable of excavating or evolution of mankind always creates small to

otherwise destroying large areas of the planet big impacts on nature, we should try to

at a greatly accelerated pace.' Thus nanotech obstruct these shortcomings by taking the

can create problems to environment. These preventive steps, & not by obstructing the

may be taken as major implications of whole technology. Otherwise the time will

nanotechnology. But that doesn’t mean leave us behind it. Hence to conclude

nanotechnology is totally harmful to nature. nanotech is the friend of earth, if it is used for
the promotion of mankind & nature.

XII
 Bibliography
 Nanotechnology and
Nanoelectronics :  Introduction to Nanoscience and
Materials, Devices, Measurement Nanotechnology
Techniques By Gabor L. Hornyak, H.F. Tibbals,
By Fahrner, W.R. (Ed.) Joydeep Dutta

 Nanotechnology: Ethics and Society  www.wikipedia.org

By Bennett-Woods  www.google.com

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