The effects of nanotechnology are already being felt across society. It is not unreasonable to predict that nanotechnology will completely revolutionise industry and industrial processes within a decade. Below we examine the economic and social potential of nanotechnology, - and put some figures on that potential.

If we take a whistle-stop tour of the nanotechnology products around us, we can usefully start in our homes. In a modern house, there could be stay-clean windows, solar collectors, dirt repellent carpets, curtains and chair coverings, anti-bacterial surfaces in the kitchen and toilet, stay-clean exterior paints, anti-corrosion coatings for radiators and gutterings, security lighting, lightweight and transparent wall and roof insulation and furniture treatments, all inside a structure made of environmentally friendly lightweight concrete.

Nanoparticles serve many purposes in cosmetics: they enhance the properties and acceptability of cosmetics by providing softness, lustre, moisturizing and optical effects; they can protect the skin through sunscreens incorporating UV-filters.

Nano is having a major impact in textiles, an industry that is remarkable for being an early adopter of new ideas and technologies. Textiles are not only for the fashion conscious - they have important applications in the aerospace, automotive, construction, healthcare and sportswear industries.

In a study undertaken in 2010, and reported in The Enquirer[1], US Congress decided it was almost impossible to quantify the cost of counterfeit goods to industry, and surprisingly, that the effect was not necessarily all bad, and in the long run counterfeit goods can benefit consumers, mostly because counterfeit products are cheaper than the alternatives.

Nanotech in food processing, improved shelf life, flavour enhancement, vitamin encapsulation and fat reduction.

The automotive industry has appreciated for some time that nanotechnology can offer many benefits in this highly competitive and litigious sector. Research is taking place into applications of nanotechnology to improved safety systems from tyre blow out and brake failure warning systems to collision avoidance.

In the past, medical treatments have been, rather like medieval architecture, the result of adopting those techniques that worked and discarding those that didn’t. Today, our improving knowledge of how the body functions at the molecular, or ‘nano’, level, is leading to many new and better medical techniques. For example, we know that the earlier a disease can be detected, the easier it is to remedy, but until now, early detection has been very difficult.

Nanotechnology offers some really exciting breakthrough opportunities in environmentally friendly technologies, from extracting renewable energy from the sun to the prevention of pollution. Geoffrey Sacks, the American economist, in his 2007 BBC Reith lectures entitled ‘Bursting at the Seams’, commented: “The fate of the planet is not a spectator sport. We live in an interconnected world, where all parts of the world are affected by what happens in all other parts”.

Nanomaterials, and their associated manufacturing and processing technologies, are the key enablers of the nanotechnology industry, and encompass a wide range of materials.

Some engineered nanoparticles, including carbon nanotubes, although offering tremendous opportunities also may pose risks which have to be addressed sensibly in order that the full benefits of new nanomaterials can be realized.

Nanotechnologies are changing economies, as well as society. Fundamental to this change - which involves all industry sectors, from engineering to architecture, from agriculture to medicine, from electronics to aerospace, are nanoparticles (NPs) [1] : the building blocks of new materials.

There are various types of toothpaste available on the market. Some come as pastes, some as gels, there are some that guard against tooth decay or protect teeth from acid attack, others that are designed for sensitive teeth. But which toothpastes clean well? Which preserves the tooth enamel? 

Introduction: Since its beginnings in the 19th century with the invention of canning, food packaging has made great advances as results of technological improvements. Modern food science and technology has extended and refined traditional packaging methods and added new ones. Moreover, with the move toward globalization, safety and longer shelf life is mandatory, along with safety and quality monitoring based upon international standards. Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the nanoscale, can address all these requirements and implement the principal packaging functions.

Demonstrating that innovation in nanoscience and technology is not just the prerogative of larger wealthier countries, but a matter of courageous commitment to a new engine for economic growth, the Basque Country offers an exciting model for other regions to emulate.

Professor Lojkowski is well known not only across Europe for his work on interface science, but is also respected internationally for his scientific and technological endeavours in the nanoworld. He is noted for combining research rigour with an interest in the commercial potential of his particular branches of science, and also undertakes many activities aimed at increasing the profile of nanotechnology and its applications in Poland.

The findings of a 2012 Consumer Perceptions of Food Technology Survey, commissioned by the International Food Information Council. If it is shown to improve the quality, safety, or nutritional benefits of a food, then the use of plant biotechnology, animal biotechnology, or nanotechnology in food production is more likely to be accepted by consumers. Thus were the findings of a 2012 Consumer Perceptions of Food Technology Survey, commissioned by the International Food Information Council (IFIC).

Ten years ago there was great promise and tremendous interest and investment in what was termed “Nanofoods”, with even the creation of a research and industrial nanofood consortium (initially led by Kraft).  Today, this consortium has vanished. What has happened? Were nanofoods merely a passing fad?

A Portuguese case study in Portable Energy Generation, Storage and Management for field Troops, by Andre Oliveira, Tekever

Advances in the targeting and heating properties of magnetic nanoparticles, and encapsulating them with drugs that can be released at the tumour sites, offers more effective ways to treat brain, pancreatic and prostate cancers. by Julian Carrey, Sébastien Lachaize, Marc Respaud, Bruno Chaudret discuss what hyperthermia involves, how Nature is already creating perfect iron oxide particles, and how new developments  at their laboratory in Toulouse* and elsewhere are leading to exciting new treatment methods for cancer, with low side effects.

Porous Silicon – Revolutionising Drug Targeting and Delivery,  By Hélder A. Santos, Division of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Finland

Nanomedicine and drug nanocarriers

One of the biggest challenges in the modern world is to find healthcare solutions that can fully benefit humankind. This means that scientists are expected to come up with great ideas and develop tools that can be applied to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, such as cancer. In this respect, considerable attention has been focused on the field of nanomedicine. Nanomedicine makes use of nanoparticles (structures with at least one dimension below 100 nanometers), as offering new solutions to previously insoluble medical problems and proposing new therapies.

In recent years, a great variety of nanotechnology based platforms have been developed and employed to improve the delivery of therapeutics to the disease site. Currently, the nanoparticles used in the clinic, and the majority of nano-therapeutics / diagnostics under investigation, accommodate single- or multiple- functionalities on the same entity. The biological barriers are very heterogeneous which may prevent the therapeutic and imaging agents from reaching their intended targets in sufficient concentrations. Therefore, there is an emerging requirement to develop multimodular nanoassemblies in which different components with specific functions may act in a synergistic manner.

Unfavourable physicochemical properties of many drug molecules may affect their bioavailability and, consequently, affect their therapeutic efficacy and efficiency. In the past, researchers have struggled to develop advanced drug delivery systems for controllable and enhanced drug release, as well as for targeted drug delivery. In this context, nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery systems are one of the most attractive applications of the emerging nanomedicine field. Targeted and controlled drug delivery systems improve drug bioavailability, as well as their pharmacological and therapeutic properties, while minimizing collateral effects.

The pharmaceutical industry has been increasing funding for research in the development of advanced drug delivery systems with investments of $131.6 billion in 2010, estimated to increase in 2016 to $175.6 billion (http://www.bccresearch.com/report/advanced-drug-delivery-systems-phm006h.html).

 The birth of nanostructured PSi for the biomedical world

The element silicon (Si) is a tetravalent metalloid , and  the second most abundant element (after oxygen) in the crust,  representing about 25.7% of it by mass. Si very rarely occurs as the pure free element in nature, but is more widely distributed in various forms as silicon dioxide (silica), SiO₂, or silicates.

The great boost for the research on porous silicon (PSi) occurred when in 1989 Leigh Canham revealed the potential of nano-engineered Si as a semiconductor while working at the Defence Research Agency (now QinetiQ) in Malvern, UK. Canham explored the various practical uses of the luminescent properties of the PSi materials. However, the great breakthrough occurred in 1995 when Canham demonstrated that PSi materials were both biodegradable and biocompatible (non-toxic), and thus, could be safely adsorbed and eliminated by the body after it has been nano-engineered (Canham 1997). This brilliant idea led to groundbreaking achievements in the biomedical field ever since. Because the nanostrcutured Si materials were both luminescent and biodegradable opened a world of possibilities for the versatility of the material in applications in biosensing, pharmaceuticals, biomedicine and the food industry. Regarding the biomedical applications, there is today an increasing interest in using PSi materials as carriers for controlled drug delivery, targeted cancer therapy, medical imaging, tissue engineering and improved health and beauty products.

The properties of nanostructured PSi materials

PSi, often designated as mesoporous silicon, is a material with a honeycomb structure containing pores with diameters between 2 and 50 nm, and sometimes referred to as nanoporous to emphasize its nanoscale size nature. These pores can be filled with drugs, peptides, genes, proteins, radionuclides and other therapeutics or vaccines. The most extraordinary properties of these materials are their large surface area (200–500 m²/g), porosity (50–80%) and large pore volume (0.5–2.0 cm³/g), which can act as reservoirs for storing drug molecules for drug delivery applications.

The pore diameters of PSi can be tuned allowing for the loading of various therapeutic compounds. Due to the stable and rigid framework of PSi materials, it makes therapeutic compounds resistant to mechanical stress, pH, and fast degradation when in the body. In this context, the interest and the applicability of PSi-based materials is increasing due to its potential to revolutionize the biomedical field, in particular as drug delivery carriers or implantable devices. PSi materials (micro- and nanoparticles) have well-defined structures and surfaces, and they are also chemically inert and thermally stable.

Nanostructured PSi materials are produced typically from Si wafers via electrochemical etching, where the control of the nano-enginered structures is possible. These nanostructures are stable under the harsh conditions of the stomach and gastrointestinal (GI) lumen. By fine-tuning the porosity of the PSi materials it is possible to make it degradable in the body. For example, nanostructured PSi with porosities >70% dissolves in all simulated body fluids (except gastric fluids), whereas PSi with porosities <70% is bioactive and slowly biodegradable.

In addition to that, PSi exhibits a number of properties that make it an attractive material for controlled drug delivery applications (Figure 1). For example, the electrochemical production allows the construction of tailored pore sizes and volumes that are controllable from the scale of microns to nanometers. A number of convenient chemistries exist for the modification of PSi surfaces that can be used to control the amount, identity, and in vitro/vivo release rate of therapeutic payloads. Another important feature of PSi is that in the body it degrades into silicic acid, [Si(OH)₄], which is the most natural form of Si in the environment, non-toxic, important in human physiology in protecting against aluminium toxic effects, and is efficiently excreted by the kidneys. Si is also an essential nutrient for the human body and in the Western world the average daily dietary intake of Si is about 20-50 mg/day. A major source of Si intake comes from beer.

How nanostructured PSi can revolutionary the healthcare?

The pharmaceutical industry faces great challenges in the development of therapeutic compounds that are both efficient for the treatment of the disease in question, with minor side effects. However, in most cases this cannot be achieved, particularly because many drug molecules administrated orally suffer from poor bioavailability, i.e. they are poorly soluble with low dissolution rates in the intestinal lumen, as well as suffering from poor permeability across the gastro-intestinal (GI) wall. Furthermore, cytostatic drug compounds usually lead to very adverse side effects after administration.

Due to the properties of nanostructured PSi materials, the most challenging drug compounds can be loaded into nanoporous PSi in order to overcome the abovementioned problems. Because the drug molecules are confined inside the pores, usually not much larger than the drug molecules themselves, their physicochemical properties can be enhanced (Salonen et al., 2008). This ensures that the therapeutic compounds carried by the PSi materials will be released from the pores efficiently in a controlled manner, so that they are pharmacologically active with very minimal side effects to the patients. This enables the control and local release of the drug where its action is required and simultaneously controls the drug concentration in the blood.

Scientists have been successfully loaded a large variety of therapeutic compounds into the nanopores of PSi materials, and their release properties have extensively been studied in the literature mainly for oral drug delivery applications, but also for other routes of administration, such as intravenous (Santos et al., 2011). Similarly, peptide or protein molecules have also been successfully loaded into nanostructured PSi or attached to its surface, and their efficient sustained / fast release and activity evaluated. This is particularly interesting because many peptides or proteins, such as insulin for diabetes, have to be administrated as solutions or suspensions frequently parenterally as injections, due to the short duration of action of the peptides in vivo, as well as due to their rapid degradation and elimination from the blood circulation. Recent research has demonstrated that nanostructured PSi carriers containing food or water intake regulating peptides could prolong the effect of the peptide, which could reduce the frequency of injections to the patients in the future, or even be administrated via other route, e.g. orally.

Other application of PSi materials is in ocular therapy. Scientists have employed nanostructured PSi-based technology to delivery drug compounds inside the eye of rabbits in order to minimize the invasiveness of the treatments, with controllable and monitorable drug delivery concentrations enabling long-acting local treatment of intraocular diseases, which could help in the future patients with problems in the retina and choroid.

Another very important and more recent application of nanostructured PSi materials is in targeted delivery for cancer therapy. Targeted and controlled drug delivery also improves drug bioavailability, as well as the pharmacological and the drug therapeutic properties, minimizing detrimental adverse effects. The large number of defense mechanisms in the body prevents injected foreign agents such as chemicals, biopharmaceutics, and nanostructures from homing in to their intended destinations. Therefore, more sophisticated nanocarriers need to be developed and tested.

Targeted delivery systems are designed to deliver the drug precisely to the body sites where it is needed, in proximity to, or inside a cell, and to release a desired amount of drug over a controllable period of time. In specific (targeted) delivery, the surface of a nanocarrier is often bio-functionalized with biological recognition ligands loaded with anticancer drug, and may also contain simultaneously an imaging agent (Figure 2). These multifunctional properties make nanocarriers capable of targeting cancer cells and, at the same time, imaging the cancer and deliver appropriate therapeutic drugs. Another advantage of such an approach is the accuracy of targeting and the preservation of healthy tissue, without compromising the patients’ health.

Taking this into account, a multistage PSi-based system comprising several nanocomponents or “stages” was also developed (Goding et al., 2011). Stage 1 nanostructured PSi particles are designed in a nonspherical geometry to enable superior blood margination and increase cell surface adhesion. The idea is to be able to load the nanoparticles (so-called Stage 2) and efficiently transport them from the administration site to the disease lesion. Stage 2 nanoparticles can be any available nanoparticles such as liposomes, micelles, inorganic/metallic nanoparticles, etc., within the size range of 5-100 nanometers in diameter. Such systems have been demonstrated to efficiently act as nanocarriers for magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents and to efficiently deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) for cancer therapy.

Although therapy is one of the most promising applications of nanostructured PSi materials, PSi has also great potential in pre-diagnostics in imaging applications. Due to its intrinsic luminescence nanostructured PSi materials can be imaged in the body by, for example, near-infra-red imaging techniques. Another advantage is that the PSi surface is easily modified by radiotracers, such as fluorine-18 (Santos et al., 2011) and others, which can be in positron emission tomography for clinical diagnostics and drug development.

Summary

Nanostructured PSi-based materials have many interesting properties that can be useful for biomedical applications such as detection, identification, imaging, and delivery of therapeutics to tissues, organs or cells of interest. The great advantages of the nanostructured PSi materials are the good biocompatibility, biodegradability, high pore volume necessary for hosting large amounts of therapeutics, different pore sizes for fine control of drug loads and release kinetics, high surface area for drug adsorption, easy surface chemistry modification for further biofunctionalization and control of drug loading and release.

The nanostructured PSi properties enable it to dissolve in the body at a controlled rate while releasing drugs over minutes, hours, days, months, or even years. After the loaded drug is released, all that is left in the body is pure Si, which dissolves into non-toxic silicic acid and is safely excreted from the body. Doctors have then a range of options for introducing drug-loaded nanostructured PSi materials into the body: orally, via injection, transdermally, or with a patch, implant or coating.

One can envisage that future generations of nanostructured PSi-based nanocarriers will effectively improve the quality of life of patients by efficiently transporting drugs to targeted areas without damaging healthy cells. These nanocarriers can be strictly designed for the intent of their application, with a proper response and, in the future, also for the delivery of drug dosages according to the clinical needs of the patient and pathology. The versatility of the nanostructured PSi platform and its emerging properties will enable the creation of personalized solutions with broad clinical implications within and beyond the realm of cancer theranostics. This is because nanostructured PSi-based materials have the capacity to incorporate and take advantage of a variety of existing, novel, or clinically used, therapeutic and imaging agents from a “nano-toolbox”, while enabling synergistic application of these nanotechnologies to form a higher generation nanosystem in the future.

References

Canham LT (1997). Properties of porous silicon. London, Short Run Press Ltd.

Salonen J, Kaukonen AM, Hirvonen J, Lehto V-P (2008). Mesoporous silicon in drug delivery applications. J. Pharm. Sci. 97: 632-653.

Anglin EJ, Cheng L, Freeman WR, Sailor MJ (2008). Porous silicon in drug delivery devices and materials. Adv. Drug. Delivery Rev 60: 1266-1277.

Santos HA, Bimbo LM, Lehto V-P, Airaksinen AJ, Salonen J, Hirvonen J (2011). Multifunctional porous silicon for therapeutic drug delivery and imaging. Curr. Drug Discov. Tech. 8: 228-249.

Godin B, Tasciotti E, Liu X, Serda RE, Ferrari M (2011). Multistage nanovectors: from concept to novel imaging contrast agents and therapeutics. Acc. Chem. Res. 44: 979–989.

Skin and mucosae pose barriers to the entry of nanoparticles into the human body.. By  Eleonore Fröhlich, Center for Medical Research, Medical University of Graz, and Eva Roblegg, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Karl-Franzens University, Graz.

Packaging Industry Challenges: The packaging industry has been inventive and forward thinking in solving many problems over recent years. However there are still many more challenges to be met, and what is truly exciting is that many of these challenges are now in the process of being addressed, as well as many new opportunities being created through the application of nanotechnology.

Thorny problems still besetting the packaging industry include how to further reduce the weight and volume of packaging while still maintaining its robustness, how to increase the shelf life and safety of fresh foods while preventing contamination from smells, tampering and bacteria, how to protect against the effects of strong light especially on drinks, foodstuffs, and perfumes, how to create packaging that minimises the potential for counterfeiting, especially of high value branded consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. Also of critical importance is improving the recyclability and the general environmentally friendly attributes of packaging while not compromising on the demands from industry for novelty and brand differentiation, the latter especially in the luxury goods market.

Improved Ruggedness, Lighter Weight and Better Barrier Properties: The relatively recent development of nano-influenced polymers offering better mechanical, thermal, diffusion-barrier and electromagnetic properties has initiated a sea change in packaging technology. For many products it is essential that the packaging acts as a barrier to the transmission of certain gases and liquids, while also serving to extend the shelf life of the products they enclose, especially foodstuffs. To achieve this, naturally occurring nanoclays can be incorporated within polymer packaging. The type of nanoclay, and particularly its aspect ratio (ratio of length to width; the longer and thinner, the better), directly relates to the resulting barrier performance of the polymer.

The inclusion of nanoclays also improves the mechanical properties of packaging, enabling lighter weight packaging, without compromising on its ruggedness or stability. In some instances, a thin film / coating alone forms the packaging, providing sustainable / compostable solutions with excellent barrier performance. Thin film packaging technology is being developed for use by the military, to help reduce the weight of food in soldiers’ packs, as well as dramatically increasing the shelf life of the food for up to an amazing three years! So no more heavy tins to carry about! There is obvious tremendous potential in this technology for the packaging industry in general.

More Recyclability, Less Resource Intensive: As mentioned above, when distributed in a bulk material, nanoparticles can dramatically improve the mechanical properties of that material, and this includes stiffness or elasticity. Traditional polymers when reinforced by nanoparticles can even be successfully used as lightweight replacements for metals. The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has recently developed a fully recyclable, new packaging material which, among other things, is able to replace many if not most aluminium-based packaging materials, for example, the blister-packs for pharmaceuticals or the packaging currently used for coffee. The secret behind the new discovery is ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) coatings which are thin, conformal and pinhole-free and closely follow the contours of the coated objects. They also can work on porous materials such as cardboard or fibre-structured bio-polymers substrates. The thickness of the coatings can be adjusted to the amazing accuracy of one atomic layer. As the film is very thin (approx. 25 nanometres); the protective layer is bendable and flexible, and the packaging materials produced using this technology have gas permeability properties similar to those of existing dry food packages.

UV Protection: Many products are quickly ruined by sunlight. UV protection can be incorporated in polymer coatings and their underlying substrates in a very similar way to sun protection creams. Both are enabled by incorporating nanoparticulate inorganic UV absorbing materials such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and cerium oxide in a substrate. The key to the effectiveness of these nanomaterials is their tiny size and their ability to be dispersed within the polymer matrix.

Is it off?: Already nano-based sensors are being incorporated in food packaging that gives clear colour changes that enable consumers to judge easily and exactly how fresh the product is. Sell-by dates will become obsolete, hopefully leading to a reduction in food waste. These sensors can be simply titanium dioxide ‘dots’ printed at almost no cost on the inside of the packaging that will change colour depending on the oxidation level, or freshness, of the contents. Also it is possible to include nanoparticles, often silver, in the packaging that act as effective bactericides.

So What Does the Buying Public Think about Nano? In a recent survey, it was found that food packaging that extends shelf life, better preserves foods or detects when products are spoiled were generally viewed by the public as useful applications. The finding came despite previous fears expressed that not enough was known about the effects of nanomaterials in packaging. This favourable perception was based on using nanotechnology to reduce food waste, preserve taste and shelf life. Such assumed benefits were based on research that demonstrated that the nanomaterials did not migrate from the packaging into the food. Essentially, initial consumer scepticism regarding nano-sensors to detect food spoilage was overcome by a recognition that not only would this help cut waste but also boost food safety by flagging up contamination, particularly in large-scale applications.

Conclusions: Nanotechnology is a vital route to new opportunities for the packaging industry, only a few of which are mentioned here. Others include anti-counterfeiting measures, cost effective tracking, novelty branding, interactivity / interrogation properties, glass substitutes, ambient temperature maintenance and so on. Because of the benefits to all sections – from the producers of the goods to be packaged, to the packaging industry itself and the consumer at the end of the chain, there seems to be a widespread acceptance of the benefits of using this new technology.

If you attempt to look inside the tissues of the body and examine the fundamentals of disease, you must enter the nano-world. Viruses such as HIV and the common cold are invisibly small nanoparticles that attack cells and replicate using nano-mechanics. Nanoscale electrical networks enable the brain to process information and the heart to maintain its beat. DNA is wound up in nano structures, and read by nano ‘machines’.  Altzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are caused by nanoscale fibres. Tuberculosis and pneumonia are caused by bacteria, which use complex nano motors such as tail-like flagellae and pili to invade the body.

However, when people talk about ‘nanomedicine’, they often mean ‘nanomedicines’; nano-sized drugs for therapy and imaging. This article instead deals with the nano-mechanics and electronics in medicine, from the tools to visualize biological processes, to the engineering of tiny devices. Nanotechnology in this sense is particularly relevant to medicine: the 1-1000 nanometre range, which is larger than a few atoms but smaller than a human blood cell, is the scale at which much of human biology takes place.

The Nano Tool Box

If we want to understand the causes of disease so we can create better cures or even prevent it altogether, we have to be able to visualize the very earliest manifestations of disease within a cell. This activity takes place at the nanoscale, often well beyond the resolution of conventional light microscopes. So new tools and techniques are necessary to explore and understand this hitherto hidden nanoworld. Some of the more important of these tools, and their role in uncovering the secrets of disease, are described below.

Imaging

Scanning Probe Microscopies, including Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

Tools for achieving atomic resolution, originally designed for the semiconductor industry, are now being applied to the molecules of life. The precursor of the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) won Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, scientists at IBM Switzerland, the Nobel Prize in 1986. It was famously used to write the letters ‘IBM’ in individual silicon atoms, a breakthrough in the ability to control the building blocks of matter. Twenty five years later, new types of AFM have been developed for studying biology. An AFM works by vibrating a tiny silicon lever with a sharp silicon tip, close to the surface under investigation. Changes in this vibration caused by surface topography are detected. The smaller the tip and the faster the vibration, the smaller the features that can be observed.

 It is now possible to image the molecular structure of DNA and its surface charge with nanometre resolution using scanning probe microscopy, which helps us understand how all our DNA fits into each cell nucleus. The AFM is also currently being used to image nano-pores in our cells. Hereditary diseases such as frontal lobe epilepsy and cystic fibrosis are associated with the malfunction of these pores, which have been particularly difficult to study. A high frequency AFM, however, is able to image in liquid and explore these pores in their natural state.

Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy  (FIBSEM)

FIBSEM is a combination of two techniques. A beam of charged atoms is used to physically slice away nano-thin layers of a specimen, as they are imaged using an electron microscope. The structure is peeled away one layer at a time, to reveal a three dimensional image. This is ideal for imaging the network of connections between the cells that make up the brain, the most complex organ of the body. The cells of the brain are connected in a dense network, the study of which has become known as ‘connectomics’. The objective is to map the detailed wiring of the brain’s circuits. It is extremely difficult to follow the pathways of nerve cells in the brain because they are so small and thin. Reconstructing them in three dimensions is a delicate task and images take weeks to acquire. With FIBSEM, it is possible to image neural circuits at a resolution of a few nanometres in all three dimensions. Disentangling the network of neural cells and their connections will enable the link between structure and function in the brain to be explored, which is vital to the quest to understand neurological disorders.

Coherent X-ray diffraction

X-ray crystallography has been the workhorse of biological imaging since the time when Rosalind Franklin produced diffraction patterns corresponding to the double helix of DNA. It relies on being able to produce a crystal from the molecule to be imaged, an often tricky and lengthy exercise. A modern adaptation of this technique, the imaging of single molecules or complexes, is coherent X-ray diffraction. The ability to image single complexes with nanometre resolution requires the use of a synchrotron facility, which covers an area of several football pitches in size, where electrons are accelerated to near the speed of light. From the movements of these electrons a bright beam of X-rays is released, sufficiently bright and ‘coherent’ or ordered, to image the molecule under investigation. Already used to image the interactions between biological molecules and metal surfaces, fundamental to the fabrication of biosensors, these bright and uniform X-ray beams could be used to show the make-up of our own chromosomes. This has implications for understanding and treating genetic disease due to chromosome defects, and also for elucidation of the mechanism by which chromosomes are formed and read.

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (EPR)

EPR is a type of spectroscopy that detects free radicals, that is, molecules with ‘free electrons’. The state of these free radicals can provide information on their surrounding environment. Although not many biological species have free radicals, those that do are fundamentally important, such as the proteins, small molecules and vitamins involved in respiration and metabolism. EPR allows a researcher to observe the processes involved in respiration, for example, by tracking the free radicals. This is especially powerful when combined with static information, such as crystallography, to give a picture of the dynamic process.

Some things that are not naturally detectable by EPR can be made so by attaching a ‘spin label’ to them, that is, a small molecule with a free radical part. This was used to study the mechanism by which harmful strains of Echerichia coli infect a human. E.coli invade by attaching themselves to the lining of the intestine. If the bacteria cannot stick to the lining, they are rendered harmless. The bacterium uses thin hair-like filaments, called pili, to form these attachments to the intestine wall. Although it is possible to see an E.coli cell under a high-power microscope, the pili are only a few nanometers wide, and are beyond the resolution limit of a light microscope. New pili are constantly grown by the bacteria, which they assemble one unit at a time. In order to tackle infection, the formation of the pili of this deadly bacterium must be understood. Using crystallography, bits of the pilus can be examined in a ‘frozen’ crystallised state. When EPR is used in combination with crystallographic images, the formation of the pilus, one step at a time, can be pictured, leading to a possible future therapy.

Doppler interferometry

Many processes in biology involve not only tiny nano structures but also the nanoscale motion of these structures, which can occasionally be extremely rapid.  For example, the motion of sound-detecting ‘hair bundles’ in the ear requires a special technique to detect their tiny and rapid fluctuations. Sound waves cause these hair bundles to vibrate. They are microscopically small and vibrate with invisible nanoscale deflections, which occur hundreds or thousands of times a second. This delicate movement can be detected using a laser beam focused on the tip of the hair bundle, where the pattern of reflected laser light is used to measure the rapid movement of the structure.

Understanding the mechanical processes of hearing and how the sound gets transduced into an electrical signal can help with improving the design of cochlear implants, synthetic hearing devices which artificially stimulate the auditory nerves.

Diagnostics

Not only can nano tools be used to ‘visualise’ and thereby understand how a cell functions, other techniques and tools based on nanotechnology are leading to faster diagnosis, more effective screening for new drugs  as well as tracking the progress of a therapy.  Some of the more important of these include:

Gold nanoparticles and thin films

Most new types of diagnostic sensor for healthcare are made from thin gold layers or small gold spheres, this is due to the ease by which biological molecules can be attached to gold. The smaller these devices, the more sensitive they become. Gold nanoparticles have been studied using the nanoscopic technique of coherent X-ray diffraction. It was found that an individual nanometre-sized grain of gold becomes distorted when a single layer of molecules is attached, such as those that would be used in sensing. As sensors get smaller to increase sensitivity, effects such as these become more significant and understanding nanoscale behaviour become increasingly important when developing new diagnostics.

Surface Plasmon Resonance

As well as using mechanical sensors to analyse blood and other liquids, optical techniques such as Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) can also be used as a sensor. Here nano-sized metal features, such as gold drops on glass are irradiated with laser light. This causes a thin, invisible electromagnetic ‘field’ to be created on the gold surface. This delicate field is easily disrupted by the arrival of a protein or an interaction between a protein bound to the surface and a drug, and can therefore be used for diagnosing infection, or screening for novel drugs.

Cantilevers

One approach to detecting nanosized species and studying their interactions is to use tiny ‘cantilevers’. Silicon levers the width of a human hair are arranged like a series of diving boards in a row. These levers are coated with receptor molecules, which can bind to bacterial cells, viruses and proteins. Nanometre bending of these tiny levers is detected using a laser.

Infectious bacteria such as hospital-scourge Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and new drugs must be found to combat them. Critical to finding the correct drug is understanding the mechanism by which it works. To investigate new antibiotics for these so-called ‘superbugs’, cantilevers have been coated with specific capture proteins. An antibiotic interaction with the proteins bends the levers, due to stress. Experiments such as these can tell us which drug binds most effectively, indicating its potential to treat the disease. Cantilevers are not limited to detecting drugs; the size range is relatively wide, from whole organisms, such as the tuberculosis bacterium, down to tiny HIV virus particles and HIV-specific proteins. Through using cantilevers, it is possible to detect disease and to understand better the mechanism of infection and potential cure.

Virus Particle sorting

Often when diagnosing a viral infection or reacting to an epidemic outbreak, for example avian flu, it is necessary to isolate the virus and find out what it contains as fast as possible. Virus particles themselves are only few nanometers in size, invisible under a microscope and often in such small quantities in the blood that only a few hundred are hidden amongst the billions of much larger cells in a sample. In order to detect these, the viruses have to be found, sorted and concentrated, a task for a nano-engineered device. A forest of nano-pillars can be used as an obstacle course that causes particles flowing through it to be deflected according to size. Thus the hidden viruses can then be separated from the sea of red and white blood cells and collected. This type of sorting is quite remarkable, and furthermore can also be used to make viral vaccines, where the tiny viruses must be delicately sifted from the host in which they are grown.

Implantable medical devices

Many medical procedures involve the implantation of metals, polymers and other non-biological structures and devices within the body. The engineering and design of these implants can be critical to their performance, and their nanoscale properties in particular can have a large impact on their acceptance by, and interaction with cells and molecules in the body.

Super-hydrophobic surfaces

In nanotechnology, inspiration often comes from nature. In order to develop a super-hydrophobic surface – one that is extremely repellent to water - researchers copied the nanoscopic structure of the lotus leaf. The surface of a lotus leaf is rough and waxy, covered in tiny wax pyramids that are invisible to the eye. By mimicking this design, it is possible to engineer a surface coating that causes water to form perfectly spherical droplets, which then roll off at the slightest movement. These superhydrophobic surfaces also exhibit a self-cleaning effect with benefits including the elimination of biofouling in medical devices and in situations where high-precision dosing of medication from say implants is essential.

Nanodiamond micro-electrode arrays

Receiving and transmitting electrical signals is fundamental to so many processes in the body. Our heart beats to an electrical rhythm, our brain computes electronically, our muscles twitch using electrical impulses and we are even able to see due to images being transmitted as a series of electrical pulses. In order to measure and understand these signals, and replace and repair damaged function, we need electrical devices. The smaller and more biocompatible the device, the better it can integrate with the body, this is where nanotechnology plays an important role.

The stimulation of ganglion cells in the retina of the eye causes the brain to form images of the outside world.  Micro-electrode arrays are being developed that can be implanted in the eye, replacing damaged cells and stimulating the eye to form an image. Creating an intimate contact between the cells in the eye and the electrodes of the array is a delicate task, as eye cells in particular don’t like to grow on electrodes. By understanding and manipulating the nanotopography of the electrodes, cells can be encouraged to form a natural contact with the foreign device. An engineered material such as nanocrystalline diamond offers both the desired electrical properties, as it can transmit tiny electrical signals to the cells, as well as other characteristics that are cell-friendly.

Cell patterning

Novel materials can be designed that support and help the regrowth of cells. Cells are very fussy about surfaces, and will only grow and thrive when the surface has a specific nano-topography. By controlling the nanoscopic shape and chemical properties of a cells environment, patterns of growth can be stimulated, a technique that has been used with success on the surface of hip implants.  Neurons, the cells responsible for the transmission of information in the brain, are notoriously difficult to re-grow after damage. Initial experiments indicate that a carefully engineered surface such as nano-crystalline diamond can be as effective as a protein-treated surface designed specifically for neurons, and will encourage regrowth.

Cardiac stents

Conclusion

Many techniques derived from physics and engineering are being applied to the medical field to increase our knowledge of cell behaviour and understanding of the causes of disease at the nanoscale. Tools developed for the semi-conductor industry and nanomaterials research are being successfully applied to the biological world, leading to new therapeutic solutions. These nanotechnologies are enabling a 21^st century revolution in the way disease is diagnosed, treated and prevented.

Warfare and military development have always been wrought with ethical concerns. The most obvious and familiar example of this is the introduction of atomic weapons; where the ethical debates continues to rage  even now, more than sixty years after the invention of nuclear weapons and their deployment. This debate has not limited itself to nuclear weapons, but has also extended to other forms of nuclear technology. In the US, nuclear concerns have led to a very strong antipathy towards building nuclear energy facilities, despite their ability to provide electricity free of oil or coal. To some, these concerns were played out in the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor following the earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011.

In this article I will examine some of the broader questions related to the ethics of another emerging and possibly as threatening technology, nanotechnology, in relation to military applications and its implications for society.

Looking back at the history of military technological introduction, it is possible to examine at what effect the introduction of new technologies has had on warfare and the military and draw some lessons for what may come with the introduction of various nanotechnologies. The first lesson is that a sudden, complete overturning of the current world system of states (with several non-state actors) is unlikely. The other end of the spectrum is equally unlikely. This camp says that nanotechnology will bring about an end to fights about resources, food, and other things that states go to war over and, thus, bring about peace. However, with this, it would be wise to remember the words of former international relations professor Hedley Bull, who said that although states at peace is thought of as the alternative to states at war, the typical alternative is “more ubiquitous violence.”[1] Bull’s warning was written in 1977, and history before and since tends to confirm this statement.

It is useful then to look at what impact new nanotechnologies might have on these acts of violence, whether by a state or not. Many of the technologies are protective in their nature, such as toxic atmosphere sensors, improved body armour and pharmaceutical delivery systems, etc.; they help reduce death rates in combatant sand occasionally civilians. Other nanotechnologies make precision guidance of weapons more accurate leading to higher fatalities.

What these add up to is quite interesting. New technologies, of which nanotechnology leads the way, can make war and violence easier, more remote and less costly to participate in from an offensive point of view. Fewer soldiers die because of advance in protective and medical technologies. Arguably, fewer civilians might be injured because of population-wide protection. A lower percentage of individuals is involved in the military because more precise and destructive weapons require less ground troops. Because of the higher precision of the weapons, the costs could possibly be less on the defending side as well. So-called “collateral damage,” from which states tend to shy away, can be minimized. Weapons can be made that strike only one building and do it with accuracy and precision, though reduction in collateral damage is unfortunately not always an objective. So, war-like acts are easier to inflict on enemies from a nanotechnologically-enabled society.

However, it has also happened that the societies in which the vast majority of nanotechnology research and development is being done have a low tolerance for casualties in military actions. With nanotechnological developments making it easier to protect, defend, and otherwise shield soldiers and populations from taking casualties (and making casualties more rare), this tolerance might become even lower. This lessens the likelihood that long, drawn out, high-casualty military actions will be tolerable to the population of a nanotechnologically advanced nation. By its nature, prognostication is imperfect, but combining these last two probabilities, it seems likely that “small wars” in which technologically advanced nations perform “police actions” on less-developed regimes could become more and more frequent, because of nanotechnology.

This, then, raises challenges to the Just War tradition, that entering and fighting a war is morally justified only under certain conditions, such as in self-defence and when combatants can be discriminated from non-combatants (which rules out weapons of mass destruction, nano-enabled or otherwise).[2] Specifically, and as noted by other ethicists but in the context of other technologies, innovations such as nanotechnology may make it easier and therefore more likely to enter wars and conflicts, given that technological superiority will reduce casualties on the technologically superior side, i.e., make war more risk free.[3] Taking a strong stance against these technological advancements would rule out not only the introduction of new weapons but possibly also incremental improvements in, say, personnel armour and even better battlefield medicine. Offensive or defensive tools could also not be improved upon, because they would make it easier, politically if not also economically, to engage in armed conflict, and this is presumably undesirable. On the other hand, if armed conflict is an inevitable fact of the human condition, then it is difficult to blame defence organizations for developing new strategies, tactics, and tools that minimize civilian and combatant lives.

Even if nanotechnology systems for military use are developed for purely defensive reasons, this can have a destabilizing impact on relations between great powers. In recent history, there are examples of the development of apparently ‘purely’ defensive systems causing much concern to another nation. An example of this can be seen in Russia’s (previously as the Soviet Union) desire to stop the development of a missile shield by the United States and other western powers. An increase in ‘defensive’ weapons upsets the status quo between states and, as such, they become objectionable to the powers that are using the technologies rendered obsolescent by them. In much the same way that new ‘offensive’ weapons that render ‘defensive’ technologies obsolete can upset a security balance, so too can new ‘defensive’ technologies that render ‘offensive’ weapons obsolete upset a security balance. Changing the balance of power of weaponry can have wide reaching implications in international relations, even when it is towards the defensive end. More powerful defensive weaponry can protect a citizenry from attacks, but an enemy that finds itself extremely resistant to attacks will feel at greater liberty to act in a belligerent manner.

The international stage is not the only impact that a nanotechnological revolution in the military will have on society. It seems likely that the amount of health and mental care needed to be provided to members of the armed services will increase. As nanotechnology allows for stark increases in the ability to save a life, injuries that once were life-threatening or led to a certain death become treatable. Illnesses and chemical attacks become less threatening. Further, a much higher percentage of soldiers will live through military actions and will, as such, be in some need of psychiatric care. Furthermore, it seems likely that as medical nanotechnology is able to fix more problems, more, newer problems will be manifest and be in need of treatment. Tailoring each treatment to individual patients based on their DNA and their environment again increases the actual care (though perhaps not the time) that each patient needs. Another issue that needs to be considered is that of a population that has an increasing amount of members who volunteered to serve in the military. When the chances of death are lessened on one side, the idea of military service becomes more attractive and a greater percentage of the population will have an interest in military training.

In conclusion, nanotechnology offers significant opportunities to revolutionize warfare in many different ways, both offensively and defensively. These changes, as with all technological changes, will have a wide ranging impact on warfighting and provide opportunities to reconsider many ethics of war and international relations issues that depend on underlying technology. I have considered a few of those wide-reaching issues here and a method rooted in historical examination that can be used to provide a sense of the challenges and promise that the world will face.

Synthetic veins, arteries, skin, tracheas, noses, tear ducts and even nerve regeneration - is there no limit to the ingenuity and imagination of Alex Seifalian and his lab in creating almost instant spare parts for battlefield injuries and life-threatening diseases?

Emanuele Barborini describes a breakthrough in the cost-effective testing for cancer, and makes a plea for greater interaction between clinicians and researchers in the pursuit of research into effective patient-centred solutions.

The “new golden era” of nanotechnologies as prophesied by Professor Richard Smalley (Nobel Prize Laureate in 1996) now lies before us. But there are dangers related to engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) which we must be aware of, and take appropriate action to avoid. Nine ways of avoiding the health risks of ENPs are described.

In the distant past, we can find parallel applications of both photodynamic medicine and nanotechnology, even though the basic knowledge of each technology was not understood at that time. The principle of healing with light in combination with herbal extracts, was established a long time ago. In the future, based on white light, there could well be a renaissance of this kind of treatment, but under considerably improved conditions.

An overview of nanotechnology in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Top Danish companies work together on product improvement through the application of advanced nanotechniques

The potential for nanotechnology to create superhumans is the subject of much debate and controversy. There are few people who could be termed perfect physical specimens, however they are defined, and many of us seek to have what we perceive as our less than perfect physical characteristics, repaired or camouflaged. This kind of intervention is becoming increasingly desirable, and, as we understand more about how the body works, increasingly effective and undetectable.

Germany has established itself as one of the leading countries in Europe for the industrialisation of nanotechnology. With research and commercialisation continuing apace, is Germany in a position to compete with the USA and South Asia? NANO Magazine takes a look at the story of nanotechnology in Germany, and the determincation of the country's leaders to focus on nanotechnology as a key component of present and future industrial competitiveness.

Laura Cabrera argues that nanotechnology should be used to help people with impairments achieve an effective participation in society, rather than focusing on eliminating these impairments

Nanotechnology has the potential to help tackle many of current problems, for instance, combating cancer or global warming. But it also has the potential to challenge our understanding of what it means to be human, what it means to have impairments, to differ from the norm or to be different.

A patient comes to a doctor's surgery with a persistent cough. He's asked for a blood sample to do a genetic test, to find which antibiotic will best match his genetic profile. "Nanotechnology!" says the doctor, "By reducing the size it's enabled us to do a complete analysis of your genetic profile and read it on to a computer chip. They call it a lab-on-a-chip. We can now read all your genes in a couple of minutes."

The Cluster of Excellence “Engineering of Advanced Materials – Hierarchical Structure Formation for Functional Devices” (EAM) focuses on the development of novel high-performance materials with tailored properties. The vision of the Cluster is to close the gap between fundamental research and real-world applications in technology fields ranging from electronic and optical devices to catalytic and lightweight materials.

Nanotechnology is no longer a technology-in-waiting. It is already ubiquitous in its reach and effect. In this issue of NANO magazine, we look at many applications of nanotechnology to our everyday lives, and its promise for the future. For example, nanotechnology has great potential for architecture, and it is recognised that buildings are a major contributor to global warming. It is argued that if architects are better informed about nanotechnology and prepared to design-in innovative materials to make buildings more sustainable, this will have an immediate and beneficial effect. One architecture practice is already so committed to nanotechnology, the partners are even developing their own nanomaterials, to suit specific architectural applications.

In search of zero-cost healthcare for society's poor, George Whitesides' work has some profound and surprising implications for the wealthier economies - given the excalating and unsustainable costs of medical treatments today.

Yoel  Rothschild , Project coordinator, and Dov Kipperman, Instruction designer of ORT Israel describe their work on the NANOYOU project.

While the construction and architecture industries may be resisting the application of nanotechnology productions, the Decker Yeadon agency is getting to grips with the science in order to come up with interesting new concepts that could shape the future of our homes and offices.

To introduce nanomaterials into architecture, architects must first be attracted to the nanoworld. Innovation-driven materials and products serve as a tool for achieving green construction, which is now on the forefront of architectural debates. Nanomaterials do have a huge potential, but this potential is yet to be realised, and architects are yet to engage fully with what is available Therefore as a basic principle, an understanding of the possibilities offered by nanotech is essential for architects, planners and project developers. Sylvia Leydecker discusses how the architecture world needs to adapt to the new opportunities offered by nanotechnology products.

Amarnath Maitra argues that nanomedicine should be divorced of its association with nanotechnology.

Nanomedicine is a branch of science which involves delivery of drugs or other biochemicals to specific cell types through endocytosis either in the form of nanocrystals or loaded in a nano-sized carrier of size range 10-100nm diameter. These drugs or chemicals can then be released inside the cell to perform a range of functions including therapy, diagnosis and imaging, ex-vivo or in-vivo. Since it is primarily relevant to the cell uptake process, nanomedicine belongs to the area of cell biology and not nanotechnology because the field of nanotechnology deals only with the science and technology of entities dominated by surface atoms.

Ottilia Saxl explores how nanotechnology could have beneficial implications for every stage of the ageing process.

Beyond three score years and ten

With improved nutrition and healthcare, the population dynamics in many developed countries of the world indicates a trend towards an increasing proportion of people living well beyond their allotted ‘threescore years and ten’. Healthcare is at a crossroads, where there are increasing possibilities to extend an individual’s lifespan, but at ever increasing costs allied to decreasing resources. For the extremely elderly and sick, it is the law of diminishing returns; with more and more money being spent with less and less benefit. However, for commercial health providers, it is very much a law of increasing returns. Prolonging life pays. However, not every individual can afford private healthcare, or the support of carers as they age, and then it is up to the State. The State has a finite budget, but is keen to offer the best it can for the pot of money that is available.

While discussions and media coverage often focus exclusively on toxicology and risk assessment, the ethical debate on nanotechnology poses a vast array of questions. These could include issues such as our concept of nature, as opposed to artefact; the possible redefinition of our norms of health and disease; nanoICT-induced modifications in all aspect sof communication; the validity of human dignity in relation to technological development; the likelihood of future prophesies such as Transhumanism (which forecasts that nanotechnology will radically transform our world, and even ourselves); the question of a fair distribution of the benefits of nanotechnology; and the nature and extent of the responsibility of scientists for the consequences of technological innovations. This is a large and complex debate, and it very difficult to sort the right questions out from bogus and superficial ones; and it is unclear whether these questions are specific to nanotechnology or common to other emerging technologies.

The needs of society are driving the nano revolution.

Nanotechnology applications are increasing across all industry sectors, strongly driven by societal needs. Medicine is usually the first use that springs to mind, with nanotechnology being widely researched for a variety of applications. On this note, faster and simpler diagnostic techniques for breast cancer feature in this issue. Organ regeneration is of constant interest, and the concept of inkjet printing to print cells in three dimensions as the basis for blood vessel synthesis is also explored.

The Car Industry – Benefiting from Nanotechnology

The automotive industry is an early adopter of new technologies if they offer increased safety, affect liability avoidance and, improve competitive advantage– critically allied to as low a cost versus benefit as possible. Of course, advances in many industry sectors are driven by competition. The automotive industry is no different, but is additionally driven by the fear of expensive litigation. If one manufacturer produces a new safety feature - others must follow suit or are liable in the eyes of the law to being negligent. This article looks at smart nano-based coatings and nanocomposites that offer competitive advantage, and nanosensors for increased safety.

Why the breakthrough, now?
One of the current hobby horses of scientists is the development of a lab-on-a-chip. The ideology behind it is simple. If one can program computers to do mathematics, can chips be designed to perform traditional laboratory tasks?

Dr Perlo took his Laurea degree in General Physics in Turin, the city that is arguably the automotive centre of the world. For 15 years he was contract professor at the Physics Institute of the University of Turin, teaching applied optics. In the mid 90's, he initiated the first world-wide commercial introduction of diffractive and micro optics into the automotive and motorcycle industries for general lighting, and in infrared systems for intruder alarms.

As director and senior scientist at Centro Ricerche Fiat, Dr Perlo is currently concentrating his interests on the optimal integration of technologies and systems that enable zero emission mobility. Dr Perlo is also the Chairman of the Working Group 'Automotive' of the EU Technology Platform EPoSS on Smart Systems Integration, with an emphasis on clean mobility.

Inkjet printers were developed to simply print a digital image onto paper. However, the technology itself isn't simple at all; inkjet printers work essentially by propelling tiny droplets of a liquid material onto a substrate in a highly precise way. Software links the digital image to be transferred to the action of a 'smart' nozzle, and controls the ratio of the liquids or inks dispensed that form the droplets. The viscosity and rheological properties of the 'ink' formulations are critical to their 'jettability', and an important characteristic of inkjet printing is that it is contactless.