Nanotechnology has limitless potential

The sky's the limit

14 January 2008 00:00  [Source: ICB]

Nanotechnology has opened up a new realm of physical properties and material possibilities across virtually all industries, including medicine, transportation,energy, and even space exploration

Cynthia Challener/Vermont

CAN YOU imagine making yourself invisible like Harry Potter, or a Klingon battleship? Or riding into space on an elevator? Nanotechnology may bring these and many other extraordinary ideas out of the story book, off the movie screen, and into ­reality - one day. In the meantime, numerous firms both large and small regularly bring more down-to-earth products to market that rely on nano materials or nano-based processes.

Cloaking devices are not so outrageous as they sound. Already, nanofabricated photonic materials capable of negative refraction have been produced that could be refined to bend light around an object, so that it appears to travel through the object, rather than absorbing and reflecting light, as ordinary materials do. Such materials also raise the possibility of optical microscopes for imaging things as small as molecules.

Metamaterials, containing individual nanoscale structures like an array of needles have also been used to make a kind of cloaking device.

Space elevators are likewise the object of serious consideration. Although an elevator shaft to the heavens would likely be as successful as the Tower of Babel, an alternative first suggested in the late 1950s, which would suspend an elevator cable from a counterweight in geosynchronous orbit, has already inspired one commercial effort, the Liftport Group, based in Bremerton, Washington, US.

Only a cable based on carbon nanotubes would have sufficient strength. About 8 inches (20cm) wide, it would extend thousands of miles into the sky. The cable would not move instead, the elevator would climb the cable. Advocates expect that more immediate applications of carbon nanotube technology, such as bridges and buildings, will be developed en route to creation of the space elevator. Liftport - which has run into financial difficulties of late - envisions a space elevator as soon as 2031.

Why are such tiny materials necessary to the success of such a massive project as the space elevator? When matter is reduced to particles on the nanoscale, its properties change dramatically. Manipulating these new properties is the objective of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is "the application of quantum theory and other nano-specific phenomena to fundamentally control the properties and behavior of matter," says Mihail Roco, director of the US government-sponsored National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).

The NNI defines nanotechnology as "the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at this length scale."

As understanding of nanoscale behaviors has grown, so has the ability to manipulate and utilize these novel properties, and greater numbers of products based on nanotechnology have been introduced to the marketplace.

Roco identifies four main phases of nanotechnology commercialization. In the first phase, after 2000, passive nanostructures that contain nanomaterials were introduced. The second phase began in 2005, when active nanostructures that change their size, shape, conductivity or other properties during use were first brought to market. Roco expects that by 2010, a third phase will begin, when systems of nanostructures are commercialized. The fourth and last phase will see the commercialization of molecular nanosystems - heterogeneous networks in which molecules and supramolecular structures serve as distinct devices. These systems can be expected some time after 2015, he believes.

Market activity in recent years supports Roco's projections.

"Nanotechnology is already shifting from the discovery phase to the commercialization stage," notes Michael Holman, a senior analyst with Lux Research, a market research firm focused on nanotechnology.

In determining the value of nanotechnology, Lux considers four key segments - nanomaterials, nanointermediates, nano-enabled finished goods, and nanotools. Nanomaterials are purposefully engineered structures of matter with at least one dimension of less than 100nm that exhibit size-dependent properties, and which are incorporated into nanointermediates. Nanointermediates either contain nanomaterials or have been constructed from other materials so that they have nanoscale features. Both are incorporated into nano-enabled finished goods. The nanotools segment encompasses the capital equipment and software used to visualize, manipulate, manufacture and model nanoscale materials and processes.

In 2004, just $13bn (€8.8bn) worth of manufactured product output relied on nanotechnology of some kind. In 2006, nanomaterials were valued at $521m, nano-intermediates at $7.9bn and nano-enabled final products climbed to $50bn, which still accounted for less than 0.5% of global manufacturing output. Lux expects that dramatic growth to continue and reach $2.6 trillion in 2014, or 15% of manufacturing output.

Until 2006, government funding for ­nanotechnology far exceeded corporate investments in nanotech research and ­development (R&D). Lux estimates that $11.8bn was spent on nanotechnology R&D and commercialization in 2006, with corporate and venture capital spending accounting for 51% of the total and growing the fastest at 18%, while government spending was ­rising at a much slower 9%/year.

Regionally, the US and Japan accounted for about 72% of corporate nanotech funding, but spending on initiatives is growing most rapidly in Asia and other emerging regions.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

The rise in corporate investments can be linked to the increased commercialization of nanotech-based products. "Large chemical and material companies are starting to take leadership positions in nanotechnology as nano-enabled applications are reaching the economies of scale that suit their production operations," Holman explains.

For example, DuPont's new Light Stabilizer 210 is a nanoscale titanium dioxide (TiO2) designed to protect plastics and other materials that incorporate them from UV light. Bayer MaterialScience now produces cost-effectively, on a commercial scale, carbon nanotubes virtually free of impurities. BASF is collaborating with US nanocrystalline materials manufacturer Nanophase and Singapore-based nanotech firm NanoMaterials Technology and investing in start-ups such as catalyst developer SDCmaterials, based in Arizona, US, and antimicrobial coating manufacturer Agion, based in Massachusetts, US, in addition to its own internal initiatives, which have produced such products as its Ultradur high-speed engineering plastic and COL.9 binders for facade coatings

Nanomaterials are high on the list of fuel-saving technologies receiving attention. They have potential as fuel cell catalysts, hydrogen storage devices, coolants for transformers, and heat-transfer fluids for lighter-weight vehicles, as well as in the development of more economical and efficient solar energy systems. Nanosolar and Innovalight are two Califor-nian firms developing solar cell technology.

Massachusetts-based A123 Systems has developed lithium ion batteries using nanotechnology to improve the surface area of the electrodes. The batteries can be found in Black & Decker cordless tools and the firm is one of two possible suppliers for General Motors' next generation of electrical vehicles.

Aspen Aerogels, also based in Massachusetts, markets a nano-porous silicon-based material with insulating properties that has been used in ski jackets and to insulate offshore oil pipelines.

The US' BCC Research estimates the total energy-related market for nanotechnologies at about $4.35bn in 2006, growing at 8%/year, to $7.12bn in 2012.

In the automotive sector, nanoparticles are found in shock absorbers and exhaust catalysts used to improve the performance of catalytic converters. Coatings on cars contain nanoparticles that improve abrasion resistance and durability. Self-cleaning windshield glass from PPG Industries, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, relies on nanoparticles to allow for transparency while providing the sheeting action that keeps the glass clean. New vehicle leveling sensors and seatbelts may some day rely on nanotechnology as well.

Electronic applications are numerous, including conductive coatings and inks, and high-frequency soft magnetic materials for telecommunications devices, optical sensors and switches, giant magnetoresistance heads in computer hard drives, non-volatile magnetic memory, thin film and flexible magnetic media, and nano-electrical devices and electronic components.

Several companies are involved in the field. Flat panel displays containing quantum dots that save as much as 20% in power while providing strong color are the focus of Massachusetts-based quantum dot maker QD Vision. Quantum dots are also being used by Californian nanotech firm Nanosys, which is working with Intel and Idaho, US-based memory manufacturer Micron, to create flash memory that may be commercialized in 2009.

The US' Nanochip is developing MEMs technology that has 200 times the density of semiconductors. NRAM memory from Nantero, also of the US, based on carbon nanotubes is as fast as SRAM and as dense as DRAM but nonvolatile, according to the company, which has licensed the technology to several manufacturing partners.

Currently carbon nanotubes are receiving a significant amount of attention. The global market was worth $50.9m at the end of 2006, and it is expected to grow at a rate of 73.8%/year to reach $807.3m by 2011, according to BCC Research.

Consumer products containing nanomaterials that are already on the market include cosmetics, sunscreens, lighter-weight sports equipment, architectural paints, water filters, solar panels and stain-resistant fabrics. According to the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory, there are at least 580 products or product lines that depend on nanotechnology in some way.

HEALTH EFFECTS

Potential applications for nanotechnology in medicine have also generated excitement. "Within the realm of drug discovery and development, nanotechnology focuses mainly on improving diagnostic methods, as well as developing superior drug formulations and drug delivery systems to enhance disease therapy," notes global research firm Frost & Sullivan's drug discovery team leader, Amarpreet Dhiman.

The chemotherapy drug Abraxane, paclitaxel formulated as albumin-coated nanoparticles to improve bioavailability, has been on the market. The technology eliminates the need for solvents and carriers that cause unwanted side effects. US-based Par Pharmaceutical's reformulation of anorexia drug Megace using NanoCrystal technology was also approved. In 2006, according to Lux, nano-enabled drug sales earned $1.5bn.

Magforce Nanotechnologies, of Germany, is developing aminosilane-coated iron-oxide magnetic nanoparticles that can be delivered to tumors. Applying a magnetic field causes the particles to heat up, destroying the tumor without damaging any healthy tissue. Gold nanoshells are also being investigated in this type of application. Other companies in this field include France's Nanobiotix, Masachusetts-based Triton BioSystems and Nanospectra Biosciences, based in Houston, Texas.

Dendrimers are now receiving a good deal of attention as drug delivery agents. These spherical nanoscale particles have numerous branches or hooks to which can be attached bioactive molecules. On some of the branches, a "food" such as a vitamin that is preferred by cancer cells can be added, and on others an anticancer drug, enabling highly specific treatment of the disease. Human trials are expected in the near future.

Diagnostic applications also have great potential and could be commercialized in the next two to five years. Nanosphere, of Illinois, US, and UK-based Oxonica have developed rapid diagnostic tests based on metal nanoparticles that could be used in doctors' offices to provide early identification of risk factors. Nanotechnology is also being used in contrast-imaging agents for in vivo imaging methods such as ultrasound and MRI. Germany's Siemens and the US' General Electric have entered this field through the acquisition of nanotech companies. Kereos of the US and Australia's AION Diagnostics are start-ups developing new technologies.

A nano-engineered synthetic bone was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2005. Nanoscale protein peptides that self-assemble into a fibrous mesh may have applications in surgery, at accident scenes and on the battlefield. Nanothreads spun from cells encased in plastic polymers to create living microfibers that promote tissue regrowth have also been prepared.

The pace of change in the field has been so rapid that many developments still bear the aura of science fiction, but that will fade.

"Even as nanotechnology moves from discovery to commercialization, basic research keeps on going, and as knowledge and understanding of the behavior of materials at the nanoscale grows, it will enable the development of what seem today to be fantastic products," states Holman. "At the same time, nanotechnology will become increasingly routine, as nanotech applications become integrated into all aspects of our daily lives - as nanotech goes mainstream, nanotechnology and plain old technology will become increasingly synonymous."

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