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Are we aware of risks posed by Nanotechnology?

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There are more than four hundred nanotechnology based products selling in the market but very little is known regarding the potential risks posed by this technology. In 2006 itself nanotechnology found a place in goods worth $30 million and by 2014 the figure is expected to cross the mark of $2.6 trillion. Today you can find nanotechnology in a number of goods ranging from cosmetics to computer chips. As of now there is little information available regarding the risks posed by nanotechnology which also includes exposure of workers. When compared with the commercial application of nanotechnology the spending on risk focused research is miniscule. Andrew Maynard, Chief Science Advisor, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies states: Because nanotechnology is a way of doing or making things rather than a discrete technology, there will never be a one-solution-fits-all approach for nanotechnology and nanomaterials workplace safety. Till the time more data is collected on the risks posed by nanotechnology Maynard suggests that good hygiene practices in the work place should be complemented with nano specific knowledge and control banding approach needs to be adopted which is a course of action between inaction and banning all nanomaterials as hazardous. Definitely something needs to be done before the unknown risks of nanotechnology harm us.

Gold Nanoparticles can kill cancer cells

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Cancer is one of the biggest killer diseases and with our sedentary lifestyles the figures have reached alarming proportions. In order to cure this disease, researchers have found out that gold nanoparticles could be used in the treatment of this disease. It has been found out that gold nanoparticles stick to cancer cells and makes them shine. What makes them effective in treatment is because of certain properties such as photostable, striong absorbers, easy conjugation to antibodies and nontoxic. Up till now a number of cancer cells killing mechanism were proposed but one of the methods which has become the cynosure of discussion is the formation of bubble around the overheated gold particles in a liquid environment and this has been found out to be more effective in killing cancer cells and also quite safe for tissues too. Besides this, in case of environments which don’t have enough liquid for generation of bubble like dense solid tumor or bones, cell walls could be melted by hot gold nanoparticles which would lead to destruction of cell by gold nanoclusters. It seems that nanotechnology would wipe out this killer disease from the whole world.

Cell phones to embrace Nanotechnology

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Soon the mobile phones you carry will be developed using nanotechnology. DoCoMo Capital, Nanosys and NTT DoCoMo have entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement under which nanotechnology platform of Nanosys would be applied to products in the field of wireless communications for cell phone applications in Japan. This technology is expected to open up a number of opportunities in the field of wireless communication. With this a number of opportunities will come up for development of latest mobile telephone applications. Nanotechnology will also help NTT DoCoMo to improve its position and emerge as a leader in the field of mobile communication technology. So get ready to experience the power of nanotechnology in your mobile phones.

Nano version of Solomon’s knot designed

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Chemists have come up with a nano-version of Solomon’s knot. Roughly 2 nanometers high and 1.2 nanometers wide, the molecular Solomon’s knot is composed of two rings interlacing each other four times, having crossing points alternately that go over, under, over and under as one traces around each of the rings. An UCLA chemist says, There is often a connection between the beauty and elegance of a chemical structure and its potential usefulness, and this Solomon knot structure is quite beautiful and elegant. Found in numerous buildings, including that of the floor tiles and the wooden ceilings of UCLA’s Powell Library, the design is now being built in the nano-scale. Speaking of the excitement of nanoscience, J. Fraser Stoddart said in the journal Angewandte Chemie, We have to try to rediscover the spirit of the Renaissance, when there were no boundaries. Nanoscience is a replay of previous industrial revolutions. In the 21st century, people will start to appreciate what a nanoparticle or nanowire is, just as in the past they embraced the invention of the wheel or the highway. The secret of our success is the careful selection of metal ions and solvents. Managed by Stoddart, this research was led by Cari Pentecost, who works for the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).

Improved Diabetes control with Nanotechnology based glucose sensors

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One of the most common diseases in the modern world is diabetes which despite having various treatments available is a cause of death and various neuropathy and vascular diseases. One of the common treatments used for controlling diabetes is keeping a watch on the glucose levels and administering insulin injections. Though various researches have been conducted for developing glucose sensors for diagnoses but still these sensors suffer from certain disabilities, are less sensitive and therefore cannot be relied upon. Getting good results from a glucose sensor depends upon the type of material which is used for creating them and now researchers are moving towards nanomaterials for creating sensors as nano sensors have been found to be effective in detection of trace amounts of biomolecules in real time. Platinum decorated multi walled carbon nanotubes have been used by researchers for creating an enzyme based mediated glucose sensor which has been found out to demonstrate higher level of sensitivity. Developed by researchers at the University of Arkansas’, this sensor is expected to ensure better diabetes control and management.

Nanotechnology has the power to control lung cancer

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It seems that nanotechnology is proving to be effective in the treatment of various types of cancers and in a recent study conducted by American scientists they have discovered that delivery of gene therapy in lipid based nanoparticles could be quite effective in treatment of lung cancer. The research which was conducted at the University of Texas on mice showed that tumor suppressing genes which were administered to them brought down the number of tumors by a whopping seventy five percent. P53 which is a popular tumor suppressor was wrapped in nanoparticles for treating lung cancer more effectively. Dr. Jack Roth, Chairman of the M.D., Anderson Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery said: In cancer treatment we have combination chemotherapy, and we also combine different modes of therapy — surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Now you’ve got the possibility of combined targeted gene therapy.

Breast cancer tumors can be targeted with nanoparticles

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Researchers have developed nanoparticles similar to a developing clot which attack tumors and they search for and bind to blood vessels around the tumors and also attract more nanoparticles for targeting the tumors. These nanoparticles can aid in delivering payload of an imaging compound and act as a clotting agent which helps in obstruction of around one fifth of tumor blood vessels. The research team was led by Erkki Ruoslahti who works at the University of California. With the help of a screening technique it was possible for the researchers to identify a peptide inside the breast cancer tumor. The peptide was able to identify clotted blood present in the lining of tumor vessels and after clotted blood was confirmed as the binding site, nanoparticles were created from superparamagnetic amino dextran-coated iron oxide and the peptide along with SIO particles offered the particles a tumor homing function.

Gold nanocluster takes the shape of capped tubular cigar

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Up till now gold was being used in jewelry due to its inert properties but now the field of nanotechnology is too working on it. Researchers had been working on gold clusters for a very long time and since gold clusters have a small number of atoms they exhibit different properties and chemical reactivity which makes them a powerful catalyst. Georgia Tech researchers had been slogging on gold clusters for a number of years and coupled with researchers from around the world it has been possible to unravel the structures of gold clusters from 13 to 24 atoms. You would be amazed to know that on reaching twenty four atoms the gold clusters look very similar to a capped tubular cigar. Starting out as two dimensional structures, the clusters change to three dimensional hollow cages, then change into a face centered cubic tetrahedral structure and on reaching twenty four atoms turn into capped tubular cigar shape. You never know what shapes the gold cluster would achieve when they reach probably thirty or forty atoms. Let’s wait and watch.

Nanoimprint technique problem finally solved by scientists

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Cheaper microchips was always a trouble but will not be now as researchers at Princeton University have developed a technique which will help in eliminating tiny air bubbles that are formed when liquid droplets are molded into intricate circuits. Up till now these bubbles were obstacles in nanoimprint lithography and in the case of this technique nanometer scale mold are used to pattern computer chips as compared to the traditional methods in which electrons and light beams are used. The nanoimprint technique has been found out to be effective in creating devices and circuits which are smaller than a nanometer – ten times smaller when compared with chips produced today and still ten time times cheaper.

Enhanced Nanodots can put an end to the Storage Crisis

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Today the challenge in front of the global community is to increase the storage capacity of a hard disk without increasing the size of the disks. Though the challenge looks difficult to achieve as the magnetic disks have already been exploited to the full potential yet some researchers at the NIST are working on a way to increase the storage using Nanodots. Nanodots are magnetic particles that are just a few billionths of a meter across. These dots have a north and a south pole like a bar magnet. These poles can be switched from one state to another when a strong magnetic field is applied at these dots. Currently the researchers have been able to develop Nanodots that are only 50 nanometers wide. These dots were fabricated using electron beam lithography to pattern multilayer thin films. Now researchers are working on a technique so that they can further reduce the size of these nanoparticles. The only problem here is that the smaller the size of these particles the more is the magnetic field that is needed to switch them from one form to another. Other research for increasing the storage capacity is to use lasers to heat and switch individual bits. We can reach an ultimate goal if we combine the laser technology with the Nanodots technology. Since heat reduces the amount of magnetic field that is used for changing the state of the Nanodots. If researchers are successful in developing the technology then we can say that in future we will use HDDs that will be having one hundred times the capacity of today’s hard disks.