Top 10 Nanotechnology Products
With industry insiders projecting a $1
trillion industry for nanotech products by 2015, when will we start to reap the
benefits? Well, we already are. And more are emerging (like most technologies),
at an exponential rate. What follows is
NanoBillboard.com's list of what we feel
are the top ten existing (or at least advanced stage development) products made
with or utilizing nanotechnology. Our selection criteria centered largely on the
degree to which the product involves nanotechnology AND the amount of potential
the product has to affect -or shall we say enhance, our lives…
1---Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Displays
Ultra-thin displays manufactured by sandwiching extremely thin (often nano-sized)
layers of organic polymer light-emitting materials between electrodes.
Images are bright and viewable at wide-angles. The displays are smaller and
lighter-weight than traditional LCD displays -meaning they are ideally
suited to mobile electronics -such as digital cameras, cellular phones, and
handheld computers.
2---Nanoemulsion Anti-Bacterial Cleansers
Uses nanoemulsion technology to kill pathogens. Able to kill tuberculosis
and bacterium while remaining nonflammable, noncorrosive, and non-toxic.
Nanospheres of oil droplets are suspended by water, therefore requiring a
very small amount of active ingredient to kill microorganisms. The
Nanospheres carry a surface charge that is able to break-through the bond of
an organism's membrane, rendering it defenseless.
3---Nanocapsules
A man-made container usually ranging in size from 100 to 600 nanometers.
Commonly made from liposomes or polymers, nanocapsules are able to protect
and carry a chemical or material (such as a drug) through unwanted
dispersion sites such as water, the environment, or certain tissues and
place it exactly where desired and with controlled release. Mimicking
nature's phospholipids (fat derivatives), nanocapsules can perform their
effective delivery by following the physical property laws of some chemicals
when exposed to water (either hydrophobic or hydrophilic). An existing
application is cosmetics that are able to penetrate finite layers of skin.
In the pipeline are the targeted drug delivery applications as well as a
drug overdose treatment that works by "sponging-up" and carrying away excess
chemicals in the body (now at lab-test stage).
4---Nanofluidic Tools
Already well established in the life sciences arena, microfluidic technology
has enabled us to create very small fluid-altering tools for such
applications as micro-mixing, pumping, dispersion, and routing of fluids,
and the "lab-on-a-chip" (tiny fluid-circuit diagnostic devices).
Microfluidic technology is no longer limited to the micro realm (the next
larger scale than nano). Integration of nano-sized capillaries and nano-manipulated
surface tension changes (to control flow rate) mean that fluids are now
being handled at nanoliter volumes.
5---1GHz
Nanodevices
The promise of nano-sized machines able to travel within the confines of
cell walls to perform surgical tasks is certainly appealing, but not yet a
reality. However, a very important breakthrough on the path to such a tiny
tool has been made by researchers. The prototype nano-sized device, made
with layers of silicon carbide, is able to vibrate at a frequency of about 1
gigahertz. This marks a crucial step in that it could be applied to the
control of, or communication with, a nano-sized machine.
6---Nano-Enhanced Automotive Catalytic Converters
Aside from hybrid and solar cell technology, advances in the automotive
industry have yielded internal combustion engines that produce very little
by-product emissions. Furthering this trend, are catalytic converters that
apply nanotechnology to become even more efficient. One way nanotechnology
is implemented is by utilization of a nano-enhanced filter that can trap
excess carbon and sulfur at start-up and then release it to be catalyzed
after warm-up. Similarly, another method uses nano-sized particles of
catalyst material (platinum for ex.) to provide a larger surface area to
initiate the catalytic reaction. Another strategy uses nanotechnology
experimentation to study catalyst materials at the atomic level to determine
which work more efficiently in synchronization.
7---Carbon Nanotube Electron Sources
Based on carbon nanotube materials (high-strength wires of pure carbon with
unique electrical properties), these electron sources emit high current and
high density electrons faster than a larger-scale device [i.e. cathode].
This makes them ideal for use in high-resolution electron-beam instruments
such as small X-ray equipment. As gating (modulation capability) of these
electron sources becomes refined, the applications will expand dramatically.
8---Nanocrystals
Though made by cumbersome processes such as vaporizing and recondensing
metals, nanocrystals, crystallites a few nanometers in diameter, possess
impressive characteristics. As with all things nano, nanocrystals enjoy an
"exception-to-the-rule" of physics, called "non-linear attributes" in the
small tech world, and are often stronger, harder, and more wear-resistant
than their macro-sized counterparts -by a factor of as much as 300%. Some of
the obvious applications will include using nanocrystals as building blocks
for very strong metals and composites, but the technology is also applicable
to lighting (powerful nano-sized luminescent particles), high resolution
imaging, and semiconductor materials.
9---NEMS
Unlike MEMS, or microelectromechanical systems, that have been around since
the 1980's, nanoelectromechanical systems, or NEMS, are a very young
development. Nonetheless, NEMS have the potential to drastically affect the
way we employ electronics. The output, or "response", delivered by the
mechanical element of these nanodevices could be harnessed to provide nano-sized
robotic movement or locomotion. Add a transducer however, and the mechanical
and electrical energy can be used to sense and signal. The applications for
a nano-sized sensor are enormous. The ability to create a device on the
nanoscale that can sense biological, electronic, chemical, or physical input
and signal it to the macro-world is indeed a manmade copy of nature -and a
true connection to the sub-micron world.
10---Nano-Enhanced Everyday Consumer Products
Nano wax, made with nano-sized polishing agents, provides a better shine due
to its ability to fill-in tiny inconsistencies in automotive paint finishes.
Nano tennis balls coated internally with a nano-pore membrane, slow pressure
drain without adding weight. Nano sunscreens using highly-soluble nano-silica-coated
metal oxides, result in more stable, more transparent compounds and provide
broad-spectrum protection with their dense and uniform coverage. Standing
alone, any one of these everyday products probably would not make our Top 10
list. Together, however, they represent the fact that products utilizing
nanotechnology can, and are establishing themselves in our everyday consumer
market. That, we believe, is noteworthy.
Source:
Nanobillboard
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