MOLECULAR NANOTECHNOLOGY

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary science that looks at how we can manipulate matter at the molecular and atomic level. To do this, we must work on the nanoscale -- a scale so small that we can't see it with a light microscope. In fact, one nanometre is just one-billionth of a meter in size. Atoms are smaller still. It's difficult to quantify an atom's size -- they don't tend to hold a particular shape. But in general, a typical atom is about one-tenth of a nanometre in diameter. Meanwhile, mundane technology was developing the ability to build simple structures on a molecular scale. As nanotechnology became an accepted concept, the meaning of the word shifted to encompass the simpler kinds of nanometre-scale technology. The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative was created to fund this kind of nanotech: their definition includes anything smaller than 100 nanometres with novel properties. Much of the work being done today that carries the name 'nanotechnology' is not nanotechnology in the original meaning of the word. Nanotechnology, in its traditional sense, means building things from the bottom up, with atomic precision. This theoretical capability was envisioned as early as 1959 by the renowned physicist Richard Feynman. I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each other, which are manufacturing simultaneously. . . The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big. Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner in physics Four Generations

LATEST INVENTION By the researchers of UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS is the worlds tiniest soldering iron to fill the gaps in wires. The nano-soldering process is simple and self-regulating. A carbon nanotube array is placed in a chamber pumped full of the metal-containing gas molecules. When a current passes through the transistor, the junctions heat because of resistance as electrons flow from one nanotube to the next. The molecules react to the heat, depositing the metal at the hot spots and effectively "soldering" the junctions. Then the resistance drops, as well as the temperature, so the reaction stops. The nano-soldering takes only seconds and improves the device performance by an order of magnitude -almost to the level of devices made from single nanotubes, but much easier to manufacture on a large scale. "It would be easy to insert the CVD process in existing process flows," Lyding said. "CVD technology is commercially available off-the-shelf. People can fabricate these transistors with the ability to turn them on so that this process can be done. Then when it's finished they can finish the wiring and connect them into the circuits. Ultimately it would be a low-cost procedure." Now, the group is working to refine the process.

Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is a technology based on the ability to build structures to complex, atomic specifications by means of mechanosynthesis.] This is distinct from nanoscale materials. Based on Richard Feynman's vision of miniature factories using nanomachines to build complex products (including additional nanomachines), this advanced form of nanotechnology (or molecular manufacturing) would make use of positionally-controlled mechanosynthesis guided by molecular machine systems. MNT would involve combining physical principles demonstrated by chemistry, other nanotechnologies, and the molecular machinery of life with the systems engineering principles found in modern macroscale factories. Several researchers, including Nobel Prize winner Dr. Richard Smalley (19432005), attacked the notion of universal assemblers, leading to a rebuttal from Drexler and colleagues, and eventually to an exchange of letters. Smalley argued that chemistry is extremely complicated, reactions are hard to control, and that a universal assembler is science fiction. Drexler and colleagues, however, noted that Drexler never proposed universal assemblers able to make absolutely anything, but instead proposed more limited assemblers able to make a very wide variety of things. They challenged the relevance of Smalley's arguments to the more specific proposals advanced in Nanosystems. Also, Smalley argued that nearly all of modern chemistry involves reactions that take place in a solvent (usually water), because the small molecules of a solvent contribute many things, such as lowering binding energies for transition states. Since nearly all known chemistry requires a solvent, Smalley felt that Drexler's proposal to use a high vacuum environment was not feasible. However, Drexler addresses this in Nanosystems by showing mathematically that well designed catalysts can provide the effects of a solvent and can fundamentally be made even more efficient than a solvent/enzyme reaction could ever be.

Researchers believe that molecular manufacturing also has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For example, sensors that are smaller than blood cells could be produced inexpensively. When released into a patient's blood stream in large numbers, these sensors could provide very accurate diagnoses. Nanorobots could be built using molecular manufacturing to perform surgical procedures in a more precise way. By working at the cellular level, such nanorobots could prevent much of the damage caused by the comparatively clumsy scalpel. Molecular fabricators may be available to anybody, anywhere in about twenty years or so. When fabricators are available, any item whose design has been programmed into them can be produced cheaply and in large quantities. This could significantly improve living conditions in regions that do not have easy access to manufactured goods. For example, water filters could be produced to help in regions with contaminated water supplies and solar cells could make electricity available in the remotest jungle or desert.

Advancement In Molecular Technology

In Clean Up The Environment A staggering 600 million people worldwide suffer ill health effects from polluted or insufficient water supplies, and this number could easily top 2 billion within the next two decades [source:Nanowerk]. Fortunately, a number of advances in nanotechnology may help ease the effects of water shortages by removing pollutants, or by helping people use water more effectively. One of the biggest breakthroughs in terms of water conservation comes in the form of nanomagnets. These microscopic magnetic particles can capture arsenic in water, leaving it clean enough to drink. This technology removes as much as 99 percent of arsenic from water, which stands to benefit as many as 65 million people worldwide [source: Environment News Service and Wolfe]. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, special iron-based nano filters can serve as effective and low-cost alternatives to traditional carbon-based water filters. These tiny iron particles form a membrane barrier to quickly clean groundwater supplies much faster than traditional pumping techniques. Using microscopic iron particles to treat dirty water can remove large volumes of chlorine, mercury or even radon. Nanotechnology may even allow manufacturers to reduce water and air pollution associated with fossil fuel extraction. The process involves the use of zeolites, or tiny rock particles filled with an infinite number of microscopic holes. The zeolites serve as filters for oil sands and other fossil fuel sources, and allow workers to capture the oil without releasing harmful levels of carbon dioxide into the air. By cutting CO 2 emissions, zeolites also keep potential pollutants from contaminating groundwater and nearby water bodies.

IN MEDICINE The manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular scale to create materials with remarkably varied and new properties, is a rapidly expanding area of research with huge potential in many sectors, ranging from healthcare to construction and electronics. In medicine, it promises to revolutionize drug delivery, gene therapy, diagnostics, and many areas of research, development and clinical application. Therapies that involve the manipulation of individual genes, or the molecular pathways that influence their expression, are increasingly being investigated as an option for treating diseases. One highly sought goal in this field is the ability to tailor treatments according to the genetic make-up of individual patients. This creates a need for tools that help scientists experiment and develop such treatments. Imagine, for example, being able to stretch out a section of DNA like a strand of spaghetti, so you can examine or operate on it, or building nanorobots that can "walk" and carry out repairs inside cell components. Nanotechnology is bringing that scientific dream closer to reality. For instance, scientists at the Australian National University have managed to attach coated latex beads to the ends of modified DNA, and then using an "optical trap" comprising a focused beam of light to hold the beads in place, they have stretched out the DNA strand in order to study the interactions of specific binding proteins. Other discoveries:1. Nanobots and nanostars 2. Nanofibres 3. Molecular imaging and therapy