Posts Tagged ‘carbon nanotubes’

Did you know that nano-materials can be found in tennis racquets, water shorts, foot powder, sunscreen and over 580 other consumer products? Well-known brands like Samsung, Chanel, Black & Decker, L.L. Bean, Lancome and L’Oreal are just a few of the companies doing nanotechnology research. “The use of nanotechnology and nano-materials in consumer products and industrial applications is growing rapidly, and the products listed in the inventory are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Andrew Maynard, a science advisor for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. “How consumers respond to these early products–in food, electronics, health care, clothing and cars–will be a bellwether for broader market acceptance of nanotechnologies in the future.” As it turns out, most consumers know little to nothing about nanoscience and there is some concern that products are being produced at a rapid pace, without enough oversight.

One study conducted by the Tokyo University of Science in Japan discovered that maternal exposure to the nanoparticle “titanium dioxide” affects the expression of hundreds of genes related to the central nervous system in fetal mice. “Nanotechnology and the production of novel man-made nano-particles are increasing worldwide. Titanium dioxide in its nanoparticle form has a high level of photocatalytic activity, and can be used for air and water purification and self-cleaning surfaces. Our findings, however, add to the current concern that this specific nanomaterial may have the potential to affect human health,” reports study leader Ken Takeda. He adds that, compared to control mice, the changes discovered within the genes “include those we normally consider to develop in childhood, such as autistic disorder, epilepsy and learning disorders, and also others that arise mainly in adulthood or old age, such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.” Current nanotechnology research regarding TiO2 is being examined for self-cleaning surfaces, coatings, sun-blocks and paints.

So what does the Food and Drug Administration say about nanotechnology applications? “In light of this fast-rising commercialization, the FDA needs to make certain that it has the tools, resources and information necessary to ensure the safety of novel products before they enter the market, and to detect and move swiftly to correct any problems that may arise,” says David Rejeski, director of nanotechnology research for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN). “Given the agency’s insufficient resources, which for two decades have not kept pace with inflation, making sure that the FDA has the capacity to safely manage nanotechnology must be the shared responsibility of Congress and our political leaders. The agency must be ‘nano-ready’ for the products on the market today and able to deal with the more advanced nanotechnology applications expected in the next 5-10 years.”

One of the problems with the first generation of nanotechnology products is that they have arrived in areas where FDA oversight is the weakest — areas like dietary supplements and cosmetics. Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Chief Science Advisor Andrew Maynard warns, “Because the chemical, physical and biological properties of nanoscale materials are often different from their larger counterparts, they potentially lead to different safety issues. The report’s recommendations that FDA provide clear nanotechnology-associated guidance for manufacturers in all areas of agency responsibility are an important move towards ensuring the benefits of nanotechnology are realized without undue risk.” He adds that the FDA is nanotechnology research “starved” and calls for the need to evaluate which nano-materials are safe and which are not.

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Nanotubes are rolled up sheets of carbon atoms measuring just one atom thick. These single-wall tubes are unusually sensitive to nearby molecules, researchers say. At Stanford University, scientists discovered that a carbon nanotube network can detect the presence of underwater toxins or explosions. Mark Roberts, a postdoctoral researcher at Sandia National Laboratories explains, “By combining our nanotube self-sorting deposition process with our ultra thin, cross-linked polymer dielectric [insulator] formulation, we’ve enabled underwater, nanotube-based chemical sensors.” This is just one of the exciting studies being done.

Researchers have discovered that carbon nanotubes in mass quantities can have a number of vital nanotechnology applications. Using large nanotube sheets, these nano-sized superstars can conduct electricity, emit light or heat, absorb solar power, create more flexible surfaces, provide even light distribution and strengthen sails. “When you have a remarkable material, it’s easy to make advances in terms of applications,” said head researcher Ray Baughman at the University of Texas, Dallas. Truly, carbon nano tubes are the way of the future.

To create a string of nanotubes, scientists assemble trillions of strings of individual carbon nano tubes, which are comprised of cylindrical sheets of carbon atoms. In the past, nano sheets were made much like paper is made, by filtering solutions full of nano tubes, peeling the nanomaterials off and letting them dry for a week. Today, lab workers can grow nano forests of bundles stacked vertically, drawing numerous tiny tubes to sheets of duct tape, producing seven meters of sheets per minute. Ray Baughman explains: “A trillion nano tubes must be automatically rotated by about 90 degrees and self-assembled in a parallel fashion for every meter-long, 7 centimeter-wide sheet that we make.”

In the future, researchers believe that nanotubes may be able to help electronic devices repair their own circuitry. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign scientists says that a crack in the circuitry could trigger capsules of carbon tubes that will effectively bridge the gap. The real benefit would likely not be seen in laptops, cell phones or iPods so much as submarines, satellites and space shuttle systems. PopSci Magazine reports other “self-healing” materials on the horizon may include rubber, concrete and paint.

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Nano technology is all around us — in our sunscreens, our clothing, our paint, our dietary supplements and our tennis rackets. These tiny particles can be used to reinforce walls, create self-cleaning surfaces and even target cancer cells! Nanomedicine is an exciting field that holds much promise for the future, as scientists discover new and innovative ways to use small particles that have the ability to seek out very specific cells and target them for destruction. So far there have been nanoparticle leads for prostate, breast and lung cancer.

Canadian researchers at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario have developed a microchip using nanomaterials that they hope will lead to a portable cancer-diagnosing device. They say the medical nanotechnology will be able to detect chemical markers indicating the presence of cancer within 30 minutes and will even be able to alert doctors to the type and severity of the cancer. So far, scientists have successfully tested the nano technology on prostate cancer patients. “The discovery by Dr. Kelley and her team offers the possibility of a faster, more cost-effective technology that could be used anywhere,” said Tom Hudson of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

Researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina are using nano technology to discover new cancer-fighting drugs. The “Lab-on-Bead” method screens millions of chemicals simultaneously, fitting 1,000 on a single strand of human hair. “This process allows the beads to do the work for you,” explains project director Jed Macosko. “By working at this scale, we will be able to screen more than a billion possible drug candidates per day as opposed to the current limit of hundreds of thousands per day.” They are using chemicals from the Université Louis Pasteur in France and, if all goes well, their findings will go commercial with nanotechnology company NanoMedica.

There are several reasons why nano technology holds such promise for the future of cancer research. For one, nanomedicine can detect molecular changes effectively — even if only a very small percentage of cells are affected. Secondly, a nano particle can actually get inside a cell, all the way down to the nucleus, to take a peek at the cell’s condition. Thirdly, clinicians will be able to run tests, without altering the cells. Lastly, the reduction of tool size allows for multiple tests to be run using one small nano device, thus making disease screening faster and more efficient.

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