Twenty years ago, IBM scientist Don Eigler jiggled the first atom to spell out the letters IBM using 35 xenon atoms and thus, created the nanotechnology movement. “Don Eigler’s accomplishment remains, to this day, one of the most important breakthroughs in nanoscience and technology,” said T.C. Chen, VP of Science & Technology at IBM Research. “At the time, the implications of this achievement were so far-reaching they almost seemed like science fiction. But now, 20 years later, it’s clear that this was a defining moment.” Today there are a number of uses for nanomaterials that will undoubtedly revolutionize our lives in many ways.
In Europe, Dutch food scientist Frans Kampers is making a presentation titled: What Nanotechnology Can Do for the Average Donut. He explains that a nanoparticle can re-engineer ingredients to bring healthy nutrients to the body more efficiently, while ensuring that less-desirable components pass on. European scientists are creating structures within foods that will deliver specific nutrients to specific locations in the body for the most beneficial effects. “We are basically creating nano-structures in food that are designed to fall apart in your body because of digestion so in the end there will not be nanoparticles,” Kampers explains. Yet, he admits, there are some people who are fearful of the nanotechnology applications. For instance, if persistent metal or metal oxide particles are used in food packaging, there is some worry that they may be able to migrate through the bloodstream, into the cells and into the nucleuses. “These are the more controversial applications of nanotechnology,” Kampers adds. “More research is necessary to understand the kinetics and dynamics of these particles before large-scale applications in food are developed. At the moment, these types of nanoparticles are rarely used in food products.”
Researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory have used nanotechnology to develop a powerful sensor capable of detecting airborne pathogens like anthrax, smallpox, plague, tularemia and E coli — in less than three minutes. This device has been dubbed PANTHER (for Pathogens Notification for Threatening Environmental Releases) and is more advanced than any other sensor currently out there. Most products take 20 minutes to detect harmful bacteria and viruses, but this sensor can pick up a positive reading with as little as 24 particles per liter of air. “There’s really nothing out there that compares with this,” said Todd Rider of Lincoln Lab’s Biosensor and Molecular Technologies Group, who says that he hopes the nano electronics sensors can be used in subways, buildings and other public places in the near future.
University of Michigan scientists are also using nanotechnology to treat serious burns and infections by using “nanoemulsion cream.” Scientists say this cream works one-thousand-fold better than nothing or placebos at penetrating the skin, killing off harmful bacteria and reducing inflammatory agents like cytokines. Uses for nanoemulsions that are in their final clinical trial phases include: cold sores, toenail fungus, cystic fibrosis infections and influenza vaccines. Before nanomaterials can be used in burn medicine, there will need to be more studies over the course of the healing process.
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