● Research in Nanotechnology

The reaseraches in nanotechnology can be studied under 4 heads, they are the current forms of researches and the information regarding them is gathered from wikipedia, in this blog I have discussed only about the nanomaterials, the information regarding the other heads will be published soon.
A)NANOMATERIALS:
This includes subfields which develop or study materials having unique properties arising from their nanoscale dimensions.
interface and colloidal science has given the idea of many substances which can be successfully applied to the field of nanotechnology such as carbon nanotubes and other fullerenes apart from various naoparticles and nanorods.
nanoscale materials can also be applied in case of bulk applications, the most recent commercial applications of nanotechnology are currently dealing with this aspect.Nanomedicines are an important application of such materials.Its aspects will soon be shown in this blog.
There are many terms used there where certain terms will seem alien to all of my age, so all those terms need proper explanation, they are described below:

1.INTERFEACE AND COLLOIDAL SCIENCE:they are a branch of chemistry dealing with colloids, heterogeneous systems which constitute particles whcih are in a mechanical mixture and has dimensions ranging from 1nm to 100nm and remains dispersed in a continuous dispersive medium.
2.CARBON NANOTUBES: they are the allotropes of carbon, that have nanostructure and whose length to diameter ratio is about 1000000.they are cylindrical carbon molecules that possess certain properties which make them useful applications in the field of nanotechnology, electronics and other branhces of material science. they also find useful applications in the fields of architecture. they have extraordinary strength and are excellent conductors of heat and electricity.inorganic nanotubes presently have also been synthesized
3.FULLERENES: although this term is familiar to everybody , but I still need to have some concepts clarified. they are the allotropes of carbon that are composed of carbon molecules which are arranged in a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, tube or plain like structure
4.NANOPARTICLES: particles which behave as a whole unit in terms of its property and transport, their size remains between 1-100nm.they belong to the clan of ultrafine particles and their size can be restricted to 2 dimensions , as told once they may or may not show size related intensive properties as shown by fine particles (100-250 nm) or bulk particles.
5..NANORODS:they are one type of nanoparticles that have length is to width ratio 3-5. they can be synthesised by direct chemical synthesis.

6.NANOMEDICINES: this topic needs a lot of discussion, but it done shortly here.it involves the medical application of nanotechnology involving medical uses of nanomaterials, nanoelectronic biosensors and some future applications of molecular nanotechnolgy( this topic will be discussed in details in some other blogs following this).nanomedicine seeks to deliver a variety of reasearch tools and some clinically beneficial devices in the near future.the nanomedicine research is directly funded by the US NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH in 2005 following a 5 year plan , to set up 4 nanomedicine centres. according to the information published in NATURE JOURNAL in april 2006, about 130 nano-bsed drugs and delivery systems are being developed world wide. Nanomedicine is a large industry, with nanomedicine sales reaching 6.8 billion dollars in 2004, and with over 200 companies and 38 products worldwide, a minimum of 3.8 billion dollars in nanotechnology R&D is being invested every year. As the nanomedicine industry continues to grow, it is expected to have a significant impact on the economy.the medical uses of nanomaterials are: a]drug delivery, b] cancer treatment, c]surgery,d]visualization,e]nanoparticle targeting..etc.
It is greatly observed that nanoparticles are promising tools for the advancement of drug delivery,medical imaging and as diagonostic sensors.. However, the biodistribution of these nanoparticles is mostly unknown due to the difficulty in targeting specific organs in the body. Current research in the excretory systems of mice, however, shows the ability of gold composites to selectively target certain organs based on their size and charge. These composites are encapsulated by a dendrimer and assigned a specific charge and size. Positively-charged gold nanoparticles were found to enter the kidneys while negatively-charged gold nanoparticles remained in the liver and spleen. It is suggested that the positive surface charge of the nanoparticle decreases the rate of osponization of nanoparticles in the liver, thus affecting the excretory pathway. Even at a relatively small size of 5nm , though, these particles can become compartmentalized in the peripheral tissues, and will therefore accumulate in the body over time. While advancement of research proves that targeting and distribution can be augmented by nanoparticles, the dangers of nanotoxicity become an important next step in further understanding of their medical uses..


Contributed by
SAYAN SENGUPTA
ECE
TECHNO INDIA
EMAIL-chapta.sayan@gmail.com