Nanotechnology Now

Nanite: Machines with atomic-scale components. (Popularized by the Star Trek episode "Evolution") As to their weight, a popular question: "Do you 'feel' heavier after you drink a mouthful of water? A mouthful of water, roughly 5 cm^3, would have the same mass as a ~2 terabot (2 trillion nanites) dose of 1 micron^3 nanorobots. You'll never feel it." Robert A. Freitas Jr. "Nanobot" and "Nanorobot" usually mean the same thing.

Nanoarray: an ultra-sensitve, ultra-miniaturized array for biomolecular analysis. BioForce Nanosciences' Nanoarrays utilize approximately 1/10,000th of the surface area occupied by a conventional microarray, and over 1,500 nanoarray spots can be placed in the area occupied by a single microarray domain. [BioForce Nanosciences] See The NanoPro™ System

Nanoassembler: the Holy Grail of nanotechnology; once a perfected nanoassembler is availble, building anything becomes possible, with physics and the imagination the only limitation (of course each item would have to be designed first, which is another small hurdle). See Bootstrapping a Nanofactory "So how hard is it to build a nanofactory? You need to start with a working fabricator, a nanoscale device that can combine individual molecules into useful shapes. But once you have that, the rest is pretty straightforward." —CRN

Nanobarcode: SurroMed's Nanobarcode™ technology uses cylindrically-shaped colloidal metal nanoparticles, in which the metal composition can be alternated along the length and the size of each metal segment can be controlled. Intrinsic differences in reflectivity between the metal segments allow individual particles to be identified by conventional optical microscopy. See SurroMed and Penn State Publish Pioneering Work in the Journal Science Describing Nanobarcode™ Particles

Nanobeads: Polymer beads with diameters of between 0.1 to 10 micrometers. Also called nanodots, nanocrystals and quantum beads. Impregnating fluorescent crystal chips into these beads allows simultaneous measurement of thousands of biological interactions, a stepping stone for breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. ... with the potential to accelerate drug discovery and clinical diagnostics." See Nanodots and Local Mechanical Properties of Cells.

Nanobialys -- Ultra-miniature bialy-shaped particles developed by Washington University as delivery agents for drugs and imaging agents directly to the sites of tumors and plaques.

Nanobiotechnology: applying the tools and processes of MNT to build devices for studying biosystems, in order to learn from biology how to create better nanoscale devices. Should hasten the creation of useful micro devices that mimic living biological systems.

Nanobubbles: tiny air bubbles on colloid surfaces. Thought to reduce drag, such as would be of benefit to swimmers wearing a suit coverd in them. See First Images of Nanobubbles

Nanocatalysis See LBL-UCB Scientists Demonstrate Nanocatalysis and Nanocluster arrays refine the catalytic process

Nanochips: we are approaching the limits of standard microchip technology; thus, the "nanochip" -- a next-smaller microchip. [ed] They are also a next-gen device for mass storage, of significantly higher density, with greater speed, and much lower cost. [Tod Maffin (p)] See Getting a Line on Nanochips

Nanochondria: Nanomachines existing inside living cells, participating in their biochemistry (like mitochondria) and/or assembling various structures. See also nanosome. [Ken Clements 1996]

Nanocombinatorics: The new analytical method utilizes a technique invented at Northwestern called polymer pen lithography, where basically a rubber stamp having as many as 11 million sharp pyramids is mounted on a transparent glass backing and precisely controlled by an atomic force microscope to generate desired patterns on a surface. Each pyramid -- a polymeric pen -- is coated with molecules for a particular purpose. Nanocombinatorics holds promise for screening catalysts for energy conversion, understanding properties conferred by nanostructures, identifying active molecules for drug discovery or even optimizing materials for tissue regeneration, among other applications.

Nanocones: Nonplanar graphitic structures. Carbon-based structures with five-fold symmetry that form due to disclination defects in two-dimensional graphene sheets. They have been observed as nanotube caps and as freestanding structures. [North Carolina State University] See Nanostructures Fabrication from Carbon Nanocones

Nanocontainers: "Micellar nanocontainers" or "Micelles," these are nanoscale polymeric containers that could be used to selectively deliver hydrophobic drugs to specific sites within individual cells. See Nanocontainers deliver on drugs.

Nanocrystals: also known as nanoscale semiconductor crystals. "Nanocrystals are aggregates of anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of atoms that combine into a crystalline form of matter known as a "cluster." Typically around ten nanometers in diameter, nanocrystals are larger than molecules but smaller than bulk solids and therefore frequently exhibit physical and chemical properties somewhere in between. Given that a nanocrystal is virtually all surface and no interior, its properties can vary considerably as the crystal grows in size." [LBL] See Nanocrystals: The shapes of things to come

The first atomic-scale images of nanocrystals that help reduce pollution show a surprising triangular, rather than hexagonal, shape. The new information should help researchers improve the chemical process.

	Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 951 (2000). Atomic-Scale Structure of Single-Layer MoS2 Nanoclusters. S. Helveg, J. V. Lauritsen, E. Lægsgaard, I. Stensgaard, J. K. Nørskov, B. S. Clausen, H. Topsøe, and F. Besenbacher Thanks to Physical Review Letters & Dr. Flemming Besenbacher, University of Aarhus, Denmark © American Physical Society
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"Nanocrystals might be used to make super-strong and long-lasting metal parts. The crystals also might be added to plastics and other metals to make new types of composite structures for everything from cars to electronics." See Discovery could bring widespread uses for 'nanocrystals'. Single atoms caged inside nanocrystals gives you a "quantum confined atom", or QCA, "with potential uses ranging from clear-glass sunglasses to bio-sensors to optical computing and just about anything optical in between." See Researchers Turn Scrap to Strength with Nanocrystals.

Single-electron transistor (SET) is a three terminal device, where single electron current between a source and a drain through a nanocrystal is controlled by a gate. The nanocrystals are the tiny light specs.

	Thanks to Professor Gleb Finkelstein, Physics Department. © Duke University
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Nano Cubic Technology: an ultra-thin layer coating that results in higher resolution for recording digital data, ultra-low noise and high signal-to-noise ratios that are ideal for magneto-resistive (MR) heads. It is capable of catapulting data cartridge and digital videotape to one-terabyte native (uncompressed) capacities and floppy disk capacities to three gigabytes. To help visualize the potential, 1TB can store up to 200 two-hour movies. [Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc.]

Nanoelectronics: Electronics on a nanometer scale, whether made by current techniques or nanotechnology; includes both molecular electronics and nanoscale devices resembling today's semiconductor devices. [NTN]

Nanogate: A device that precisely meters the flow of tiny amounts of fluid. Precise control of the flow restriction is accomplished by deflecting a highly polished cantilevered plate. The opening is adjustable on a sub-nanometer scale, limited by the roughness of the polished plates. Thus, the Nanogate is an Ultra Surface Finish Effect Mechanism (USFEM). The Nanogate can be fabricated on a macro-, meso- or micro- (MEMs) scale. [James R. White]
See Nanogate: A Fundamental New Device for Nanofluidics

Nanoguitar: "Made for fun to illustrate the technology -- the world's smallest guitar is 10 micrometers long -- about the size of a single cell -- with six strings each about 50 nanometers, or 100 atoms, wide. Just one of several structures that Cornell researchers believe are the world's smallest silicon mechanical devices. Researchers made these devices at the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, bringing microelectromechanical devices, or MEMS, to a new, even smaller scale -- the nano-sized world." See World's smallest silicon mechanical devices are made at Cornell.

Smallest guitar, about the size of a human blood cell, carved out of crystalline silicon, illustrates new technology for nanosized electromechanical devices. Click for larger version Thanks to Professor Harold Craighead and Dustin Carr. © Cornell University

Nanogypsy: someone who travels form place to place, spreading the "nano" word. Usually a person who takes the most optimistic viewpoint, and is enthusitic. [uhf]

Nanohorns: One of the SWNT (single walled carbon nanotube) types, with an irregular horn-like shape, which may be a critical component of a new generation of fuel cells. "The main characteristic of the carbon nanohorns is that when many of the nanohorns group together an aggregate (a secondary particle) of about 100 nanometers is created. The advantage being, that when used as an electrode for a fuel cell, not only is the surface area extremely large, but also, it is easy for the gas and liquid to permeate to the inside. In addition, compared with normal nanotubes, because the nanohorns are easily prepared with high purity it is expected to become a low-cost raw material." See NEC uses Carbon Nanotubes to Develop a Tiny Fuel Cell for Mobile Applications and here is a TEM image.

Nanoimprinting: Sometimes called soft lithography. A technique that is very simple in concept, and totally analogous to traditional mould- or form-based printing technology, but that uses moulds (masters) with nanoscale features. As with the printing press, the potential for mass production is clear. There are two forms of nanoimprinting, one that uses pressure to make indentations in the form of the mould on a surface, the other, more akin to the printing press, that relies on the application of "ink" applied to the mould to stamp a pattern on a surface. Other techniques such as etching may then follow. [CMP]

Nanoindentation: Nanoindentation is similar to conventional hardness testing performed on a much smaller scale. The force required to press a sharp diamond indenter into a material is measured as a function of indentation depth. As depth resolution is on the scale of nanometers (hence the name of the instrument), it is possible to conduct indentation experiments even on thin films. Two quantities which can be readily extracted from nanoindentation experiments are the material's modulus, or stiffness, and its hardness, which can be correlated to yield strength. Investegators have also used nanoindentation to study creep, plastic flow, and fracture of materials. [Nix Research Group, Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University]

Nanolithography: Writing on the nanoscale. From the Greek words Nanos - Dwarf, Lithos - rock, and grapho - to write, this word literally means "small writing on rocks." [NTN] See definition in Wikipedia.

Nanomachining: like traditional machining, where portions of the structure are removed or modified, nanomachining involves changing the structure of nano-scale materials or molecules.

nanoManipulator: uses virtual reality (VR) goggles and a force feedback probe as an interface to a scanning probe microscope, providing researchers with a new way to interact with the atomic world. Researchers can travel over genes, tickle viruses, push bacteria around, and tap on molecules - the nanoManipulator simplifies the process and allows researchers to play with their atoms. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) The Nanomanipulator from the Center for Computer Integrated Systems for Microscopy and Manipulation (CISMM) at UNC Chapel Hill. Part of the Nanoscale Science Research Group (NSRG). Images & Movies with Microscopes

Nanomanipulation: The process of manipulating items at an atomic or molecular scale in order to produce precise structures. [ZY See Zyvex SEM manipulator]

Nanomaterials: can be subdivided into nanoparticles, nanofilms and nanocomposites. The focus of nanomaterials is a bottom up approach to structures and functional effects whereby the building blocks of materials are designed and assembled in controlled ways. [Oxonica]

Nano-Optics: Interaction of light and matter on the nanoscale. See University of Rochester - Institute of Optics - NANO-OPTICS GROUP

Nanopens & Nanopencils: (AKA: Atomic Pencil) "Analogous to using a quill pen but on a billionth the scale", and may transform dip-pen nanolithography. Allows for drawing electronic circuits a thousand times smaller than current ones. The "pen" is an atomic force microscope (AFM). See Nanopipettes and Nanoplotter for further details.

NanoPGM - nanometer-scale patterned granular motion: The goal of NanoPGM is to generate millions of ìnanofingers,î finger-like structures each only a few nanometers long, that might someday perform precise, massively parallel manipulation of molecules and directed assembly of other nanometer-scale objects. This ability answers one of the biggest technical challenges facing builders of nanocomputers: how to arrange as many as a trillion molecular computing components in an area only a few millimeters square. [MITRE / Alex Wissner-Gross]

Nanopharmaceuticals: nanoscale particles used to modulate drug transport for drug uptake and delivery applications.

Nanophase Carbon Materials (carbon nanotubes, nanodiamond, nanocomposite]--A form of matter in which small clusters of atoms form the building blocks of a larger structure. These structures differ from those of naturally occurring crystals, in which individual atoms arrange themselves into a lattice.

Nanopipettes: "Cantilevered/Straight Nanopipettes can be used as nanopens for controlled chemical delivery or removal from regions as small as 100 nanometers. They can also be used as vessels for containing molecules whose optical properties change in response to their chemical environment." Other uses include "controlled chemical etching with the precision of atomic force microscopy; chemical imaging of surfaces; delivering femtosecond laser pulses; and performing NSOM/SNOM imaging using a UV excimer laser." See Cantilevered/Straight Nanopipettes Modifying the nanopipette yields other nanotools, such as Nanotweezers and Nanoheaters. See Nanotools.

Nanoplotter: A multi-tip nanopen. "A device that can draw patterns of tiny lines just 30 molecules thick and a single molecule high. ... produces eight identical patterns at once and extends ... dip-pen nanolithography towards mass producing nanoscale devices and circuits by converting what was a serial process to a parallel one. May be use to "... miniaturize electronic circuits, pattern precise arrays of organic and biomolecules such as DNA and put thousands of different medical sensors on an area much tinier than the head of a pin." See Plotting Chemicals and Nanoplotter with Parallel Writing Capabilities (PDF).

Nanopores: Involves squeezing a DNA sequence between two oppositely charged fluid reservoirs, separated by an extremely small channel. Essentially itty bitty tiny holes. Nanoscopic pores found in purpose-built filters, sensors, or diffraction gratings to make them function better. See Influencing structure in the heart of nanoland. As activated carbon, they may also be used as an alternative fuel storage medium, due to their massive internal surface area. "Scientists believe nanopores, tiny holes that allow DNA to pass through one strand at a time, will make DNA sequencing more efficient." See Understanding Nanodevices -- Nanopores. In biology, they are "complex protein assemblies that span cell membranes and allow ionic transport across the otherwise impermeable lipid bilayer. Nanopores are important because while some pores help maintain cell homeostasis, others disrupt cell function." See Towards Fabrication of Solid-State Mimics of Biological Nanopores. "A nanopore can be a protein channel in a lipid bilayer or an extremely small isolated 'hole' in a thin, solid-state membrane" such that "DNA and RNA, can be registered and characterized singly ..." See Developing Nanopores as Probes and The Nanopore Project.

Nanoprobe: Nanoscale machines used to diagnose, image, report on, and treat disease within the body. See "Cell Repair Machine", "Nanites", "Nanobots", and "Nanomachine". Also: tips for scanning probe microscopes.

Courtesy of, and Copyright 1999 by Time Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
"Anatomy of a Nanoprobe" by Joe Lertola. 11/08/99 issue of Time.
Reproduction strictly prohibited without permission of Time.
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Nanosome: Nanodevices existing symbiotically inside biological cells, doing mechanosynthesis and disassembly for it and replicating with the cell. Similar to nanochondria. [AS January 1998]

Nanosprings: A nanowire wrapped into a helix. Speculation is that they "may someday make highly sensitive magnetic field detectors, perhaps finding application in hard drive read heads. Alternatively, nanosprings could serve as positioners, or even as tiny conventional springs, for nanomachines of the future." See Spiraling in on Nanosprings and Nanosprings jump into place.

Nanotechnology: a manufacturing technology able to inexpensively fabricate most structures consistent with natural law, and to do so with molecular precision. [FS]

Copyright Prof. Vincent H. Crespi Department of Physics Pennsylvania State University.
And an excellent description of Nanotubes

A one dimensional fullerene (a convex cage of atoms with only hexagonal and/or pentagonal faces) with a cylindrical shape. Carbon nanotubes discovered in 1991 by Sumio Iijima resemble rolled up graphite, although they can not really be made that way. Depending on the direction that the tubes appear to have been rolled (quantified by the 'chiral vector'), they are known to act as conductors or semiconductors. Nanotubes are a proving to be useful as molecular components for nanotechnology. [Encyclopedia Nanotech]

Strictly speaking, any tube with nanoscale dimensions, but generally used to refer to carbon nanotubes (a commonly mentioned non-carbon variety is made of boron nitride), which are sheets of graphite rolled up to make a tube. The dimensions are variable (down to 0.4 nm in diameter) and you can also get nanotubes within nanotubes, leading to a distinction between multi-walled and single-walled nanotubes. Apart from remarkable tensile strength, nanotubes exhibit varying electrical properties (depending on the way the graphite structure spirals around the tube, and other factors), and can be insulating, semiconducting or conducting (metallic). [CMP]

See Nanobeam Mechanics: Elasticity, Strength, and Toughness of Nanorods and Nanotubes and
Fullerene Nanotubes: C_1,000,000 and Beyond. Boris I. Yakobson and Richard E. Smalley.

and here Carbon Nanotubes in Space

"Maybe the most significant spin-off product of fullerene research....are nanotubes based on carbon or other elements. These systems consist of graphitic sheets seamlessly wrapped to cylinders. With only a few nanometers in diameter, yet (presently) up to a millimeter long, the length-to-width aspect ratio is extremely high. A truly molecular nature is unprecedented for macroscopic devices of this size. Accordingly, the number of both specialized and large-scale applications is growing constantly."
See [The Nanotube Site]

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