Bogotá / Issues – Nanoscience and nanotechnology can be considered as an inevitable consequence of the evolution of knowledge and the instrumental capability to explore the composition, organization and behavior of matter at the nanoscale level. The prefix “nano” refers to scales of one billionth of a meter. Many of the processes that enable matter to assemble from atoms and molecules in structures belonging to the range in reference in order to limit the objects that nanoscience studies (between one and a hundred nanometers) have proved to have interesting physical and chemical properties, which cannot be observed in matter at larger scales. Besides the composition, these properties depend upon the number of atoms that form the structure (a few atoms can mark the difference), the shape and the area of the surface (which is dominant over the volume).

 

The innovative and interesting properties of matter at the nanoscale level have caused growing interest in the study and development of new materials, devices and systems with self-assembling capacity within a context of biological imitation. This opens a route towards potential applications in medicine, communications, computing, agriculture, car, textile, electronic and building industries, among others, as well as solutions to problems related to the environment, health and energy, which are critical for society. Great changes will take place in the management of knowledge, in the way scientific work is carried out and in the relationship between investigation, innovation and technological production.

 

Between 1999 and 2000, nanotechnology starts to make its appearance as a crucial emerging field for the definition of scientific and technological development policies and it is recognized as the element responsible for the second industrial revolution. From that period on and in a context of investment and leadership capacity, some countries start to elaborate initiatives to promote and finance training and investigation in nanoscience and nanotechnology, considered the strategic routes to avoid loss in competitiveness and development in science and technology in the medium and long terms. A measure of the degree of evolution of the initiatives and participation in the investigative infrastructure in this emerging field can be carried out from the bibliometric analysis which enables to draw growth maps in the number of publications, as well as the dispersion of the “nano” in the different areas of knowledge. The result is that publications concerning nanoscience and nanotechnology double approximately every five years. In 2001, there were thirty thousand publications that fall into the “nano” field; in 2005, sixty thousand. Moreover, it is worth nothing the increasing publication of books and new magazines that specialize in nanoscience and nanotechnology which have an outstanding impact (reflected in the average number of quotes from magazine articles). Nanoscience and nanotechnology magazines that stand out (among others) from the fifty specialized magazines are: Nature Nanotechnology (20.571), Nano Letters (10.370), Nano Today (8.795), Small (6.400), ACS Nano (5.472). On the other hand, in response to the nature of the field of knowledge that characterizes nanoscience, there is a clear tendency of multidisciplinary work in the nanoscale which can be identified in specialized publications. Finding papers that derive from the combined participation of investigators from areas such as chemistry, physics, biology, medical sciences, mathematics, computing and engineering is recurrent. Another outstanding feature is that “nano” focuses in the science of materials, which can be qualified as a macrodiscipline that favors the integration of knowledge with a close interconnection to natural and medical sciences and engineering.

 

In relation to the participation of the productive sector in the development of applications based in nanoscience and nanotechnology (which, on the global level equals 50% versus 32% of universities and investigation centers), the inventoried products that derive from nanotechnology have grown over 380% in the last four years. From 54 “nano” products in 2005, the number grew to 1,015 in 2009. According to Fortune magazine, most of the 500 largest companies in the world have invested in the nanotechnology investigation and development, in response to the expectations of a market that will be close to three trillion dollars by 2015.

 

Commercial benefits deriving from the potential nanotechnological applications have increased the request for patents, which in many cases block wide areas of nanotechnology and because of their cost favor monopolies of intellectual property. One of the most important patents granted in nanotechnology, related to metal oxide compound nanowires, managed to include 33 elements of the periodic table, with a range of applications such that it leaves practically no space for other possible requests in this area. Let’s recall the case of physicist Glenn Seaborg, who was granted the patent for two elements of the periodic table: americium and curium.

 

Apart from the issue of the patents, the rapid increase in the commercialization of nanotechnology has put forward an important debate concerning regulation and responsible use, in relation to the level of knowledge we have about the toxicity and the environmental impact of nanostructured materials that are being used.

 

One specific case is the generalized use of silver nanoparticles, which are included in the elaboration of personal care products, clothing and electric appliances, to name a few, due to is bactericide properties. In 2009, there were 259 products based in silver nanostructures, and there were 65 companies from eleven countries involved in the design and manufacture of these products. Faced with this speedy implementation and production of goods derived from the silver nano boom, prudence would suggest to wait for the results of investigations concerning the complete “life” cycle of the particle, as well as the reasons why there have been some cases of toxicity. On the other hand, it is worth noting that among the numerous benefits that silver nanoparticles offer, without higher risks than those of conventional materials, is the 12% increase in the efficiency of solar panels, as well as a significant reduction in production costs.

 

Another striking case is the use of carbon nanostructures, which because of their innovative properties stand out as a source of phenomenological wealth and attractive for the areas of investigation and development.

 

Undoubtedly, carbon technology will have an outstanding place in the applications of the future. Four years ago, when our nanoscience group was investigating the cytotoxic effects of carbon nanotubes in tumorous cells as potential therapeutic tools, a huge problem that we faced was the persistence of these entities inside the biological environment once their task was accomplished. Carbon nanotubes can be highly toxic and cause counterproductive effects in the hypothetical case of a future use in human beings. We know today, thanks to the results obtained by investigators associated to the Nanoimmune project (European project financed with 3,36 million) that carbon nanotubes can be dissolved through the action of an enzyme which can be found in leukocytes. This could solve the problem of the decomposition of these entities in the biological environment and enhance the possibility of its implementation as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer.

 

One of United Nations millennium development goals for 2015 is the reduction by 50% of the number of people who lack potable water. Several solutions are being implemented in order to achieve such an ambitious goal, among others, the implementation of innovative strategies with the use of nanostructures for the removal of contaminants such as arsenic, mercury, pesticides, bacteria, viruses and salts. The use of nanoparticles is quickly becoming an alternative for the efficient removal of this kind of biotic and a-biotic contaminants. For example, titanium oxide nanoparticles can degrade organic contaminants; silver particles can efficiently eliminate bacterial contaminants; nanofilters made of carbon nanotubes or nanostructured membranes can create physical barriers that prevent water-dissolved salts to pass through or the elimination of biotic contaminants (bacteria and viruses). Likewise, magnetic nanoparticles can be used for the removal or arsenic or oil which can be easily collected with external magnetic fields, and gold particles can be used for the removal of mercury.

 

Once the toxic effects have been evaluated and the strategies of recollection and reutilization of nanoparticles have been solved, it will be possible to apply economically feasible solutions that contribute to the repair water resources safely. Active participation of universities and investigation centers committed to the environment and the ecosystem is urgently required in order to face the challenges posed by the innovation and development of nanomaterial assisted systems that enable facing the task of cleaning waters.

 

The expectations generated by the nanoscale revolution, particularly the impact it can have in the improvement of living conditions in a society of knowledge has made nanotechnology become a technological platform with strategic investigation agendas that favor the development of technological initiatives and the capacity to summon entrepreneurial organizations, investigation centers and universities around a common objective: innovation, development and competitiveness. We can speak of the opening of a strategic route of investigation, innovation and development, where it is necessary to involve a critical mass of components of society in order to ensure its dynamic and evolution.

 

One great impact field and a strategic motor of development which can be implemented in our country is the production of nanomateriales (one of the most active areas of nanoscience). The synthesis of nanostructures is very easy on infrastructure, as well as pertinent to the interdisciplinary investigation and development in sciences and engineering. Results obtained are of very good quality and can be useful to a wide range of areas of investigation: sensors, nanomedicine, electronics, textile and construction industries, agriculture, environment, energy, etc. Phenomenology and theoretical, experimental and computing works are substantially nurtured. There have been a large number of high impact publications about production, functionalization, characterization and application of nanostructures. This work is useless without the characterization phase, which unfortunately requires the use of highly expensive equipment. It is in this direction where efforts have to be made between the different academic institutions in order to coordinate the combined investment oriented at the acquisition of characterization equipments, as well as the adequate supply of efficient maintenance and services, including coverage.

 

It is urgent to implement university and postgraduate courses in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Some areas of knowledge must be modernized and updated, and others must be implemented, alongside the production of texts with the right orientations and contents. At the Grupo de Investigación de Nanopartículas of the ICN we are already working on the elaboration of material for the postgraduate education in the area of nanostructures, production, properties, characterization and applications.

 

On the other hand, it is necessary to include engineering in the teaching of chemistry, biology, fluid science and colloid science, areas of knowledge which together with physical sciences and mathematics are becoming fundamental for a basic and competent education facing the challenges put forward by the nanoscale revolution.

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Edgar González. Professor-researcher of the Department of Physics of the Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá. Physicist, Master in Theoretical Physics and PhD candidate. Researcher in areas related with nanoscience and nanotechnology of nanostructures: synthesis, characterization, physical properties, and new materials, nanosensors, nanoscience and nanotechnologies in the health issues. Article published in Javeriana magazine, www.javeriana.edu.co