Nanotechnology is a "catch-all" description of activities at the level of atoms and molecules that have applications in the real world. A nanometer is a billionth of a metre, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair, or 10 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. Nanotechnology is now used in precision engineering, new materials development as well as in electronics; electromechanical systems as well as mainstream biomedical applications in areas such as gene therapy, drug delivery and novel drug discovery techniques. This book presents the latest research in this frontier field.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.Considered the next industrial revolution, nanotechnology is an exciting field with new advances being reported regularly. It is a very diverse and highly interdisciplinary field, involving the science and engineering fields. Nanotechnolgy deals with the smallest building blocks of matter and inv

Nanotechnology has become one of the defining ideas in global R&D over the past decade. In 2001 the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) was established as the U.S. government interagency program for coordinating nanotechnology research and development across deferral agencies and facilitating communication and collaborative activities in nanoscale science, engineering, and technology across the federal government. The 26 federal agencies that participate in the NNI collaborate to (1) advance world-class nanotechnology research and development; (2) foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public benefit; (3) develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce and the supporting infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology; and (4) support the responsible development of nanotechnology. As part of the third triennial review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the Committee on Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative: Phase II was asked to provide advice to the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office in three areas: Task 1 - Examine the role of the NNI in maximizing opportunities to transfer selected technologies to the private sector, provide an assessment of how well the NNI is carrying out this role, and suggest new mechanisms to foster transfer of technologies and improvements to NNI operations in this area where warranted. Task 2 - Assess the suitability of current procedures and criteria for determining progress towards NNI goals, suggest definitions of success and associated metrics, and provide advice on those organizations (government or non-government) that could perform evaluations of progress. Task 3 - Review NNI's management and coordination of nanotechnology research across both civilian and military federal agencies. Interim Report for the Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, Phase II offers initial comment on the committee's approach to Task 2 and offers initial comments on the current procedures and criteria for determining progress toward and achievement of the desired outcomes.

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) was created in 2000 to focus and coordinate the nanoscience and nanotechnology research and development (R&D) activities being funded by several federal agencies. The purpose of the NNI is to marshal these research activities in order to accelerate responsible development and deployment of nanotechnology for economic benefit and national security. To take stock of the progress of the NNI, Congress, in P. L. 108-153, the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, directed the National Research Council to carry out a review of the program every three years. This report presents the results of the first of those reviews, which addresses the economic impact of nanotechnology developments and provides a benchmark of U.S. R&D efforts relative to those undertaken by foreign competitors. In addition, the report offers an assessment of the current status of responsible development of nanotechnology and comments on the feasibility of molecular self-assembly.

Nanoscale science and technology, often referred to as "nanoscience" or "nanotechnology," are science and engineering enabled by our relatively new ability to manipulate and characterize matter at the level of single atoms and small groups of atoms. This capability is the result of many developments in the last two decades of the 20th century, including inventions of scientific instruments like the scanning tunneling microscope. Using such tools, scientists and engineers have begun controlling the structure and properties of materials and systems at the scale of 10?9 meters, or 1/100,000 the width of a human hair. Scientists and engineers anticipate that nanoscale work will enable the development of materials and systems with dramatic new properties relevant to virtually every sector of the economy, such as medicine, telecommunications, and computers, and to areas of national interest such as homeland security. Indeed, early products based on nanoscale technology have already found their way into the marketplace and into defense applications. In 1996, as the tremendous scientific and economic potential of nanoscale science and technology was beginning to be recognized, a federal interagency working group formed to consider creation of a national nanotechnology initiative (NNI). As a result of this effort, around $1 billion has been directed toward NNI research since the start of FY 2001. At the request of officials in the White House National Economic Council and agencies that are participating in NNI, the National Research Council (NRC) agreed to review the NNI. The Committee for the Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative was formed by the NRC and asked to consider topics such as the current research portfolio of the NNI, the suitability of federal investments, and interagency coordination efforts in this area.

Nanotechnology is enabling applications in materials, microelectronics, health, and agriculture, which are projected to create the next big shift in production, comparable to the industrial revolution. Such major shifts always co-evolve with social relationships. This book focuses on how nanotechnologies might affect equity/equality in global society. Nanotechnologies are likely to open gaps by gender, ethnicity, race, and ability status, as well as between developed and developing countries, unless steps are taken now to create a different outcome. Organizations need to change their practices, and cultural ideas must be broadened if currently disadvantaged groups are to have a more equal position in nano-society rather than a more disadvantaged one. Economic structures are likely to shift in the nano-revolution, requiring policymakers and participatory processes to invent new institutions for social welfare, better suited to the new economic order than those of the past.

Advances in physics, molecular biology, and computer science are converging on the capacity to control, with molecular precision, the structure and function of matter. These twenty original contributions provide the first broad-based multidisciplinary definition and examination of the revolutionary new discipline of molecular engineering, or nanotechnology. They address both the promise as well as the economic, environmental, and cultural challenges of this emerging atomic-scale technology. Leaders in their field describe current technologies that feed into nanotechnology - atomic imaging and positioning, protein engineering, and the de novo, design and synthesis of self-assembling molecular structures. They present development strategies for coordinating recent work in chemistry, biotechnology, and scanning-probe microscopy in order to successfully design and engineer molecular systems. They also explore advances in molecular and quantum electronics as well as reversible computational systems and the fundamental physical constraints on computation. Additional chapters discuss research efforts in Japan and present the prospects of nanotechnology as seen from the perspective of a microtechnologist. The final section looks at the implications of success, including the prospects of enormous computational power and the radical consequences of molecular mechanical systems in the fields of medicine and life extension. Contributors Robert Birge. Federico Capasso. BC Crandall. K. Eric Drexler. Gregory Fahy. Richard Feynman. John Foster. Tracy Handel. Bill Joy. Arthur Kantrowitz. Joseph Mallon. Norman Margolus. Ralph Merkle. Lester Milbrath. Gordon Tullock. Hiroyuki Sasabe. Michael Ward

Nanotechnology in biology and medicine: Research advancements & future perspectives is focused to provide an interdisciplinary, integrative overview on the developments made in nanotechnology till date along with the ongoing trends and the future prospects. It presents the basics, fundamental results/current applications and latest achievements on nanobiotechnological researches worldwide scientific era. One of the major goals of this book is to highlight the multifaceted issues on or surrounding of nanotechnology on the basis of case studies, academic and theoretical articles, technology transfer (patents and copyrights), innovation, economics and policy management. Moreover, a large variety of nanobio-analytical methods are presented as a core asset to the early career researchers. This book has been designed for scientists, academician, students and entrepreneurs engaged in nanotechnology research and development. Nonetheless, it should be of interest to a variety of scientific disciplines including agriculture, medicine, drug and food material sciences and consumer products. Features It provides a thoroughly comprehensive overview of all major aspects of nanobiotechnology, considering the technology, applications, and socio-economic context It integrates physics, biology, and chemistry of nanosystems It reflects the state-of-the-art in nanotechnological research (biomedical, food, agriculture) It presents the application of nanotechnology in biomedical field including diagnostics and therapeutics (drug discovery, screening and delivery) It also discusses research involving gene therapy, cancer nanotheranostics, nano sensors, lab-on-a-chip techniques, etc. It provides the information about health risks of nanotechnology and potential remedies. It offers a timely forum for peer-reviewed research with extensive references within each chapter

Public institutions, academic researchers and financial analysts among others hail nanotechnologies as one of the most promising sectors of social and economic development. Calculations predict that it will become a trillion euro industry by 2015 and that it will bring about economic change of at least the same magnitude as the industrial revolution. Nanotechnology is recent, younger by some thirty years than biotechnology, but it appears at a point in time in human history where there is a convergence between the globalization of access to information and increasing awareness of the importance of sustainable development. Nanotechnology and Sustainable Development explores the ways in which this convergence leads to a change in the management of innovation âe" and ultimately a reshaping of technological democracy. The scope of the study is global, with a particular focus on Europe and the United States, utilizing several case studies of stakeholders including entrepreneurs, commentators, end users, scientists, and policy makers.

Nanotechnology is a 'catch-all' description of activities at the level of atoms and molecules that have applications in the real world. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair, or 10 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. Nanotechnology is now used in precision engineering, new materials development as well as in electronics; electromechanical systems as well as mainstream biomedical applications in areas such as gene therapy, drug delivery and novel drug discovery techniques. This book present simportant breakthroughs in the field from around the world.