1. Andrew Underwood
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................................. 2
FOOD/FARMING/FOOD PRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 2
NANO-FARMING ................................................................................................................................... 2
NANO-PACKAGING .............................................................................................................................. 3
SMART FOODS AND SMART PRODUCTS ........................................................................................ 3
HEALTH CARE/MEDICINE ...................................................................................................................... 4
NANOTECH HEALTH CARE ................................................................................................................ 4
NANOMEDICINES ................................................................................................................................. 4
NANOROBOTS ....................................................................................................................................... 5
NANOSURGERY .................................................................................................................................... 5
MANUFACTURING THE FUTURE .......................................................................................................... 6
NANOMANUFACTURING .................................................................................................................... 6
GREY GOO .............................................................................................................................................. 7
PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND ACCEPTANCE ...................................................................................... 7
CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................................... 7
SOURCES .................................................................................................................................................... 9
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ABSTRACT
Molecular manufacturing “Nanotechnology” has already touched many parts of our lives, food, clothing,
computers, cosmetics and health care. The future promises more of the same but in a much bigger or
smaller ways. From self cleaning windows, smart foods, cheap and efficient energy, smart surfaces, faster
computers, to changing our basic human appearance and the chance to clean up our world from toxic
waste. Nanotechnology is not the yellow brick road leading us to a perfect utopian society. With the
power to create at an atomic level in our hands, we will also have that same power to destroy. Future safe
guards must be put in place to help us avoid manufacturing ourselves right out of existence.
FOOD/FARMING/FOOD PRODUCTION
The next areas will address what the possible near future will hold in the arena of farming, the types of
foods that will be available and the methods that farmers will use to get the most out of their efforts.
NANO-FARMING
It has been a long term goal of farmers all over the world to get the most out of their farms while putting
the least into them. Over the last decade, nanotechnology has played a major role in helping farmers
achieve those goals. That methodology of incorporating nanotechnology in agriculture has been widely
adopted in Europe, Japan and the USA under the title of Controlled Environment Agriculture. (Joseph &
Morrison, 2006)
The process of delivering pesticides and herbicides in the past has been through broadcast spray dispersal
or time released crystals. This system is at best are minimally effective; most of the treatment is washed
away or does not make it to the plant. This then requires the farmer to repeatedly treat the crops and that
leads to the possible contamination of the soil and water. (Moaveni, Karimi&Valojerdi, 2011)
Examples of target pesticides come from Syngenta, BASF Bayer Crop Science. By harnessing nano-scale
materials scientist can create smart delivery systems called “Gutbusters” which are microcapsules that
contain the pesticide and will only break open on the inside of the insects stomach that they are targeted
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to destroy. The pesticide that has been encapsulated will stay inert until then thus reducing the risk of
possible contamination of the soil and water. (Lyons, 2010)
Other possibilities exist by the combination of Nano and bio techniques. Improvements in the genetic
engineering of plants will create greater control when making new variations of plants and crops. The
future prospects beyond that of just tweaking the DNA of plants and animals will be creating brand a new
species of plants and animals. (Scrinis& Lyons, 2007)
NANO-PACKAGING
Future developments in nanotechnology will allow the use of active and intelligent packaging. Food
packaging that will alert the buyer of the possibility that the food has spoiled or the detection of toxins,
bacteria or allergens. Other possibilities will be packaging that will (Zweep, 2010)
Additional future uses for food and product packaging would be for self-repairing system, which would
fix small holes and tears. RFID sensors embedded in Nano-barcodes would alert the customer to
potential problems with their product and would allow the product to be tracked after it has left the store.
(Joseph & Morrison, 2006) A concern over security is prompting the further developments of nano-
sensors to detect viruses and poison. The reason is to increase the security level protection of food and
animal feed from manufacturing, to processing, and shipping. Further uses of this technology would be
for supermarkets to monitor products and expiration dates and inventory control. (Scrinis& Lyons, 2007)
SMART FOODS AND SMART PRODUCTS
It has been over the last decade that nanotechnology in the food industry has started to look into the
aspect of “On-Demand” or “Smart Foods.” Scientist are looking forward to when foods can be tailored
to the customer’s needs and wants. These custom foods can be adjusted to the color, taste and nutritional
needs of the consumer. These customized nano foods would remain dormant until released by the
customer. (Joseph & Morrison, 2006)
Along with the future customization of foods, we have other smart products like textiles in the clothing
industry. A few of the biggest advances that have will be seen in the next few years will be the area of
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Nano-fibers. These molecular fibers are stronger and lighter than steel which opens up many doors in the
manufacturing field. Other aspects of creating products from these carbon nano-fibers are the ability to
withstand high temperatures, which makes them great for heat resistant applications. Future products
would include active programmable materials, that when used in the manufacture of clothing would allow
the consumer to increase or decrease the size as needed and change colors to the colors the consumer
desires. Another practical application of these smart materials would appear only when the person was in
need of medical care; these nano-materials would be able to provide immediate delivery of medication to
the wound. (Forrest, 2010)
HEALTH CARE/MEDICINE
This next section will deal mostly in how nanotechnology will impact humanity as a whole. The
treatment of disease, surgery, and raises questions as to what constitutes life and how far can or will we
go in changing that definition.
NANOTECH HEALTH CARE
When it comes to health care, nanotechnology will see the biggest impact. The development of nano-
imaging crystals will enable doctors to more accurately detect disease causing microorganisms. They will
also make it easier for doctors to detect and track cancerous cells at the very earliest stages of tumors.
(Saniotis, 2008) Another direction that Doctors are looking in regards to nanotech health care and that is
instead of killing the aberrant cells they are looking at ways to fix the cells one cell at a time. The goal is
to preserve and to re-build our organ systems, in lieu of destroy and replace. (Bhowmik, Chiranjib,
Tripathi, Kumar, 2010)
NANOMEDICINES
Nanotechnology in the medicinal arena will also carry a big impact in how we treat sickness. The devices
that we use will be at a molecular level with a high degree of control and precision. Targeted medicines
will be created to hit just the sight of disease instead of flooding the entire human system. (Saini,
Sharma, 2010) The biggest concern in the medicinal arena is the ability of these nano-machines to cross
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biological barriers. What happens to these nano-particles once they have penetrated the cell or crossed
the blood brain barrier? At what point is toxicity going to be a problem? How many of these nano-
machines will the human body tolerate? At this point in time we do not have long term models showing
how the human body handles a build up on Nano-particles. (Canavan, 2011)
NANOROBOTS
It has been proposed that the greatest advancements in nanomedicine will happen around 2020. The
“Nanorobot”, a complete carbon fiber molecular robot with onboard sensors, motors, power supplies and
molecular pincers, will forever change the way we do medical care and surgery in the future.
Microbivores could be the sentinels of the blood stream, patrolling and looking for unwanted bacteria and
viruses. What used to take weeks and months to cure could take a matter of hours. (Freitas, 2005)
Skin treatments and wound care a nano scale will be another area that will see changes. The use of
Biopolymers in wound dressing materials and woven fabrics will help in reducing infection and future
scaring. Additional features of this technology would also include fluid absorption, blood clotting, and
non-allergenic. (Nasir, 2008)
NANOSURGERY
Nanosurgery could be self guided through preprogrammed Nanorobots or guided by a human surgeon.
With a various array of nanotools at their disposal, the nanorobot could perform functions such as
diagnosis of infected areas, correcting internal bleeding such as ulcers, clearing of clogged arteries, and so
on. (Freitas, 2005) The possibility for future uses of Nanosurgery could hold the potential of changing
the very physical appearance of a person, in addition to the re-growth of internal and external organs.
(Meetoo, 2001)
There are a few things to consider when it comes to treating the human being. At what point do you treat
a person using nanotechnology. What do you consider a sickness and what makes us human. How many
cells must be of cancerous nature before it is considered cancer? How far do you go in fixing someone?
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These are the fundamental questions that physicians will have to answer in the future. (Bawa, Johnson,
2007)
MANUFACTURING THE FUTURE
This area concerns how the future could look in the manufacturing sector and asks the question, is
humanity ready for it? What steps will be required for humanity to set aside the fear of what could happen
and instead concentrate on what can happen.
NANOMANUFACTURING
The future of Nanotechnology is pretty straight forward, faster computers, stronger materials, better ways
to treat sickness, and manufacturing with minimal waste by-products. When it comes to the
manufacturing sector this is another area that will see a tremendous shift in how things are done. Just
imagine a product being created one atom at a time through the use of billions of assemblers. This is very
different than the manufacturing that we do today. Today we take raw materials and add or take away
from that raw material in order to make it do or become something else. Waste in various forms is always
a by-product of manufacturing because of the steps necessary to create something from something else.
When you arrange on the atomic scale a product you are building from either the ground up or the top
down at a quality and repeatability level that is unheard of today. This method leaves very little if any
wastes and the quality is near perfect. (Drexler, 2006)
The progression of nanotechnology is based on the availability of the tools and technology we have on
hand right now. In order to constructed on a molecular level you have to first have the tools to do so. As
better tools are created, the further the advance in nano-manufacturing will occur. Our first steps really
began between 2000 and 2005 where we took the first steps of passive nano-structures; which means we
created usable structures on a molecular scale. We then took another step from 2005 – 2010 and started
to create active nano-structures, smart systems that could be programmed to do mundane tasks and report
back information gathered. What can we expect in 2010 – 2015 – and beyond? Nano-tools that build
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machines that will build intelligent atomic devices, a true melding of human-machine interface. (Saxton,
2007)
GREY GOO
Nanotechnologies run amuck? Grey Goo was first termed back in 1986 by Eric Drexler “Engines of
Creation” is a term that denotes a technological process by which nanorobots self-replicate. In order to
self-replicate they require raw materials and those raw materials are found all around us, the resulting
process creates grey goo (or a nanobot swarm). The nightmare scenario is that we would create a
runaway self-replicating machine that would turn into a plague and destroy all life, turning everything
into Grey Goo. (Jones, 2004)
PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND ACCEPTANCE
Change is not always accepted nor is it quick to enter the market. So it has been with the acceptance of
Nanotechnology. Genetically modified (GM) foods are one such advancement that has had problems
entering the worlds food markets, with some countries outright banning the sale of GM foods. Early
education showing future, tangible benefits will be key in the whole sale acceptance of these new
technologies. It will be the lack of these tangible benefits that will keep the public hesitant in accepting
nanotechnology. (Siegrist, 2009) Even though for the most part the US has been accepting of
nanotechnology much of Europe has been contained in their acceptance. Most of the reasons behind this
division of acceptance were primarily due to the lack of knowledge or the understanding of technology
behind nano and the inherent risk that might be associated with it. Still citizens hope that nanomedicine
will live up to some of the claims that it will help in the cure of disease and improve the quality of life.
(Burri & Bellucci, 2007)
CONCLUSIONS
Time, time will be the deciding factor of nanotechnology and how far we will go, how much we will
create and what we will change. The fear mongering of 10 years ago, “Grey Goo” nano-machines run
amuck is only based at this point on our lack of understanding. Nature has already shown us the way
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through the natural process of decay and corrosion. Nothing is absolutely immune to the effects of decay
and corrosion, but with nano-machines (dis-assemblers) we can do it faster. No more land filled public
parks to worry about, all that un-tapped disposable waste waiting to be useful again.
The ability to create anything through nano-machines (assemblers) that can be designed without the
hassles of traditional manufacturing problems and waste by-products could truly be the next golden age
for humanity. From an ethical standpoint are we ready? From a global perspective the better question is,
can we afford to wait? Once we have created the machines to build our designs do we then decide what
we will build? These are the ethical questions that are being asked throughout the world, and the
possibilities are endless. All areas that impact our lives at this moment will be affected. It is no longer a
matter of if this will happen but a matter of when.
We have already seen a direct impact from cosmetics applications to water repellant fabrics with patents
for many more applications waiting in the wings for development. Countries around the globe are
working to see who is first to develop the next best thing or process. If control of this new technology is
to be had, then it must come on a global level and with education being the forefront of the process. It is
important that the public is educated to the complete picture that nanotechnology is painting. We cannot
sit on the side lines and with the attitude of “Don’t worry be happy” (Bobby McFerrin, Sept. 1988) we
need to understand the complete picture.
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SOURCES
Joseph , T., & Morrison, M. (2006). Nanotechnology in agriculture and food. NanoForum, 4-8.
Retrieved from http://www.nanofourm.org (Joseph & Morrison, 2006)
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Scrinis, G., & Lyons, K. (2007). Nanotechnology and the transformation of nature, food and agri-food
systems. International Journal of Sociology of Food and Agriculture, 15(2), 23-44.
Moaveni, P., Karimi, K., & Valojerdi, M. (2011). The nanoparticles in plants. Journal of
Nanostructure in Chemistry, 2(1), 59-78. ( M o a v e n i , K a r i m i & V a l o j e r d i , 2 0 1 1 )
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Bawa, J., & Johnson, S. (2007). The ethical dimensions of nanomedicine. The medical clinics of north
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