We are on the brink of catapulting healthcare into one of the most fascinating discoveries of science: Nanotechnology. The coming technology (in progress now) will exceed anything we ever thought possible a couple of decades ago. Before we go any further, though, a simple description is in order.
“One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, (or 10 to the −39th), of a meter. By comparison, typical carbon-carbon bond lengths, or the spacing between these atoms in a molecule, are in the range 0.12–0.15 nm, and a DNA double-helix has a diameter around 2 nm. On the other hand, the smallest cellular life-forms, the bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma, are around 200 nm in length.”
From Allhoff, et al (2007): “If a nanometer were somehow magnified to appear as long as the nose on your face, then a red blood cell would appear the size of the Empire State Building, a human hair would be about two or three miles wide, one of your fingers would span the continental United States, and a normal person would be about as tall as six or seven planet Earths piled atop one another.”
So we’ve established that nanotechnology occurs on an astronomically small scale. At this level, everyday materials have extraordinary properties. For instance, carbon nanotubes are one of the strongest materials known, up to 100 times stronger than steel, and one-sixth the weight (Allhoff, et al, 2007).
Applications of nanotechnology include: molecular robots (nanobots) implantable into the human body to monitor and modify physiological functions, disease modification, drug delivery, enabling cellular repair, counteracting the aging process, nano-level surveillance cameras for government use, nano-warfare, bio-warfare, and polluting or purifying water and food sources, just to name a few. The waste products of nanotechnology have the theoretical potential to induce disease, and so environmental concerns are emerging. Studies are ongoing to determine the true risks.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology. Accessed January 26, 2010.
2. Allhoff, F., Lin, P., Moor, J. & Weckert, J. (2007). Nanoethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Nanotechnology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.