Larger to Smaller and Simple to Complex
Larger to Smaller and Simple to Complex
Larger to Smaller and Simple to Complex
Material and Molecular Based Perspective on Nanotechnology.
Larger-Smaller
Nanotechnology leads the world to a much smaller level and grants us the ability of reaching the unseen micro level which is responsible for universal characteristics. Nanotechnology deals not only with the dimensional and structural properties, but also with functional properties.
The process of decreasing the size of an individual or a system usually alter its functional properties such as electrical, thermal, optical and mechanical, etc., thus materials which are reduced to nano scale exhibit different properties in relation to what they show on the macro scale. For example, nano materials have a high surface area to volume ratio. General science describes that, increase in figure of surface area: volume of an object, proportionally increase its rates of reactions with the surrounding environment. Therefore, thermal, electrical and most specially the catalytic properties of the materials are improved. The increment in the catalytic activity of nano materials is useful in many aspects. It can be used for the biochemical reactions which are established industrially for synthesis of new material such as food and it can be used in pharmacology to develop drugs which diffuse easily and act in high rates. These nano catalysts can also be used to decontaminate harmful chemical substances or oil spills. Scientists forecast, materials such as gold which is chemically stable at macro scale may serve as a potent catalyst in the nano scale.
In contrast, reduction in size will change the magnitude of various physical phenomena: while reaching the nano scale the gravity would become less important and van der Waals attraction and static electrical attraction would become more significant. The surface tension which is not that much important in the macro world would increase its significance in the course of achieving the nano scale. Time and velocity would play a major role in the nano dimension and rationale such as quantum theory, theory of energy conservation, principal of determinism and theory of relativity, etc. would become more considerable in the nano level. Quantum effects which rule the microscopic world become dominant typically at distances of 100 nanometers or less. This is the so called quantum realm.
Simple-Complex
Modern science is already capable of synthesizing miniature molecules to almost any structure. These methods are now commonly used in manufacturing large range of useful chemicals such as polymers and pharmaceuticals.
There are two more stages to accomplish, in order to complete the field of molecular assemblies.
1) First stage is to develop a technology for self arrangement of individual molecules in to a designated structure to perform a specific function, under specifically controlled environmental conditions.
2) Second stage is to improve that technology to perform self assembly without specific environmental conditions.
With the appearance of nanotechnology, reaching the next levels in the field of molecular assembly is no more a dream. The process of self assembly either could be or could not be under human control. But it is always safe to have such a process under the control of an intelligent being. Because, in the last stage when molecules gain the ability to self assemble in any situation without proper control, who knows what will happen.
Nanotechnological approaches of molecular self assembly utilize the concepts such as supramolecular chemistry, in order to develop methods for automatic arrangement of molecules themselves into a defined conformation. In nanotechnology this is known as bottom-up approach, because molecules are assembling themselves to make a higher scale structure. This higher scale structure could be either a macro scale object or still a micro scale structure. The important thing is the ability of self assembling. In this bottom-up approach, with the self assembly of molecules, the dimension and the complexity increase. Molecular recognition plays a major role in the molecular self assembly. Molecules can be developed using the modern synthetic chemistry so that a specific arrangement is favored by non-covalent intermolecular bonds.
Self assembly of molecules and molecular recognition is not a new thing to biochemistry. The underlying principle of enzyme being specific to a single substrate and interactions between substrate molecule and enzyme is molecular recognition. The process of base paring inside DNA molecule, processes of synthesizing a large molecule from a small precursor molecule, specific folding of a molecule itself such as in the development of proteins tertiary structure and breaking chemical bonds at specific regions of a molecule involve molecular recognition and principals of molecular self assembly.
Even though biological bodies perform self assembly of molecules, it prefers some conditions like specific environmental factors and unique signals to start and cease the process. The challenge is to do the same thing, outside biological bodies without specific environmental conditions or specific signals. Molecules which are designed to be complimentary and mutually attractive would be a one possible method to initiate self assembly of molecules to make more complex and larger entities.
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