Hi Hong,

Nanotechnology is one of the fields currently receiving enormous attention and rapidly advancing and transforming various aspect of our lives. This is evident by many invented products being lunch into market with better performance than their conventional types.

I think this advancement in nanofield will continue for many decades to come.

On whether u want to joint researchers in the field, that rely on your fashion and preference on the area you want to specialize. But the future of nanotechnology in pharmaceutical science is promising.

hi

Any scientific discovery is welcome and opposed...keep going and i hope to get a good result.

There is a quotation, "The next big thing is very small". The focus nowadays is shifting towards size reduction due to which nanomaterials are making their way into everything be it electronics, robotics, medical sciences, drug delivery tools and so on. As for your field of interest, abundant work is being done on pharmaceutical aspects of nanomaterials. Continous development require novel ideas ao if you are creative and innovative, you dont need to worry about that.

Nanotechnology and the future of advanced materials

(Nanowerk Spotlight) A European project has completed an extensive five-year study of the needs and opportunities for coordinating future research and development in nanomaterials science and nanotechnology for the advancement of technologies ranging from communication and information, health and medicine, future energy, environment and climate change to transport and cultural heritage.Based on the collaborative work of more than 600 experts from all over the world, the project has compiled an overall picture of the present and expected developments in the large spectrum of nanomaterials and where nanotechnology can be used in the future. Although one of the foci was to highlight the important roles of advanced analytical equipment at European research infrastructures, especially at synchrotron radiation, laser and neutron facilities, the 500-page project report provides an excellent overview of the nanomaterials revolution that is upon us. This is one of the best, up-to-date primers on nanotechnologies!The report – the GENNESYS White Paper – is available as a free pdf download.

Where is nanotechnology used in everyday activities

Tailoring the properties of materials on a molecular level offers the potential for improvement in device performance for applications across the entire range of human activity: from medicine to cosmetics and food, from information and communication to entertainment, from earth-bound transport to aerospace, from future energy concepts to environment and climate change, from security to cultural heritage.How does nanotechnology work? Nanomaterials will lead to a radically new approach to manufacturing materials and devices. Faster computers, advanced pharmaceuticals, controlled drug delivery, biocompatible materials, nerve and tissue repair, crackproof surface coatings, better skin care and protection, more efficient catalysts, better and smaller sensors, even more efficient telecommunications, these are just some areas where nanomaterials will have a major impact.In order to structure the large field of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies, the GENNESYS project (Grand European Initiative on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology using Neutron- and Synchrotron Radiation Sources) has subdivided the different areas of application of nanomaterials into research and technology fields. For each of these fields, the key research challenges have been defined, the roles of synchrotron, x-ray and neutron methods identified, and a research roadmap for the next two decades outlined.For instance, the average home is already filled with products enhanced or reliant upon nanotech.For further reading, we have compiled numerous articles on nanotechnology applications that are on the market or in development today.

Fundamental research: Generic challenges

Fundamental research into nanomaterials behavior is an essential prerequisite for generating the necessary scientific understanding of how nanostructures can be designed, synthesized and modeled. The complexity of this research demands advanced and high-performance analytical techniques to enhance the development and optimization of the size, shape, structure and performance of nanomaterials.Synthesis of nanomaterials and nanostructuresThe challenges for nanomaterials synthesis lie in the design and tailoring of complex hybrid nanoparticles and 'intelligent' or 'smart' nanomaterials (nanotubes, functionalized surfaces, multi-layers, novel thin films and interfaces) with multiple functions for urgent applications.Nanomaterials phenomena and functionsNanomaterials exploit physical phenomena and mechanisms that cannot be derived by simply scaling down the associated bulk structures and bulk phenomena. Surface phenomena will become more and more important compared to bulk phenomena. Furthermore, new quantum effects come into play which changes the way nano systems work. It is the exploitation of these emerging nanoscale interactions which underpins all nanomaterials design.It is an essential challenge to understand the behavior of given materials on all length scales, from the nanostructure up to the macroscopic response; and at timescales ranging from pico- and sub-picoseconds in molecular and electronic relaxation processes to micro- and nanoseconds in self-assembly processes, to days for long-term relaxation and degradation. The analytical access to this range of length and timescales, from the ultrashort to the ultralong, will be a future challenge for accelerator based x-ray and neutron technologies in combination with complementary techniques.Nanomaterials modelingModeling and computer-based materials design algorithms will become mandatory tools in testing our understanding of nanoscale processes and phenomena, which can be used in the development of tailored synthesis of nanomaterials, inhibition of degradation processes, and the planning of experimental programs for nanomaterials development and assessment. For that reason, dedicated characterization tools are needed, both to adjust model parameters and to check that the theory works or is correctly implemented in computer codes for simulation models.There will be an increasing need to enhance our theoretical understanding of why particular phenomena arise in order to optimize synthetic processes, explain the mechanisms that lead to material degradation, and predict how nanomaterials properties can be improved. New ab initio models, where fundamental physical principles are used to predict the behavior of materials at the nanoscale, will take advantage of the increased computing power available.

Nanomaterials design

In nanomaterials science, the development of new materials drives many fields of engineering; i.e. alloys with improved mechanical properties and reduced weight, e.g. to increase stiffness and at the same time save weight in aerospace or automotive industries. Composite materials follow the same trend, many of them mimicking the structure of biological tissues like wood, bone, shell, spider silk and many more examples. The use of such new nanomaterials will be essential to address major future global demands such as reducing energy consumption or the ecological impact of almost any product we use.Structural nanomaterialsThese materials based on metallic, ceramic and polymer systems will provide a step change in mechanical and thermal properties. They will be the basis for a wide range of innovations and new applications exploiting nanoscale effects.Functional or 'smart' materialsThey will drive forward developments in electronic, photonic, structural and magnetic devices. Nanomaterials will raise the development to a new level, employing novel physical, electrical and mechanical effects to make electronics which will be faster, lighter, cheaper, and easier to manufacture, and which will have low power consumption. Simple devices based on nanomaterials will deliver functions which would ordinarily require a more complex mechanism or component, such as the replacement of electrical connections by optical links and improved non-volatile computer memory. Designing materials operation in stringent environments (temperature, pressure, radiation etc.) is also needed.Polymer nanomaterialsThey will advance dramatically as the chemical and nanoscale structures of polymers are engineered to create new polymers with a multitude of structural and functional applications, ranging from polymers with improved biodegradability to new adhesives and novel electrical conductors. Biopolymers for the life sciences will use the principles of hierarchical assembly in living organisms and apply them to engineered materials and structures.Nanostructured coatings, composites and hybridsThese can be engineered to exploit a revolutionary combination of tailored properties, between coating and substrate, between composite matrix and reinforcement, and between the different components of a hybrid.

Engineering properties of nanomaterials

There will be significant challenges in transferring the knowledge of new nanomaterials properties and mechanisms into the engineering design process, as we are not yet at the stage where nanomaterials can be designed and produced with known properties.Understanding is required of how nanomaterials can be joined without destroying their nanostructure and their function, how nanomaterials fail through corrosion, creep and fatigue, and how nanotribological mechanisms affect friction, adhesion, wear and lubrication.The overall lifecycle of the component must be assessed and understood, if accurate predictions are to be made. This could be demonstrated by monitoring in-situ the crack propagation along grain boundaries in steel alloys during corrosion using synchrotron radiation. This is extremely relevant to understand the mechanisms of material failure due to cracking of stainless steel under mechanical stress.NanojoiningThe study has highlighted potential techniques for nanojoining methodologies and technologies, and pinpointed research paths for successful development. Understanding the reliability and strength of nanoscale and nanostructured joints in-service is a great challenge. Existing knowledge and methods for large-scale welding and joining cannot be extrapolated to new methods and nanoscale effects.NanotribologyThe study of friction, wear and adhesion at the nanometer scale requires knowledge of surface interactions, chemical environment effects, lubrication, mechanical stresses, as well as biochemical concepts. This field is rapidly developing, but most of the applications that can be realized exploiting nanotribological ideas are still in an embryonic stage.Life cycle of nanomaterialsThe lifetime of an operating nano-architecture is limited by fracture, fatigue, creep, corrosion that will differ significantly from those that operate in ‘conventional’ structural materials. A mechanistic understanding of the damage mechanisms operating at the nanoscale, obtained using in situsynchrotron radiation and neutron experimentation, will be critical to generate the knowledge base needed for the reliable application of nanomaterials in engineering applications. The understanding of nano damage mechanisms is needed as input in simulation models.

Challenges in nanomaterials technologies

The GENNESYS study highlights the enormous potential impact of nanomaterials for new technologies. The opportunities for nanomaterials research and development have been defined for a broad spectrum of technological application areas to deliver unprecedented impact in fields encompassing faster information exchange and new multi-functional computer systems enhanced healthcare, with new drugs through bio-nanotechnologies and nanotherapies in medicine; more energy-efficient transport encompassing light-weight structural materials; reduced pollution and carbon emissions; and technologies for safety and risk reduction. The goal is the enhancement of these technologies for improved quality of life, through the development and production of new materials with novel properties. These breakthroughs critically rely upon advancing our fundamental knowledge of nanomaterials.Information TechnologyThe future prosperity of the information technology industry strongly depends on further successful down-scaling processes, creating new devices with higher functionalities, greater flexibility and reliability, and improved performance. Nanoscience and -technology will provide important basic approaches for improved functionalities and new device concepts. The new nanoelectronics will give a step change in functionality – higher speeds, reduced power consumption, reduced complexity – that will provide novel computer, photonics and informatics applications over the next 20 years.In microelectronics and photonics, new developments such as quantum communication and computing, data storage using new materials, and concepts such as magnetic semiconductors and spintronics, will revolutionize capabilities. Most of these concepts are based on nanostructures, and in most of these cases structural studies using synchrotron and neutron sources are essential.Health: biological and medical applicationsThe entire scope where nanomaterials impact human health, through medicine, dentistry, cosmetics, food and agriculture, has been evaluated. The healthcare industry is dependent on drugs and drug delivery systems for disease control and improving the quality of life. New drug systems with controlled release can be developed using nanoengineering, and the delivery of drugs into the human body is much simplified by exploiting nanoscale effects i.e. delivering just the amount of drugs necessary to patients allows decreasing the amount of drugs and the impact of pollution since the excess is often released in the environment.New ointments which exploit nanoscale binders will have offshoots into the cosmetics industry, which will be able to exploit the research and development needed for the full exploitation of nanomaterials in healthcare.Nutrition is critically important for health and the quality of life. Increasing demands for more efficient food production and processing, the possibility of engineering foodstuffs for improved nutrition, and the development of foodstuffs designed to be suitable for people with allergies or nutritional disorders will all require a step change in our ability to manipulate the structure of materials at the nanoscale. In particular, being able to formulate foods which can be successfully processed is of fundamental importance.Manufacturing engineeringNanomaterials have to meet the demands facing new structural materials, reduced energy consumption, and reduced life-cycle costs.Advances include reduced fuel consumption and operating costs, reduced or zero emissions, improved capacity and comfort and reduced noise. Breakthroughs in nanomaterials engineering depend on how precise we can “see” the relevant structures and how they change during a process. This puts serious demands on tailored analytical tools ranging from diffraction, imaging, microscopy, tomography and spectroscopy with highest spatial resolution (