Nanotechnology Experts Research Articles

The First Edition of the World Nanotechnology Marathon [Spotlight Column

To shape the next generation of nanotechnologists and nanoscientists, especially during and post the Covid-19 pandemic, the teaching and learning paradigms for nanotechnology must change. To this aim, innovative solutions driven by digital tools and new inclusive initiatives have to be proposed. This work reports the experience of the first edition of the World Nanotechnology Marathon organized by the IEEE Nanotechnology Council Young Professionals. Throughout 24 hours, 24 nanotechnology experts inspired the new generation of nanotechnologists as well as experienced professionals in this area, paving the route to a sustainable and active network of nanotechnology young professionals around the world.

The “Nanotechnology Innovation Diamond”, a model for successful nanoscience research and development

Although technology innovation management has been extensively studied, little research has been conducted in nanotechnology-focused innovation management. No model currently exists on nanotechnology innovation management and the related critical success factors. Based on a literature review of nanotechnology characteristics and reported successful nanotechnology research, six essential factors of success were identified. These factors are consumer acceptance of nanotechnology, hybridisation of nanotechnology innovations into existing industries and markets, multidisciplinary project teams, agglomeration and clustering of nanotechnology research projects, research and development (R&D) and commercialisation skills and capabilities, and working within a conducive innovation environment. These six factors were crystallised into the “Nanotechnology Innovation Diamond”, a model for successful nanoscience research and development. The proposed model was then validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) from a survey of 167 nanotechnology experts from South Africa. The results indicate that at 95% confidence level, the proposed model satisfied the minimum CFA model fit requirements, and the six proposed critical success factors are significant for successful nanotechnology R&D. The presented model can be used to increase the rate of success of nanotechnology R&D projects, nanotechnology project portfolio selection, and nanotechnology foresight exercises.

Phytoremediation: Data on effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on phytoremediation of antimony polluted soil

This data article presents effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) on phytoremediation of antimony contaminated soil using S. Bicolor in detail. Seedlings of S. bicolor were exposed to different doses of TiO2 NPs (0,50,100,250,500 and 1000 mg/kg) in plastic pots containing Sb-contaminated soil and cultivated over a 80-day period in a greenhouse. Harvested plants were dried in an oven at 70 °C for 48 h to obtain dry weight of the biomass. The concentrations of metal(loid)s in soil as well as in plant organs were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Chlorophyll contents of fresh leaves materials were measured by UV spectrophotometry at 645 nm and 663 nm. Data on distribution of Sb and Ti in roots and shoots of S. bicolor contaminated soil treated with different levels of TiO2 NPs are indicated in tables. Figures presented the data on plant growth behavior, Sb and Ti accumulation capacities, and physiological response of S. Bicolor in various treatments. The presented data are beneficial to gain insight into phytoremediation potential of S. bicolor in Sb-contaminated soil as well as plant behavior under the stress of both Sb and TiO2 NPs in soil. These data are useful for environmental researchers, soil and plant scientists, nanotechnology experts, stakeholders and decision-makers involved in soil decontamination challenges.

The innovation profile of nanotechnology team projects of face-to-face and online learners

Innovation is an important practice required for 21st century engineers. Courses in emerging engineering fields encourage students to work on projects in small teams. Research has demonstrated several factors under which teamwork conducted face-to-face settings might enhance student innovation. It is, however, still unclear whether a similar effect is evident among teams of engineering students working in online environments. This study aims to characterize and examine the innovation of nanotechnology team projects by comparing three research groups: face-to-face university students, online university students, and online world learners. Applying a mixed-methods approach, the study included interviews with nanotechnology experts and an analysis of students' team projects. Content analysis identified four categories of team project innovation: Product necessity, STEM interdisciplinary, Market readiness, and Innovation type. The findings indicated that compared to the online learners, the face-to-face university students generated projects with a higher innovation profile.

Micro/Nanorobots for Biomedicine: Delivery, Surgery, Sensing, and Detoxification.

Micro- and nanoscale robots that can effectively convert diverse energy sources into movement and force represent a rapidly emerging and fascinating robotics research area. Recent advances in the design, fabrication, and operation of micro/nanorobots have greatly enhanced their power, function, and versatility. The new capabilities of these tiny untethered machines indicate immense potential for a variety of biomedical applications. This article reviews recent progress and future perspectives of micro/nanorobots in biomedicine, with a special focus on their potential advantages and applications for directed drug delivery, precision surgery, medical diagnosis and detoxification. Future success of this technology, to be realized through close collaboration between robotics, medical and nanotechnology experts, should have a major impact on disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Nanotechnology in the real world: Redeveloping the nanomaterial consumer products inventory.

To document the marketing and distribution of nano-enabled products into the commercial marketplace, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies created the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory (CPI) in 2005. The objective of this present work is to redevelop the CPI by leading a research effort to increase the usefulness and reliability of this inventory. We created eight new descriptors for consumer products, including information pertaining to the nanomaterials contained in each product. The project was motivated by the recognition that a diverse group of stakeholders from academia, industry, and state/federal government had become highly dependent on the inventory as an important resource and bellweather of the pervasiveness of nanotechnology in society. We interviewed 68 nanotechnology experts to assess key information needs. Their answers guided inventory modifications by providing a clear conceptual framework best suited for user expectations. The revised inventory was released in October 2013. It currently lists 1814 consumer products from 622 companies in 32 countries. The Health and Fitness category contains the most products (762, or 42% of the total). Silver is the most frequently used nanomaterial (435 products, or 24%); however, 49% of the products (889) included in the CPI do not provide the composition of the nanomaterial used in them. About 29% of the CPI (528 products) contain nanomaterials suspended in a variety of liquid media and dermal contact is the most likely exposure scenario from their use. The majority (1288 products, or 71%) of the products do not present enough supporting information to corroborate the claim that nanomaterials are used. The modified CPI has enabled crowdsourcing capabilities, which allow users to suggest edits to any entry and permits researchers to upload new findings ranging from human and environmental exposure data to complete life cycle assessments. There are inherent limitations to this type of database, but these modifications to the inventory addressed the majority of criticisms raised in published literature and in surveys of nanotechnology stakeholders and experts. The development of standardized methods and metrics for nanomaterial characterization and labelling in consumer products can lead to greater understanding between the key stakeholders in nanotechnology, especially consumers, researchers, regulators, and industry.

Nanomaterial risk screening: a structured approach to aid decision making under uncertainty

The responsible development of new nanomaterials and nano-enabled products requires that potential risks are understood and managed before harms occur. Although quantitative and predictive tools for anticipating human health and environmental risk are in early stages of development, there is a clear need for screening methodologies to inform decision making related to nanomaterial risk management in regulatory agencies and industry. This paper presents the results of a two-day workshop with nanotechnology experts aimed at developing a risk-screening framework for nanomaterials. Drawing upon expertise in nanotoxicology, human exposure, environmental fate and transport, and structured decision making, participants developed a decision support framework relating key nanomaterial physicochemical and product characteristics to important hazard and exposure indicators. Application of the preliminary nano-risk-screening tool (NRST) to several test cases illustrates the utility of the approach for both identifying nanomaterial characteristics that drive risks and for highlighting opportunities to redesign products to minimize risks. This framework for aiding risk managers’ decisions under uncertainty provides the foundation for the development of a transparent and adaptable screening tool that can inform the management of potential risks.

Redesigning the architecture of policy-making: Engaging with Māori on nanotechnology in New Zealand

Although there is an extensive literature on public engagement on the use of new and emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, there is little evidence of the participation of marginalised indigenous communities in processes of such engagement. How do particular cultural values and worldviews shape the perceptions of new technologies among such indigenous peoples? This article addresses this question through an analysis of the deliberations of an indigenous Māori citizens' panel on nanotechnology in Aotearoa New Zealand. An active process of public engagement with the nation's Māori stakeholders, and their conversations with nanotechnology experts, sustainability activists and Māori researchers, helps map an alternative, culture-based architecture of public engagement on policies around new technologies. The analysis is grounded in a concept of active citizenship that we term 'sustainable citizenship'.

La comunicación pública de ámbitos científicos y tecnológicos emergentes. Problemas y retos en el caso de la nanotecnología

This work deals with public understanding of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Concerns about public attitudes towards both, including a lack of knowledge on the part of the general public, have lead scholars in a number of countries to conduct early studies on the social perceptions of these fields. However, this has not been the case in Spain or Latin America, where studies on the popularisation and public understanding of nanotechnology are almost non-existent. This work has a double aim. First, it seeks to contextualise and explain the Spanish situation in this regard. Second, it aims to communicate the results of a Delphi study involving nanotechnology experts (n=38) and designed to fill the above mentioned gap. These results consist of an ordered set of basic content items on nanotechnology that scientists, journalists and educators should bear in mind, as well as some issues to be mindful of with regard to those content items.

Current Opinion on Nanotoxicology

Nanotechnology is one of the premiere technologies available today, having expanded both as field of scientific study and in the public consciousness. Despite this growth, the drawbacks, limitations and potential safety hazards associated with the incorporation of nanotechnology into existing industries are still being learned. The noticeable point is that there is no enough data available yet to analyze global use of nanotechnology from a meta-perspective. Three challenges can be defined in light of nanotoxicology. One, materials that might prove to be significantly toxic must be identified. Two, a system for the categorization of NP materials must be codified and made available to toxicologists. Third, a better understanding of nanoparticles biological interactions must be obtained, in order to make the best use of the first two goals. For all three, it must be remembered that research standards need to be developed for the gathering of data on the nanoscale, as that level is where the NPs and the patient’s biosystems will be interacting.As requiring toxicologists to become nanotechnology experts would not be feasible, to properly incorporate the care of nanotoxicity into the existing medical framework, a range of experts across multiple fields of study must work in close synchronization. The focus needs to be on mechanism-driven research to ensure a solid scientific foundation for the assessment of NP and their role in healthcare.

MODIFYING BSC FOR NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT: AN IMPLICATION FOR “SOCIAL CAPITAL” ROLE IN NIS THEORY

In this research, we have designed and implemented the Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard technique in evaluating the progress of National Iranian Nanotechnology Initiative (NINI). In conducting this research, we have learned that the layers of Strategy Map are congruent with the National Innovation System (NIS) levels. The use of Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard in conjunction with an opinion survey of the nanotechnology experts showed “social capital” at the bottom layer and economic development at the top layer of the Strategy Map of the NIS infrastructure in Iran. These findings have broad implications not only for Iranian nanotechnology development, but also are important for the theory of NIS.

All together now: Integrating biofilm research across disciplines.

Bacterial biofilms are integrated, multi-species communities of cells that adhere to almost any surface and are fundamental to the ecology and biology of bacteria. Not only do biofilms contribute to human health and disease, they also play important roles in the context of energy and the environment. The formation of biofilms requires interactions between bacteria and the surfaces they colonize, and both microbe and surface can impact the structure, function, and composition of these communities. Bacteria in biofilms exhibit surprisingly sophisticated social behavior, both cooperative and competitive, made possible by their cell biology. However, they are also hierarchically organized systems governed by complex physical and chemical interactions. Because of this, the study of bacterial biofilms has recently attracted the attention of materials scientists, physicists, chemists, and nanotechnology experts who import not only new tools, but also new concepts and perspectives. This issue reviews recent progress in multidisciplinary studies of biofilms.

Risk perceptions starting to shift? U.S. citizens are forming opinions about nanotechnology

This article presents early results from an opinion formation study based on a 76-member panel of U.S. citizens, with comparison data from a group of 177 nanotechnology experts. While initially similar to the expert group in terms of their perceptions of the risks, benefits, and need for regulation characterizing several forms of nanotechnology, the first follow-up survey indicates that the panel is beginning to diverge from the experts, particularly with respect to perceptions of the levels of various “societal” risks that nanotechnology might present. The data suggest that responding to public concerns may involve more than attention to physical risks in areas such as health and environment; concerns about other forms of risk actually appear more salient.

Throwing—or Molding—a Curve Into Nanofabrication

Today's nanotechnology experts are finally beginning to imitate their Iron Age predecessors, casting forms in molds rather than carving these same shapes over and over. That lesson hasn't been easy to apply to the modern lilliputian worlds of micromachines and optics, where engineers and others use light beams, chemicals, and related tools to carve out tiny features in device after device. Now, however, a team of researchers reports on page 347 the development of a new micromolding technique to produce complex patterns known as gratings, just hundreds of nanometers in width, on the surface of both flat and curved optical material. Flat gratings are crucial to laser steering devices, and curved gratings can be used on lens surfaces and optical fibers to focus and filter light for telecommunications and optical computing applications.