Nano-fications

September 3, 2008

Image by St Stev via Flickr Over the last 14 years, I have flirted with nanotechnology at three different times; during my Masters in India, during the initial part of my PhD, and a couple of years ago when I was trying to figure out software solutions for nanomedicine. Each time, I have walked away feeling strangely unsatisfied. I have always found nanotech fascinating, still do. It’s incredibly cool and geeky. I have seen some wonderful examples of the success of nanotech, and the promise, and have friends actively involved in the field, but reading an article in Tech Review on nanotubes for drug delivery brought back some of those old feelings of dissatisfaction.

Why? Well, when I saw the post, I thought I had found an old article from 2006. There just seems to be a lot of proofs of concept and research projects out there, but I just don’t see the progress, that one event (or series of events) that makes some of that promise become reality.

In electronics, in some areas of materials science, nanotech is going to play a big role in the future. I’d like to think that it will be critical in the next generation of analytical measurement in the life sciences, and very likely in drug delivery as well, although I don’t think it will be with carbon nanotubes. Thinking back, I believe there are two aspects that have contribution to my occasional frustration with the field. The first is to do with the broad swathe that people put on the field by calling it an industry and funding “nanotechnology”. There is no such thing as a nanotechnology industry. It is a field of science and engineering, with a number different applications. The second is a long standing irritation with people applying the “nano” label to things which don’t really fit that label, e.g. I’ve heard people call protein folding nanotechnology and you don’t want to be near me when someone says that, or be prepared for a stern talking to

So, here’s my question to you. Where do you stand on the promise of nanotech? Do you have the kind of high expectations I do? Do you share some of my frustrations?