ABSTRACT
Nanotechnology is the study, design, creation, synthesis, manipulation, and application of materials, devices, and systems through the control of matter at the nanometer scale. Nanotechnology involves the utilization of man-made products no larger than 1-1000 nm (i.e., a few atoms to smaller than a single cell). A dictionary de nition (Nano nano-pref. (1) Extremely small nanoid. (2) One-billionth [10−9 m] nanometer) elucidates the scale of this eld and allows us to de ne that nanoscale particles are in the 10−9 m dimension range, consistent with the magnitude of most synthetic nanoparticles to date. For a real perspective, the width of a DNA molecule is 2.5 nm; cell membranes are 6-10 nm thick; and most proteins are between 5 and 20 nm in diameter. erefore, most conventional molecular research is already proceeding in
nanoscale dimensions. Nanomaterials can be grouped into a number of distinct entities. ese include nanovectors, nanotubes, and nanosensors for targeted drug delivery; nanowires and nanocantilever arrays for early detection of precancerous and malignant lesions; and nanopores for DNA sequencing (BECON 2006).
