Imagine nanoparticles as tiny stones, some of them consisting of only a
few atoms. These small particles are like “artificial atoms”. They can be used
to build totally new materials with tailor-made characteristics: extremely
hard, soft, scratchproof, electrically conducting, lucent, translucent,
magnetic, easy to clean, rust-resistant and much more...
Electron microscopic pictures of
various nano particles
Atoms or molecules which are part of the surface have other electronic
and chemical characteristics than their counterparts within the material. The
smaller the particle, the higher its share in the surface atoms. Materials made
of nanoparticles may have totally different mechanical, electrical, chemical or
optical characteristics than the complete material. In many cases these
material characteristics can even be varied depending on the choice of the
particles’ size.
A
special characteristic of nanoparticles: The size-dependent
fluorescence of nanoparticle solutions does not depend on the chemical
substance but rather on the size of the nanoparticles - that is, all
tubes contain the same chemical compound, the colour, however, is
determined by the particles' size. The medium size of the particles
increases continuously from 2.5 nm (blue) up to 6 nm (red).
Today science is able to produce
nanoparticles from various chemical substances in a defined size. With the help
of diverse nanoparticles, it is possible to design materials with tailor-made
characteristics and provide usual products with completely new characteristics
or to produce so far unimaginable products.
Vision and reality
Nanomachines or robots working in our bloodstream certainly are a rather
far-away vision of nanotechnology in medicine. Far advanced, however, is the
research in the field "drug-targeting". Here nanoparticles are used as
a ferry for drugs. Science has managed that nanoparticles with a
special coating can only be absorbed by a certain sort of cell. If a
drug is attached to a thus prepared nanoparticle, it can be pointedly
and selectively transported exclusively to the affected cells. In the
future, innovative nano drugs will only have an effect in that part of
the body where they are really needed and thus will not lead to
unwanted side effects in the total organism.
With
the help of nanoparticles, it will even be possible to overcome the
so-called blood-brain-barrier, which so far has made the pharmaceutical
treatment of conditions such as of a brain tumor almost impossible.
The
vision: Nano robots eliminate a virus in the human body.
Read
more about the usage of nano particles in nanodeck®
products on the next page ... further>
