Emerging Materials and Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is well-defined as the handling of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale. Earlier, Nanotechnology was defined as the area of employing atoms and molecules to produce nanoscale products, which are also referred to as molecular nanotechnology. The National Nanotechnology initiative, has defined nanotechnology as the management of material with the measurement of 1 to 100 nm. Nanomaterials are physical materials with a characteristic measurement between 1-150nm that are the building blocks of applied nanotechnology.

Materials Science and Engineering can subdiscipline as Materials Science and Materials Engineering. “Materials science” investigates the relationships that exist between the structures and properties of materials. In contrast, “materials engineering” is, on the basis of these structure–property correlations, designing or engineering the structure of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties. It is the design and discovery of new materials, particularly solids. Virtually all important properties of solid materials may be grouped into six different categories: mechanical, electrical, thermal, magnetic, optical, and deteriorative. For each there is a characteristic type of stimulus capable of provoking different responses. Mechanical properties relate deformation to an applied load or force; examples include elastic modulus and strength.

The field of regenerative medicine has tremendous potential for improved treatment outcomes and has been stimulated by advances made in bioengineering over the last few decades. The strategies of engineering tissues and assembling functional constructs that are capable of restoring, retaining, and revitalizing lost tissues and organs have impacted the whole spectrum of medicine and health care. Techniques to combine biomimetic materials, cells, and bioactive molecules play a decisive role in promoting the regeneration of damaged tissues or as therapeutic systems.

Soft matter or soft condensed matter is a subfield of condensed matter comprising a variety of physical systems that are deformed or structurally altered by thermal or mechanical stress of the magnitude of thermal fluctuations. They include liquids, colloids, polymers, foams, gels, granular materials, liquid crystals, pillows, flesh, and a number of biological materials.

Biomaterial is defined as a substance that has been engineered to interact with components of living system for both therapeutic and diagnostic purpose. Biomaterials are natural components or it can be synthesized in the laboratory employing metals, ceramics, polymers and composite materials. Biomaterials covers the fundamentals of medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science. The biomaterial science also includes polymer synthesis, drug design, self-assembly of materials, immunology and toxicology. Biomaterials has its wide usage in drug delivery, dental application, surgery and regenerative medicine that mimics the natural function.

Materials Chemistry provides the loop between atomic, molecular and supermolecular behaviour and the useful properties of a material. It lies at the core of numerous chemical-using industries. This deals with the atomic nuclei of the materials, and how they are arranged to provide molecules, crystals, etc. Much of properties of electrical, magnetic particles and chemical materials evolve from this level of structure. The length scales involved are in angstroms. The way in which the atoms and molecules are bonded and organized is fundamental to studying the properties and behaviour of any material.

Material physics is the use of physics to describe the physical properties of materials. It is a synthesis of physical sciences such as chemistry, solid mechanics, solid state physics, and materials science. Materials physics is considered a subset of condensed matter physics and applies fundamental condensed matter concepts to complex multiphase media, including materials of technological interest.

Materials which can be magnetized and attracted to a magnet are termed as ferromagnetic materials. These kind of ferromagnetic materials comprise of iron, nickel, cobalt, some alloys of rare earth metals, and some naturally occurring minerals such as lodestone. Magnetic Smart Materials also have medical applications and it is predictable that they will increase in the future. Examples are carrying medications to exact locations within the body and the use as a contrasting agent for MRI scans, evaluating the risk of organ damage in hereditary hemochromatosis, defining the dose of iron chelator drugs mandatory for patients with thalassemia, and Now-a-days Scientists are also occupied on the advancement of synthetic magnetic particles which can be inoculated into the human body for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Spintronic, also known as spin electronics or fluxtronics, is the study of the intrinsic spin of the electron and its related magnetic moment, in addition to its vital electronic charge, in solid-state devices.

Graphene is the crystalline form of carbon that has two dimensional (2D) properties where it consists of single layer of carbon atom arranged in hexagonal lattice. This allotrope of carbon is the basic structure of other allotropes such as diamond, carbon nanotubes, graphite, fullerenes. Graphite which is one of the allotrope of carbon is the softest material with is very good lubricant and is the conductor of electricity. Because of its known unique property, it is being used as thermal insulation. Natural graphite is of three types as crystalline, amorphous and vein. Carbon has numerous essential application in the living system. Carbon fibers which is composed mostly of carbon events, in the range of 5-10 micrometers has its application in composite materials, textiles, microelectrodes, Flexible heating. Carbon Nanotube is the cylindrical form of the allotropes of carbon has unusual thermal conductivity, mechanical and electrical properties and is valuable in the arenas of materials science, nanotechnology, electronic and optics.

The field of pharmaceutical nanotechnology provides an insights into the study of synthesis, characterisation and diagnostic application of materials at the nanoscale. The particular interest within the field is synthesis, characterisation, biological evaluation, clinical testing and toxicological assessment of nanomaterials as drugs for various diseases.Nanotechnology is the science which deals with the processes that occur at molecular level and of nanolength scale size.

The major studies in the nanotechnology include nanosized particles, their function and behaviour with respect to other systems. The tremendous capabilities of nanoparticles have changed the perspective and scope of nanotechnology towards development into an adjuvant field for the remaining fields of life sciences.

Polymer technology is one of the most prevalent zone of existing research as it includes the study and application of nanoscience to polymer-nanoparticle matrices, where nanoparticles are those with at least in dimension of less than 100 nm. Polymer nanotechnology emphases on polymer based biomaterials, self- assembled polymeric films, nanofabrication of polymers, polymer blends and nanocomposites. Polymer matrix based nanocomposites consist of polymer or copolymer having nanoparticles dispersed in the matrix. Silicon Nano spheres is the extensively known Nano polymer which shows discrete features and harder than silicon. Preceding the age of nanotechnology phase, polymer blends, block copolymer domain frequently attains Nano scale sizes. Nano-sized silica particles, zeolites and nanoparticle fillers has controlled the expansion of products with enhanced properties such as thermal stability & conductivity, chemical resistance and tensile strength.. Some of the natural and synthetic polymers are collagen, enzymes, elastin, cellulose, chitin, plastics, fibers and adhesives.

Nanorobotics is an emerging technology field creating machines or robots whose components are at or near the scale of a nanometre (10−9 meters). More specifically, nanorobotics (as opposed to microrobotics) refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots. Nanomachines are largely in the research and development phase.

Smart materials can be defined as materials that can significantly change their mechanical properties (such as shape, stiffness, and viscosity), or their thermal, optical, or electromagnetic properties, in a predictable or controllable manner in response to their environment. Such materials have the ability to change shape or size simply by adding a little bit of heat, or to change from a liquid to solid almost instantly. Each individual type of smart material has a different property such as volume, viscosity, and conductivity which can be significantly altered.

Nanotechnology refers to a broad range of tools, techniques and applications that simply involve particles on the approximate size scale of a few to hundreds of nanometers in diameter. Particles of this size have some unique physicochemical and surface properties that lend themselves to novel uses. Indeed, advocates of nanotechnology suggest that this area of research could contribute to solutions for some of the major problems we face on the global scale such as ensuring a supply of safe drinking water for a growing population, as well as addressing issues in medicine, energy, and agriculture.  

Nanomaterials are characterized as materials of which a solitary unit is measured 1 and 1000 nanometers yet is generally 1—100 nm. Materials with structure at the Nano scale regularly have one of kind optical, electronic or mechanical properties. Nanomaterial’s enquires about adopting the approaches related to materials science and nanotechnology.

Nanofluidics is the study of the behavior, manipulation, and control of fluids that are confined to structures of nanometer (typically 1–100 nm) characteristic dimensions (1 nm = 10−9 m). Fluids confined in these structures exhibit physical behaviors not observed in larger structures, such as those of micrometer dimensions and above, because the characteristic physical scaling lengths of the fluid, (e.g. Debye length, hydrodynamic radius) very closely coincide with the dimensions of the nanostructure itself.

All electrified interfaces induce an organized charge distribution near the surface known as the electrical double layer. In pores of nanometer dimensions the electrical double layer may completely span the width of the nanopore, resulting in dramatic changes in the composition of the fluid and the related properties of fluid motion in the structure

Nanophotonics or nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, and of the interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light. It is a branch of optics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, and nanotechnology. It often (but not exclusively) involves metallic components, which can transport and focus light via surface plasmon polaritons.Nano photonics is where photonics merges with Nano science and nanotechnology, and where spatial confinement considerably modifies light propagation and light-matter interaction

Emerging material can be defined as material that can significantly change their mechanical properties (such as shape, stiffness, and viscosity), or their thermal, optical, or electromagnetic properties, in a predictable or controllable manner in response to their environment. Such materials have the ability to change shape or size simply by adding a little bit of heat, or to change from a liquid to solid almost instantly. Each individual type of emerging material has a different property such as volume, viscosity, and conductivity which can be significantly altered.