Nano-biotechnology

Nano-biotechnology is an area of scientific and technological opportunity that applies the tools and processes of nano/microfabrication to build devices for studying bio-systems. Nano-manufacturing is the manufacturing of materials and products with atomic or molecular dimension exactness. In combination, researchers have learned to create new micro-nanoscale devices to better understand life processes at the nanoscale. Meanwhile, the field of experimental mechanics (nano and biotechnology) is actively responding to the increasing need for precise measurements of new materials and biological tissues. Information relevant to this topic can be found at http://www.nbtc.cornell.edu/.

Nano-biotechnology combines physical laws, chemical procedures and biological principles on the nano-scale.  This science has established important applications in nano-biotechnological methods to develop new materials with multi-functional characteristics. To learn how nano-machines can manufacture products, including the impact it will have on numerous industries in the coming of years, please follow the link below: http://science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology.htm.

The abundant world of nano-technological techniques includes the fabrication of products which include:

• Nano-wires,
• Electron beam lithography,
• Focused ion beam machining,
• Nano-imprint lithography,
• Atomic layer deposition, and
• Molecular vapor deposition. 

While nano-biotechnology looks to nature for solutions, it requires engineering the line between molecules or materi als and biological systems. Coincidentally, all bio-fouling processes occur at the interface between molecules or materials and biological systems. This convergence of circumstances suggests a prominent (early) commercial application of nano-biotechnology: The development of nano-based anti-fouling and anti-microbial coating materials.