The world is experiencing a boom in investment in nano-industry. Most of the investments in nanotechnology come from the USA, EU, Japan and China. The number of scientific publications, patents and journals is constantly growing. There are forecasts for the creation of $1 trillion worth of goods and services by 2015, including the creation of up to 2 million jobs.
In Russia, the Ministry of Education and Science has created the Interdepartmental Scientific and Technical Council on the Problem of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials, whose activities are aimed at maintaining technological parity in the future world. For the development of nanotechnologies in general and nanomedicine in particular, the adoption of a Federal Target Program for their development is being prepared. This program will include the training of a number of specialists in the long term.
The successes of nanomedicine described in the second chapter of the abstract will become available, according to various estimates, only in 40-50 years. However, a number of recent discoveries, developments and investments in the nanoindustry have led to more and more analysts shifting this date downwards by 10-15 years, and perhaps this is not the limit.
With the help of advances in nanotechnology in general, and nanomedicine in particular, it will become possible to implant nanodevices into the human brain, greatly increasing a person’s knowledge and the speed of his thinking. These forecasts, including the potential for achieving personal immortality, became one of the main factors in the emergence of a new philosophical movement - transhumanism, according to which the human species is not the crown of evolution, but an intermediate link. This species has yet to radically enhance its intellectual and physical capabilities.
Of course, problems go hand in hand with achievements - for example, the biocompatibility of nanomaterials and the fact that little has been studied, the possible harmful consequences for human health of the introduction of nanoparticles and microdevices into the body. There are incomparably fewer scientific studies published on the risks of nanotechnology than works asserting their superiority and necessity.
Nanomedicine and nanotechnology in general are new fields, and there is little experimental evidence of their adverse effects. The lack of knowledge about how nanoparticles will integrate into biochemical processes in the human body is particularly concerning. A recent article in the Medical Journal of Australia suggests that safety regulations for nanomedicines may require unique risk assessment methods given the novelty and variety of products, the high mobility and reactivity of engineered nanoparticles, and that their introduction into practice will cause a blurring of diagnostic and therapeutic "drug" classifications. and “therapeutic device.” Currently, some scientists are talking about even more global problems of nanomedicine, questioning its existence as a real science, among them is one of the world's leading experts in nanotoxicology - Gunther Oberdoester, professor of toxicology in the department of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester. “In many ways, the promises of nanomedicine are a splurge. Indeed, many things look very promising, but so far only animal studies have been carried out to show how it works,” says Oberdoester.
In addition to the obvious potential risks to patients, there are other toxicological risks associated with nanomedicine. There are also problems with the disposal of nanowaste and environmental pollution as a result of the production of nanomedicines and materials. “These potential risks must also be carefully assessed,” says Oberdoster. “This hasn’t been done yet.”
Russian scientists have discovered that in the human environment there are a huge number of biologically active nanoparticles that enter the human body without medical supervision and do not affect the human body in the best way. For example, inhalation of polystyrene nanoparticles not only causes inflammation of the lung tissue, but also provokes thrombosis of blood vessels. There is evidence that carbon nanoparticles can cause cardiac disorders and suppress the activity of the immune system. Experiments on aquarium fish and dogs have shown that fullerenes, polyatomic spherical carbon molecules several nanometers across, can destroy brain tissue. The penetration of nanoparticles into the biosphere is fraught with many consequences, which are not yet possible to predict due to lack of information.
Many people believe that the development of nanomedicine will lead to a number of social problems. Eric Drexler, a classic in the field of nanotechnological developments and predictions, noted that the creation of technology for the production of replicators could, for example, contribute to despotic forms of government (organization of surveillance of the population, control of the human body and mind).
Social inequality may increase, especially in the first stages of introducing nanotechnology achievements into medicine, when the cost of new drugs and methods will still be quite high. This will exacerbate some of the moral problems that already exist in modern medicine.
A significant increase in life expectancy will necessitate a revision of pension legislation and will aggravate the problem of overpopulation of the earth.
The main problem for our country is the transition from scientific laboratory research to economically profitable industrial production. While in world practice investments in nanotechnology are the most profitable, in Russia there are still few private companies and individuals who decide to invest in nanotechnology.
Another widely discussed problem is what Drexler calls the “grey goo” problem. We are talking about a possible loss of control over nanoparticles, which will begin to multiply uncontrollably. However, scientists believe that solving this problem is not so difficult, especially compared to the main problem of creating these particles.
Nanotechnology will fundamentally change the life of mankind and create new prospects for every person not only in the field of household amenities, but also in the field of health. The positive impact of nanotechnology on all areas of human life undoubtedly outweighs the dangers that accompany its specific applications and which require specific precautions.
Nanotechnology is not only about scientific and technical achievements. The emergence of this science marks fundamental changes in the knowledge of the world and in the interaction of various scientific disciplines and different industries. Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary direction in the development of science and technology. It combines physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and, undoubtedly, many great discoveries remain to be made in the field of nanotechnology that can change the existing world.
Conclusion
We can conclude that nanotechnology is gradually occupying an increasingly important place in our lives. The introduction of nanotechnology into our lives can make it significantly easier, and the development of nanotechnology in the field of medicine will help fight the most terrible diseases of mankind, such as cancer. In the distant future, the development of nanomedicine may even lead to the achievement of immortality. The areas of application of nanotechnology are numerous. And the range of application of these technologies is increasing day by day and promises many more interesting things.
At the same time, many expect from nanotechnology the next “industrial revolution”, which micro- or computer technologies once produced. Yes, they can solve some of our pressing problems, but there is still too much that is still unclear about nanotechnology. It is still not entirely clear how harmless nanomaterials are for humans and what side effects they may have—in other words, what restrictions exist for their use. It still takes a lot of time to improve existing technologies to such a level that we can talk about a technical revolution.
We can say with confidence that nanotechnology is the science of the future.
Bibliography.
1. Razumovskaya I.V. Nanotechnology: Textbook. Benefit. Elective Course M.: Bustard, 2009.
2. Website about nanotechnology Nanotechnology News Network /// link valid as of 04/18/2011
3. Online magazine “Commercial Nanotechnology” /// link valid as of 04/18/2011
4. Russian electronic nanojournal “Russian Nanotechnologies” /// link valid as of 04/18/2011
5. Scientific information portal on nanotechnologies/nanotechnologies/link valid as of 04/18/2011
6. Federal Internet portal “Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials” /// link valid as of 04/18/2011
7. Prospects for the development of nanotechnology in Russia ///files/journalsf/item/20061107123532.pdf link valid as of 04/18/2011
8. Encyclopedia of cultures Déjà vu ///main.htmllink valid as of 04/18/2011
9. Futura web magazine // / home.php3 link valid as of 04/18/2011
10. R. P. Feynman, “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” Engineering and Science (California Institute of Technology), February 1960, pp. 22-36. The text of the lecture is available on the Internet at http://nano .xerox.com/nanotech/feynman.html. Russian translation published in the journal "Chemistry and Life", No. 12, 2002, pp. 21-26.
12. Yu. D. Semchikov. "Dendrimers - a new class of polymers." Soros Educational Journal. 1998. No. 12, pp. 45-51.
13. Robert A. Freitas Jr., “Exploratory Design in Medical Nanotechnology: A Mechanical Artificial Red Cell,” Artificial Cells, Blood Substitutes, and Immobil. Biotech. 26(1998):411-430.
14. "The magic of microchips." "In the World of Science", November, 2002, pp. 6-15.
15. Scanning probe microscopy of biopolymers. Ed. I. V. Yaminsky. M., "Scientific World", 2007.
17. Isaac Asimov, "Is Anyone There?" Ace Books, New York, 1967.
18. Robert C.W. Ettinger, The Prospect of Immortality, Doubleday, NY, 1964. Russian translation: Robert Ettinger. Prospects for immortality. M., "Scientific World", 2003
19. Robert A. Freitas Jr., "Nanomedicine." Vol. 1: Basic Capabilities". Landes Bioscience, Austin, Tx, 2009. Russian translation is being prepared for publication.
20. R. F. Feynman, “Are you kidding, Mr. Feynman?”, ed. "Regular and chaotic dynamics", 2001
21. A. MacKinnon, “Quantum gears: a simple mechanical system in the quantum regime,” Nanotechnology 13 (October, 2002) 678-681. The text is available online at http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0205647.
22. “Quantum computing: pros and cons” (collection). Izhevsk, 1999.
23. S.D Howe. Nanotechnology: Slow Revolution. Forrester Research Corporation, August 2002, Cambridge, Maryland, USA, 21 p.
24. S.B. Nesterov. Nanotechnology. Current status and prospects. "New information technologies". Abstracts of reports of the XII International Student School-Seminar - M.: MGIEM, 2004, 421 pp., pp. 21-22.
25. I.V. Artyukhov, V.N. Kemenov, S.B. Nesterov. Biomedical technologies. Review of the status and direction of work. Materials of the 9th scientific and technical conference "Vacuum science and technology" - M.: MIEM, 2002, p. 244-247
26. I.V. Artyukhov, V.N. Kemenov, S.B. Nesterov. Nanotechnology, biology and medicine. Materials of the 9th scientific and technical conference "Vacuum science and technology" - M.: MIEM, 2002, p. 248-253
27. http://refdb.ru/look/1075853.html
28. http://www.gradusnik.ru/rus/doctor/nano/w57k-nanomed1/
29. http://dok.opredelim.com/docs/index-13571.html
30. http://www.uran.donetsk.ua/~masters/2012/fknt/osipova/library/article5.htm
Plants are more vulnerable to toxic nanoparticles if their parents were grown in contaminated soil, according to a new study published in NanoImpact. The results highlight the importance of improving and expanding research on the effects of nanomaterials on plants.
In another paper published in NanoImpact, scientists warn that our knowledge of the risks to agriculture associated with the use of nanotechnology and the impact of nanomaterials on plants, in particular food crops, is not sufficient and it is time to rethink it.
The nanotechnology industry continues to grow at a rapid pace. It is based on the use of tiny particles, one billionth of a meter in size, for a wide variety of technological applications - from sunscreen to batteries.
Nanoparticles are used in thousands of commercial products, making it impossible to stop their accumulation in the environment. However, unlike many other materials, they can be highly reactive and have unique impacts on the health and safety of people and the environment.
One important end point for nanoparticles is agricultural soils. Nanoparticles are transferred to the soil through irrigation and fertilization from wastewater treatment plants. Because of this, crops may be subject to increased exposure to nanoparticles in the soil in which they grow.
Moreover, nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize agriculture in the same way it has revolutionized medicine and communications, so researchers need to understand how it affects not only the plants currently being grown, but also future generations of crops.
"We need to investigate the effects of nanoparticles on plant growth now," said Dr Jason S. White of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Connecticut, US, who is one of the scientists calling for more research. “Any technology has both risks and benefits, and even in cases where the benefits may be enormous, the risks must be carefully studied. More research is needed into the effects of nanoparticles on multiple generations of plants.”
Dr. Ma of Texas A&M University and other researchers studied the effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles on plant health and yield across three generations of plants - the first time such a comprehensive study has been done. They grew three generations of plants Brassica rapa in soil contaminated with cerium oxide, and studied the effect of nanoparticles on plant growth and reproduction. Their results showed that such exposure reduced the quality of seeds and subsequent generations of plants suffered and yields decreased. Subsequent generations also showed more signs of stress than their "parents" under the same rearing conditions.
"Our study significantly expands the understanding of plant-nanoparticle interactions and the effects of nanoparticles on crops than most previous studies," said Dr. Ma.
The substances created on their basis are called nanomaterials, and the methods of their production and use are called nanotechnologies. With the naked eye, a person can see an object with a diameter of approximately 10 thousand nanometers.
Almanac "Understanding Nanotechnology" Understanding Nanotechnology notes that despite the fact that the term "nanotechnology" has become very popular in recent years, even people who supported the development of this branch of science and technology often have a very rough idea of what we are talking about. It is significant that the word “nanotechnology” does not appear in the academic dictionary of the American English Webster Dictionary of 1966, despite the fact that research in the nanosphere had been carried out for quite a long time by that time.
The United States allocated significant budget funds for the development of nanotechnology for the first time under President Bill Clinton. In a speech announcing this fact (made in 2000), Clinton explained that nanotechnology makes it possible to create from a piece of substance the size of a sugar cube a material that is ten times stronger than steel. This definition is now perceived as vulgar and extremely primitive, but there is no guarantee that the current definitions of nanotechnology will not become outdated in the foreseeable future and will not look like a nightmarish anachronism. Probably the greatest chance of survival is given by the definition given by Rita Colwell, director of the US National Science Foundation: “Nanotechnology is a gateway to another world.”
Global spending on nanotechnology projects now exceeds $9 billion per year. The United States now accounts for approximately one-third of all global investments in nanotechnology. Other major players in this field are the European Union and Japan. Research in this area is also actively conducted in the countries of the former USSR, Australia, Canada, China, South Korea, Israel, Singapore, Brazil and Taiwan. Projections show that by 2015, the total number of employees in various sectors of the nanotechnology industry could reach 2 million people, and the total value of goods produced using nanomaterials will be at least several hundred billion dollars and possibly approaching $1 trillion.
Nanotechnology is usually divided into three types. The industrial use of nanoparticles in car paints and auto cosmetics is an example of “incremental” nanotechnologies. "Evolutionary" nanotechnologies are represented by nanoscale sensors using the fluorescent properties of quantum dots (2 to 10 nanometers in diameter) and the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes (1 to 100 nanometers in diameter), although these developments are still in their infancy. “Radical” nanotechnologies have not yet appeared; they can only be seen in science fiction thrillers. We should also expect a convergence of these three technologies.
However, the transition from laboratory production to mass production is fraught with significant challenges, and reliably processing materials at the nanoscale in the required manner is still very difficult to realize economically. Currently, nanomaterials are used for the manufacture of protective and light-absorbing coatings, sports equipment, transistors, light-emitting diodes, fuel cells, drugs and medical equipment, materials for food packaging, cosmetics and clothing. Nanoimpurities based on cerium oxide are already being added to diesel fuel, which makes it possible to increase engine efficiency by 4-5% and reduce the degree of exhaust gas pollution. In 2002, tennis balls created using nanotechnology were used for the first time at the Davis Cup.
In total, American industry and the industry of other developed countries now use nanotechnology in the production process of at least 80 groups of consumer goods and over 600 types of raw materials, components and industrial equipment. In the United States, federal spending on nanotechnology programs and projects alone increased from $464 million in 2001 to $1 billion in 2005. According to the Congressional Research Service, the United States plans to allocate $1.1 billion for these purposes in 2006. Another $2 billion was spent in 2005 by American corporations for the same purposes (nanolaboratories were created by such business giants as HP, NEC and IBM, universities and the authorities of individual states).
Cloudless nanotomorrow
In recent years, many optimistic forecasts have been published about the applications of nanotechnology. The properties of materials at the nanoscale differ from large scales due to the fact that at the nanoscale the surface area per unit volume is extremely large. Nanotechnology can radically change the methods currently used in microelectronics, optoelectronics and medicine. Therefore, nanotechnology has truly gigantic potential.
Renowned scientist Jay Storrs HallJ. Storrs Hall, author of the popular science book "Nanofuture"Nanofuture: What's Next For Nanotechnology, argues that nanotechnology will radically change all areas of human life. On their basis, goods and products can be created, the use of which will revolutionize entire sectors of the economy. These include nanosensors for identifying toxic waste from the chemical and biotechnological industries, drugs, chemical warfare agents, explosives and pathogenic microorganisms, as well as nanoparticle filters and other purification devices designed to remove or neutralize them. Another example of promising nanosystems in the near future is electric highways. cables based on carbon nanotubes, which will conduct high voltage current better than copper wires and at the same time weigh five to six times less. Nanomaterials will greatly reduce the cost of automobile catalytic converters that clean exhaust from harmful impurities, since they can be used by 15-20 times. reduce the consumption of platinum and other valuable metals used in these devices. There is every reason to believe that nanomaterials will find wide application in the oil refining industry and in such new areas of the bioindustry as genomics and proteomics.
Physicist Ted Sargent, author of the book "The Dance of Molecules" against specific pathogens. Ray Kurzweil, author of the book Fantatic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Ever, predicts that it is possible to create nanorobot doctors that are able to “live” inside the human body, eliminating all damage that occurs or preventing its occurrence.
Theoretically, nanotechnology can provide a person with physical immortality due to the fact that nanomedicine can endlessly regenerate dying cells. Scientific American magazine predicts that medical devices the size of a postage stamp will appear in the near future. It will be enough to apply them to the wound. This device will independently conduct a blood test, determine what medications need to be used and inject them into the blood.
It is expected that the first robots based on nanotechnology will appear as early as 2025. It is theoretically possible that they will be able to construct any object from ready-made atoms. Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize agriculture. Molecular robots will be able to produce food, replacing agricultural plants and animals. For example, it is theoretically possible to produce milk directly from grass, bypassing the intermediate link - a cow. Nanotechnology can also stabilize the environmental situation. New types of industry will not produce waste that poisons the planet. Incredible prospects are also opening up in the field of information technology. Nanorobots are capable of bringing to life the dream of science fiction writers about the colonization of other planets - these devices will be able to create on them the habitat necessary for human life. Josh Wolfe, editor of the Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report, writes: "The world will simply be rebuilt. Nanotechnology will shake up everything on the planet."
Brief nanohistory
Science historian Richard D. Booker notes that the history of nanotechnology is extremely difficult to create for two reasons - firstly, the “fuzzy” nature of this concept itself. For example, nanotechnology is often not “technology” in the usual sense of the word. Secondly, humanity has always tried to experiment with nanotechnology, without even knowing it.
Charles P. Poole, author of the book "Introduction to Nanotechnology", gives an illustrative example: the British Museum houses the so-called "Lycurgus Cup" (the walls of the cup depict scenes from the life of this great Spartan legislator), made by ancient Roman craftsmen - it contains microscopic particles of gold and silver added to the glass. Under different lighting, the cup changes color - from dark red to light golden. Similar technologies were used to create stained glass windows in medieval European cathedrals.
The Greek philosopher Democritus can be considered the father of nanotechnology. Around 400 BC. He first used the word "atom", which means "unbreakable" in Greek, to describe the smallest particle of matter. In 1661, Irish chemist Robert Boule published an article in which he criticized Aristotle's assertion that everything on Earth consists of four elements - water, earth, fire and air (the philosophical basis of the then alchemy, chemistry and physics). Boyle argued that everything consists of “corpuscles” - ultra-small parts that, in different combinations, form various substances and objects. Subsequently, the ideas of Democritus and Boyle were accepted by the scientific community.
Probably for the first time in modern history, a nanotechnological breakthrough was achieved by the American inventor George Eastman (later founded the famous company Kodak), who produced photographic film (this happened in 1883).
1905 Swiss physicist Albert Einstein published a paper in which he proved that the size of a sugar molecule is approximately 1 nanometer.
1931 German physicists Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska created an electron microscope, which for the first time made it possible to study nanoobjects.
1968 Alfred ChoAlfred Cho and John ArthurJohn Arthur, employees of the scientific division of the American company Bell, developed the theoretical foundations of nanotechnology in surface treatment.
1974 Japanese physicist Norio Taniguchi introduced the word “nanotechnology” into scientific circulation, which he proposed to call mechanisms less than one micron in size. The Greek word "nos" means "gnome" and refers to billions of parts of a whole.
1981 German physicists Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer created a microscope capable of showing individual atoms.
1985 American physicists Robert Curl, Harold KrotoHarold Kroto and Richard SmalleyRichard Smalley have created a technology that makes it possible to accurately measure objects with a diameter of one nanometer.
1986 Nanotechnology became known to the general public. American futurist Eric DrexlerEric Drexler published a book in which he predicted that nanotechnology would soon begin to actively develop.
1989 Donald EiglerDonald Eigler, an IBM employee, laid out the name of his company with xenon atoms.
1993 In the United States, the Feynman Prize began to be awarded, which is named after the physicist Richard P. Feynman, who in 1959 gave a prophetic speech in which he stated that many scientific problems will be solved only when scientists learn to work at the atomic level. In 1965, Feynman was awarded the Nobel Prize for his research in the field of quantum electrodynamics, now one of the fields of nanoscience.
1998 Dutch physicist Seez Dekker created a transistor based on nanotechnology.
1999 American physicists James TourJames Tour and Mark ReedMark Reed determined that an individual molecule can behave in the same way as molecular chains.
year 2000. The US Administration supported the creation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. Nanotechnology research has received government funding. Then $500 million was allocated from the federal budget.
2001 - Mark A. Ratner, author of the book "Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea", believes that nanotechnology became part of human life in 2001. Then two significant events took place: the influential scientific magazine Science called nanotechnology “the breakthrough of the year,” and the influential business magazine Forbes called it “a new promising idea.” Nowadays, the expression “new industrial revolution” is periodically used in relation to nanotechnology.
The Phantom Menace
History irrefutably shows that hardly all useful inventions and scientific and technical developments not only contribute to the development of the economy, but also expose humanity to new and sometimes difficult to predict dangers.
In 2004, Credit Suisse First Boston published an analytical report on the future of nanotechnology. It states that nanotechnology is a classic "general purpose technology". Other general-purpose technologies—steam engines, electricity, and railroads—became the basis for industrial revolutions. Innovations of this kind usually start out as very crude technologies with limited use cases, but then quickly spread to other areas of life. This begins the “process of creative destruction” (a process in which a new technology or product provides new opportunities and better solutions, resulting in the complete replacement of the previous technology or product, as electricity replaced steam, and electronic mail replaced the telegraph). In the near future, creative destruction will not only continue, but will accelerate, and nanotechnology will be at its core. Conclusion: "Most of the companies listed in the current Dow Jones Industrial Average likely won't be there in twenty years."
Eric Drexler Eric Drexler, founder and head of the Foresight Institute research, author of the book “Engines of Creation,” emphasizes that today the buyer of an industrial product pays for its design, materials, labor, production costs, transportation, storage and sales organization. If nanofactories can produce a wide range of products at any time and anywhere, most of these operations will become unnecessary. Therefore, it is unknown how nanomanufacturing will affect prices and unemployment rates. The flexibility of nanotechnology manufacturing and the ability to produce radically better products means that conventional products will not be able to compete with the products of nanofactories in many areas. If nanofactory technology is owned or controlled by any one organization, it could lead to a "new monopolization."
The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology predicts that nanotechnology products will be extremely valuable by today's standards. A monopoly will allow technology owners to set high prices for all products to make large profits. However, this means that millions of people in need will not have access to vital, low-cost technology. Over time, competition will reduce prices, but early on a monopoly is likely. Moreover, the “poor” countries of the world do not have the capacity to finance nanoresearch. It is also unlikely that an unregulated commercial market for nanotechnology will be allowed to exist.
There are other aspects of the problem. Terrorists and criminals who gain access to nanotechnology can cause significant damage to society. Chemical and biological weapons will be more dangerous, and it will be much easier to hide them. It will be possible to create new types of weapons for killing at a distance, which will be very difficult to detect or neutralize. Catching a criminal after committing a similar crime will also become more difficult. On the other hand, the state will gain new opportunities. It is theoretically possible to create very small, inexpensive supercomputers that can run stealthy, ongoing population surveillance programs. A huge number of surveillance devices can be manufactured at fairly modest costs. With the ability to build billions of complex devices at a total cost of a few dollars, any automated technology that can be applied to one person can be applied to everyone. Any scenario of physical or psychological control using the extreme capabilities of nanotechnology will look science-fiction and implausible.
New things and changes in the usual way of life can lead to a loosening of the foundations of society. For example, medical devices that make it possible to relatively easily modify the structure of the brain or stimulate certain parts of the brain to produce effects that mimic any form of mental activity could become the basis for “nanotechnology addiction.”
Nanotechnology also has a bright military future. Currently, military research in the world is carried out in six main areas: technologies for creating and countering “invisibility”, energy resources, self-healing systems (for example, allowing you to automatically repair a damaged surface of a tank or aircraft or change its color), communications, as well as devices for detecting chemical and biological agents. pollution. Back in 1995, David E. Jeremiah, a former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated: “Nanotechnology has the potential to radically change the balance of power, more so than even nuclear weapons.”
It is possible to imagine a device the size of the smallest insect (about 200 microns) capable of finding unprotected people and injecting them with poisons. The lethal dose of botulinum toxin is 100 nanograms, or about 1/100 the volume of the entire device. 50 billion such weapons - enough to kill every person on Earth - could be stored in a suitcase. Firearms will become much more powerful - and bullets will become homing. Aerospace technology could be much lighter and better, made with little or no metal, making it much more difficult to detect by radar. Built-in computers will allow you to activate any type of weapon at a distance, and more compact energy sources will greatly improve the capabilities of combat robots.
Analyst Tom McCarthy, author of the article “Molecular Nanotechnology and the World System,” argues that nanotechnology will help reduce the level of economic influence of individual states. During military operations, armies will prefer to destroy people rather than military equipment or industrial enterprises. Nanotechnology will make it possible to organize industrial production even in regions where there are no mineral resources. They will make small groups completely self-sufficient, which can contribute to the collapse of states.
Risk assessment
The United States and other countries are trying to assess the risk of using and improving nanotechnology. However, in the United States, funding for analysis of potential threats from the use of nanomaterials is still very small.
According to estimates by experts from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, their total amount is only $39 million - that is, only 4% of all allocations for nanotechnology coming from the federal treasury. The number of projects for which these funds are allocated is also quite modest - approximately 160.
At a hearing of the US House of Representatives House Science Committee, representatives of environmental movements and industrial corporations unanimously stated that the cost of elucidating the environmental and medical aspects of the use of nanomaterials should amount to 10 to 20 percent of all government spending on nanotechnology.
This state of affairs has already caused many alarming warnings from experts. Nanoparticles easily penetrate the human and animal body through the skin, respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract. Now there is no doubt that some nanoobjects can have a toxic effect on cells of various tissues. In particular, carbon nanotubes, which are considered one of the most promising nanomaterials of the near future, have such an effect.
The situation is complicated by the fact that many nanostructures are produced in more than one way. This circumstance increases the range of risks that workers in the nanotechnology industry may face or are already facing. On the other hand, it gives reason to assume that externally the same nanoproducts, manufactured using different technologies, will have different effects on humans and their environment.
In December 2004, the Science Policy Council of the US Environmental Protection Agency created a working group of experts charged with preparing a White Paper on the dangers of nanotechnology. Exactly one year later, a draft version of this document was published.
The authors of the White Paper project begin with a definition of the object of their analysis. They define nanotechnology as “research and development at the atomic, molecular and macromolecular level on a size scale from one to one hundred nanometers; the creation and use of artificial structures, devices and systems that, due to their ultra-small sizes, have significantly new properties and functions; manipulation of matter at atomic distance scale." This definition is broad enough to include not only existing materials and products, but also those systems that will appear only in ten to twenty years.
However, to date, information about the consequences of uncontrolled releases of nanoparticles into the environment remains rather scarce. The authors of the White Paper project emphasize the need to fill these information gaps as quickly as possible. They emphasize that serious study of the behavior of nanoparticles in the environment has only recently begun. It is known, for example, that nanoparticles can accumulate in air, soil and wastewater, but science does not yet have enough data to accurately model such processes. Nanoparticles can be destroyed by light and chemicals, as well as by contact with microorganisms, but these processes are not yet well understood. Nanomaterials, as a rule, undergo chemical transformations more easily than larger objects of the same composition, and therefore are capable of forming complex compounds with previously unknown properties. This circumstance increases the technological prospects of nanoobjects and at the same time forces us to pay special attention to the risks associated with them.
Another little-researched area is the consequences of contact of nanoparticles with living cells and tissues. There is no doubt that many nanomaterials have toxic effects. For example, inhalation of polystyrene nanoparticles not only causes inflammation of the lung tissue, but also provokes thrombosis of blood vessels. There is evidence that carbon nanoparticles can cause cardiac disorders and suppress the activity of the immune system. Experiments on aquarium fish and dogs have shown that fullerenes, polyatomic spherical carbon molecules several nanometers across, can destroy brain tissue. The penetration of nanoparticles into the biosphere is fraught with many consequences, which are not yet possible to predict due to lack of information.
The authors of the White Paper strongly recommend accelerating large-scale research aimed at elucidating the dangers and risks associated with nanoparticle pollution of the environment. In particular, it is necessary to find out in what ways the biodegradation of nanoparticles occurs and how it affects the ecological chains in living nature.
Clarence Davis came to similar conclusions. Clarens Davies, research fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, author of the report "Managing the Effect of Nanotechnology." He notes that nanotechnology is a “new reality” that is not yet amenable to government regulation. It is extremely difficult to use existing laws for this purpose. Therefore, it is urgent to create fundamentally new legislation, new mechanisms and regulatory institutions (including international ones) - otherwise the genie may escape from the bottle and the consequences of this may be the most unpleasant.
The scientific and expert community has recently begun to realize the dangers and risks of the unregulated development of the nanoindustry and nanoproducts due to the toxicity of nanomaterials to living systems and insufficient research on this issue. And further there will be a radical transformation of modern production, all spheres of human life under the influence of nanotechnology.
However, these prospects will remain unrealized without effective control over the negative consequences of the use of nanotechnology. Or rather, the changes will be significant, but they will be dominated by real harmful consequences.
It can be said even stronger: the effectiveness of the security system determines whether humanity will survive in the 21st century. This problem is becoming ahead of the dangers associated with terrorism and the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Of course, the problem of nanotechnology safety has its own specific features, primarily related to the fact that nanomaterials will become generally accepted and penetrate into everyday life, medicine, sports, civilian and military equipment, clothing, footwear, food, etc. These technologies are interdisciplinary and intersectoral and therefore we can expect successes and risks from them in all areas of human activity. However, with all this, the positive and negative experience accumulated by humanity in the 20th century when using peaceful and non-peaceful atoms, the methodology developed in this industry can be transferred, of course, not mechanically, to the protection of man and nature from nanotechnology.
This means that from the very beginning a safety assessment should be made for the entire cycle, for any nanotechnology and nanomaterials put into practice: at the experimental stage, the safety of pilot developments, industrial production, in all areas of use, safety in potential accidents, when the technology is stopped, during storage and burial of waste containing nanomaterials. We mentioned one extravagant, menacing, and unfamiliar danger in another chapter of the book, discussing the dispute between nanotechnology pioneers Eric Drexler and Robert Smalley. We are talking about self-reproducing, “multiplying” molecular robotic assemblers getting out of control. They are capable of continuing the endless work of self-assembly from the raw materials of the environment in an autonomous mode with an adequate supply of energy, rebuilding, processing any environments that come their way into a population of new assemblers or, as E. Drexler figuratively says, into “gray” dirt. Theoretically, this process, i.e. exponential growth, can continue until the available energy and materials are exhausted. A cheerful prospect! But this is just a theory for now.
E. Drexler not only discussed this possibility in detail and proposed, in general terms, to define the precautions that all countries involved in the development of nanotechnology should voluntarily undertake.
More traditional types of hazards involve the chemical properties of nanoparticles that can interact with living systems. As in the case of ionizing radiation, nanoparticles in the cell form superactive particles - radicals of different nature, strong oxidizing agents (peroxides, singlet oxygen) that can disrupt the vital processes of the cell, affecting DNA, RNA and other biological objects of the cell.
Dosimetry of nanoparticles in living organisms is very important, which requires special precision instruments and special techniques. Since the manifestation of specific, including toxicological, properties by nanoparticles is associated with their characteristic very high ratio of surface to volume or mass, this S/V value is often taken as a physical measure of the potential impact on a living system. And, of course, the chemical structure, geometry of particles, and their size distribution are very important.
1. Transfer of nanoparticles (NPs) in the human body and the environment (ES).
Sources of NPs entering the OS.
Nanoparticles in the environment are not a new phenomenon. To date, in addition to natural sources of nanoparticles, there are many sources of unintentional anthropogenic pollution of the environment. With the beginning of the era of nanotechnology, a number of intentionally created sources of nano-objects entering various natural environments are added to them.
2. Routes of entry of nanoparticles into the human body.
The entry of nanoobjects into the human body does not differ from the entry of other contaminants and occurs:
- - through the respiratory tract (home textiles);
- - with water and food through the intestinal tract;
- - through the skin (clothing, underwear) and mucous membranes;
- - from contaminated surfaces.
At the same time, nanoobjects can enter the human body not as pollution, but for other reasons:
- - when using nanomedicines, nanocosmetics, nanotextiles;
- - with constant contact with household objects and materials containing nanoobjects and nanoparticles.
The few, unsystematic studies on the influence of nanoobjects on animals and humans still allow us to draw the following conclusions, which must be taken into account:
- - a one-time intake of nanoobjects into the animal’s body causes undesirable changes, the intensity of which depends on the concentration of nanoobjects;
- - nano-objects tend to accumulate in organs and tissues (bone marrow, nerve cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems, lymph nodes, brain, lungs, liver, kidneys).
Nanoobjects penetrate inside a living cell, overcoming block barriers. In doing so, they can:
- - influence the components of a living cell, disrupting it mainly due to the generation of active particles (radicals, various forms of oxygen, peroxides);
- - penetrate into the metachondria and block their active function;
- - cause DNA damage, block ribosome activity.
The seriousness of the problem of dangers from the use of nanotechnology has recently been realized by many scientists and public figures around the world. Since 2006, a special journal Nanotoxicology began to be published; This problem is being addressed by the US National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency EPA, the National Cancer Institute NCI and others. In Russia, the nanoindustry itself is still very weak and, accordingly, proper, systematic control over this problem does not exist. At the same time, we receive numerous nanoproducts from abroad (pharmaceuticals, food, textiles, cosmetics, etc.) worth tens of billions of DS, which do not undergo any special certification. A special independent control service is required, equipped with modern instrumentation and operating within the framework of special legislation and under constant public control.
Published by USEPA, EVSCENIHR and NRG, as well as the International Risk Governance Council (JRGC) in 2006-2007. reports highlight the paucity of experimental data on potential risks in nanotechnology and nanomedicine.
Until now, studies have been carried out only on animals, the purpose of which was to identify the principles of operation of nanoobjects.
The problem of nanotoxicity may be exacerbated by the fact that the toxicity of nanoobjects is not a simple transition from the toxicity of bulk materials of the same chemical structure to the nanoscale. We repeat that nanoparticles by their nature exhibit different physicochemical properties, depending not only on their size, but also on adhesive, catalytic, optical, electrical, quantum mechanical properties, which depend not only on the size of nanoparticles, but also on their geometry , size distribution and order of their organization in a nanoobject.
Moreover, chemicals that do not exhibit toxicity in their usual non-nanosized form can exhibit toxicity in the form of nanoparticles. A typical example. Inert carbon in its usual form exhibits toxicity in the form of fullerene, carbon nanotubes. A similar metamorphosis occurs with metal oxides (titanium).
- - toxicity depends on the concentration of nanoparticles in the body and their surface area;
- - toxicity depends on the physicochemical form of nanoparticles;
- - toxicity depends on the nanosystem in which the nanoparticles are included;
- - the toxicity of nanoparticles is higher than that of microparticles;
- - nanoparticles are harmful to both animals and plants;
- - there is practically no data on the impact of nanoparticles and nano-objects on humans and on ecosystems as a whole, or on populations as part of an ecosystem.
Currently, 2000 original nanomaterials are produced in the world. Over the 10 years of their use, not a single type of them has been fully studied for safety.
Table 1. The dangers of nanotechnology and ways to overcome them
|
Danger |
Solutions |
||
|
specific |
|||
|
Use of nanodevices |
Just fear: the first nanodevices will not appear before 2015-2020 |
Conduct outreach work and popularize relevant nanotechnologies |
|
|
Nanotoxicity |
Reports of harmful effects of nano-objects, lack of experimental data |
About the mechanisms of nanotoxicity |
|
|
Impact of nanoobjects on DNA and genomic processes |
Reports on the impact of nanoobjects on DNA, lack of experimental data |
Conducting additional experimental studies, forming theoretical ideas |
|
|
Penetration of H2O into cells and tissue organs |
Reports of H2O permeation through biomembranes, lack of experimental data |
Conducting additional experimental studies, forming theoretical ideas |
|
|
nonspecific |
|||
|
New and unusual |
Just fear |
Conduct outreach work on nanotechnology |
|
|
Losing money for unknown benefit |
Lack of work on benefit-harm analysis |
Organization of research on the benefit-harm ratio of the use of nanotechnologies |
|
|
Lack of work on analysis and risk assessment of nanotechnology |
Organization of research on analysis and risk assessment of nanotechnologies |
||
|
Insecurity, illegality |
Lack of legislative and regulatory framework |
Development of legislative and regulatory documents regulating the production and circulation of nanotechnologies |
In addition to safety, moral and ethical problems arise from the use of nanotechnology, especially for medicine, cosmetics, household appliances, clothing, home textiles, military equipment, etc.
Society must have at its disposal complete, objective and clear information about the advantages and disadvantages of nanotechnology and take part in solving strategic issues represented by the expert community and public organizations.
It should be recognized that throughout the world, research on the safety of nanotechnologies lags significantly behind their development and commercialization. And the cost of identifying the ethical, legal and social consequences of introducing nanotechnology lags sharply behind research into the impact on human health and the environment.
This condition urgently needs to be changed at the planetary level if we do not want to ruin our common civilization; change through legislation at the international and federal levels.
During a conference dedicated to the problems of biosafety of nanotechnology, scientists proposed that the government adopt certain regulations for the control of nanoindustry products.
Governments of many countries nowadays organize special conferences and allocate significant amounts of money to study the impact of nanotechnology on the environment.
One of the questions asked by both scientists and ordinary people, especially residents of megacities, is the air that we inhale. It's no secret that the presence of a huge number of diseases, chronic bronchitis and asthma, including congenital cases of this disease, are explained by toxic and polluted emissions into the atmosphere from industrial enterprises and household devices.
In this regard, scientists are conducting research on the behavior of nanoparticles in the atmosphere and the consequences of their inhalation by humans. As a result of experiments on laboratory rodents, a high sensitivity of epithelial cells of the respiratory system to nanoparticles was revealed, which accumulated in the nasal passages of experimental animals, causing rhinitis and other more severe diseases.
The problem of the impact of nanomaterials on the environment attracts no less attention. So a study was conducted on the environmental risks of five main types of nanomaterials, including nanotubes, quantum dots and buckyballs. Researchers have identified different types of contamination risks for different process operations, including drug production and oil refining. Based on the data obtained, the environmental professor concludes in the article that the creation of nanomaterials poses less risk than current industrial processes.
Nanoparticles entering the soil will not cause any noticeable harm to the ecosystem. A number of experiments were carried out in which fullerenes were placed in various types of soil and then their behavior and their effect on microorganisms and minerals were studied. Fullerenes are frame spherical polyhedra composed of regular pentagons and hexagons with carbon atoms at the vertices. Significant changes could be fatal to elements of plant food chains. However, the results of observations showed that it does not produce any negative dynamics: microorganisms are alive and well, the balance of substances is not affected.
Nanotechnology, of course, contributes to the technical progress of mankind - scientists regularly report on new successes that can change people's lives and everyday life for the better. Nanoparticles developed using nanotechnology can help treat cancer. However, some nanoparticles, on the contrary, can cause cancer in the human body. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, now found in many foods, accumulate in the body and lead to systemic genetic damage. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles cause single- and double-stranded DNA breaks and also lead to chromosome damage.
Once titanium nanoparticles enter the body, they accumulate in various organs, since the body does not have mechanisms for their removal. Due to their small size, they easily penetrate cells and begin to affect their elements.
The scale of use of nanoparticles in the production of cosmetics is growing every year, and, according to manufacturers, there is nothing wrong with this. Some environmentalists take a different position. The use of nanoparticles in cosmetics is no less harmful than arsenic and lead additives, believe Australian representatives of the international environmental organization Friends of the Earth. In all randomly selected test groups of products, the researchers found nanoparticles.
Nanotechnology is used in cosmetics much more widely than consumers believe. In addition to containing nanoparticles, seventy percent of the products tested contained chemical enhancers that make it easier for nanoparticles to penetrate the skin into the bloodstream. Many popular manufacturers and brands of cosmetics have not escaped accusations. Nanoparticles were found in the products of Clinic, Lacom, L'Oreal, Max Factor, Revlon, Yves Saint Laurent, despite the fact that they were not listed in the composition. But cosmetics manufacturer Christian Dior not only included nanoparticles in the composition of the products, but also indicated them in the list of ingredients.
The results of the study clearly indicate the dangers of new cosmetics. In 2009, the European Union introduced a law requiring all sunscreens containing nanomaterials and nanoparticles to undergo testing by 2012.
This case is not the first time that environmentalists and scientists have raised the issue of the danger that modern nanotechnology may pose. In particular, some scientists believe that the appearance of nanoparticles in the atmosphere on an industrial scale can change the Earth's climate, and also warn about the dangers of eating food created using nanotechnology
American scientists have discovered a significant amount of nanoparticles in the Earth's atmosphere, which continues to increase. In their opinion, nanoparticles, reflecting the sun's rays, can seriously change the climate on the planet, causing another Ice Age.
According to the latest observations of American scientists, the atmosphere of our planet already contains a significant amount of nanoparticles that are invisible to the eye, but can influence weather processes.
The number of nanoparticles is increasing in different parts of the world, but why this is happening remains a mystery. Scientists have been studying the question of how nanoparticles are formed and how their number increases when they interact with various organic vapors.
However, they were able to find out that some types of organic matter grow rapidly in the atmosphere. When they gather in large quantities, they reflect sunlight back into space - a kind of reverse greenhouse effect. In addition, scientists note, the spread of nanoparticles in the air can exacerbate diseases such as asthma, emphysema and other pulmonary diseases.