NANOMATERIALS, NANOTECHNOLOGY

Applications, Consumer Products, and Benefits

G. ADLAKHA-HUTCHEON
Defence R&D Canada
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Gitanjali.Adlakha-Hutcheon@drdc-rddc.gc.ca

R. KHAYDAROV
INP, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

R. KORENSTEIN
Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University
Tel-Aviv, Israel

R. VARMA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

A. VASEASHTA
Nanomaterials Laboratories & Characterization Labs
Marshall University
One John Marshall Drive
Huntington, WV 25575, USA

H. STAMM
Joint Research Centre
European Commission
Ispra, Italy

M. ABDEL-MOTTALEB
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Ain Shams University
11566 Abbassia
Cairo, Egypt

Abstract. Nanotechnology is a platform technology that is finding more and more

applications daily. Today over 600 consumer products are available globally
that utilize nanomaterials. This chapter explores the use of nanomaterials and

I. Linkov and J. Steevens (eds.), Nanomaterials: Risks and Benefits, 195

© Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009
196 G. ADLAKHA-HUTCHEON ET AL.

nanotechnology in three areas, namely Medicine, Environment and Energy. Given

the large number of applications being designed that utilize nanomaterials and
nanotechnologies, and the perception that nanotechnology can (or will) provide
the ultimate solution for the world’s problems; questions arise regarding who
benefits from these technological advances. Additionally, within the popular press
all nanotechnology products are generally portrayed as being beneficial to society
without necessarily distinguishing between real and potential benefits of the
technology. Lastly, the benefits and implications of these technological advance-
ments in society are explored.1

1. Introduction

The NATO Advanced Research Workshop titled “Risk, Uncertainty and Decision
Analysis for Nanomaterials: Environmental Risks and Benefits and Emerging
Consumer Products” had five primary objectives. The Working Group (WG) on
“Nanotechnology and its benefits” discussed two off the five, namely: “The potential
benefits of nanotechnology enabled commercial products”; and “Identifying
strategies for users in developing countries to best manage this rapidly developing
technology and its associated risks, as well as to realize its benefits”. The subject
of the WG’s deliberations primarily revolved around the former and the latter only
to the extent that it pertained to benefits.

2. Definition of Nanotechnology

The late Dr. Richard Smalley defined Nanotechnology as the art and science of
building stuff that does stuff at the nanometer scale. This definition is therefore
inclusive of science in speaking of nanotechnologies; for our purposes here
reference to nanotechnology included science in its fold.

3. Nanotechnology: New Name for Old Products?

Nanomaterials have been used for centuries – from the use of nanometer-size gold
particles for red stained glass to soot from candles in inks. Nanoparticles can be
both man-made and naturally occurring. What is different today is that technological
advancements have enabled us to produce and detect these materials and begin to
understand how their shape and size can be used to good effect, and with this
ability, we can begin to change them so that they are more exploitable. This

1
Summary of the NATO ARW Technology Working Group discussions. Co-chairs – Gitanjali
Adlakha-Hutcheon and Rafi Korenstein; Members – Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb, Azad Bayramov, John
Cullinane, Oleg Figovsky, Nava Haruvy, Renat Khaydarov, Mikhail Kondratyev, Hermann Stamm,
Rajender Varma, Ashok Vaseashta, Teresa Vieira.
 NANOMATERIALS, NANOTECHNOLOGY 197

development is best summed up by The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of
Engineering, UK – they define Nanotechnology as the ability to measure, see,
manipulate and manufacture things between 1 and 100 nm (1 billionth of a meter)
– is seen as the driver of a new industrial revolution emerging with the
development of materials that exhibit new properties and potential new risks and
benefits at this tiny scale [27].

4. Applications

Nanotechnology is a platform technology that utilizes the inherently unique

properties of matter that arise at the nanoscale. Applications of this technology can
be found in areas of material sciences, medicine, energy, environment, communi-
cations and electronics among others. The enormous international S&T investment
in nanotechnology research has evolving, and potentially endless possibilities.
Researchers continue to find new applications for nanomaterials. Whether it is
using carbon nanotubes to make vehicle composites stronger than steel, but lighter
(thereby improving fuel economy), or creating medicines that can target and treat
specific cells in the body, or purifying water at point of use – nanotechnology
could revolutionize some of these sectors. One of the challenges is to garner
benefits without risk. In this section applications of nanotechnology in the fields
of nanomedicine, energy and environment will be elaborated.

5. Nanomedicine – Answering Clinical Needs

The European Technology Platform (ETP) group has defined nanomedicine as the
application of nanotechnology to achieve breakthroughs in healthcare [8]. Nano-
medicine consists of several subdomains including diagnostics and imaging; drug
delivery; and regenerative medicine.
An important subdomain of nanomedicine is the field of in-vivo diagnosis
based on imaging technologies. One of the most promising applications is molecular
imaging, which refers to the characterization and measurement of biological
processes at the cellular and/or molecular levels, and has emerged as a powerful
tool to visualize molecular events of an underlying disease. The merging of
nanotechnology with molecular imaging provides a versatile platform for novel
design of nano-probes that will have tremendous potential to enhance the
sensitivity, specificity, and signaling capabilities of various biomarkers in human
diseases. Nanoengineered platforms possess unprecedented potential for early
detection, accurate diagnosis, and personalized treatment of diseases. Such
platforms have been employed in many biomedical imaging modalities, namely,
optical imaging, computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging,
single-photon-emission computed tomography, and positron emission tomography
[4]. Multifunctionality is the key advantage of nanoplatforms over traditional
approaches. Targeting ligands, imaging labels, therapeutic drugs, and many other
agents can all be integrated into the nanoplatform to allow for targeted molecular
imaging and molecular therapy by encompassing many biological and biophysical
198 G. ADLAKHA-HUTCHEON ET AL.

barriers [4]. Moreover, the technological advancement in miniaturizing medical

devices in conjunction with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology
provides foundations for the nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). The
application of medical devices in nanomedicine can be envisioned in four areas of
applications consisting of minimally invasive surgery, heart assisting devices,
drug delivery on demand and finally pain therapy.
Drug delivery aims to employ nanoscale carrier particles or molecules
developed to improve the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of therapeutics.
Drug-delivery systems can be synthesized with controlled composition, shape,
size and morphology as demonstrated by examples such as programmable
fusogenic vesicles [1]. The surface properties of nanocarriers can be manipulated
to increase solubility, immunocompatibility and cellular uptake. The limitations of
current drug delivery systems include suboptimal bioavailability, limited effective
targeting and potential cytotoxicity. Examples of drug delivery systems include
liposomes, polymer nanoparticles, nano-suspensions and polymer therapeutics.
The pharmaceutical industry is interested in these delivery systems owing to their
unique properties: (1) Nanoparticles can be used for passive tumor targeting; (2)
They have the potential to improve penetration through biological barriers, such as
the blood brain barrier, for drug delivery; (3) They can be used to increase the
solubility of drugs; and (4) They can even possess characteristics of contrast
agents for improved imaging (e.g., the use of nanometer-sized superparamagnetic
iron oxide particles as cellular contrast agents allows the non-invasive detection of
labeled cells on high-resolution magnetic resonance images). Thus, the production
of multifunctional targeted drug carriers, also possessing imaging characteristics
enables the possibility of combining the diagnostic properties with the therapeutic
ones (“theranostics”) [8].
Today, our surgical tools are large and crude at the molecular scale, yet the
cellular and molecular machinery in our tissue is small and precise. The only
reason that modern surgery works is the remarkable ability of cells to regroup,
bury their dead, and heal over the wound. However, the possibility of spontaneous
tissue regeneration is limited. Recent advances in stem cell research, opens promising
pathways towards regeneration of injured organs. There are two major strategies
for inducing regeneration in the damaged tissue: (i) activation of the endogenous
regenerative capacity, and (ii) cell transplantation therapy. Cell transplantation is
approaching clinical reality. To continue to enhance the benefits of cell transplan-
tation it has been proposed that nanobiotechnology possesses a unique potential
that will aid considerably in overcoming obstacles including: identifying a
universal cell source that can be differentiated into specific cellular phenotypes,
developing techniques to enhance integration of the transplant within the host
tissue, improving strategies for in vivo detection and monitoring of the cellular
implants, and developing new techniques to deliver genes to cells [6]. These enhance-
ments will benefit considerably from understanding, visualizing, and controlling
cellular interactions through the manipulation of materials, tissues, cells, and DNA
at the level of and within the individual cell. As such, nanobiotechnology is well
suited to optimize the generally encouraging results already achieved in cell
transplantation.
 NANOMATERIALS, NANOTECHNOLOGY 199

Nanomedicine therefore has the potential, by enabling earlier diagnosis, for

better therapy and improved follow-up care, to make healthcare more effective in
terms of clinical outcome and more affordable for the society in general.

6. Nanotechnology and the Environment

Two types of applications of nanotechnology are possible with respect to the

environment, environmental technology applications that help solve environmental
problems like pollution: and those that support sustainability. According to the US
Environmental Protection Agency’s (US EPA) White Paper [28], nanotechnology
presents new opportunities to improve how contaminants in the environment are
measured, monitored, managed, and minimized [28]. This paper discusses the
potential environmental benefits of nanotechnology, describing environmental
technologies as well as other applications that can foster sustainable use of
resources. It further encourages the US EPA to engage resources and expertise to
encourage, support, and develop approaches that promote pollution prevention,
sustainable resource use, and good product stewardship in the production, use and
end of life management of nanomaterials. Additionally, it asks the Agency to draw
on new, “next generation” nanotechnologies to identify ways to support environ-
mentally beneficial approaches such as green energy, green design, green chemistry,
and green manufacturing. Responsible manufacturing which incorporates principles
of green chemistry and environmentally responsible production of nanomaterials
(such as making use of reusable and recyclable materials, restricting the use of
chemicals or other harmful materials) is now being referred to as “Green Nanotech-
nology” [30, 31]. In this area there has also been increasing interest in identifying
environmentally friendly materials such as reducing agents, capping agents and
dispersants etc. that are multifunctional. Examples of green manufacturing range
from processes employing environmentally friendly chemicals with minimum
energy requirements to producing silver and gold nanoparticles, among other
noble nanometals, using benign reagents such as vitamin B2, [19], vitamin C [20]
and tea and coffee extract [21].

7. Energy

Energy security is the largest challenge facing humankind in the twenty-first

century. Eighty-five percent (85%) of energy consumption worldwide is provided
by fossil fuels, while the current rate of discovery of fossil fuels is almost half the
rate of consumption. Further, for every oil field, either new or in use, only ca. 60%
of the oil is recovered [33]. These facts clearly indicate the urgent need for
systematically addressing this challenge. The energy issue can be generally divided
into two main sectors, namely, securing new sustainable energy sources, and an
effective, clean and rational use of existing energy resources. Nanotechnology
(NT) has the potential to revolutionize the entire energy sector both in terms of
finding new resources and maximizing the utilization of existing ones [31].
200 G. ADLAKHA-HUTCHEON ET AL.

In terms of maximizing current energy resources, NT offers two main approaches.

First, an ability to secure more resources at a cheaper cost for example, the
possibility of retrieving more than 95% of the oil out of the well. Several
examples of how NT achieves this goal include subsurface sensors that can be
used to improve both the discovery and the recovery of hydrocarbons; better
materials to make it easier, cheaper and faster to extract oil. Corrosion problems
caused by bacteria during oil production can be solved with the help of self-
assembled layers that contain silver nanoparticles which in turn inhibit or kill the
corrosive bacteria. Nanotechnology also offers alloys and additives that increase
material performance, making drilling bits and pipes stronger, more wear-
resistant, and lighter, thus decreasing drilling costs. Additionally, NT can produce
smart materials able to respond to external conditions (e.g. poreholes that can
respond to water presence by changing the diameter of the hole, thus stopping a
“lifting response”, or smart pipelines that detect leaks and self-heal [18]).
Secondly, NT can enable more efficient use of the existing energy resources. Huge
energy savings can be obtained by lowering the operational temperature of
industrial chemical reactions or by increasing the selectivity of such reactions.
Since catalysis mainly depends on maximizing surface area per volume (S/V [7,
26]), nanomaterials are good sources to achieve high S/V and to study catalytic
processes [10]. For a long time the fundamental study of catalysis in the laboratory
was carried out using much idealized model systems far removed from the
complex three-dimensional (3D) systems in real applications [14, 23]. NT offers
the tools and mechanisms to build controlled 3D catalytic systems mimicking real
application conditions while still providing the conditional control necessary for
laboratory studies [15, 34].
NT’s impact on the field of catalysis goes beyond fundamental studies; it can
provide completely new catalysts – for example, gold which is an inert material in
bulk conditions is found to have a high catalytic activity when applied in
nanometer sized structures [13, 29].
In terms of finding new resources, Filipponi and Sutherland ([9]) present an
overview of the applications of nanotechnology that may have the potential to help
within the Energy sector. Nanotechnology will cut cost both of the solar cells and
the equipment needed to produce and deploy them, making solar power
economical and hence a more useable alternative to fossil fuels. For this
application one needs to able to make solar cells inexpensively – NT has such a
potential and could therefore help move solar power into the mainstream. There is
also the potential for nanotechnology to contribute to reductions in energy demand
through lighter materials for vehicles; materials and geometries that contribute to
more effective temperature control; technologies that improve manufacturing
process efficiency; materials that increase the efficiency of electrical components
and transmission lines; and materials that could contribute to a new generation of
fuel cells (FC) and a step closer towards a hydrogen economy.
Fuel cells represent an important research direction for clean energy
production. These devices convert fuel such as hydrogen directly into electricity
through an electro-catalytic process rather than by combustion, which yields
higher energy efficiency. In such devices, the electrodes play a very important
 NANOMATERIALS, NANOTECHNOLOGY 201

role. Thus the stability of the electrodes against electrochemical processes and
impurity poisoning, and high-charge carrier mobility are important [12]. The
structure of such electrodes is very complex, which makes fundamental studies of
structure/performance relationship very difficult. NT offers the tools to
systematically study this problem. Further, the precise positioning capabilities
offered by NT allow the construction and manipulation of such complex
electrodes [5, 11].
In summary, NT offers more diverse approaches to the pressing energy issue
than any other technology to date. Not just in terms of actual energy production,
but even in terms of energy savings on every level, for example, smart-windows
that can control the amount of light transmitted into the building thus controlling
the temperature. Furthermore, industrial processes with high energy consumption
are being modified using NT to lower the energy demand. Thus, nanotechnology
may indeed offer mankind hope towards energy security.

8. Nanotechnology and Emerging Consumer Products

Nanotechnology is a growing global enterprise that will have large economic and
social impacts as can be observed with the ever emerging products that utilize
some form of nanotechnological application whether it is a coating on cars to self-
cleaning windows.
Consumer products containing nanomaterials are entering the marketplace at a
rapid pace. “Nanotechnology is no longer simply a science of the future, but it is a
way of producing and using materials at a tiny scale that is rapidly entering our
everyday lives in cosmetics, medicine, food, sports equipment, computers, auto-
mobiles, and many other consumer products”. Nanoscale materials are in some
sunscreens, house paints, clothing, and computers being sold in stores around the
world (Project on emerging nanotechnologies [25]).

9. Consumer Products

As cited in the sections above, nanotechnology heralds a world of better and more
durable consumer products. In 2006, nanotechnology was incorporated into more
than $50 billion worth of manufactured goods. The Project on Emerging Nanotech-
nologies maintains an inventory of consumer products that utilize nanomaterials.
As of May 15, 2008, this inventory contained 610 products or product lines
produced by 322 companies located in 20 countries. This online list of company-
identified nanotechnology consumer products includes merchandise from such
well known brands as Samsung, Black & Decker, Eddie Bauer, and others [25].
Since this list relies on manufacturers self-identifying products that may contain
nanomaterials or use nanotechnologies in the manufacturing process, it is not an
all-inclusive inventory. Other inventories are maintained, for instance, in Japan,
although these cannot be easily or completely accessed due to language differences
(e.g. [2]).
202 G. ADLAKHA-HUTCHEON ET AL.

10. Benefits of Nanotechnology

Rapid advances in material sciences and technology that enable manipulation of

matter at the nanometer scale will continue to allow the realization of many
benefits of this technology. Foremost among these will be a new manufacturing
paradigm.
Present day activity for manufacturing and use of nanomaterials is 49% in the
United States, 30% in the European Union, and 21% in other parts of the world
[3]. Although techniques for manufacturing nanomaterials are as varied as the
materials themselves, they can be divided into two main types of approaches:
“bottom-up” and “top-down” procedures. Bottom-up manufacturing is based on
the building of structures, atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule and can be split
into three categories: chemical synthesis, self-assembly, and positional assembly
[27]. Bottom-up methods are widely used for manufacturing of metal nanoparticles,
nanofilms, fullerenes, nanotubes, quantum dots etc. Top-down manufacturing
involves starting with a micrometer- to millimeter-sized piece of material and
etching, milling or machining fine, nanosized structures from it by removing
material using for instance, precision engineering or lithography techniques. Top-
down manufacturing can be used for obtaining computer chips, precision-
engineered surfaces, metal oxanes etc. [32].

11. Paradigm Shift for Manufacturing

What would it mean if one could inexpensively make things with every atom in
the right place? For starters, one could continue the revolution in computer
hardware right down to molecular gates and wires – something that today’s
lithographic methods (used to make computer chips) could never hope to do. One
could inexpensively make very strong and very light materials: shatterproof
diamond in precisely the shapes one wants, in large volumes, and over 50 times
lighter than steel of the same strength. One could make a Cadillac that weighed 50
kg, or a full-sized sofa you could pick up with one hand. One could make surgical
instruments of such precision and deftness that they could operate on the cells and
even molecules from which one is made – something well beyond today’s medical
technology. The list goes on – it is projected that almost every manufactured
product could be improved, often by orders of magnitude.

11.1. THE ADVANTAGES OF POSITIONAL CONTROL

The reason that such revolutionary changes in manufacturing would be possible is

due to positional control – a basic principle of nanotechnology. At the macro-
scopic scale, the idea that one can hold parts in our hands and assemble them by
properly positioning them with respect to one another goes back to prehistory: we
celebrate ourselves as the tool using species. At the molecular scale, the idea of
holding and positioning molecules is new and almost outrageous.
 NANOMATERIALS, NANOTECHNOLOGY 203

Nanotechnology, employing positional control, will dramatically reduce the

costs and increase the capabilities of spacecrafts and space flight. The strength-to-
weight ratio and the cost of components are absolutely critical to the performance
and economy of space ships: with nanotechnology, both of these parameters will
be improved by one to two orders of magnitude. Improvements in these two
parameters alone should improve the overall cost/performance ratio by over three
orders of magnitude. This has led NASA to support nanotechnology by initiating
projects examining molecular manufacturing systems and molecular machines
using computational models.
Beyond inexpensively providing remarkably lighter and stronger materials for
spacecrafts, nanotechnology will also provide extremely powerful computers that
are small relative to their computing powers with which to guide both those ships
and a wide range of other activities in space.

12. Quantum Computing

Nanotechnology will take us to the post-lithographic era. In futuristic computers

each logic element will be made from just a few atoms. One would be able to
economically build and interconnect trillions upon trillions of small and precise
devices in a complex three dimensional pattern. Further enabling us to build mass
storage devices that can store more than a 1020 bytes in a volume the size of a
sugar cube; RAM that can store a mere 1018 bytes in such a volume; and massively
parallel computers of the same size that can deliver a1018 instructions per second.
Such enhanced computing could open up areas for innovation within the defence
and security domains such as: secure messaging through quantum encryption;
intelligent and completely autonomous short and long-range weapons; self-
repairing military equipment; global information networks through quantum
computing; miniature high energy battery and power supplies; and highly sensitive
miniature biological and chemical sensors among others. According to Merkle
[17] today, “smart” weapons are fairly big – we have the “smart bomb” but not the
“smart bullet.” In the future, even weapons as small as a single bullet could pack
more computer power than the largest supercomputer in existence today, allowing
them to perform real-time image analysis of their surroundings and communicate
with weapons tracking systems to acquire and navigate to targets with greater
precision and control. We’ll also be able to build weapons both inexpensively and
much more rapidly. Rapid and inexpensive manufacture of great quantities of
stronger more precise weapons guided by massively increased computational
power will alter the way wars are fought. Changes of this magnitude could
destabilize existing power structures in unpredictable ways. While molecular
manufacturing will not arrive for many years to come, it’s obvious that military
potential will increasingly attract the interest of planners.
One can now see the fundamental shape of a molecular manufacturing
technology. Self replicating assemblers, operating under computer control, let us
inexpensively build more assemblers. The assemblers can be reprogrammed to
build other products. The assemblers use programmable positional control to
204 G. ADLAKHA-HUTCHEON ET AL.

position molecular tools and molecular components, permitting the inexpensive

fabrication of most structures consistent with physical law. Diamondoid materials
in particular have become inexpensive and its remarkable properties usher the
technology in what has been called the Diamond Age [17].
The obvious leap in our manufacturing capabilities will come from positional
control leading to faster miniaturization and precision. Along with all the obvious
manufacturing benefits, there are also many potential medical and environmental
benefits.

13. Global Implications

Benefits through nanotechnology for the environment as was eluded to earlier,

will include: reduction of waste products generated, and energy used, during
manufacturing of conventional materials as well as nanomaterials; research
applications of nanomaterials in areas of green energy approaches, including solar
energy, hydrogen, power transmission, diesel, pollution control devices, and
lighting; environmental remediation/treatment research supporting improvement
of pollutant capture or destruction by exploiting novel nanoscale structure-
property relations for nanomaterials used in environmental control and
remediation applications; development of nanotechnology-enabled devices for
measuring and monitoring contaminants and other compounds of interest,
including nanomaterials. Examples of the latter would involve development of
new nanoscale sensors for the rapid detection of virulent bacteria, viruses, and
protozoa in aquatic environments [28].
Nanotechnology could let us make almost every manufactured product better
(faster, lighter, stronger, smarter, safer and cleaner). One can already see many of
the possibilities as the examples above illustrate. New products that solve new
problems in new ways are more difficult to foresee, yet their impact is likely to be
even greater. Could Edison have foreseen the computer, or Newton the communi-
cations satellite? The development of higher quality materials, more efficient
energy storage, better water quality, and more effective delivery of pharmaceuticals
all have the potential to improve everyday life for many people.
Product development using nanotechnology today far exceeds the body of
knowledge concerning the safety of nanomaterials or the implications for human
or environmental health. New generations of nanomaterials will evolve, and with
them new and possibly unforeseen health and environmental issues. It will be
crucial that the regulatory bodies while leveraging the benefits of nanomaterials
continue to evolve in parallel with the expansion of and advance in these new
technologies.
Given the large number of applications being designed that utilize nanoma-
terials and nanotechnologies, and the perception that nanotechnology is (or will
be) a panacea for the world’s problems, questions about who benefits from these
technological advances arise. The popular press generally touts all nanotechnology
products as beneficial to society, while not necessarily distinguishing between real
and potential benefits of the technology. On economic grounds, current projections
 NANOMATERIALS, NANOTECHNOLOGY 205

put the global market for nanotechnology and nanomaterial-containing products at

an estimated $2.6 trillion by 2014 [16]. Consequently, a very significant challenge
is ensuring an even distribution of benefits throughout the world community.
These implications led to the Technology and Benefits WG at the NATO ARW
discussing the potential for nanotechnology to sustain world resources as another
benefit.

14. Conclusions and Future Recommendations

The WG acknowledged that technological advances are largely being driven by

the promise of economic benefits. Taking three examples, namely: applications of
nanotechnology in medicine, environment and energy the risks to health and
environment; total investment; health and environmental benefits; return on
investment; and the size of population impacted were evaluated. Preliminary
predictions, based on arbitrary economic numbers, showed that benefits were not
evenly distributed across the world.
The Advanced Research Workshop at large felt that concurrent advances in
methods to protect human and environmental health will be essential so that
asymmetric benefits to society are not created. There was a clear recognition
among all workshop participants that resolving the question of who benefits from
nanotechnology lies in pulling together multidisciplinary expertise from multiple
nations. Probably the most significant strength of Nanotechnology is that the
approach is crossdisciplinary. Simply put, ideas and products originally developed
for medical and biological purposes find applications in electronics or energy
industries. This has in turn pushed scientists, medical doctors and engineers to
significantly revise and modify their approach to problem solving to rapidly adopt
new ideas and techniques. The ultimate beneficiary of such a paradigm shift will
be humanity.
For the first time in history, a new technology holds forth the promise of
providing inexpensive energy, food and clean water for everyone on the planet
thereby it could also be used in innovative ways to encourage political stability
and responsibility [24].

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the NATO ARW on “Nanomaterials: Environmental Risks and

Benefits and Emerging Consumer Products” held in Faro, Portugal from 27–30
April 2008 and the Participants of the Working Group on Nanotechnology and its
benefits.
206 G. ADLAKHA-HUTCHEON ET AL.

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