How to commercialize nanotechnology

Th ere is much hype surrounding nanotechnology, so our ability to separate fact from fi ction will be the measure of our success. In this column I want to address the translation of nanoscience to nanotechnology to nano-enabled products that have the potential to address many of the issues facing society: health, agriculture, environment, energy, information technology, education, manufacturing, sustainability, transportation and homeland security. Th e US National Science Foundation has proposed that the worldwide market for nano-enabled products will be worth over $1,000 billion per year in 10–15 years1. Th e key to the growth of this market will be the development of technology that allows products with enhanced and unique properties and functionality to move from the laboratory to commercial products.

The convergence of technology in materials, electronics, optics, computing and life sciences has initiated what many believe is an unprecedented growth in both innovation and disruption, meaning that existing products are being replaced by new ones with improved features and performance at increasingly rapid rates. Some disagree with this view. For example, a recent study by Jonathan Huebner, a physicist who works for the Pentagon, suggests that we are heading into a technological dark age of innovation2. However, many others, including myself, believe that nanotechnology will drive innovation and lead to new products with properties that are unique and, in some cases contradictory. For example, recent research demonstrates that some nanostructured metallic alloys, such as Ti–Cu–Ni–Sn–Nb, can display values of strength and ductility that are much

higher than those found in normal metallic alloys (Duhamel, C. et al., unpublished work). Nanostructured pure copper can also display similar superior material properties3.

In addition to novel materials, nano-enabled products are also likely to include highly efficient catalysts, supercapacitors, fast charge/discharge high-energy batteries, membranes with novel permeation characteristics, and various biomimetic structures that could have applications in medicine as well as security and identification. All this innovation is likely to be accompanied by disruption. Examples of disruptive technology are likely to be nanotube-based electronics, nanostructures for quantum computing and many areas of medicine. The latter will include molecular diagnostics based on quantum dots, targeted and cellular drug delivery

by nanoparticles, and nanoarrayed biosensors that rely on genomic and proteomic techniques for disease surveillance and diagnosis. Rick Smalley’s visions of ‘space cables’ and low-loss electric transmission lines based on carbon nanotubes are further examples of possible disruptions.

The impact of nanotechnology is already being felt in medicine but is not necessarily appreciated. Stents have been used in medicine for many years to keep blood vessels and other structures, such as the colon and the trachea, open. Drug-eluting stents are stents that slowly release drugs to prevent clots and scar tissue from blocking these vessels, and the use of such devices to treat patients with coronary artery disease, for instance, has greatly reduced the need for bypass surgery. However, until the stent was characterized by atomic force microscopy, it was not appreciated that the controlled drug delivery, which makes it so effective, was made possible by its inherent nanostructured morphology (see Fig. 1 and ref. 4). The ability to develop new disruptive products that have improved effectiveness and safety will not be driven by the application of nanotechnologies alone: the nanocharacterization of existing materials and products will also be important.

Nanotechnology also enables the development of exceptionally small, low-power sensors, which allows for the easy deployment of wireless networked sensors in a broad array of applications from CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive detection) to medical diagnostics. In the area of homeland security, networks of remote, low-maintenance,

If we want nano-enabled tools that can increase our understanding of the physical and biological world, and also improve our quality of life, it will be necessary to overcome a complex set of commercialization challenges. Michael Helmus explains.

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Figure 1 AFM image of a TAXUS stent that has been delivering a drug for 25 hours in vitro. This image (which measures 1 µm by 1 µm) shows that nanoscale voids or holes play an important role in its functionality4. Copyright (2005) Wiley.

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highly sensitive sensors — possibly in combination with microfluidic systems — will become important for protecting infrastructures and borders, and will also have applications in various military applications and emergency medical situations (for example in response to natural, urban and terrorist disasters). Rapid field-usable biosensors that allow genetic verification for surveillance of microbes such as avian flu (H5N1) will also be enabled by nanotechnology.

One of the unique issues facing society today is the capture and analysis of vast amounts of information in real time. The developments in networks of sensors described above, combined with the computational power of next-generation electronics (which will also be increasingly based on advances in nanotechnology), will enhance our ability to perceive, understand, interpret and manage complexity. The military refer to this as ‘cognitive awareness’, but it will become increasingly important in the civilian sector as well.

The ability to commercialize nano-enabled products will depend on governments and companies meeting regulatory requirements and satisfying societal needs and concerns. The inherent value of nanotechnology will need to be protected by proper intellectual property as well as having the requisite ‘freedom of operation’. Ownership of patents alone does not necessarily allow the commercialization of a product because if one company has a patent that dominates a technology, it can prevent other companies from developing new products. Successful commercialization will require scale-up to commercial quantities along with evidence that employee and environmental safety is maintained during manufacture. It goes without saying that maintaining the safety of the consumer and the environment during use and disposal must be inherent to the product.

Social concerns must also be taken seriously when dealing with nanotechnology, even if we think things like ‘grey goo’ and Michael Crichton’s novel Prey have already received too much attention. I would also argue that loosely using the ‘nano’ prefix could be a recipe for disaster. Consumer products that are labelled as nanotechnology, even though they contain no true nano component, could create significant negative publicity if health problems and

product recalls ensue5. It is incumbent upon us that the nano-enabled products we commercialize are developed with strict adherence to safety testing.

Commercialization will require new infrastructure for manufacturing with significant capital investment, and government support for this will be required in the near term. It is therefore encouraging that the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)6 in the US is addressing the commercialization of nano-enabled products in all its complexity. In Figure 2, the supply value chain for commercializing nanotechnology is represented by the coloured boxes: the factors that impede commercialization are shown in the inner circle and the NNI initiatives are highlighted in the outer circle.

I am optimistic that continued collaborative efforts between government, academia and industry will bring to commercialization new nano-enabled platforms for revolutionary and disruptive treatments and products

that will enhance the quality of life for individuals and also society as a whole. As the twelfth-century philosopher Maimonides said: “Grant me the strength, time and opportunity always to correct what I have acquired, always to extend its domain; for knowledge is immense and the spirit of man can extend indefinitely to enrich itself daily with new requirements”.

References1. Roco, M. C. & Bainbridge, W. S. Societal Implications of

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (National Science Foundation, 2001); www.wtec.org/loyola/nano/NSET.Societal.Implications/nanosi.pdf

2. Huebner, J. Technol. Forecast. Soc. 72, 980–986 (2005).3. Wang, Y., Chen, M., Zhou, F. & Ma, E. Nature 419, 912–915 (2002).4. Ranade, S. V. et al. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. 71A, 625–634 (2005).5. Wolinsky, H. EMBO Rep. 7, 858–861 (2006).6. www.nano.gov

Michael N. Helmus is senior vice president for Biopharma at Advance Nanoteche-mail: michael.helmus@Advancenanotech.com

In Th esis next month: Chris Toumey on the Feynman Machine

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Figure 2 The supply value chain for commercializing nanotechnology starting with nanomaterials and technology and ending with commercial applications. The factors that impede commercialization are shown in the inner circle and NNI initiatives to overcome these challenges are shown in the outer circle.

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