Humanity has always observed natural wonders in their majesty or microscopic detail, admiring their appearance while seeking to investigate their most hidden mechanisms. This is the impulse that led to the development of nanotechnology. But what does it really mean? Let’s discover what lies behind this word.

What is nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology covers the branch of science that uses, or creates, materials with nanometric dimensions—that is, from ten thousand to one million times smaller than a millimeter. Continuous technological evolution has allowed us to observe, understand, predict, and finally build materials and systems belonging to the “nano” world. This is a world that follows different laws and properties compared to those present on larger scales perceivable by our senses. Quantum mechanics reigns supreme here, altering the physical, chemical, optical, and electro-magnetic properties of the materials themselves.

How was nanotechnology born?

The core idea that led to the birth of nanotechnology was proposed in 1959 by Nobel laureate Richard P. Feynman. He suggested developing a technology that could work on increasingly smaller scales, ideally reaching atomic precision. In the following decades, this spark was put into practice by many scientists who, by studying the living matter around us, realized there was a theoretical basis for designing and building small, complex structures.

How does nanotechnology work?

Producing the constituent structures of materials on a nanometric scale, with the aim of achieving specific properties, is the significant end result of using nanotechnology. How is this possible? There are two main approaches to its development:

• Bottom-up: The “from the bottom” approach, starting from the assembly of individual molecules.
• Top-down: The “from the top” approach, achieved through the controlled miniaturization of macroscopic material.

However, the unique and defining aspect of nanotechnology is that it draws inspiration from models and mechanisms that have always existed in nature. Cells themselves manage a complex traffic of nanoparticles. Their function is to enclose biological molecules within a finite space, earmarking them for destruction, storage, or transport. The latter is finely regulated and highly specific, as a nanoparticle can carry a sort of “address” for the receiving cell on its surface. The messages transported are of vital importance, as they include genetic material, molecules, and proteins necessary for the organism to function correctly. This process is what most inspired Nanomnia in the study of nano and microparticles. These particles, made of biocompatible materials, are ideal for encapsulating substances to protect them and deliver them only where they are needed.

What is nanotechnology used for?

The multidisciplinary approach of nanotechnology entails a truly vast and heterogeneous range of applications. Millions of years of evolution have refined a series of surprising “natural nanotechnologies” that we deal with every day and that make life itself possible. Studying and replicating these nano-systems leads to substantial progress and benefits in the fields of mechanics, optics, energy, and medicine. Let’s not be fooled by the word “technology”; everything starts from nature itself. In the environment around us, examples are numerous and offer many advantageous uses:

• In cells, we can find protein nano-motors and nano-winches which, by sliding along special tracks, are responsible for everything that must be moved in an orderly fashion. One effect of certain nano-motors is muscle contraction which, although it appears to be a macroscopic movement, is actually the sum of nanometric contractions.
• Using the same principles of nano-motors, small tails called flagella allow unicellular organisms, such as bacteria, to move in their environment. This inspired the design of futuristic nano-robots that will be able to travel through our bodies, diagnosing pathologies and delivering drugs.
• The precise system of photosynthesis, capable of transforming light energy into glucose and oxygen, is a literal example of a nano-power plant. Taking inspiration from this mechanism could mean having practically unlimited energy from a renewable source.
• Nanotechnological devices are responsible for the surprising ability of geckos to defy gravity, thanks to numerous nano-hairs that adapt to surfaces through a suction effect.
• The grip of mussels on rocks and their ability to resist wave motion is due to nano-cannulas filled with sticky micelles. Materials with these physico-chemical characteristics would allow for progress wherever strong adhesion is required in extreme conditions.
• The surface of certain flowers is naturally self-cleaning, as it is covered with wax nano-crystals that allow water droplets to slide off, carrying impurities with them. Today, materials already exist that, by mimicking this nanotechnology, allow surfaces to be coated to make them self-cleaning.
• Ophiocoma wendtii, a unique starfish that appears to have no eyes, is actually one large eye formed by arrays of microlenses. Color itself, beyond the presence of pigments, can depend on nanostructures organized at distances comparable to the wavelength of light.
• The outer casing of organisms such as beetle shells, butterfly wings, flower petals, fish scales, and peacock feathers possess a brilliance and iridescence greater than that provided by pigments alone. Optics and the daily use of color could improve by taking cues from these examples.

Research into the world of nanotechnology began more than fifty years ago, but it has only seen decisive development since the 1990s as a natural evolution of microtechnology. Today, there is still enormous potential to be unlocked. Research requires constant skill and support. Nanotechnology is the future.