Evaluation Engineeering - 32

TECHNOLOGY INSIGHTS

BIG INNOVATIONS AT THE NANOSCALE LEVEL
By Ken Cormier, Managing Editor
Nanotechnology, which
deals with dimensions
and tolerances of less than 100
nanometers, is a relatively
new form of material manipulation at atomic and molecular levels, since the scanning
tunneling microscopes that
allow engineers to even see
things that small were only
invented less than 40 years
ago. As scientists and engineers deliberately form materials at the nanoscale level,
improv ing their qualities such as
strength, weight, conductivity, and
chemical reactivity, the warp speed of
technology advancement is going even
faster. The existence of nanotechnology
is even more striking when considering
that a workable model of the atom was
theorized a mere 120 years ago.
The ability to manipulate material on
such a small scale also has diverse applications, revolutionizing medicine,
consumer products, industrial and purification processes, and agriculture.
The technology is being employed for
sensing and environmental analysis,
signal processing, medical imaging, and
energy conversion. In the medical arena,
nanoparticles are being used to transport
heat, light, drugs, and other substances to
cells. Here are some recent developments
in nanotechnology.

Report: Nanotechnology market
to more than triple by 2026
The global nanotechnology market-
presently valued at a robust $7.24 billion
yearly-is expected to mushroom to
$24.56 billion by the year 2026, growing
at a CAGR of 16.5% during the forecast
period, according to a recent report by
Data Bridge Market Research.1

Graphene-based
ultrasensitive biosensors
A device using the graphene provides the
first step toward ultrasensitive biosensors

32

EVALUATION ENGINEERING SEPTEMBER 2019

Researchers repair
faulty brain circuits
using nanotechnology

to detect diseases at the molecular level
with near-perfect efficiency, according to
researchers in the University of Minnesota
College of Science and Engineering. Such
super-sensitive biosensors for probing
protein structures could greatly improve
the depth of diagnosis for a wide variety
of diseases extending to both humans
and animals. Illnesses related to protein
misfolding include Alzheimer's disease,
chronic wasting disease, and mad cow
disease. Such biosensors could also lead
to improved technologies for developing
new pharmaceutical compounds.
The research is published in Nature
Nanotechnology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature
Publishing Group.
In this study, researchers combined
graphene with nano-sized metal ribbons
of gold. Using sticky tape and a high-tech
nanofabrication technique developed at
the University of Minnesota, called "template stripping," researchers were able to
create an ultra-flat base layer surface for
the graphene. They then used the energy
of light to generate a sloshing motion of
electrons in the graphene, called plasmons. Similarly, these waves can build
in intensity to giant "tidal waves" of local electric fields based on the researchers' design. When they inserted protein
molecules between the graphene and
metal ribbons, they were able to harness
enough energy to view single layers of
protein molecules.2

Working with mouse and human tissue, Johns Hopkins
Medicine researchers report
new evidence that a protein
pumped out of some-but not
all-populations of "helper"
cells in the brain, called astrocytes, play a specific role
in directing the formation of
connections among neurons
needed for learning and forming new memories.
Using mice genetically engineered and
bred with fewer such connections, the
researchers conducted proof-of-concept
experiments that show they could deliver
corrective proteins via nanoparticles to replace the missing protein needed for "road
repairs" on the defective neural highway.
Since such connective networks are lost
or damaged by neurodegenerative diseases
such as Alzheimer's or certain types of
intellectual disability, such as Norrie disease, the researchers say their findings
advance efforts to regrow and repair the
networks and potentially restore normal
brain function.
The findings are described in the May
issue of Nature Neuroscience.
"We are looking at the fundamental biology of how astrocytes function, but perhaps
have discovered a new target for someday
intervening in neurodegenerative diseases with novel therapeutics," says Jeffrey
Rothstein, M.D., Ph.D., the John W. Griffin
Director of the Brain Science Institute, and
professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine.3
REFERENCES

1. Rise Media, "Nanotechnology Market Size to
hit $2,231.5 Million by 2026, at 10.5% CAGR,"
July 2019
2. University of Minnesota, "New graphenebased device is first step toward
ultrasensitive biosensors," March 2019
3. Johns Hopkins Medicine, "Researchers
Repair Faulty Brain Circuits Using
Nanotechnology," July 2019
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