Nanotechnology comes from the Greek root “nano,” which means dwarf. Therefore, nanotechnology has to do with devices that are around the size of a nanometer. Learn about the wonders as well as the dangers of utilizing nanotechnology in our current world.
Purpose of Nanotechnology
The term “nanotechnology” was coined by Norio Taniguchi, who used it in reference to an explanation of the improvements in dimension accuracy. After thorough research and experiments conducted, he predicted that techniques would evolve to such a high degree that dimensional accuracies would well over cross 100 nanometers by the late 1980s. 
Another man named Richard Feynman believed that nanotech could be used to pick up drop single atoms to form new chemical compounds, but it wouldn’t be possible because an atom picked up by a finger would be attracted to it and therefore never be put down. With further applications of nanotechnology, we have been able to create things on a deeper scale. Instead of mass producing while cutting down on materials, nanotechnology uses the reverse engineering principle to manufacture products at the nanoscale, allowing us to zoom in onto the properties of such nanomaterials.
Today, nanotechnology is meant to be a clean, secure, and affordable energy source made with stronger, lighter, more durable materials. It offers the promise of low-cost filters to provide clean drinking water, medical devices and drugs to detect and treat diseases more effectively with fewer side effects, and techniques to clean up hazardous chemicals in the environment by using sensors to detect and identify harmful chemicals or biological agents.
Nanotechnology in the Food Industry
Nanotechnology can make nutritious foods seem more appealing, and it can also make less nutritious foods like milkshakes healthier. In a 2009 article in Nanowerk, Dutch food scientist Frans Kampers explained that nanotechnology re-engineers ingredients to bring healthy nutrients more efficiently to the body while allowing less-desirable components to pass on through.” To prove his point, his peers are currently using nanotechnology to create low-fat, but good tasting mayonnaise.
The nano mayonnaise consists of an emulsion of tiny droplets composed of water on the inside and oil on the outside. When tasting this mixture, the taste of the oil is perceived to be the taste of regular mayonnaise. However, since the inner layer is water rather than fat, this creation is much healthier than mayonnaise.
Now, scientists have reached beyond scopes and are researching how to create nano milk, nano canola oil that blocks cholesterol from entering the bloodstream, and nano milkshakes that are healthier and tastier than regular milkshakes.
Nanotechnology in Other Areas
While nutrition is a primary goal for many scientists, other scientists are focusing on the use of nanotechnology to enhance the plastics and other materials in which food is packaged. They envision a day where food packaging addresses concerns about environmental conditions, can repair itself, create less pollution, and lower contamination. One nanoenhanced food packaging, which is already in use, is ripeSense, a ripeness detector produced in New Zealand. RipeSense works by reacting to the aromas released as fruits and vegetables ripen. The sensor turns from red to orange to yellow as fruits or vegetables ripen. Robert Bracket, a member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association says, “Nanotechnology offers tremendous opportunities for innovative developments in food packaging that can benefit both consumers and industry," and such technology can only improve the quality of our lives.
Cons of Nanotechnology
The property that makes nanotechnology so useful, that particles smaller than 100 nanometers behave differently than larger particles, also poses a danger. Organizations such as Friends of the Earth (FOE) are concerned about the risk of ingesting nanoscale particles that can cross cell membranes and have unintended consequences. In the report “Out of the Laboratory and On the Plate,” FOE stated, "The potential for ingested non-degradable nanoparticles to cause long-term pathological effects in addition to short-term toxicity is of great concern." "It has said. Such materials used commercially are “toxic to cells and tissues in in vitro experiments and in animal experiments.” If these particles can harm us when inhaled or ingested, foods made with such technology could have horrible consequences. It is necessary to acknowledge that our understanding of the technology is limited, so there may be big areas of error. This is why scientists need to research and implement these creations with caution. Especially in food packaging, further research is needed to understand the unexpected behavior of ingested nanoparticles.
There is sufficient evidence that high exposure to soot from sources like diesel poses a serious threat to the industry, causing diseases like cancer. In addition, evidence suggests that once nanoparticles reach the lungs, rather than remaining there, they can easily cross barriers into the bloodstream and from there travel to different parts of the body, including the brain. Unfortunately, there is little evidence of the damage that nanoparticles can cause there. Because we know so little about this new form of technology, it is crucial to be aware of its dangers.
Possibilities of Nanotechnology
No words can express the amount of progress humanity has made on this journey. Nanotechnology, our capacity to construct atomic gadgets with nuclear accuracy, is the otherworldly perfection of our co-evolution with instruments. With the approach of nanomedicine, we are going to use these devices for the greater good.
The National Cancer Institute's truth sheet on nanotechnology and cancer says, "Most creature cells are 10,000 to 20,000 nanometers in distance across. This implies that nanoscale gadgets (having at least one measurement less than 100 nanometers) can enter cells associated with DNA and proteins. Devices created through nanotechnology may be able to identify illness in collections of cells or tissue. They may also be able to enter and screen cells inside a living body."
Nanotechnology could create gadgets capable of detailing the onset of cancer at the precise minute of atomic metamorphosis. The key, as with DNA sequencing, is single-molecule affectability. One approach is to utilize carbon nanotubes (atomic bars around half the breadth of the DNA particle itself) to actually follow the physical shape of a single DNA atom the way a phonograph needle follows a vinyl record. Another early-detection technique is to utilize quantum dabs (Q-dots). Latex dots filled with these gems will be planned to tie to particular DNA arrangements. When the precious stones are invigorated by a streak of light, they radiate colors that light up the groupings of intrigued. By combining different-sized quantum specks in a single dot, researchers will make tests that discharge a ghastly barcode particular for each sort of cancer change.
Nanotechnology will make devices to annihilate cancer cells without hurting solid cells. In treatment applications, single-molecule acknowledgment is the key. Each nano bullet will be domestic in a particular way, focused on atomic structure. The objective is to treat cancer like an infectious disease. We'll be immunized with nanoparticles that persistently circulate through the body. This cancer vaccine – a primitive cancer-killing nanobot – will distinguish atomic changes, help with imaging, release a restorative operator, and after that, screen the adequacy of the mediation.
How close are we to cancer-killing nanobots? The NIH Web website talks about nanoshells: minuscule dots coated with gold. By controlling the thickness of the layers constituting the nanoshells, scientists will assimilate particular wavelengths of light. The most valuable nanoshells are those that assimilate near-infrared light, which can effortlessly enter into the body. Assimilation of light by the nanoshells creates a deadly dosage of warmth. Analysts can as of now interface nanoshells to antibodies that recognize cancer cells. Nanoshells will look for their cancerous targets. Once they have docked, they will be zapped with near-infrared light. Restorative operators are anticipated to be accessible inside a comparable time outline. Gadgets that are coordinated with discovery and treatment may arrive within the clinic in approximately 15 to 20 a long time, which suggests a remedy for Stage III melanoma and other shapes of cancer may arrive within a lifetime.