I was at the store this weekend and spotted ‘Nanoglue’, complete with little cartoon particles on the label. However, the actual packaging and internet hype (yes, that’s the complete record of things I could find) leave me sadly lacking in actual information to pass on… I can only imagine that it’s meant to glue very small things together, or that it’s meant to be used by very small people (since I could see the bottle, it’s obviously not the product that’s nano-sized)?
I guess I thought we (that’s the universal ‘we’) were still embroiled in fights about where and when nanotechnology was safe, or whether we might all perish from exposure to these tiny, tiny dots of destruction. Have you all heard about any resolution to this discussion, or are nanoparticles just somehow less offensive in adhesives?
Catherine (associate editor, Nature Chemical Biology)
The short answer is that nanotechnology is alive and well. And Nanoglue is only one of many commercial products in what is a global, multibillion dollar annual market. There are nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanorods, and nanowires just to name some of the types of nanomaterials. Currently there are at least several hundred commercial products, for industrial users and for consumers, that make use of nanomaterials and/or nanotechnology. One of the largest commercial consumer markets for nanoparticles is in cosmetics and sunscreens. Nanoparticles are also used to make water/soil-repellent textiles. Nanoparticles are used as additives for plastics and polymers that are sold into the sporting goods market. Nanotechnology is used to make thin films and coatings for automobile windshields to provide clearer visibility by shedding water and dirt and for eye glasses to provide clean surfaces and increase scratch resistance for improved visibility. There’s even a nanotechnology golf ball! Most semiconductor chips and wafers are processed using chemical slurries that contain nanoparticles (chemical mechanical planarization or “CMP” slurries); this CMP application alone represents nearly a billion dollar global market. The list goes on and will continue growing. Future markets will include nanomaterials for pharmaceutical and biomedical uses, including medical diagnostics, medical imaging and drug delivery applications. Yes, there are safety, health and environmental concerns that are being addressed proactively by industry and by government agencies.