By Nino Simic*

Even before we stopped regarding nanotechnology as science fiction, development moved on so quickly that the technology has become a reality. Its potential is limited only by the imagination. In the Øresund Region, Scandinavia’s major centre for nanoresearch, new prospects are opening up which can improve our living conditions in big and small ways.

“We are very strong in both nano- and biotechnology in this region,” says Martin Magnusson. “That is why we’re looking forward to good results in the emerging field of nanobiotechnology.”

ProNano is the newly formed  research institute that will make sure that the research is not confined to the laboratory. The Institute will help researchers to build up new companies based on their ideas at the same time as enabling them to concentrate on the main task in hand: nanotechnology. A number of companies are already being formed.

Moreover, the Institute can co-ordinate collaboration between companies and universities and assist with applications for EU funding for joint projects.

ProNano can also help industry to solve specific problems by taking on assignments, engaging suitable researchers and, for example, renting the universities’ equipment on a time basis.

Last but not least, ProNano’s task is to tell people what nanotechnology is and what the Øresund Region can accomplish in the field. The task is a rewarding one since the high-level research constantly comes up with interesting ideas. Some of these ideas come from areas which fuse physics, medicine, electronics and chemistry.

“In the long term, we hope to be able to build small nanorobots which can search out and destroy cancerous tumours when they comprise just one or two cells,” says Martin Magnusson. “Or small drilling machines which dissolve clots.”

Electronic noses

The more immediate future of nanotechnology lies in its application in sensors, such as electronic ‘noses’ with the ability to detect the presence of individual protein molecules in a blood sample, for example. This involves a chip the size of your little fingernail with thousands of sensors, each set to detect a specific substance. It may even be possible to make them so small that they fit on a needle. Then there would be no need for a blood test – a prick in the finger would be sufficient to allow a full blood analysis.

Nanosensors will also be of great value in the production of new medicines since they can effectively find active substances. So far it has been possible to build this type of sensor one by one, but the difficulty lies in integrating perhaps 100, 000 on one chip.

“The principles are clear and multi-sensor technology is lurking just around the corner,” says Martin Magnusson.

Nanotechnology will have great significance in the materials field. Research is ongoing in the region to grow crystals in electronically interesting material. One possible application will be in faster and smaller electronic components, providing us with ever quicker transport of information.

But nanotechnology is not just about the future; it is also about the here and now. There are already self-washing windows that repel dirt thanks to their nanostructured surface.

Always clean clothing

Martin Magnusson has a pair of trousers made of nanotextile and is happy to demonstrate how a big splash of coffee, which would have left an unmistakable stain on ordinary trousers, can simply be brushed off without leaving a trace.

He explains that such diverse items as a titanium frying pan and the laser in a fairly modern CD player are both based on nanotechnology. If you also consider that nanoparticles can be added to wall paint, which then automatically sterilises an operating theatre, or that filters based on nanotechnology used in water purifiers can automatically kill undesirable bacteria, then you will understand that nano-technology is and will increasingly become part of our everyday lives, sometimes without us even noticing.

This article was originally published by Øresund IT Magasine (Autumn 2002). In Publications, you can download the magazine in PDF format.

*Nino Simic is a Swedish journalist living in Lund.