Week 8: Nanotech + Art

For this week’s blog post, I listened to James Gimzewski’s lectures on the history, advantages, and prevalence of nanotechnology. Previously a researcher at IBM’s Zurich Research Laboratory, Gimzewski is currently a chemistry professor and nanoscientist at UCLA. His online lectures gave me a new perspective on the reality of nanoparticles and nano-scale processes, which exist everywhere from nature to consumer products. Starting in the 1960s, people began approaching nanomaterials as potential for accomplishing unmet needs. Nanoscience grew in the 1980s, following the discovery of graphene and buckminsterfullerene (or the buckyball). Nanotechnology such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) provided scientists with the ability to visualize and even alter material surfaces on the atomic scale. Nanoparticles have much different properties compared with their bulk state, which opens countless possibilities for science, technology, and perhaps art. After all, nanoparticles called quantum dots are currently being used to develop less toxic cosmetics and paint (Gimzewski, 2012).

     

Caption: James Gimzewski (left), provided online lectures for teaching the public on nanotechnology. Quantum dots (right), are an example of nanoparticles that emit different colors of light depending on the particle size.

            It’s not strange to me that nano-scale processes have always existed in nature (e.g. snowflakes), but I am surprised that thousands of consumer products contain nanoparticles today. Gimzewski explains that silver nanoparticles are found in many clothes and food packaging materials because of their antibacterial properties. Even bottled drinks have coatings that are several nanometers thick, which reduce gas permeation for longer shelf life. Inspired by the nano-scale self-organization phenomena in nature, scientists are also researching nanoparticles for medical applications. For example, Samuel Stupp is the director of the BioNanotechnology institute at Northwestern University, which has previously developed nanofibers that assemble into ordered structures and help repair tissues and organs (Gimzewski, 2012).

     

Caption: Samuel Stupp (left), is a nanobiotechnology researcher at Northwestern University, inventing regenerative medicine such as nanofibers (right). These nanofibers can promote the growth of nerve fibers and repair spinal cord injuries.

            Of course, introducing these nanoparticles into consumer products has also caused large public opposition, for fear of unpredictable health risks. This is why the success of nanotechnology also depends on heavy testing and education on the advantages, as well as the environmental and health risks of nanomaterials. The intersection of nanotechnology and art can help bridge the gap between consumers and nanoscientists. By providing more exposure to the nano-scale world, artists have the ability to provide new perspectives on this new form of technology. This concept represents a paradigm shift, as both artists and scientists are learning to view the world in a different way, discovering phenomena that might contradict the laws of physics on the macroscale. I believe that nanotechnology can solve many problems in medicine and the environment, so I look forward to seeing the growth and evolution of this exciting field!

Caption: A nanoscale violin was created on a crystalline silicon wafer using electron beam lithography, just to show the fun in nanotechnology. The first model was created in 1997 at Cornell University, and a playable version was crafted in 2003 with the help of atomic force microscopy.

References:

Gimzewski, James. Nanotech Jim pt1. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2017.

Gimzewski, James. Nanotech Jim pt2. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2017.

Gimzewski, James. Nanotech Jim pt3. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2017.

Gimzewski, James. Nanotech Jim pt4. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2017.

Gimzewski, James. Nanotech Jim pt5. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2017.

Gimzewski, James. Nanotech Jim pt6. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2017.

Image Sources:

"Brief Bio." Gimzewski Lab. UCLA, n.d. Web. 28 May 2017.

Adriana Fontes, Rafael Bezerra de Lira, Maria Aparecida Barreto Lopes Seabra, Thiago Gomes da Silva, Antônio Gomes de Castro Neto and Beate Saegesser Santos (2012). “Quantum Dots in Biomedical Research”, Biomedical Engineering - Technical Applications in Medicine, Dr. Radovan Hudak (Ed.), InTech, DOI: 10.5772/50214.

"Vitae." The Stupp Laboratory. Northwestern University, 13 May 2016. Web. 28 May 2017.

Patel, Prachi. "Nanofibers Heal Spinal Cords." MIT Technology Review. MIT Technology Review, 9 Apr. 2008. Web. 28 May 2017.

McNamee, David. "Hey, what's that sound: Nano guitar." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 May 2017.