Nanotechnology is an emerging field in many scientific disciplines and is defined as the development of materials designed, constructed, and functional at the nanometer scale.

Dr. Richard Feynman in 1959 was one of the first to describe a futuristic approach of developing materials atom by atom.

It has taken approximately 40 years to realize this basic fundamental approach toward developing materials at this size scale.

The development of materials at 10 - 100nm size scale has been based on the development of technologies such as lithography, self-assembly of molecules, new detection systems, and the ability to manipulate the material surface at this size scale.

New materials and applications have been developed from nanostructures based on carbon nanotubes, rods, and dots; self-assembly molecules with cell adhesion peptides; and materials developed with nanostructures on their surface.

These materials have unique properties due to their size including:

• non-quenching fluorescence;
• controlled charge density;
• hollow cores for drug and gene delivery
• increased tensile strength;
• and defined nanostructures on material surfaces.

Scientists are now developing a variety of technologies based on these materials to develop applications ranging from cancer therapy, in vitro and in vivo diagnostics, gene delivery to cells, nanomachines, localizing cell function, and cell transplantation.