Dateline: October 1, 2000

A few months ago I was asked the question,

"If I wanted to one day become a nano-engineer who designed nano-robots, what subjects should I study?"

I thought for for a while before reluctantly answering with something like, "NEMS and and anything quantum." I knew that wasn«t the best answer, but I couldn«t think of anything else. Those just happened to be the things I thought were important while I tried to figure out quantum biology and which stocks fit into The Nanotech Sector. After a bit more thought and a literature search, I thought of a better response, engineering.

The objective behind nanoengineering isn't much different from ordinary engineering; that is, to design and assemble functional devices from the available components. Nanoengineers are already assembling those components into functional devices such as nanoparticle films [1] for space aged coatings and gene chips for medical diagnostics. Furthermore, assembling molecular components into circuits for bottom-up integration is a promising route towards the fabrication of really fast quantum computers. With these examples as a few motivating factors, rapid progress is being made in our ability to plan and carry out molecular assembly.

A diverse array of components is available to the nanoengineer who wishes to use bottom-up design for the fabrication of devices such as a "nano-robot." Biological compounds such as nucleic acids, proteins and lipids are particularly promising components since they are already known to carry out important nanoscale functions in biological systems. Synthetic and semi-synthetic components are also useful for nanotechnology. Quantum dots, nanowires and thin films are a few examples.

Assembly of these components requires some technique. One way to assemble nanodevices is through biomolecular self-assembly. Biological compounds frequently have the innate ability to spontaneously assemble into the nanoscale machinery that makes life possible. Self-assembly of synthetic components is also common practice among nanoengineers. For instance, strategically shaped computer chips can be designed that self-assemble into functional 3D networks [2]. Another promising method is through the use of localized fields, for instance, those generated by MEMS components such as comb drives [3].

Next page > Interdisciplinary Nanoscience

Page 1, 2

[1] M. Chhowalla and G. A. J. Amaratunga, 'Thin films of fullerene-like MoS2 nanoparticles with ultra-low friction and wear' (2000) Nature 407, 164-167. abstract

[2] D. H. Gracias, J. Tien, T. L. Breen, C. Hsu, G. M. Whitesides, 'Forming Electrical Networks in Three Dimensions by Self-Assembly' (2000) Science 289, 5482, 1170-1172. abstract

[3] P. A. Smith, C. D. Nordquist, T. N. Jackson, T. S. Mayer, B. R. Martin, J. Mbindyo, and T. E. Mallouk, 'Electric-field assisted assembly and alignment of metallic nanowires' (2000) Applied Physics Letters 77, 9, 1399-1401.