Nanotechnology White Paper - US Environmental Protection Agency

12 EPA Nanotechnology White Paper
self-assembly of complex molecules occurs routinely. Many “finished” complex cellular
products are < 100 nanometers. For this reason, bacterial factories may serve as models for the
organization, assembly and transformation for other nanoscale materials production.
Bacterial factory blueprints are also flexible. They can be modified to produce novel
nanobiotechnology products that have specific desired physical-chemical (performance)
characteristics. Using this production method could be a more material and energy efficient way
to make new and existing products, in addition to using more benign starting materials. In this
way, the convergence of nano- and biotechnologies could improve environmental protection. As
an example, researchers have extracted photosynthetic proteins from spinach chloroplasts and
coated them with nanofilms that convert sunlight to electrical current, which one day may lead to
energy generating films and coatings (Das et al., 2004). The addition of information and
cognitive capabilities will provide additional features including programmability,
miniaturization, increased power capacities, adaptability, and reactive, self-correcting capacities.
Another example of converging technologies is the development of nanometer-sized
biological sensor devices that can detect specific compounds within the natural environment;
store, tabulate, and process the accumulated data; and determine the import of the data, providing
a specific response for the resolved conditions would enable rapid and effective human health
and environmental protection. Responses could range from the release of a certain amount of
biological or chemical compound, to the removal or transformation of a compound.
The convergence of nanotechnology with biotechnology and with information and
cognitive technologies may provide such dramatically different technology products that the
manufacture, use and recycling/disposal of these novel products, as well as the development of
policies and regulations to protect human health and the environment, may prove to be a
daunting task.
The Agency is committed to keeping abreast of emerging issues within the environmental
arena, and continues to support critical research, formulate new policies, and adapt existing
policies as needed to achieve its mission. However, the convergence of these technologies will
demand a flexible, rapid and highly adaptable approach within EPA. As these technologies
progress and as novel products emerge, increasingly the Agency will find that meeting constantly
changing demands depends on taking proactive actions and planning.
We may be nearing the end of basic research and development on the first generation of
materials resulting from nanotechnologies that include coatings, polymers, more reactive
catalysts, etc. (Figure 10). The second generation, which we are beginning to enter, involves
targeted drug delivery systems, adaptive structures and actuators, and has already provided some
interesting examples. The third generation, anticipated within the next 10-15 years, is predicted
to bring novel robotic devices, three-dimensional networks and guided assemblies. The fourth
stage is predicted to result in molecule-by-molecule design and self-assembly capabilities.
Although it is not likely to happen for some time, this integration of these fourth-generation
nanotechnologies with information, biological, and cognitive technologies will lead to products
which can now only be imagined. While the Agency will not be able to predict the future, it
needs to prepare for it. Towards that aim, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities