Author Archives: ScanTech Technical Consulting

ScanTech Technical Consulting – Nanotoxicology Testing & Evaluation of Nanomaterials

In the near future, ScanTech Technical Consulting is moving into the realm of nanotoxicology surveys and consulting for analyzing the health impact of new nanomaterials that exist or will be produced in the near future to be incorporated in many modern manufactured products. We are currently partnering with labs that are able to analyze important characteristics such as particle size, surface area to volume ratio, charge, geometry, aspect ratio, etc. in order to determine potential biological impact.

It requires a unique interdisciplinary background to perform this type of work as it melds together the fields of nanoscience, physics, human physiology, toxicology and industrial hygiene.

Furthermore, it is important to stay up with the latest research as there is very little long term epidemiological data for materials that incorporate nanoparticles, so the possible effects on workers and consumers are not well established and in many cases can only be inferred by analogous scenarios, in vitro experiments, and a good grounding in biophysics.

ScanTech Technical Consulting has this background with details found here:

http://www.scantech7.com/emf-indoor-air-quality-testing-esd-radiation-emi-biomedical-implant-pacemaker-survey-credentials-certification-certified/

Fundamentals of Nanotechnology – Book Review

Fundamentals of Nanotechnologyby Gabor Hornyak, John, J. Moore, Harry F. Tibbals, Joydeep DuttaWorldCatLibraryThingGoogle BooksBookFinder 

Nanotechnology textbook review

ISBN: 1420048031   786 pages  $90 on Amazon  Published 2008 CRC Press

This is one of the best university level textbooks for introducing nanotechnology to students that I have seen so far. It not only covers a wide range of application topics (thin films, biomimetics, nanomagnetism, etc.) but goes into enough depth to explain fundamental concepts with authority. The illustrations and photos are plentiful, well executed and further the understanding of nanoscale systems while engaging the reader.

The amount and level of math can be grasped by a sharp undergrad in one of the STEM disciplines, and there are numerous excellent reference tables in here that I have not seen in any other intro or even advanced level nanoscience books. Also, addressing business and nanoscience laboratory considerations is a subject you just don’t see discussed in other texts, and help orient the reader to how research and development relates to these oft unmentioned factors.

The range of nanoscale properties that are addressed in here also highlights how interdisciplinary the field of nanotechnology is and the importance of understanding or at least knowing what roles that seemingly disparate fields such as optics, quantum mechanics, organic chemistry play in determining the behavior of a nanoscale system in such a way that novel applications can be realized.

For an introductory text, I definitely prefer it to the Lindsay book reviewed elsewhere on this site. If you are a professor teaching an Intro Nanotechnology 101 class, I might recommend that you also supplement this book with Nanotechnology: Understanding Small Systems (also reviewed on this website) for the additional worked equations.

Even for more advanced students and professors, this book is good as a refresher / icebreaker for details on nanoscience sub-topics that they may be less familiar with, but wish to begin investigating or remembering.

Medical Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine – Book Review

Medical Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine

Medical Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine: Perspectives in Nanotechnology Series; Taylor & Francis CRC Press 2010WorldCatLibraryThingGoogle BooksBookFinder

ISBN 9781439808740 –  527 pages   $50 on Amazon  Published 2010

From beginning to end, this timely volume bridges the interdisciplinary gap between medicine and nanoscience technology as it applies to biomedical applications. Dr. Tibbals does a superb job of explaining exactly how nanoscale materials and approaches can and are making a difference in the healthcare field.

For instance, pointing out that the size regime of 10 nm-100 nm is in the ideal range for nanoparticles that can be extracted by blood without clogging capillaries or being trapped in certain organs is an excellent example of explaining a simple physical concept with human physiological impact that both physicists and doctors can relate to.

The author demonstrates deep, broad and expert knowledge of many areas of nanomedicine while making the understanding of key concepts accessible without resorting to opaque language or heavy equations. The approach of this complex subject is rather holistic, as Dr. Tibbals even goes through a brief history of nanomedicine, societal implications and emerging initiatives that can give some further investigative directions for the interested reader.

He also discusses particularly exciting subjects such as tissue regeneration and replacement and they are given an impressive amount of coverage. The implications for healing are very promising and lend optimism that revolutionary medical techniques can be both affordable and accessible now and in the near future.

Bear in mind, this publication is more of a general survey than a hard reference book or core university textbook, but I feel it belongs on the shelf of any doctor or aspiring biomedical engineer who needs an executive summary of the state of nanotechnology with respect to medicine.

Nanotechnology Quiz I – Basic Level

Abstract molecular nanostructure model

This is the beginning in a series of quizzes on Nanoscience that I created. Just click on the START QUIZ button below – there are 10 questions worth 1 point each.

I have developed these nanotechnology quizzes as I am dissatisfied with the current ones found on the Internet. They are often either needlessly specific (“what is the patent number for the nanomagnetic product being worked on by Rice University as a cure for hangovers”) or are outdated as advances have been made since the quiz was published. Also, I hate multiple choice problems where they give you three silly options and one obviously correct answer. The goal should be to make you think carefully and to really test your knowledge.

And if you are up to the challenge for tougher quizzes on nanotechnology, please check out:

http://nanotechwizard.com/nanotechnology-quiz-ii-advanced-level/

http://nanotechwizard.com/nanoscience-quiz-iii-expert-level/

Enjoy! – Joel-Anthony Gray

[WpProQuiz 1]

Nanotechnolgy Book Reviews by Joel-Anthony Gray

Nanotechnology is one of the most paradigm changing and exciting fields to come along in the history of materials science. The amount of information and research in this field has increased astronomically in the past 10-15 years and I started this site to guide everyone from children to scientists to a better path of understanding the principles, implications and applications of nanoscience.

I feel it is important to structure this presentation in a certain way because I find most websites on the subject to either be too uniformly basic (a nano is one-billionth of a meter,  Dr. Feynman’s talk in 1959, etc.) or very topic specific without adequate context. To a large degree, this is the nature of nanotechnology as it covers a wide breadth of disciplines while often diving into advanced physics and math concepts.

The point at which any one person could fully understand all the information available on nanotech is long since passed as nanotechnology research and journals are now published faster than what is absorbed by even a team of dedicated individuals.

While I realize that many nanotechnology books are already reviewed on Amazon, that avenue of evaluation is potentially diluted by either very vague statements by students such as “This book was really hard for me to understand” to “Great textbook!” which I don’t find detailed enough to be helpful. And in some cases, the review says more about the reviewer than the actual book. Also, some books have no reviews at all because they are so specialized.

My goal is to:

1) Review and share what I feel are the best books on the range of subjects encountered by those in the nanotechnology field including adjacent fields such as vacuum science, plasma physics, etc.

2) Develop mini-quizzes of varying difficulty while covering a multitude of areas.

3) List key concepts in a concise and accurate fashion so that a more intuitive understanding of nanotechnology is gleaned – I am now building a separate website dedicated to this effort.

My focus is heavily slanted towards bio-nanotechnology as I find this the most interesting application with the potential for the greatest impact on the quality of life. Also, it often involves multiple cross-disciplinary fields including chemistry, biology, materials science, physics, electronics, fluid dynamics, microscopy, magnetism, optics, etc.

This is for my personal benefit as well; some say you don’t really understand a subject as well until you start teaching it to others.

Nanotechnology: Understanding Small Systems

Nanotechnology: Understanding Small Systems 1st Edition Hardcover by Ben Rogers, Jesse Adams, Sumita Pennathur

CRC Press 2008WorldCatLibraryThingGoogle BooksBookFinder

Nanotechnology Understanding Small

ISBN 0849382076 –  416 pages   $65.00 on Amazon  Published 2007

This is one of my favorite introductory texts for nanoscience as the writing is clean, detailed and well-organized so that you can easily find information on specific topics. There are numerous analogies and illustrations throughout the text which do an excellent job of explaining complex topics.

The associated math is presented as a near perfect balance between supplying key equations with the necessary explanations of the symbols and constants without being overly dense. What sets this book apart from other texts are the “Back of the Envelope” sample problems in each chapter which are worked through completely with the appropriate physical insight commentary. This form of presentation breathes life into equations which might easily be confused or ignored altogether.

There are even chapter questions at the end, though the answers are in a solutions manual which is sold separately. (which makes it a good candidate for any professor teaching a university level Introduction to Nanotechnology course.

One unique chapter is devoted to scaling laws, which is the heart of what makes nanomaterials unique in properties and application. While the book is very readable and not overly sophisticated, I feel that any grad student that masters the concepts presented within will be well armed to answer or understand most nanoscience questions and concepts.

NOTE: There is now a 3rd edition of this text just published in October 2014, but I have not had the opportunity to see what changes have been made. (the page count has not gone up by much) Please note that this latest edition has won the Amazon Favorite Books of 2014 Award.

Introduction To Nanoscience by S.M. Lindsay

Introduction to Nanoscience by S.M. Lindsey

Oxford University Press 2010  WorldCatLibraryThingGoogle BooksBookFinder

Introduction to Nanoscience OpenLibrary Entry

Other books by S. M. Lindsay

Introduction Nanotech Lindsay

ISBN 0199544212  –  212 pages   $54.42 on Amazon  Published 2010

The title of “Introduction to Nanoscience” is deceptive as it often dives steeply from everyday analogy into deep theory with little warning. While I can appreciate giving undergrad students or laymen a taste of how little they know, the roller-coaster nature of the text can make it difficult to consistently focus on certain fundamentals.

The liberal peppering of partial differential equations regarding quantum physics and statistical kinematics also makes the beginning chapters a bit daunting to wade through, especially when the author gets so focused on mathematical descriptions that critical physical insights whiz by like the landscape from inside a bullet train.

One of the main challenges of engineering and physics texts is the fine balance between highlighting key ideas without getting lost in the broad swaths of detail. Sure, give a grand tour of everything, but keep a good map in your hand.

On the whole, I like the book, but I do not recommend it to someone who has anything less than a grad level understanding in quantum mechanics and organic chemistry.

Bio-Nanotechnology: Concept & Applications

Bio-Nanotechnology: Concept & Applications 1st Edition Hardcover

by Madhuri Sharon, Maheshwar Sharon, Sunil Pandey, Goldie Oza

Bio-Nanotechnology Book Review by Joel-Anthony Gray

Bio-Nanotechnology: Concepts and Applications

ISBN 1439852146 –  300 pages   $66.31 on Amazon  Published May 2012

I am more than a bit surprised that a fresh book in such a cutting edge field is so inexpensive and seems to be a bit unknown at this time. (at least I am not seeing any reviews on Amazon as of this writing)

Despite some flaws and shortcomings, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite texts on the subject.

There is definitely more of a bias towards helpful illustrations, photos and diagrams in here than there are equations, so this is NOT a hard-core reference manual, but it is an excellent overview of some of the latest concepts and approaches in the field of bio-nanotechnology.

The areas covered are broad and what I find to be the most valuable contribution of this work is the ILLUMINATION that it provides on fundamental concepts that are too often obscured by analysis and math symbology. For example, the chapter on ATP Synthase motor dynamics is the most detailed and yet most understandable explanation I have yet encountered on this almost supernaturally efficient wonder of nature. 

There are numerous other eureka moments I encountered throughout the book while reading; the kind of “Aha!” transitions that professors and PhD students allude to when you reach a certain quantum leap in understanding and you glimpse how all sorts of “First Principles” converge, interconnect and hang together.

The only detraction at times is the glaring grammatical mistakes in certain chapters that are the obvious result of mistranslated material and/or a lack of good proofreading. This may seem picky, but in some cases the error is of such a magnitude that the technical meaning is distorted into misinformation. In one case, the number of hydrogen bonds between nitrogenous bases is incorrectly illustrated as 2 for both A & T and C & G with the ring order in DNA accidentally reversed. (the correct number is 2 and 3 respectively) Still, a sharp student or professor should be able to suss out the wheat from the chaff; I just look forward to a 2nd edition that has been more carefully edited.

All in all, if you want a good technical overview of trends in bionanotechnology or just need to review the basics, then this is a must have, but I don’t find it suitable as a primary academic textbook. (but a recommended supplement)