Plenty of Room for Biology at the Bottom

The following sections are included:

• Contents

• Preface

The following sections are included:

• Classical Biotechnology: Industrial Production Using Biological Systems

• Modern Biotechnology: From Industrial Processes to Novel Therapeutics

• Modern Biotechnology: Immunological, Enzymatic, and Nucleic Acid-Based Technology

• The Interface Between Nanotechnology and Biotechnology: Bionanotechnology

• Supramolecular (Bio)Chemistry: The Theoretical Basis for Self-Assembly

• The Next Steps for Self-Association at the Nano-Scale

• Biology in Nanotechnology and Nano-Sciences in Biotechnology

• The Combination of Bionanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology

• Nanobionics and Bio-Inspired Nanotechnology

The following sections are included:

• The Emergence of Nanotechnology: “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”

• Coining the Term “Nanotechnology” and the Emergence of the Nanotechnology Concept

• Manipulating Molecules: The Scanning Probe Microscopes

• Carbon Fullerene: A New Form of Carbon

• Carbon Nanotubes: Key Building Blocks for Future Nanotechnological Applications

• A Single Layer of Carbon: Graphene

• Non-Carbon Nanotubes and Fullerene-Like Material: The Inorganic Nanomaterials

• Quantum Dots and Other Nanoparticles

• Nanowires, Nanorods, and Other Nanomaterials

• Magnetic Nanoparticles

The following sections are included:

• The Process of Self-Assembly and Self-Organization in Biology

• Organization of Bacterial S-Layers

• Self-Organization of Viruses

• Self-Organization of Phospholipid Membranes

• Fibrillar Cytoskeleton Assemblies

• Nucleic Acids: The Genetic Information Media and a Template for Nanotechnological Applications

• Oligosaccharides and Polysaccharides: Another Class of Biological Polymers

• Amyloid Fibrils as Self-Assembled Nano-Scale Bio-Assemblies

• Silk: Natural Fibrillar Supramolecular Protein Assembly

• Ribosome: The Protein Assembly Line Instrument

• Other Complex Machines in the Genetic Code Expression

• Protein Quality-Control Machinery: The Proteasome

• Biological Nano-Motors: Kinesin and Dynein

• Other Nano-Motors: Flagella and Cilia

• Ion Channels: Nano-Pores of High Specificity

The following sections are included:

• Emergence of Biological Activity through Self-Assembly

• Molecular Recognition and Chemical Affinity

• Affinity and Specificity of Biological Interactions

• The Relation Between Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Dissociation

• The Chemical Basis for Molecular Recognition and Specific Binding

• The Formation of Specific Complexes by an Increase in Entropy

The following sections are included:

• Antibodies as the Molecular Sensors of Recognition

• Selection of Antibodies and Equivalent Systems in the Test Tube

• Recognition between Nucleic Acids by Proteins

• Interaction between Receptors and Ligands

• Molecular Recognition between Nucleic Acids

• Aptamers

The following sections are included:

• Formation of DNA-Based Materials

• Assembly of Peptide-Based Nanomaterials

• The First Peptide Nanotubes

• Amphiphile and Surfactant-Like Peptide Building Blocks

• Charge Complementary as a Driving Force for Self-Assembly

• Conjugation of Peptides for Self-Assembly

• Aromatic Interactions for the Formation of Nano-Structures

• The Formation of Aromatic Dipeptide Nanotubes (ADNT)

• The Formation of Spherical Nano-Structures by Short Peptides

• Helical Peptide Building Blocks

• Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNA)

The following sections are included:

• The Use of S-Layers for Nanolithography

• The Use of DNA for Fabrication of Conductive Nanowires

• Amyloid Fibrils as Templates for Nanowire Fabrication

• Metallization of Actin Filaments by Chemical Modification

• The Use of Aromatic Peptide Nanotubes

• Bacteriophages as Novel Biomaterials

• The Use of Peptide Templates for Biomineralization

• Production of Inorganic Composite Nanomaterials

• The Utilization of Biomineralization in Nanotechnology

The following sections are included:

• The Use of Drug Nanocrystals for Improved Application

• The Use of Nano-Containers for Drug Delivery

• The Use of Inorganic Nanowires for Biological Detection

• The Use of Soft Lithography for Biotechnology

• Contrast Agents by Nanomagnetic Materials

• Nanoagriculture

• Water Technology and Nanotechnology

• Nanocosmetics

• Solar Energy Applications

The following sections are included:

• The Marriage of Molecular Biology and Nanotechnology

• The Engineering of Modified Biological Systems for the Assembly of Nano-Structures

• Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering

• Engineering of the Brain Tissue

• Making Artificial Biological Inorganic Composites

• Nanobio Machines and Nano-Robots

There is no task more intellectually challenging than to forecast the future. No one back in the 1950s could even imagine the technological and cultural revolution that would be created by the introduction of personal computers and the Internet. The iPhone was released only in 2007 and nowadays it seems to be an integral part of the technological arena. Nevertheless, without being able to grasp the full scale of future events, it was already very clear by 1950 that the second half of the 20th century would be dominated by electronics and global telecommunication. When we now forecast the second decade of the 21st century and attempt to have some insight into the future it is very clear that the next 50 years will be dominated by a rapid and revolutionary advancement in both the fields of biology and nanotechnology. The fine details are yet to be revealed but the general framework can already be seen. Biology in the first decade of the 21st century is positioned approximately at the same place physics was situated several decades or even a century ago. The general concepts are known, due to an explosion in the amount of experimental information, and there is even significant theoretical understanding of the processes. Most importantly, there is an immense interest and excitement regarding the importance of these studies among the general public as well as among the world leaders and decision-makers…

The following sections are included:

• Appendix A There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics — by Richard P. Feynman

• Appendix B List of Bionanotechnological and Nanobiotechnological Companies

• Appendix C Glossary

• Bibliography

• Index