PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT-4(Use of carbon in

nanotechnology)
What is nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is
about 1 to 100 nanometers. Nanotechnology is the study and application of extremely small
things and can be used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics,
materials science, and engineering. Physicist Richard Feynman is known as the father of
nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is being used in developing countries to help treat disease,
prevent health issues and finds its application in a variety of industrial and purification
processes.

How is Carbon related to Nanotechnology?

Carbon is an extremely versatile element, characterized by a variety of allotropes and structures
with different properties. Its forms include diamond, graphite, coal, activated carbon or charcoal,
and carbon black. Till date, the three naturally occurring allotropes of carbon (diamond,
amorphous carbon and graphite), have been joined by additional ones deriving from synthetic
processes (such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, carbon nanohorns, nanodiamonds).

Carbon nanotubes have been first used as additives to various structural materials for
electronics, optics, plastics, and other materials of nanotechnology fields. Millions of tons of
these materials are used every year in applications that include abrasives, tires and water
treatment, among others. A fullerene is a highly unique form of carbon, a molecule at the nm
scale. Carbon, in its nanotube form, is 100 times stronger than steel and the basis of very high
strength composite materials.

Among the diverse carbon nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes and graphene are naturally
excellent electrical conductors, thus representing ideal candidates for interfacing electrical-
excitable tissues. In addition, their dimensional range holds the potential to enhance the material
interactions with bio-systems. Successful interfacing of the nervous system with devices that
record or modulate neuronal electrical activity requires their stable electrical coupling with
neurons. The efficiency of this coupling can be improved significantly by the use of
conductive, specially designed, nanomaterials. Here we review different carbon-based
nanomaterials currently under investigation in basic and applied neuroscience, and the recent
developments in this research field, with a special focus on in-vitro studies.

VEDIK BANDI (X-

This picture is of a nanotube