Nano-robotics- The Next Big Thing

Nano-robotics is an emerging field in science and technology which aims at functionalizing machines that can perform at the nano-scale. Confused about what a nano-scale machine would look like? Try imagining a part of a million sections of an ant. Yes, they are that small. I will not go into their constructional details but I assure you one thing, their actions would be far more effective than our conventional ways.

To provide a clearer picture, nano-robots (also referred to as nanobots) are robots whose components are at or near to the scale of a nanometer. These structures function in a coordinated manner as the parts of their macro scale counterparts. Nano-robotics mainly is concerned with the nanotechnology engineering discipline which aims at creation of structures (or robots) capable of manipulating matter at the nano scale. This is still an advancing field with many more new things and concepts to be discovered. Most of its current applications are concerned with the medical field (nano medicines) where the molecular structures responsible for a certain physical condition are targeted and accordingly counter measures are enacted upon using these nanobots. Nanobots are typically devices of range 0.1 to 10 µm constructed of nano scale or molecular components. Some definitions explain that any machine or robot capable of manipulation at the nano scale or molecular level can be considered a nanobots or nanoid. Going by that definition, even an atomic force microscope can be considered as nanobot when configured to perform nano-manipulations. However, a stricter definition does not entertain this. Since till date no artificial (non-biological) nanobots have been developed, they still remain a hypothetical concept at this time.

From the above discussions, we can say that what we call robots is actually nothing but comprising of bio-molecules. All living systems are perfect examples of an optimally functioning plant. Hence the machinery in use within our cells is definitely the ideal for any process. Nano-robotics uses this idea to mimic the apparatus (or machinery) at place within the body and tries functionalizing it for better and enhanced outputs. While manufacturing of nanobots still remains a challenge, there are several methods in common use these days for their synthesis like using retroviruses, bacteria, nubots (nucleic acid robots) etc. The major important factor that makes these machines this capable is their size. At such a smaller dimension, their behavior and manipulative capacity increases many folds which enables them to gain control.

The biggest merit of the nanobots poses the biggest challenge in their synthesis and development- their size. Not all systems can be utilized for their synthesis. As of now, there is no advanced tech present to facilitate a better way for their synthesis. We can expect the arrival of one pretty soon.

As of now, these nanobots have found their potential use in the field of medicine. Their uses include early diagnosis and targeted drug delivery for treatment of cancer cells, biomedical instrumentation, pharmacokinetics, monitoring diabetes etc. Several ongoing research projects in today’s date are aiming towards increasing their functionality as well as expanding their scope. And we can certainly hope for a revolutionary breakthrough in the field anytime soon.

Written by

Divyajyoti Biswal