Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology : Overview

Nanostructured materials can be engineered by the controlled assembly of several suitable nano-objects as the building blocks. While, materials properties are determined by their atomic and molecular constituents and structure, their functionalities emerge when the microstructure of these early ensembles is in the nanometer regime. The properties and functionalities of these ensembles may be different as their size grows from the nano-regime to the micron regime and bulk structures. Nanotechnology, offers a unique possibility to manipulate the properties through the fabrication of materials using the nano-objects as building blocks. Nanotechnology is therefore considered an enabling technology by which existing materials, virtually all man-made materials, can acquire novel properties and functionalities making them suitable for numerous novel applications varying from structural and functional to advanced biomedical in-vivo and in-vitro applications.