Nanotechnology, according to its fans, will jumpstart a new industrial revolution with molecular-sized structures as complex as the human cell and 100 times stronger than steel.
The new technology transforms everyday products and the way they are made by manipulating atoms so that materials can be shrunk, strengthened and lightened all at once.
To date only modest nanotech-based products -- such as stain-resistant fabrics and fresh food packaging -- have entered the market, but some scientists predict nanotechnology will eventually be the only game in town.
"It will be a ubiquitous technology," said George Stephanopoulos, professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He echoes other nanotech supporters who say industrial countries are already sliding toward its use in every aspect of manufacturing.
But with such a huge gap between what is and what might be, it remains a difficult realm for investors, who cannot yet be confident that the global market will reach $1 trillion by 2015, as the US government predicts.
Theory says it is all possible. A nano is a measurement of a billionth of a meter, or about the size of 10 hydrogen atoms. That translates into 1/80 000 the diameter of a human hair.
Aided by recent advances in microscopes, scientists can now place single atoms where they want for the first time. The potential applications are numerous, with microscopic computers, cancer-killing antennae and non-polluting car engines on the distant horizon.
Hurdles ahead
When it is all going to happen, though, is another matter. According to most scientific accounts, the nanotech future may be 10 to 20 years off. Major hurdles need to be jumped.
First, there is a lack of economic mass production. Some of the more complicated devices would require exact placement of billions of atoms. "It may take the lifetime of the universe to complete the construction of [such a] device," said George Barbastathis, assistant professor in mechanical engineering at MIT.
Another challenge is bridging the nanoscale and macroscopic, he said. In other words, the smallness of a nano device is useless when it must be attached to large wires. It is unclear how scientists will overcome these problems.
"There is too much hype about making things small without too much reasoning," said Francesco Stellacci, MIT assistant professor of materials science and engineering.
And fears derived from science fiction threaten to derail nanotechnology even as it emerges, in much the same way that popular anxiety over "superweeds" and "frankenfoods" have hobbled biotechnology in agriculture and fear of "designer babies" has set back stem-cell research.
Environmental groups have called for a moratorium on nanotech research until any risks to society, the environment or human health have been established.
That looks unlikely, given the political support for cutting-edge technologies across the world. The US Congress last year increased funding for nanotechnology research to $3.7 billion over four years. The European Union and Japan are also investing heavily in research into the new technology.
Big business
Major corporations do not want to be left behind either. Lured by a market with billions of dollars in potential profits, giants like GE, Intel, Motorola and IBM are already heavily involved in research.
There are also a number of leading start-ups, like Carbon Nanotechnologies (CNI) in Houston and Frontier Carbon, a Mitsubishi Chemical joint venture.
Worldwide, the two industries with the potential to win big with nanotechnology are electronics and biotechnology, according to MIT researchers. On the biotech front, scientists are promoting the notion of nanoparticles made from gold that could be triggered remotely to heat and kill individual cancer cells.
It is that kind of project that gives nanotech the same appeal as biotechnology had in the 1980s, when scientists and entrepreneurs worked in tandem to fuel an industry with new advances in genetic research.
Nanotechnology holds equal promise for wealth creation, but there is not a consensus among venture capitalists on how to realise it. "Which direction is it going to work out in? That is the question on everyone`s mind," Gang Chen, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the MIT, told scientists at a Boston nano gathering.
Venture capitalists are finding a confusing assortment of new applications for a science that can baffle even the most experienced investor.
Unlike biotech, where a range of prospective products is mostly limited to those aimed at treating various human diseases, potential nanotech-based products can be applied to healthcare to chip-making to aerospace, posing challenges for venture capitalist specialists trained in only one area.
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