Nanoscience and technology is a young and burgeoning field that encompasses nearly every discipline of science and engineering. With rapid
advances in areas such as molecular electronics, synthetic biomolecular motors,
DNA-based self-assembly and manipulation of individual atoms via a scanning
tunneling microscope, nanotechnology has become the principal focus of a
growing cadre of scientists and engineers and has captured the attention and
imagination of the general public.
This field is defined primarily by a unit of length, the nanometer at which
lies the ultimate control over the form and function of matter. Nanotechnology is the science of
nanotechnological devices and it is developed from nanomaterials that have
spatial dimensions ranging between about 1 to 100 nm. Particularly metal nanoparticles offer wide range advantages of good
biocompatibility, facile preparation and conjugation with a variety of
biomolecular ligands, antibodies and other targeting moieties. They have
therefore found wide applications in chemical sensing, biological imaging,
medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Chemical sensing is a critical aspect in science
and technology. The field of
chemical sensors is highly interdisciplinary rooted in chemistry. Molecular
recognition, material science, information science and chemical and physical
transduction are all essential aspects in the chemical sensor field and it draw upon the traditional areas of
chemistry, including inorganic, organic, physical, analytical, polymer
chemistry and biology.