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Glossary of Nanotechnology

The following are some of the terms used in discussing Nanotechnology and other anticipated technologies and is intended to offer help in crossing disciplinary boundaries

A  

Amide

A molecule containing an amine bonded to a carboxyl group     

Amine 

A molecule containing N with a single bond to C and two other single bonds to H or C but not an amide, the amine group or moiety 

     
Amino Acid 

A molecule containing both an amine and a carboxylic acid group     
         

Anion

A negatively charged ion             
         

Anchor 

Embedded marker enabling authors to link to a specific part of a Web document             
         

Aromatic

A term used to describe cyclic pi-bonded structures of special stability             
         

Assembler 

A general purpose device for molecular manufacturing capable of guiding chemical reactions by positioning molecules             
         

Atom

The smallest unit of a chemical element, about a third of a nanometer in diameter in diameter. Atoms make up molecules and solid objects              
         

Atomic Force Microscope

An instrument able to image surfaces to molecular accuracy by mechanically probing their surface contours. A kind of proximity probe             
         

Automated Engineering

Engineering design done by a computer system, generating detailed designs from broad specifications with little or no human help

Automated Manufacturing  

As used here, nanotechnology-based manufacturing requiring little human labour     

B         
         

Bacteria

Single-celled micro-organisms, about one micrometer (one thousand nanometers) across             
         

Base

In the Bronsted definition, a base is a chemical species that can accept a proton from another species. In the Lewis definition, a base is a chemical species that can donate and share a pair of electrons with another species. See 'Acid'             
         

Bearing

A mechanical device that permits the motion of a component in one or more degrees of freedom while resisting motion in all other degrees of freedom             
         

Binding         

The process by which a molecule becomes bound, that is, confined in position with respect to a receptor. Confinement occurs because structural features of the receptor create a potential well for the ligand; van der Waals and electrostatic interactions commonly contribute             
         

Bipyridinium     

Polymer derived from N,N-bis[(p-trimethoxysilyl)-benzyl]-4,4'- bipyridinium bpy 2,2'-Bipyridine             
         

Bond           

Two atoms are said to be bonded when the energy required to separate them is greater than the van der Waals attraction energy. Ionic bonds result from the electrostatic attraction between ions; covalent and metallic bonds result from the sharing of electrons among atoms; hydrogen bonds are weaker and result from dipole interactions and limited electron sharing. When used without modification, 'bond' usually refers to a covalent bond   

           
Brownian Assembly 

Brownian motion in a fluid brings molecules together in various position and orientations. If molecules have suitable complementary surfaces, they can bind, assembling to form a specific structure. Brownian assembly is a less paradoxical name for self-assembly (how can a structure assemble itself, or do anything, when it does not yet exist?)             
         

Brownian Motion   

Motion of a particle in a fluid owing to thermal agitation, observed in 1827 by Robert Brown. (Originally thought to be caused by vital force, Brownian motion in fact plays a vital role in the assembly and activity of the molecular structures of life)             
         

Bulk Technology 

Technology in which atoms and molecules are manipulated in bulk, rather than individually             
         

C  
         

Cam 

A component that translates or rotates to move a contoured surface past a follower; the contours impose a sequence of motions (potentially complex) on the follower             
         

Catalyst

A chemical species or other structure that facilitates a chemical reaction without itself undergoing a permanent change              
         

Cation

A positively charged ion             
         

CEC

Process in which a chemical reaction precedes and follows the electron-transfer process              

Cell

A small structural unit, surrounded by a membrane, making up living things             
         

Cell Pharmacology 

Delivery of drugs by medical nanomachines to exact locations in the body             
         

Cell Surgery
 

Modifying cellular structures using medical nanomachines             
         

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
 

As used in CMOS transistors and CMOS logic             
         

Covalent Bond
 

A bond formed by sharing a pair of electrons between two atoms             
         

Central Processor Unit 

The central processing unit of a computer, responsible for executing instructions to process information             
         

Cyclic 

A structure is termed cyclic if its covalent bonds form one or more rings.             
         

D  
         

Dative Bond
 

A dipolar bond             
         

DeoxyriboNucleic Acid
 

A molecule encoding genetic information, found in the cell's nucleus             
         

Diamondoid      

Stuctures that resemble diamond in a broad sense, strong stiff structures containing dense, three dimensional networks of covalent bonds, formed chiefly from first and second row atoms with a valence of three or more. Many of the most useful diamondoid structures will in fact be rich in tetrahedrally coordinated carbon             
         

Dipolar Bond    

A covalent bond in which one atom supplies both bonding electrons, and the other atom supplies an empty orbital in which to share them. Also termed a dative bond             
         

Disassembler 

An instrument able to take apart structures a few atoms at a time, recording structural information at each step             
         

E  
         

Ecosystem Protector
 

A nanomachine for mechanically removing selected imported species from an ecosystem in order to protect native species             
         

Enabling Science and Technologies 

Areas of research relevant to a particular goal, such as nanotechnology             
         

Enzymes        

Molecular machines found in nature, made of protein, which can catalyse (speed up) chemical reactions             
         

Exploratory Engineering 

Design and analysis of systems that are theoretically possible but cannot be built yet, owing to limitations in available tools              
          

G
         

Group 

A set of linked atoms in a molecule; a defined substructure. Typically, a set that is usefully regarded as a unit in chemical reactions of interest             
         

H  
         

Harmonic Oscillator 

A system in which a mass is subject to a linear restoring force, like an ideal spring. A harmonic oscillator vibrates at a fixed frequency, independent of amplitude             
         

Heat 

As defined in thermodynamics, heat is the energy that flows between two systems as a result of temperature differences             
         

HyperText Markup Language 

Used to format information for the World Wide Web             
         

I  
         

Intermolecular
 

Describes an interaction between different molecules
              

Internal Energy

The sum of the kinetic and potential energies of particles that make up a system
             
         

Ion
 

An atom or molecule with a net charge             
         

Ionic Bond
 

A chemical bond resulting chiefly from the electrostatic attraction between positive and negative ions             
         

Immune Machines  

Medical nanomachines designed for internal use, especially in the bloodstream and digestive tract, able to identify and disable intruders such as bacteria and viruses               
         

K  
         

Kinetic Energy  

Energy resulting from the motion of masses             
         

L  
         

Ligand          

In protein chemistry, a small molecule that is (or can be) bound by a larger molecule is termed a ligand. In organometallic chemistry; moiety bonded to a central metal atom is also termed a ligand; the latter definition is more common in general chemistry.             
         

Limited Assembler  

Assembler capable of making only certain products; faster, more efficiently and less liable to abuse, than a general purpose assembler.             
         

London Dispersion Force 

An attractive force caused by quantum -mechanical electron correlation.             
         

M  
         

Moiety 

A portion of a molecule structure having some property of interest             
         

Molecular Electronics 

Any system with atomically precise electronic devices of nanometer dimensions, especially if made of discrete molecular parts, rather than the continuous materials found in today's semiconductor devices             
         

Molecular Machine 

Any machine with atomically precise parts of nanometer dimensions; can be used to describe molecular devices found in nature             
         

Molecular Manipulator 

A device combining a proximal-probe mechanism for atomically precise positioning with a molecule binding site on the tip; can serve as the basis for building complex structures by positional synthesis             
         

Molecular Manufacturing 

Manufacturing using molecular machinery, giving molecule-by molecule control of products and by-products via positional chemical synthesis             
         

Molecular Mechanics  

A molecular mechanics program developed by Norman Allinger and co-workers; the MM2 model is the molecular potential energy function described by the equations, rules and parameters embodied in that program             
         

Molecular Mechanics / Cambridge Scientific Computing 

A molecular mechanics program developed by Cambridge Scientific Computing that closely follows the MM2 model, adding a graphical user interface and other features             
         

Molecular Medicine 

A variety of pharmaceutical techniques and therapies in use today             
         

Molecular Nanotechnology 

Thorough, inexpensive control of the structure of matter based on molecule-by-molecule control of products and by-products; the products and processes of molecular manufacturing, including molecular machinery             
         

Molecular Recognition 

A chemical term referring to processes in which molecules adhere in a specific way, forming a large structure; an enabling technology for nanotechnology             
         

Molecular Surgery / Molecular Repair 

Analysis and physical correction of molecular structures in the body using medical nanomachines             
         

Molecular Systems Engineering 

Design, analysis and construction of systems of molecular parts working together to carry out a useful purpose             
         

Molecule  

Group of atoms held together by chemical bonds, the typical unit manipulated by nanotechnology.              
         

N  
         

Nano

A prefix meaning one billionth (1/1,000,000,000)             
         

Nanocomputer 

A computer with parts built on a molecular scale             
         

Nanoelectronics 

Electronics on a nanometer scale, whether by current techniques or nanotechnology; includes both molecular electronics and nanoscale devices resembling today's semiconductor devices

              
Nanomachine 

An artificial molecular machine of the sort made by molecular manufacturing             
         

Nanomanufacturing 

Same as molecular manufacturing             
         

Nanosurgery 

A generic term including molecular repair and cell surgery             
         

Nanotechnology 

Areas of technology where dimensions and tolerances in the range of 0.1nm to 100nm play a critical role             
         

Nucleus  

The positively charged core of an atom, an object of -0.00001 atomic diameters containing > 99.9% of the atomic mass. Nuclear positions define atomic positions              
         

P  
         

Positional Synthesis 

Control of chemical reactions by precisely positioning the reactive molecules, the basic principle of assemblers.             
         

Protein Design / Protein Engineering  

The design and construction of new proteins; an enabling technology for nanotechnology              
         

Q  
         

Quantum Mechanics  

Describes a system of particles in terms of a wave function defined over the configuration of particles having distinct locations is implicit in the potential energy function that determines the wave function, the observable dynamics of the motion of such particles from point to point. In describing the energies, distributions and behaviours of electrons in nanometer-scale structures, quantum mechanical methods are necessary. Electron wave functions help determine the potential energy surface of a molecular system, which in turn is the basis for classical descriptions of molecular motion. Nanomechanical systems can almost always be described in terms of classical mechanics, with occasional quantum mechanical corrections applied within the framework of a classical model.             
         

R  
         

Receptor 

A structure that can capture a molecule owing to complementary surface shapes, charge distributions, without forming a covalent bond             
         

Replicator 

A system able to build copies of itself when provided with raw materials and energy             
         

Ribosome  

A naturally occurring molecular machine that manufactures proteins according to instructions derived from the cell's genes              
         

S  
         

Scanning Tunnelling Microscope 

An instrument able to image conducting surfaces to atomic accuracy; has been used to pin molecules to a surface             
         

Sealed Assembler Lab 

A general purpose assembler system in a container permitting only energy and information to be exchanged with the environment             
         

Smart Materials and Products 

Materials and products capable of relatively complex behaviour due to the incorporation of nanocomputers and nanomachines. Also used for products having some ability to respond to the environment              
          
         

T  
         

Thermodynamics  

A field of study embracing energy conversion among various forms, including heat, work and potential and kinetic energy             
         

V  
         

Van der Waals Force 

Any of several intermolecular attractive forces not resulting from ionic charges              
         

Virtual Reality System 

A combination of computer and interface devices (gloves, goggles, etc.) that present a user with the illusion of being in a three dimensional world of computer generated objects             
         

Virus  

A parasitic (consisting primarily of genetic material) that invades cells and takes over their molecular machinery in order to copy itself

Copyright © Institute of Nanotechnology 2001