Nanobase

The term nanobase refers to several different aspects of nanotechnology. The first use refers to the databank Nanobase, which was one of the early attempts to consolidate the rapidly emerging field of nanotechnology. The site was sponsored by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation from 1999 until 2002. The site was no longer being maintained as of 2010.

The term nanobase is also used in a variety of applications, as a base, either liquid or solid, through which nanoparticles can be delivered. Thus, nanobase formulations have been considered in medical technology for the targeted delivery of drugs. An important concept is that of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), including an improved version, termed nanostructered lipid carriers (NLC) and lipid drug conjugate (LDC), based on particles with a solid lipid matrix and an average diamerter in the nanometer range, with the particles composed of lipids (usually triglycerides) incorporated in the nanobase and used to carry targeted drugs. The SLNs can be described as parenteral emulsions in which the liquid lipid oil has been replaced by a solid lipid, enabling them to protect the nanoparticles in them against chemical degradation. Nanosuspensions, or nanobases that have pure active ingredients combined with minimal quantites of surface stabilizing agents allow the delivery of a high payload of drugs with low toxicity and environmental impact, since chemical solvents are excluded.

Applications that were orignially developed in nanotechnology have found applications in the cosmetic industry, where a nanobase is used to ensure that cosmetics penetrate the skin. The U.S.-based company Dermazone uses “microspheres” called Lyphazomes, which are tiny balls that contain cosmetic products that can penetrate the outer layer of skin before releasing one or more products slowly over time. This delivery method started as a way to help burn victims with severe moisture depletion. The international cosmetics company L'Oréal has almost 200 patents for nanotechnologies involving a nanobase cream that can deliver the cosmetics at a molecular level. Another example of the application of a nanobase is in the food packaging industry. A German company has used nanoscaled inorganic-organic polymers to create an hybrid film of aluminum and silicon oxide (Al-SiOx) that has a thickness of 155 nanometers as a nanobase. Once food is packed in this wrapping, the nanobase is activated by the moisture, the oxygen is removed, and the food wrapped in this oxidized and nanoscaled aluminium layer remains fresh for an extended time. Finally, in agricultural, biotechnology nanoparticulate formulations have been seen as a novel method to deliver pesticides.