Nanoenabled Products in Commerce

Consumer Nanoproducts

Health and fitness is the largest category in the 2009 consumer products inventory of the Project on Emerging Technologies. It contains 605 products or product lines (out of 1,015 total) while the next largest category is home and garden, with 152 products. Within health and fitness, the largest product category is personal care (193 products) followed by clothing (155) and cosmetics (137). Examples of products in the personal care category include the Clearly It! skin care products from Kara Vita (Complexion Mist, Spot Treatment, and Acne Treatment Lotion), a line of hairdryers and hair straight-eners produced by Conair, and a nanosilver toothbrush produced by Summitek, Inc. Clothing products incorporating nanotechnology include antibacterial socks produced by the Sharper Image, the LZR Racer swimsuit produced by Speedo, and a line of wrinkle-free, stain-resistant nanocare trousers produced by Lee Jeans.

The home and garden category, the second largest in the consumer inventory, includes home furnishings, cleaning products, construction materials, luggage, paint, pet care goods, and luxury items. Products in this category include Apollo diamonds (grown in a lab, rather than mined, using a derivation of the chemical vapor deposition process), antibacterial/antifungal towels from AgActive that are designed to remain free of odor and bacteria, and the Dr. Mobile air purifier produced by Airo Co. that uses a nanosilver filter to trap germs and viruses.

The third largest category in the consumer products inventory is food and beverages. This includes food, items used in cooking and storage, and nutritional supplements. Products in this category incorporating [Page 474]nanotechnology include Canola Active Oil produced by Shemen Industries, which uses nanodrops or micelles to inhibit transportation of cholesterol into the bloodstream, FresherLonger plastic storage bags produced by Sharper Image, which are infused with silver nanoparticles to inhibit the growth of bacteria, mold, and fungus, and cookware from GreenPan, which uses a hybrid polymer nanocomposite nonstick technology.

Automotive Engineering

Nanoscaled fillers, such as sooty particles, are applied in car tires, for example. The nanometer-sized dimensions of functional layers or particles allow a drastic improvement in performance of catalysts and air filter systems that clean air inside and outside of the car. Optical layers for reflection reduction on dashboards, or hydrophobic and dirt-repellent “easy-to-clean” surfaces on car mirrors are further examples of applications using nanotechnologies in automobiles. Currently, profits amounting to billions of dollars are being generated using such highend products, where nanotechnologies are incorporated into the product or into production technologies. In the production technology of future automotive engineering, nanotechnological adhesives have an enormous economic potential since they allow energy savings in assembly processes. An interesting application relates to adhesives that are modified with magnetic nanoparticles. The coupling of thermal energy in the form of microwave radiation induces the chemical reaction necessary for the gluing process.

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