## 2 Progress in Various Nanotechnology Disciplines
### Biomedical Devices  
[PERSON] (UCSD, San Diego, CA) discussed wireless electronic nano-biosensors for global health and security. Early and rapid diagnosis of biomarkers for diseases and transmissible infectious pathogens, including viruses, toxins, and bacteria inflicting large scale abnormalities and fatalities as well as plant diseases, are essential for effective global health and security. Existing approaches for the large scale assay of biomarkers use optical sensing, require amplification of the bio-sample, are time and resource consuming, require large laboratory setup, are non-portable, and lack sensitivity. On the other hand, nanodevices integrating nano-bio-probes and advanced nano-electronics with wireless capability as an array-biosensor platform on chips, with single molecule sensitivity and specificity, would overcome the abovementioned limitations of the current approaches. They can identify and monitor simultaneously an array of biomarkers of genetic defects, viruses, bacteria, toxins, and infectious airborne pathogens. The detected signals can be transmitted by Bluetooth to personal electronics, including smart phones, tablets, and computers. [PERSON] presented an example of an integrated platform combining DNA nano-tweezers (a dynamic DNA nano-device) as a nucleic acid-sensing probe, electrical biosensors (using graphene FET), and an analytical wireless communication system [28]. The electrical signal resulting from the resistance changes triggered by the interaction between DNA nano-tweezer probes and defective DNA samples was recorded and transmitted remotely. Significantly, this new approach is label-free and does not require amplification of the probes to improve the detection sensitivity or an expensive immovable lab setup [29; 30]. As such, implementation of this technology would allow cheaper, faster, implantable or wearable or hand-held, and portable point-of-care health status monitoring and accurate diagnoses of cancer, degenerative, genetic, and various communicable diseases as well as early detection of pathogens with potential for large population casualty. [PERSON] (Northeastern University, Boston, MA) discussed how nanotechnology can be used to increase tissue growth and decrease implant infection without using antibiotics but using sensors. His group has shown that nanofeatures, nano-modifications, nanoparticles, and most importantly nanosensors can reduce bacterial growth without using antibiotics. He summarized techniques and efforts to create nanosensors for a wide range of medical and tissue engineering applications, particularly those that have received FDA approval and are currently being implanted in humans [31]. Currently, there are a dozen or more ways to incorporate nanostructured features onto implants, changing many fundamental properties including surface area, surface chemistry, hydrophilicity, radio opacity, roughness, and catalytic properties that in turn affect surface energy and mechanical and electrical (conductivity) properties of the implanted materials such as catheters, stitches, or implants that are inserted for wound healing devices for the skin [32]. Interestingly, his lab developed a quantitative equation that can predict material protein and material cell behavior, so that one does not have to do this by trial and error [33]. Also, he discussed the use of micro- and nano- shot peening of stainless steel toward incorporating nanoscale surface features and nanoscale grain sizes which in turn increase osteoblast function and decrease bacterial growth, not killing mammalian cells but inhibiting bacteria cells, without drugs. Finally, he described the smart sensors in orthopedics that his group has been studying, which have three components: a component that senses what is going on in the body, a processor that processes the information and sends it to a computer or an iPhone, and a user interface where that sensor can then respond to the problem such as by increasing bone growth, decreasing infection, or decreasing scar tissue.