Sustainable Nanotechnology. Группа авторов

      Continuation of the current development strategies will not be sufficient to achieve sustainable development. Moreover, relying on “business as usual” scenarios presents clear risks, because evidence is mounting against the status quo such that:

      1 The impact of climate change threatens to escalate in the absence of adequate safeguards, and there is a need to promote integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems and take mitigation and adaptation action in keeping with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities;

      2 Hunger and malnourishment, while decreasing in many developing countries, remain persistent in other countries, and food and nutrition security continues to be an elusive goal for too many;

      3 Income inequality within and among many countries has been rising and has reached an extremely high level, invoking the specter of heightened tension and social conflict;

      4 Rapid urbanization, especially in developing countries, calls for major changes in the way in which urban development is designed and managed as well as substantial increases in public and private investments in urban infrastructure and services;

      5 Energy needs are likely to remain unmet for hundreds of millions of households, unless significant progress in ensuring access to modern energy services is achieved;

      6 Recurrence of financial crises needs appropriate measure of prevention, and the financial system has to be redirected toward promoting access to long‐term financing for investments required to achieve sustainable development.

      One of the solutions for addressing these challenges is the “Need for inclusive strategies and technology innovation.” In recent years, nanotechnology applications in major industries and occupations have grown significantly.

      Nanotechnology has shown significant potential for resolving global challenges for sustainable development in many areas, such as water and sanitation, environmental pollution, soil degradation, health care challenges, food and agriculture, animal welfare, and deterioration of biological diversity, among others.

      In this volume, we focus nanotechnology applications in three areas:

      1 Nanotechnology and eco‐friendly biobased products;

      2 Nanotechnology and eco‐friendly manufactured products;

      3 Models and ways to understand the life cycle and risk assessment of manufactured nanomaterials and nanoengineering with special reference to global sustainability.

      Given the enormous scientific and technological advances in this area, it will be impossible to cover all aspects of nanotechnology applications in one volume. Nevertheless, nanotechnology, which is expanding fast, will definitely have impact on environment and sustainability. We focus, specifically, on how the researches and innovations in nanotechnology will affect the environment. The book consists of several chapters authored by experts who are working in this area of research and development. We strived to cover as many areas as possible where nanotechnology made lasting impact, with particular focus on these impacts positively affecting global sustainability.

      We would like to extend our sincere thanks and express our gratitude to all the authors who have contributed the chapters to this book; without their support, we would not have completed this book within the timeframe that we had set out at the outset. We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to John Wiley & Sons, their editorial, production, and marketing teams who spared no efforts to make this book project a success.

      We would like to thank our families who supported our efforts in bringing out this book. Our thanks also go to our respective home institutions that allowed us the time and freedom to complete this task.

      We believe this book will be an excellent reference volume for people who are working in the area of nanotechnology and sustainability.

      We believe we did our best to make sure the book is free of errors and faults; however, if you the reader find any mistakes or factual errors, we request you to bring them to our notice, so that we can correct and update the content in the next edition.

      With best wishes to our readers

       Yashwant V. Pathak, Govindan Parayil, and Jayvadan K. Patel

      Foreword

      There have been enormous developments in the area of nanotechnology with its application to deliver antimicrobial properties in hand washes, bandages, and socks, and zinc or titanium nanoparticles are the active UV‐protective elements in modern sunscreens. With several innovations a significant interest has developed among governments, industries, and academicians.

      Sustainability is now one of the greatest challenges in nanotechnology research. In addition to natural resources, there is a need for social and economic resources. The principle of sustainability has three major pillars: economy, society, and the environment, being translated to profit, people, and planet.

      Nanotechnology provides a promise of positively contributing to global sustainability challenges, by providing interesting solutions such as water purification, energy efficiency, cheaper versions for solar energy, and solar panel development. In addition, nanotechnology plays an important role in health care through nanomedicine, nanorobots, nano health care challenges, nano‐pharmacogenomics solutions to chronic diseases, nanoscaffolds, noninvasive surgeries, and so on.

      Some challenges posed by nanotechnology are developing sustainable nanotechnology, to deal with potential ecological and health effects of nanotechnology on human health and to design nanotechnology‐based products with minimal environment adverse impact.

      This book by Dr(s) Yashwant Pathak, Govindan Parayil, and Jayvadan Patel addresses many of these issues and provides nanotechnology‐based research priorities for global sustainability to improving sustainability and methods for development of various biobased products using sustainable nano biocomposites. Some chapters have also glimpses of novel approaches to design eco‐friendly material based on natural nanomaterials.

      I congratulate the editors to bring out this compilation addressing sustainable nanotechnology their strategies, products, and applications.

      I am sure that the readers will find this book very useful for improving their understanding about sustainable nanotechnology and to plan further research in the field of nanotechnology.

      With best wishes to the editors and all the chapter authors.

      Prof. (Dr.) Ramesh K. Goyal

      Vice Chancellor

      Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University, India

1 Nanotechnology‐Based Research Priorities for Global Sustainability

       Twishi Puri1, Yashwant Pathak2,3, and Govindan Parayil4

       1 Department of Biology, Worcester State University, Worcester, MA, USA

       2 Taneja College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

       3 Faculty of Pharmacy, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia

       4 Patel College of Global Sustainability, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

1.1 Introduction

      Sustainable development is not a newly constructed idea. Since the 1970s, conversations about this particular field have been fueled by the fear that the world cannot sustain an immense growth in human population and economic activities without damaging the environment and our social fabric. Concerns