There is nanotechnology in soft drinks

Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating matter at the nanometre scale. We define a nanometre as one billionth of a metre (1 × 10⁻⁹ m), for example 50,000 times thinner than a human hair or 100,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. Nanotechnology is the process of manipulating matter precisely at an atomic and molecular scale to create new products with novel properties and at a microscopic scale.

The properties of materials can change and are completely different when working at the nanometre scale (1-100 nm). For example, the colour of gold changes to red, green, blue, etc. depending on the size of the gold particles (<100 nm); melting points decrease with the size and electrical and thermal conductivity; stability changes and spontaneous combustion can occur, and the absorption or emission of light is different when objects are at nanometre scale.

Historically, Richard Feynman, winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, is regarded as the father of nanotechnology after his discussion of the possibilities of manipulating atoms in a lecture entitled 'There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom' which he delivered at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in 1959.

We are not aware of the nanotechnology that surrounds us daily and that we benefit from, but examples of it can be found everywhere and in all areas of our lives; for example, in soft drinks; in clothes made from smart fabrics, which can be stain-repellent and odour-free or can change colour and temperature; and in food, in which nanomaterials are used to make packaging that delays the natural decomposition process of food, sensors that check the shelf life of foods, and encapsulated nanoadditives that improve nutritional properties, etc.

Nanotechnology is advancing most rapidly in the field of medicine. For example, there are now nanocapsules that can deliver drugs in a more targeted and efficient manner, thus achieving better and faster results and minimising collateral damage, and nanosensors that rapidly detect diseases, create new nanovaccines, interact with and modify DNA to cure genetic diseases, improve diagnostic imaging (MRI, CT, etc.), etc.

In the environment, nanotechnology is used in various ways; for example, titanium dioxide nanoparticles remove contaminants through photocatalysis, and nanosensors are used to detect contaminants, improve the use of fertilisers, etc.

In electronics (microelectronics and nanoelectronics), we can manufacture ever-smaller devices (nanotransistors) that store more information, create devices that allow data to be processed more quickly, build flexible screens and highly efficient light emitters, etc. And in cosmetics, we have creams containing nanoparticles that protect us from ultraviolet (UV) radiation or that release compounds that regenerate the skin.

In the world of energy, we can design devices to capture solar energy much more efficiently and create batteries that allow for greater energy storage and a longer operational lifespan, whereas in construction, we have materials with improved mechanical properties, that are stronger, lighter or more flexible, that do not get dirty, or that have enhanced thermal or acoustic insulation properties.

Nanotechnology and nanomaterials are one of the fastest-growing and most promising markets in any sector (cosmetics, vehicles, environment, construction, health, sport, food, agriculture, paints, textiles, electronics, etc.). In recent years, more than 11,000 nanotechnology-based products have been developed in over 68 countries (the USA, Japan, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, China, the UK, India, Switzerland, etc.). We are at the beginning of a new, unknown world beyond the reach of our senses, and the possibilities are endless. New advances in nanotechnology will be limited only by our imagination.