Nanotechnology

Products and applications based on nanotechnology are already found in virtually all areas of life, from computer chips and hard disc storage to anticorrosive agents, bathroom tiles or deodorants, to tumour therapies. Nanotechnology is becoming an increasingly significant economic factor. New materials and surface coatings with previously unachievable properties can now be utilized to enhance almost any kind of household article. Properties can be specifically designed to make objects harder or more flexible, dirt- or water-repellent, immune to scratching or corrosion, luminescent in any desired colour, or completely transparent. The technology is also setting new standards in terms of manufacturing precision and the manipulation of the most minute structures at the molecular or even atomic level.

There are more than 30 nanotechnology research teams at Hamburg’s universities and research institutes. Physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, medical and computer scientists are involved in the research, analysis and manipulation of structures on the scale of ten-thousandths of a millimetre down to single molecules and atoms. Integrating the abundant nanotechnology expertise in Hamburg within a dedicated network was the declared goal of the HanseNanoTec competence centre. Researchers, companies and technology promotion agencies have teamed up to advance the nanotechnology sector in Hamburg and increase its visibility on a supra-regional level. Established by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in early 2007, the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Hamburg (INCH) joins the HanseNanoTec competence centre in forging interdisciplinary links between the fields of nanotechnology and life sciences in the Hamburg metropolitan region.

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Magnetisierung einzelner Atome / Magnetizing single atoms

(F. Marczinowski, Universität Hamburg)

As part of the Excellence Initiative of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, also  two excellence clusters of nanotechnology have been established in 2009 to strengthen the competitiveness of Hamburg-based research by outstanding colloborative projects. The state excellence cluster "nano-spintronics" focusses its activities on new computer devices, which are not only atomically small, but also incredibly fast, while needing hardly any energy at all. Main research target of the state excellence cluster "Nanotechnology in Medicine" is to tag nanoparticles with molecular recognition structures to allow cellular targeting. Concentrated in certain body cells, they could significantly improve the diagnosis and therapy of cancer, metabolic, neurologic and infectious diseases as well as arteriosclerosis.

Hamburg’s consulting and equity firms are also beginning to specialize in nanotechnology, among them Nanoventure AG or the Newmex Group.

The Hamburg metropolitan region is home to companies which focus exclusively on the development and production of nanomaterials for a great variety of applications. Global players such as Beiersdorf, Philips and the biotech corporations Evotec AG and Eppendorf Deutschland employ nanotechnology in their products.

Researchers and scientists regard nanotechnology as the key technology of the 21st century. The Hanseatic City provides an environment in which nanoscience companies can flourish. Hamburg’s institutes conducting research in this field work together closely with companies to ensure swift and effective knowledge transfer.