Nanotechnology is shaping the way for the future...

Nanotech in National Security

These projects are directly from MIT's website. With their research and development of nanotechnology, the future for our soldiers lives may be secured. These new technologies, if proven to be effective in protection, will save many lives.

Energy Absorbing Materials

The first of the ISN research areas focuses on developing energy-absorbing nanomaterials that will be part of the future soldier's battlesuit. These new materials will provide the soldier with protection against ballistics and directed energy, thereby enhancing the soldier's survivability.

Using new polymers as well as designs of nanocomposites and mesocomposites, Team 1 works to create molecular materials that can be used for a dynamic battlesuit, strong enough to withstand blast waves as well as ballistic onslaught, while still lightweight and flexible enough to allow the soldier to maintain mobility.

These new energy-absorbing materials must also be capable of integration with and protection of the other components in the future soldier's bodysuit.

Objectives
The multidisciplinary research of Team 1 represents the MIT departments of chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. Specific objectives include the following:

• Demonstrating novel organizational principles between polymers.
• Developing nanotruss polymeric structures for ballistic protection.
• Designing and synthesizing segmented copolymers that mimic spider silk.
• Identifying structural design principles for synthetic body armor based on examples found in nature, such as in marine creatures, turtle shells, and insect exoskeletons.
• Discovering new and more effective energy-dissipating deformation mechanisms, and understanding their relationship to nanoscale structural design principles in composite materials.
• Developing rational design, modeling, and characterization of the synergistic properties afforded by hierarchical structure of multilayer materials.
• Designing and optimizing lightweight, hierarchical material assemblies to withstand ballistic loading.
• Completing high rate testing capability for evaluation of individual materials and material assemblies.
• Developing numerical simulation capability to design and engineer new material systems for ballistic protection.

Mechanically Active Materials and Devices

Team 2 is developing nanomaterials that are capable of mechanical actuation and dynamic stiffness. As part of the soldier's battlesuit, these adaptive multifunctional materials will improve soldier survivability.

Mechanical actuators embedded as part of a soldier's uniform will allow a transformation from a flexible and compliant material to a non-compliant material that becomes armor, thus protecting the soldier by distributing impact. Soft switchable clothing can also be transformed into a reconfigurable cast that stabilizes an injury such as a broken leg. Contracting materials can be made to apply direct pressure to a wound, function as a tourniquet, or even perform CPR when needed. Mechanical actuators can also be used as exo-muscles for augmentation of a soldier's physical strength or agility and as wound compresses.

Team 2's electronic polymers can function as chemical and mechanical sensors. Actuator polymers naturally enable the measurement of pressure and motion. In future soldier systems, electronic polymers can be used to create ultrasensitive sensors for detecting explosives, nerve gas, nitric oxide, and the DNA of specific biological agents.

Objectives
Working with other ISN teams, Team 2 researchers have the following objectives:

• Develop block copolymers to create self-assembled nanostructures with enhanced switching speed.
• Achieve control of a material's stiffness with actuator polymers.
• Establish electronic bonding interactions between electroactive segments to trigger dimensional changes.
• Induce high strain electromechanical responses using liquid crystal piezoelectric property.
• Develop magnetic nanoparticles that can be switched chemically between ferro- and antiferro-magnetic, for use in a new type of ferrofluid to be incorporated into the battlesuit.
• Develop a robust method to identify control-relevant models of mechanically-active materials.

Sensing and Counteraction
Team 3 is developing protective measures that will enable the future soldier to detect and respond to chemical and biological threats.

First, researchers are developing highly sensitive chemical and biological sensing technologies that can be integrated in the battlesuit. These technologies will enhance the soldier's awareness of environmental toxins, thereby providing the soldier with initial protection against chemical and biological agents. When soldiers can detect these toxins, they can more easily protect themselves from those threats.

Second, working closely with other ISN teams, Team 3 is developing protective fiber and fabric coatings for integration in the battlesuit. These surfaces will neutralize or significantly decrease bacterial contaminants as well as chemical attack agents such as nerve gas and chemical toxins. For example, some investigations include responsive nanopores that "close" upon detection of a biological agent. In addition, novel organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites, consisting of nanoparticles and formed using simple dip processing methods. will combine sensing and reactive components.

And, third, Team 3 is developing ways of using IR (infrared) monitoring to detect the presence of chemical agents or other threats, based on hollow photonic band gap fibers or nanoparticle quantum dot systems.

Objectives
Team 3's multidisciplinary projects include researchers from inorganic and organic chemistry, chemical and biological engineering, and materials science, and incorporate new materials synthesis, processing, and microfabrication. In addition, Team 3 collaborates with Teams 2, 4, and 5 in pursuing its objectives:

• Develop high sensitivity sensing technologies based on conducting and semiconducting organic molecules and polymers
• Explore dendrimer/semiconductor nanoparticle thin films as highly sensitive, specific chem/bio sensing technologies for real time monitoring
• Build dendrimer/nanoparticle assemblies as chemical toxin deactivation coatings
• Create microbicidal materials and investigate the scope of the microbicidal or antimicrobial action of these materials
• Develop reactive or responsive protective coatings for fibers and fabrics
• Develop patterned viral arrays for sensing, detection, and remediation of chem/bio agents
• Implement means of drug delivery in viral surface arrays as well as antidote delivery via viral films
• Demonstrate how photonic band gap structures can provide superior sensing technology behavior
• Develop cell-based sensing technologies for early detection of unknown biological agents
• Develop sensing technologies to monitor soldier exposure to chemical/biological agents
• Demonstrate use of nanocrystals (NCs) in infrared optical detection
• Demonstrate spectral selectivity of NC photodetectors
• Demonstrate nanostructuring of hybrid organic/NC materials
• Develop platform technologies for future detection schemes that can be integrated into the uniform