Rusnano and pseudonano
Nanotechnology: attention to the industry pushes marketers to deceive
Kristina Davydova, RBC (published on Rusnano's website)
Five years ago, another landmark decision was made in Russia – to make the country nanoindustrial. The powerful of this world have enrolled nanotechnology in one of the priority courses for the development of science and technology in our country and have created the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnology (Rusnano), which since September 2008 has been headed by Anatoly Chubais, who needs no introduction.
More than a hundred billion rubles were urgently found in the state budget for this project, which is comparable to the total amount of funding for Russian science. Where did this money go, do Russia need nanotechnology in general and ordinary citizens in particular? We have tried to understand these issues.
Nanotechnology. BeginningThe fact that there are some mythical nanotechnologies, by and large, became known to the general public only after the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin in April 2007 at the Federation Council.
There he stated that the country needs a strategy for the development of the nanoindustry. The Head of State accurately noted that for most Russians nanotechnology is still "a kind of abstraction like atomic energy in the 30s."
Nanotechnology in our country, of course, was engaged in scientists and the military, but no one knew about their achievements. The authorities decided to change the status quo and bring nanotechnology to the masses, making this direction commercially profitable and well-paid. Products made with the help of nanotechnology can enter everyone's life, and this sphere itself is capable of improving the quality of people's lives and national security, the president predicted at the beginning of the difficult path of building the industry.
And it began! In the same year 2007, Vladimir Putin approved the Strategy for the Development of Nanotechnology and instructed the government to prepare a law on the creation of Rusnano as soon as possible. The new state structure was created immediately – already in July 2007. 130 billion rubles were allocated from the budget for the corporation's activities. And less than a year later, the country also had a program for the development of the nanoindustry until 2015 with a total amount of funding of more than 300 billion rubles. The document has set very ambitious goals: the volume of production of nanoindustry products in Russia should reach more than 900 billion rubles by 2015.
The curator of this serious process was first appointed to this well-known in narrow circles former power engineer Leonid Melamed. However, about a year later, the nanocorporation was headed by the ideologist of Russian economic reforms and part-time ex-chief energy officer of the country Anatoly Chubais. That's when the nanogayki of a huge machine called "nanoindustry" started spinning, which almost everyone subsequently learned about. And the pop group "Disco Accident" even dedicated a song to the exotic industry called "Nano-Techno" about our best nanoman in the world, who skis and reads nanobooks.
So what is nanotechnology?Despite the fact that the word "nanotechnology" is well-known to everyone, and part of the word "nano" has already entered jokes and is actively used by caveens and humorists, for most people nanotechnology is still something incomprehensible that cannot be seen and touched.
It turns out that the ideologists of this science themselves do not fully know what it is. The term "nanotechnology" still does not have a single, universally recognized definition, despite the widespread spread of nanotechnology around the world.
The Corporation has formulated its own definition for Russia: RUSNANO understands nanotechnology as a set of technological methods and techniques used in the study, design and manufacture of materials, devices and systems, including targeted control and management of the structure, chemical composition and interaction of their constituent individual nanoscale elements (with dimensions of the order of 100 nanometers or less in one of the measurements at least). These small elements lead to an improvement or the appearance of additional operational and consumer characteristics and properties of the resulting products.
"Translation difficulties" in terminology prompted RUSNANO to establish strict criteria for the selection of projects, so that budget money is allocated only for real innovative ideas and developments. The state-owned company has developed a multi-stage system of expertise aimed at selecting technically feasible and economically sound projects. One of the principles of the project selection system is the analysis of the competitiveness of products in Russia and on world markets. In addition, the following factors are taken into account when evaluating projects: import substitution, transfer and introduction of advanced technologies in Russia, social significance of projects. Another mandatory position: RUSNANO invests budget money in projects whose annual revenue in five years should reach at least 250 million rubles. As soon as the project reaches the maturity stage, the state-owned company sells its share, investing the proceeds in other projects.
By building a business model of its investment projects, investing its own financial resources and attracting the resources of private co-investors, RUSNANO helps to bring scientific developments with the potential for commercialization to the stage of a working business.
Where does the money go?Rusnano invests in projects of the widest range – from alternative energy to biomedicine, from the creation of new materials to mechanical engineering and metalworking.
Priority is given to projects aimed at creating new or expanding and modernizing existing production facilities.
As of April 17, 2012, Rusnano approved 136 projects with a total budget of 555.9 billion rubles. Of these funds, 236.6 billion rubles are accounted for by investments of the state-owned company. Her portfolio contains projects that can solve a wide class of problems. Automatic cameras with computer vision and explosives detectors will help make public places safer. Lightweight and durable composite materials are in demand in the production of cars and airplanes, the construction of bridges and buildings. LED lamps can significantly reduce lighting costs, and energy–saving windows can save on heating rooms in winter and air conditioning in summer.
Many Rusnano design companies have already started production. To date, 20 plants have been commissioned in Russia. The first nanotechnology production in Russia was a monolithic carbide tool plant with a multilayer nanostructured coating, opened at the end of April 2010 in Rybinsk. Of course, most of the nanoprojects are aimed at the global industry, for large industries and corporations. But there are innovators who have also thought about ordinary consumers.
Nanotablet and superpackSo, now you can fight flu, SARS and even herpes with the help of a nanotablet.
The company "Niarmedic" has developed an antiviral drug "Kagocel". Due to the polymer structure, the drug is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, does not enter the internal fluids of the patient's body, therefore Kagocel is non-toxic.
For diabetics, innovators have created nanotechnological glucose meters with a laser device for perforating finger tissue to draw blood during the blood sugar control procedure. The production company "Erbitek" declares that the glucose meter is designed for a safe and accurate way to determine the level of glucose in the blood based on the electrochemical principle. When a blood sample is applied to a test strip, an oxidation-reduction reaction occurs, during which electricity is generated that is adequate for plasma equivalent calibration. This indicator, determined by the device, is the true value of the blood sugar level. At the same time, the procedure of blood sampling guarantees absolute sterility and infectious safety, painlessness and minimal injury.
Yekaterinburg and Kazan decided that it is possible to increase the shelf life of products not only through the use of chemicals in them, but also with the help of super-packaging. As a result, a high-barrier film for packaging appeared, which does not allow air to pass through. In it, products do not spoil for a long time, and washing powder or other household chemicals do not smell.
Another Rusnano design company, Optogan, has released nanolamps that are positioned as an alternative to the usual Ilyich light bulbs and LED analogues. Manufacturers claim that their LED light bulbs and lamps have a lot of advantages that do not end with banal low energy consumption and a long period of operation. Superlamps do not hum or vibrate during operation, for example, as luminescent, that is, they shine absolutely noiselessly. And the correct spectrum of light wave emission of LEDs can be approximated to sunlight. With such lighting, people feel more comfortable, and their eyes do not get tired.
Along with general industrial, household and street lighting, LED lamps, lamps and spotlights are used in special projects to illuminate buildings, landscape compositions, monuments and various architectural structures, such as bridges, TV towers, building facades, etc. In particular, Optogan promises to soon illuminate Russian roads and streets with lamps of the future.
Scientists have pleased girls and women all over the country with nanocosmetics, which promises miracles and incredible transformations. The company "NanoDerm-profi" with the support of RUSNANO decided to tackle one of the most difficult tasks in cosmetology – overcoming the dermal barrier and targeted delivery of active substances that allow to preserve the viability and functional activity of each skin cell. The manufacturer claims that the components necessary for a fresh and healthy appearance of the face will necessarily penetrate into all skin cells.
PseudonanoIn the wake of the popularity of nanotechnology, many marketers quickly realized that you can earn money on the indication of "nano" despite the fact that there are no innovations in their product.
Therefore, it is necessary to be careful when choosing nanoproducts. Alternatively, you can study the activities of Rusnano by looking at the lists of projects approved by the corporation in the area that interests you. Fortunately, the system of informing the population about new developments from nanotechnologists is well set up. In Rusnano itself, the buyer is advised first of all to focus on the quality and cost of products, and whether it is nano or not, it does not matter to the buyer, they believe there. "The use of this indication in advertising is nothing more than a move by marketers," the state–owned company claims.
And in the design company Rusnano "Optogan" they say that there is interest on the part of consumers, but not always at the same time the consumer thinks about the "nano-origin" of a particular product.
In order to increase the educational culture of the population in the field of nanotechnology, as well as to prevent fraud, Rusnano Corporation has created a community on the Facebook social network called "Pseudonano". The state-owned company announced that this is a project of hunters for a fake "nano". The page has already exposed fake nanomash machines, nanounitases, coniferous sbiten (allegedly being nanotechnology of nature itself), male nanotruses, which promise to heal from all ailments and at the same time from excess weight.
Also among the pseudo-nano, nanopreservatives and even nanopipes, procedures for enlarging women's breasts using nanotechnology and without surgical intervention were identified. It is obvious that Russia has distinguished itself by excessive ingenuity, and in parallel with the nanoindustry, we are developing a pseudo-nanoindustry. Therefore, be vigilant, ladies and gentlemen!
(More than one and a half hundred images of pseudo–nanoproduction samples were collected in 2009 by a competition announced by the Nanometer - VM website.)
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.04.2012