-Nanotechnology Series, Second Edition Bottom Up-type Nanotechnology!-

Through high-level control of structure at the nano-scale, nanotechnology is attracting attention from various countries headed by Japan, the U.S., and those in Europe, as a science and technology that can achieve new functionalities.

Today, the reasons why countries throughout the world are focusing in particular on nanotechnology, and in particular bottom up-type nanotechnology, is that through assembling ultra-small units, such as molecules, known as nano building blocks, this bottom up-type nanotechnology can create ultra-precise nano-structural materials and in addition, it can create devices with structure controlled at the nano-level.

One of the features of nanotechnology R&D is that it is an interdisciplinary science and technology. The walls that currently exist between segments of natural sciences are becoming increasingly smaller but in nanotechnology, they are markedly small. Accordingly, nanotechnology R&D is not particular to any past territory such as chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering; it is important to conduct R&D in a manner that transcends these segments where science and technology are fused.

Chapter 1:	An outline of the status of bottom up-type nanotechnology is compiled and summarized. Areas that are indispensable for the commercialization of bottom up-type nanotechnology, such as self-assembly technology and molecular recognition, host-guest compounds, macromolecules, and molecular devices, are described in general. Further, Japanese literature regarding bottom up-type nanotechnology is compiled and summarized.
Chapter 2:	Japanese patents regarding bottom up-type nanotechnology are compiled. Japanese patents are categorized into eight segments representative of bottom up-type nanotechnology-self-assembling monomolecular membranes, molecular recognition, host-guest compounds, macromolecules, dendrimers, macrocyclic compounds, artificial enzymes and nucleic acids, and molecular devices-and summarized.
Chapter 3:	Overseas patents regarding bottom up-type nanotechnology are compiled. Overseas patents are categorized into seven segments representative of bottom up-type nanotechnology-self-assembling monomolecular membranes, molecular recognition, host-guest compounds, macromolecules, dendrimers, macrocyclic compounds, and molecular devices-and summarized.