Sweet Self-Assembly

NISE Network product
Description
The "Sweet Self-Assembly" program focuses on the creation of macrocapsules using self-assembly techniques. Participants make edible macrocapsules using techniques similar to those being used in laboratories to make nanocapsules or "smart drugs".
Product category
Long Activities
Programs and Activities
Audience
Ages 4 - Adult
Topics
Nanotechnology
Engineering and Technology
Chemistry
Physical Sciences
Food and Cooking
Societal Topics
Health and Medicine
Life Sciences

Objectives

Big Idea

Self-assembly can be used to create new materials including nanocapsules.

Learning Goals

Identify self-assembly as a process by which molecules and cells form themselves into specific, ordered structures under the right conditions.

Acknowledge that self-assembly can be used by scientists to create objects on the nano-scale.

Understand that nano is very, very small.

Discover that scientists are using self-assembly to create nanocapsules which can be less harmful than regular medicines.

Nano Content Map
Scientists and engineers have formed the interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology by investigating properties and manipulating matter at the nanoscale.
Nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nanoengineering lead to new knowledge and innovations that weren't possible before.
Nanotechnologies—and their costs, utility, risks, and benefits—are closely interconnected with society and with our values.

Credits

Funding

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

Permissions
Creative Commons 3.0 (for NISE Network products)
Development Process
NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.
Project
Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network