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As the word 'nano' denotes 'one billionth', a nanometer equals one millionth of a millimeter. Nanotechnology is a science which deals with the manipulation of atoms and molecules in this very small
world of the nano. In the United States, industrialization of this technology is being pushed forward, with a vast state budget being injected into the National Nanotechnology Initiative, or NNI for
short.
In the field of textiles, special finishes, such as moisture-retaining 'Nano Dew', soil-resistant 'Nano Care', 'Nano Dry' with durable hydrophilic and quick-drying properties and water and oil-repellent
'Nano Pel', have become topical products of the day.
I searched for 'nanotechnology' in a database entitled 'Textile Technology' the other day, only to find the result gave no more than 138 references. In contrast, 20,000 or more sources of information
can now be found in the files of CAPlus (the Chemical Abstracts Plus Database) for a search word with a prefix 'nano'. It is more than probable that results of basic scientific research are being progressively
accumulated in the face of global competition.
Last autumn, Unitika Sakai released a highly-original new material, through the introduction of a nanotechnology developed by Nano-Tex, LLC (US). Out of interest, I attempted patent research but,
as I suspected, publications of international patent applications appeared unavailable in Japan.
An international patent application for this technology was made in September 2000, under the serial number PCT/US00/24692. Naturally, Japan being one of the designated states, the translation of
the PCT international publication for the patent application 'Durable finishes for textiles' was published on March 4, 2003, from which I gathered that it was about a polymer application technology
for imparting softness, hydrophobicity, oleophobicity, surface lubricity, pilling resistance, durability and so on. However, this was not something that could be grasped easily, even having gone through
the abstract and claims. While its products have already been made available, the theory remains unclear.
Now, the problem is that there is no established way of evaluating such technology developments. No methods have yet been authorized by JIS (Japan Industrial Standards) for testing soil resistance
of textile products. Investigations and experiments have been conducted for quite some time now on this, involving a considerable number of people, and I hear the existence of 'a JIS proposal' is known
to many. What should be avoided is a situation where it remains as a proposal for exploitation only among those in the know. We cannot afford delays in administrative measures getting in the way of
global competition for technological development. (TT)
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