The applications of such a technology are impressively widespread. Imagine customised nanoparticles delivering drugs directly to targeted diseased cells in your body (once perfected it could reduce the damage that treatments such as chemotherapy does to healthy cells). Or engineered nanoparticles attacking industrial waste waters, converting contaminating chemicals to make them harmless. Space travel could become significantly more practical since materials developed through nanotechnology are proving to be more light, resistant and durable (less weight equals to less fuel). And in electronic devices, basically anything that can be engineered at a molecular level translates in lighter, thinner, more performing devices, with longer lasting batteries. There are researchers out there who even believe that it might be possible to put the power of all today’s present computers in the palm of your hand.
Now, let’s narrow it down to our field, fashion. Because the experiments that have been going on are mind-blowing and really promise to entirely change the way we think, conceive and wear our clothes in a not distant future. In fact, nanotechnology fabrics are already on the market, even though the most amazing applications are still to be presented. Right now, clothes featuring nanotechnology are basically made with standard fabrics that have been sprayed or coated with a nano-layer (which, for instance, repels water in a way that was unthinkable before). But what we should expect quite soon is actual nanofibers, combining nanoparticles and nanofilaments as an integral part of the weave.