Noble Laureate bets on nano tubes

Hyderabad, Dec 31 (UNI) Professor Rober F Curl, the US-based scientist who won Noble Prize in Chemistry in 1996, today said nano tubes were non-toxic and could be used in bio-medical research.

Speaking to the press here, Mr Curl said the use of nano tubes in the bio-medical industry would not have any harmful effects.

Rather it would help speed up research.

There would be no side-effects in using nano-tube elements while conducting research, he claimed.

Stating 'Fullerenes,' a tiny molecular cage of carbon having 60 atoms discovered by him along with two other scientists, could be useful in the pharmaceutical industry, he said the main thrust of the research was to target anti-bodies in a specific location in the human body in particular relationship to cancer cells.

Mr Curl said the large scale of production of 'Fullerenes' was relatively inexpensive.

Earlier, at a function organised by BM Birla Science Centre, he presented B M Birla Science Prizes to young scientists in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology categories.

UNI