Processes for nanomaterial production
The two approaches to attain nanomaterials are
top-down approach and bottom-up approach (Table
1). The ‘‘topdown’’ approach involves physically
machining materials to nanometre size range by
employing processes such as grinding, milling,
etching and lithography. For example, a high waterbinding
capacity wheat flour of fine size can be
obtained by dry-milling technology. By contrast,
self-assembly and self-organization are concepts
derived from biology that have inspired a bottom-up
food nanotechnology. Bottom-up techniques build
or grow larger structures atom by atom or molecule
by molecule. These techniques include chemical
synthesis, self-assembly and positional assembly
(Acosta, 2008; Sanguansri and Augustin, 2006;