STUDY OF ANCIENT INDIAN SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND CONTEMPORARY NANOTECHNOLOGY — A REVIEW

Abstract

Nanoscience and nanotechnology are at the forefront of modern research; it opens up a new outlook in the research and development of various disciplines like medicines, electronics, agriculture, cosmetics etc. The ancient Indians applied the knowledge of nanotechnology without explicitly mentioning the term. Damascus steel is a material used by ancient Indians for making sword containing carbon nanotubes. ‘Bhasmas’ are generally used in ayurvedic medicines. These ‘Bhasmas’ are the ashes obtained by calcination of heavy metal salts such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and iron and imparted with herbal formulation or with other ayurvedic constituents. Its particle size range between 5–50 nm. Bhasmas has some common properties such as anti-ageing quality, increases metabolism at the cellular level and acts as the catalyst. It can serve as an excellent template for the development of nanomedicine for an efficient therapeutic cure. 'Charak Samhita', the most established Ayurvedic epic composed by the father of Indian Medicine, Charaka, mentions the cause for his medicine’s potency is due to the reduced size of metallic and nonmetallic particles. Present-day nanotechnology is successful because of similar guidelines. A brief literature survey, regarding the ancient Indian scientific knowledge about nano-sized particles, their applications, strengthens the fundamentals of modern nanotechnology are the highlights of this present paper.