The speed at which nanoscience, and in particular nanorobotics, is developing, prompts experts, experimentalists, and theoreticians to gather from time to time and present papers on the most important aspects. This book contains the proceedings of such a gathering.

Topics for discussion include nanorobotic manipulation of carbon nanotubes; the meaning of top-down development of nanostructures, which involves etching; or the bottom-up approach, which entails molecular self-assembly. The authors propose the need for a micro-nano scale to bridge between the two approaches. To that end, several experiments are performed to enhance the control at the micro-nano scale, specifically, to develop macroscopic instruments and devices with micro- and nanoscopic arms, tweezers, or other tools, whose movements are not directly controlled by a person, but rather programmed by a computer.

Some of the micro-nano manipulations are performed by bacteria, driven through gradients of chemical, electrical, or magnetic potentials, or their combinations. To that end, the motor properties of the bacterial cilia are studied, and some important, albeit still modest, results are presented.

Carbon nanotubes can be used not only as structures, but also as field current emitters, for substrate deposition.

Finally, the authors extensively studied the measurement of the biomechanical properties of cells. These properties are important, because very little is known about the elasticity, hardness, or other characteristics of cells. If they are to be manipulated by micro-nanotools, say, to inject a specific drug, one would like to know if they can be scratched, pierced, or even blown. The authors have developed some very clever forks, with a bed of pillars, so that the individual living cells can rest upon the pillars, and the fork can go underneath the cell and lift it. They have also performed a wide range of experiments to systematically study these biomechanical properties.

Much is yet to be explored, but this work shows quite a few concrete aspects of micro-nanorobotic manipulation that are yet to be researched. This is an innovative book, which I would strongly recommend to everybody in nanoscience. It can also be a good reference for researchers and students of robotics in general, to get an overview of state-of-the-art micro-nanorobotic manipulation.