TEHRAN – The properties of medicinal plants and natural flavors have been significantly increased with the efforts of Iranian knowledge-based nanotechnology companies, IRNA reported.

With the nanoparticle size of plant extracts, some of their potential properties have been realized and some of the useful properties have been significantly increased, Mehdi Ahmadi, CEO of a knowledge-based company said.

For example, the antibacterial properties of some nano-extracts increased by 10-folds. Reducing the particle size to the nanoscale increases their penetration depth. Therefore, we formulated 30 types of plant extracts, he explained.

“We are looking for industrial application of these nanostructures. We recently introduced one of our formulations that could increase the shelf life of protein products,” he stated.

Nanotechnology, with its transdisciplinary nature, has broken the boundaries of various sciences and provided the basis to increase the quality of life. Therefore, the private sector, with the support of the Nanotechnology Innovation Council and InnoTEN, seeks to support projects and commercialize the products.

Nanotechnology improvement

One of the industries that have experienced good growth in Iran in recent years, proving the country’s scientific development, is the nanotechnology industry, a subject area that has brought Iran to the world’s fourth place.

Currently, nanotech products are produced and marketed in more than 15 industrial fields based on domestic technologies and are being exported to 49 countries from five continents.

Nanotech products are manufactured in more than 15 industrial fields, being exported to 49 countries. Over the past year (ended March 20), the total sale of Iranian nanoproducts has been equal to 115 trillion rials (nearly $425 million).

The expansion of nanotechnology export programs in recent years and the establishment of bases for exporting nanoproducts to China, India, Indonesia, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq have provided the opportunity for the entry of Iranian nanotechnology goods and equipment, and services into global markets.

Some 42 percent of the products in this field are related to construction, more than 17 percent to the field of oil, gas, and petrochemicals, 13 percent to the field of automobiles, and over 10 percent to the field of optoelectronic.

Some 270 companies are active in the nanotechnology field and it is predicted that their revenue will reach up to 80 trillion rials (nearly $310 million), Vice President for Science and Technology, Sourena Sattari, announced.

Iran’s ranking in nanotechnology articles citation in 2019 has significantly improved compared to 2018, as it moved 26 levels higher, according to the StatNano’s statistics collected from the WoS database.

Based on a report Nanotechnology Publications report, Iran ranked 38 worldwide for the average number of times the nano-articles have been cited in the Journal Citation Reports in 2019, while in 2018, it was placed 64.

It also ranked 4th for the highest number of nano-article publications.

FB/MG