Boron nitride nanotubes as nanotransducers

As a recent product of nanotechnology, nanoscale transducers have been invoked as revolutionary tools of interaction between the macroscopic and the microscopic worlds, which can most probably offer their best intriguing opportunities in sensing and acting on the living matter at the level of its basilar subunits. This chapter briefly revises the main concepts related to the function and applications of transducers, going from macro-to-microscale, in order to promote the full comprehension of the spill over deriving from the future exploitation of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) as bionanotransducers. BNNTs are piezoelectric nanomaterials. As such, they are entitled to reversibly transform mechanical into electrical energy in the micro domain. This chapter is mainly focused on the application of these nanotubes as bionanoactuators; in particular, the findings of a novel method that exploits ultrasounds as a mechanical energy for BNNT triggering at intracellular level is reviewed and discussed. BNNT nanotransducers are capable of stimulating electrically sensitive cells, such as neural, muscular, and bony cells, thus paving the way to the development of novel therapies for functional impairments and degenerative diseases.