While lithography and etching are standard techniques of the top-down approach to nanomanufacturing, self-assembly is one of the most important principles utilized in bottom-up techniques.

Self-assembly is the principle behind the way snowflakes automatically assume a hexagonal structure, and various amino acids come together within the body to create complex proteins.

The problem is that not all of the mechanisms of self-assembly are fully understood. As a result, we are still unable to control all aspects of self-assembly when using it to fabricate nanostructures.

In this respect, nanotechnology resembles genetic engineering, a field in which critics warn of the risks of manipulating genes without a complete picture of the information they contain. However, the products created by nanotechnology are much simpler than those handled in genetic engineering. Insofar as the products are no more than materials, nanotechnology does not pose the same supposed risks as genetic engineering. In fact, research into self-assembly-based nanotechnology can reveal the principles behind the structure of natural materials, providing valuable insights and contributing to advances in genetic engineering and a host of other fields of scientific endeavor.

Self-assembly is not only a principle that can be adapted for nano-scale mass production. It is also a very important scientific theme in its own right, providing insight into the way the world works.