Researchers at Bio Nano Consulting (BNC) have produced a miniaturised version of the London tube map, measuring only 2mm x 3mm - about the size of a pinhead.
The map was etched using specialised lasers by Dr Richard Winkle, a BNC researcher at Imperial College London, while testing the capabilities of an Oxford Lasers micromachining system.
The London Nanotube was aptly named as nanotubes are an essential building block for nanotechnology.
The precision required to produce the London Nanotube highlights the ability of BNC to provide extremely fine detailed work on an exceptionally small scale.
'Producing such intricate detail on such a small scale reflects the knowledge and expertise of BNC scientists, which is transferable to a number of nano-scale projects across industry, such as the manufacture of microfluidic systems,' said Dr Mike Fisher, business development director of Bio Nano Consulting.
'Using our micro and nanofabrication equipment, we believe we can shrink the tube map another 100 times, making it invisible to the naked eye,' he added.
