EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The next big idea in preventing wrinkles is very, very small.

Nano small.

A Michigan State University [profile] chemical engineer has discovered that nanoparticles can stop thin polymer films from buckling and wrinkling. It's a new solution to a critical problem as thin films become more important in new technology such as electronic monitors.

The cosmetic arsenal to fight human wrinkles embraces technologies that seems crossed with science fiction -- from microdermabrasians to lasers to Botox injections -- and nanoparticles are poised to join the war by warding off dreaded buckles in human skin.

Ilsoon Lee, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, along with Ph.D. student Troy Hendricks, published an online article in the American Chemical Society's Nano Letters in December 2006 that outlines the potential of using infinitesimally small nanoparticles -- 50nm -- between films to smooth out the tiny buckles that are the origin of wrinkles.