Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry

Application and Commercialization of Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology uses the principles of science and engineering to design and manufacture products from atoms, molecules and nanoparticles. Some nanotechnology innovations have been revolutionary, others were incremental. Discoveries in nanotechnology have continued to increase as technologies have advanced and commercialization strategies have become better implemented. The emerging and potential commercial applications of nanotechnologies clearly have great potential to significantly advance and even potentially revolutionize various aspects of medical practice and medical product development. Commercial products include sunscreen composed of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, nanodevices for drug delivery and surgical tools, early disease diagnosis, nanocoatings in sunglasses, nanocomposites in cars, quantum dots for medical imaging and carbon nanotubes for field emissive displays. Nanotechnology is already touching upon many aspects of medicine, including drug delivery, diagnostic imaging, clinical diagnostics, nanomedicines, and the use of nanomaterials in medical devices. This technology is already having an impact; many products are on the market and a growing number is in the pipeline. Momentum is steadily building for the successful development of additional nanotech products for day to day life.