Nanotechnology holds a vast promise of enabling a wide range of transformational technologies such as enhanced photovoltaics, novel biomedical imaging tools, and targeted drug delivery and therapeutics. The rapid development of nanotechnology, however, has recently faced challenges due to potential risks with respect to human and the environmental health. The National Nanotechnology Initiative defines nanoscience as research to discover new behaviors and properties of materials with dimensions at the nanoscale which ranges roughly from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). A key aspect to this definition involves the new behaviors and properties that exist only at the nanoscale. While these properties and behaviors may be used to achieve significant gains (e.g., highly efficient energy transfer), they also raise important and unique concerns with regard to human health impact and environmental contamination by such materials. Currently, the health impacts associated with nanoengineered materials are poorly understood. Reports such as the ability of carbon nanotubes to cross the blood-brain barrier, however, suggest that the risks are real and potentially serious. More recently, asbestos-like pathogenicity has been observed in mice exposed to carbon nanotubes, increasing fears over the serious risks associated with engineering nanomaterials.
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