Political and legal influences
It is agreed upon that nanotechnology, like most emerging technologies, requires proper, consistent, and coherent governance, however legal and regulatory questions associated with the technology remain, mostly due to uncertainty and the public’s lack of trust in what may be considered controversial applications and the transparency of the legislative and regulatory decisions. Considering the vague definition of nanotechnology the Foresight Institute encourages self-regulation within the scientific community in order to avoid legislators poorly informed decisions. However, some commentators believe that the public must be informed of the possible risks and regulations and policies must protect the best
Medicine and Health The most valuable and most beneficial applications of nanotechnology are in the medical field. With the use of stronger, lighter, and more durable nano-materials better prosthetics and implants can be created. Also, by combining nanotechnology with biotechnology the diagnostics, monitoring and drug delivery processes can be greatly improved. An historical market driver for nanotechnology in this field is the glucose monitoring device used to detect the blood sugar level for patients with diabetes. One of the most interesting applications, even though it’s still in its research and development stage, is in my opinion the monitor-diagnostic-lab and drug delivery chip. This device would be implanted into the patient’s body and monitor its temperature, heart rate, and diverse bio-chemicals levels and even release the appropriate drugs to patients with chronic disease such as diabetes.
Cosmetics
Nanotechnology has been actively used for the improvement, development, and production of cosmetics such as skins creams, sunscreens and shampoos. Cosmetic manufacturers such as L’Oreal have even been labeling and marketing their products as nano-enhanced in order to provide a better delivery of their products’ molecules to specific targeted areas.
Military and Security
The use of nanotechnology for military and security purposes might be obvious since, as previously