Nano-bio interactions: Nanomedicine and nanotoxicology

The 21st century has truly become the age of nanotechnology. Nanomaterials, design strategies, and processing have already made a significant impact in areas of materials science and electronics, with many commercial applications already being available on the consumer market. However, the ability to manipulate material functions and interactions on a scale of tens of nanometers, e.g., biological subcellular organelles, may yet prove to have the most significant impact on human health and the environment. The design of nanometer-scale contrasts, drug and nutrient delivery agents, as well as nanostructured materials for improved biocompatible interfaces, has opened up a whole new realm of nanomedicine. Equally, however, the ever increasing, to date largely unregulated, proliferation of nanoscale materials into the consumer environment has raised concerns over the potential detrimental impacts of uncontrolled exposure on human health and the environment.