Nanobiotechnology
Viewpoints
2023
2022
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December/January:
2022: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2023 -
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2021
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December/January:
2021: The Year in Review
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November:
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Optical-Imaging Characterization: Very Small Nanoparticles
Nanobiotechnologies Development: Necessary Resources -
February:
Nanotechnology and Vaccine Delivery
The Big Picture: Advanced Drug Delivery
Archived Viewpoints
2020
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December/January:
2020: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2021 -
November:
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October:
Nanomaterials and Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine
Key Areas to Monitor (Part 1) -
September:
Nanotechnology and Covid‑19
Demand Factors for Nanobiotechnology -
August:
Detection of Engineered Organisms for Biothreat Detection
Nanobiotechnology Development: Synergistic Technologies -
July:
Nanotechnology-Enabled Dental Implants
Opportunities for Medical Nanomaterials -
June:
The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Health Care
Scenarios Presentation: The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Technology Development
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May:
The Pandemic Crisis: Key Forces That Will Shape the Future of Health Care
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April:
Nanostructured Elastomers for Medical Applications
Opportunities in Pharmaceutical R&D -
March:
Theranostic DNA Nanodevices
Nanosensor Devices for Diagnosing Sepsis -
February:
2019
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December/January:
2019: The Year in Review
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November:
Nanotechnology for Airborne-Chemicals Detection
Nanomanufacturing Polymers -
October:
Chitosan Nanoparticles as Antibacterials
Diagnosing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Nanoassays -
September:
Nanoethics for Nanomedicine
Nanotechnology for Advancing Cardiology -
August:
CRISPR Patent Battle Carries On
Bioprinted Protein Therapeutics -
July:
Nanotechnology-Based Molecular Computing
Nanotechnology-Enhanced Cannabinoids -
June:
Nanoparticles-Based Drug Screening
Nanoparticle-Based Electronic Skin -
May:
Developments in Nanotechnology-Enabled Biosensors
Nurturing Innovation in Nanotechnology -
April:
The European Commission's Revision of the Definition of Nanomaterials
Nanoparticles' Effect on Blood Vessels -
March:
Bioprinting Nanoparticle-Based Biomaterials
Flexible and Translucent Nanoneedles Biopatch -
February:
Blockchain-Based Marketplace for Genomic Data
Nanoscale Biosensors
2018
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December/January:
2018: The Year in Review
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November:
Machine Learning to Predict Cancer Evolution
CRISPR-Cas9 Patent Battle Nears the End -
October:
Human Trial of CRISPR in Europe
Issues with DTC Genetic Testing -
September:
European Union's Decision to Regulate Gene-Edited Crops
Synthetic Biology and Biosecurity -
August:
Nanoring-Based Immunotherapy
Synergistic Toxicity of Nontoxic Nanomaterials -
July:
PanDrugs: The Search for Personalized Cancer Treatments
Progress in Understanding Cells' Interaction with Nanomaterials -
June:
NanoSphere Health Sciences' Drug-Delivery Nanoparticles
DNA Data on Blockchain -
May:
USDA's Decision Not to Regulate Genome-Edited Crops
NGS Tests Available on the US Medicare Services -
April:
Developments in Theranostic Agents
3D-Printable Nanocellulose from Bagasse -
March:
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February:
FDA's New Guidance for Nanomaterial-Containing Drugs for Humans
CRISPR-Cas9: Not-So-Safe Therapy?
2017
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December/January:
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November:
Printing Nanostructured Film of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
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October:
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September:
Noninvasive Imaging to Improve Nanoparticle-Drug Delivery
Investigating the Optical Properties of Gold Nanoclusters -
August:
Optical Molecular Storage
Sensors for Human–Machine Interactions -
July:
Desalination of Waste Brine with Carbon Nanotubes
Colorimetric Assay for Authentication of Food -
June:
Swiss Insight into the Risk Assessment of Engineered Nanomaterials
High-Sensitivity Detection of Pesticides in Food -
May:
Cupido: EU Investment in Inhalable Nanoparticles
Cadmium-Free Quantum Dots -
April:
Understanding Incurable Diseases with Wearables
Antimicrobial Diagnostic and Susceptibility Tests -
March:
Cellink's Expanded 3D-Bioprinting Capabilities
Biothreat-Detection Technology for Mail-Security Screening -
February:
Self-Assembled 3D Antibody Sensors
Engineering Multistep Enzymatic Reactions on Nanoparticles
2016
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December/January:
2016: The Year in Review
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November:
Stimuli-Responsive Cellulose for Anticounterfeit Applications
Memristor-Enabled Artificial Neural Systems -
October:
Nano TiO2: UV-Filter Material under EU Cosmetics Regulation
Nanowires from Soil Bacteria: The Future of "Green" Nanoelectronics? -
September:
IBM's Advances in Lab-on-a-Chip Medicine
Nanotechnology Aids Moisture Management in Clothing -
August:
New MSCA-France Proposal for Harmonized Classification and Labeling of TiO2
Synthetic Biology on a Chip -
July:
Growing Competition in the Next-Generation DNA-Sequencing Market
RNA Editing with CRISPR -
June:
Health and Safety for the Nanotechnology Workforce
Overcoming Curcumin's Poor Water Solubility -
May:
Water-Filtration Nanotechnology
Virus-Like Nanoparticles and Immunotherapy -
April:
Engineered Nanomaterials under New EU Legislation for Novel Foods
Fighting Bacteria with Gold Nanotechnologies -
March:
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February:
3D Printing Blood Vessels
A Biodegradable Alternative to Silver Nanoparticles
2015
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December/January:
2015: The Year in Review
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November:
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October:
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September:
Mitochondrial-DNA Editing
Improvements in Thin-Film Manufacturing -
August:
Nanocellulose: The Market Progresses
3D-Printed Nanobiotechnology -
July:
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June:
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May:
Quantum Dots in Biological Applications
Olfactory Opportunities -
April:
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February:
2014
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December/January:
2014: The Year in Review
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2013
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December/January:
2013: The Year in Review
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November:
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August:
Human Augmentation: Neuron-Connected Prosthetics and Implants
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2012
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December/January:
2012: The Year in Review
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2011
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December/January:
2011: The Year in Review
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July:
Nanotechnology Safety and Policy in Europe and the United States
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2010
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December/January:
2010: The Year in Review
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2009
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December/January:
2009: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2010 -
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2008
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December/January:
2008: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2009 -
November:
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October:
Nanobodies: Competition to Monoclonal Antibodies and Antibody Fragments?
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September:
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August:
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July:
Biomarker Discovery and Validation, Drug Development, and Personalized Medicine
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June:
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Opportunities in Nanobiotechnology Engineering and Systems Design
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2007
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December/January:
2007: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2008 -
November:
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October:
Directions in Nanoscale Manufacturing Technologies and Applications
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September:
Embryonic-Stem-Cell Update: Science, Technology, Market Developments
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August:
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July:
Opportunities for Nanobiotechnology in Biothreat Detection and Prevention
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June:
Recent Developments: N-B-I Convergence Drives Computing and Human Sensory Advances
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2006
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December/January:
2006: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2007 -
November:
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October:
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September:
Next-Generation Whole-Genome–Sequencing Technology Platforms
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August:
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July:
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June:
Nanotechnology and the Development of Bioanalytical Instrumentation
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May:
Synthetic Biology: A Bottom-Up Engineering Approach to Living Design
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April:
Body-Area Networks
Recent Developments: Carbon-Nanotube DNA: Detectors -
March:
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February:
Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology: Real or Imagined Concerns?
2005
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December/January:
2005: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2006 -
November:
Analytical and Characterization Techniques
Recent Developments: Nanotubes and Immune Cells -
October:
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June:
DNA Sequencing Technologies: Research Developments and Trends
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Advanced Materials Research: Form Is Function
Recent Developments: Biochips -
March:
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February:
Biofuel Cell Research
Recent Developments: Light as a Treatment Medium
2004
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December/January:
2004: The Year in Review
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About Nanobiotechnology
Nanobiotechnology is a subset of nanotechnology—an area encompassing research and technology developments involving structures with at least one characteristic dimension that measures at length scales typically below 100 nanometers to create new materials, devices, and systems. As novel properties in materials become accessible at the nanoscale, nanotechnology's greatest promise is in researchers' ability to exploit such properties to create materials and structures with novel or enhanced features and functions and to assemble these materials and substructures with other components into larger devices and systems. Through its convergence with biotechnology, nanotechnology opens up new avenues of scientific research, technology development, and business opportunity. In particular, the study and the control of nanoscale phenomena and materials offer the biological sciences novel functionalities and improved performance in materials in established application areas such as medical diagnostics and drug treatments. In the longer term, biology offers nanotechnologists unprecedented opportunities to explore, learn from, and use functional nanostructures that are inherent in living organisms to inform the design and development of entirely new classes of techniques and devices that could result in disruptive change in established fields such as health care. This potential for new insights into biological processes and nature's ability for self‑assembly generates great interest in the field of nanobiotechnology.
The immediate opportunity from the application of nanotechnology in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences involves the creation of materials and devices that interface with biology at the molecular scale with a high degree of specificity. Leading medical applications include the use of nanomaterial technologies as medical-device coatings and diagnostic contrast agents, sensing components in nanoscale diagnostics devices, and advanced drug-delivery systems. Nanobiotechnology can also impact the development of bioanalytical research-technology platforms, such as nanoscale labels or tags to improve signal generation and detection in biological assays. New enabling‑material technologies are also finding use in consumer personal-care products. Improved tools to characterize, control, and manipulate the structure and function of living matter at the nanoscale are also inspiring biology-based approaches to technology development and fabrication. For example, in medicine, researchers plan to synthesize new molecules, direct the self-assembly of individual biomolecules, and create molecular-scale multifunctional tools for in vivo sensing, diagnostics, analysis, therapy design, and drug delivery. Nanobiotechnology opportunities also span food, cosmetics, energy, and electronics applications.
Nanobiotechnology's potential for new business opportunities has been a key driver of research activity and investor interest, but technical and market uncertainties can temper the pace of development and lengthen the time frame in which opportunities materialize and commercialization occurs. Furthermore, the functional benefits of nanotechnology—such as the ability for nanoparticles to enter cells, cross membranes, and traverse the blood–brain barrier—could be its undoing. Important in any commercialization effort is therefore the development of an infrastructure to support the testing, approval, and sale of nanobiotechnology products. All organizations should at least consider the broader implications of nanobiotechnology in their research planning, try to identify new business opportunities unique to the nanoscale, and assess the potential for cross-linking with other technology areas to offer breakthrough solutions in various application areas. This Technology Map highlights the technology building blocks of nanobiotechnology research and applications, identifies the key parameters affecting the commercial development of nanobiotechnology and its products, and pinpoints the technology and market issues that companies should monitor to understand the direction and pace of development in the research and business environments.