Overview of Nanoscience in the Environment - Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Nanotechnology - page 6

1.4 Investment and International Efforts

Current spending is massive and set to increase further, while nanotechnology as
an industry is also in its early stages. Governments worldwide spent about US$18
billion in nanotechnology between 1997 and 2005. The worldwide investment in
nanotechnology has increased from $432 million in 1997 to $4.1 billion in 2005
(Thayer, 2006). By the year 2015, $1 trillion worth of products worldwide are
expected to incorporate nanotechnology in key functional components and millions
of jobs are expected to be affected by nanotechnology (Roco, 2005). Therefore,
nanotechnology presents a major opportunity for economic growth in many coun-
tries and will infl uence different aspects of human life and the environment, as will
be discussed later.
At least 60 countries have initiated national activities in the nanotechnology fi eld
(Roco, 2005) and similar initiatives at an international level, for example via the
European Union (EU) and OECD. In 2000, the United States launched a multi-
disciplinary strategy program through the National Nanotechnology Initiative.
Japan and Western Europe have broad programs supported by government,
combining academia, industry and other end-users. There are growing programs in
Asia including China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. In North America,
the Canadian National Research Council has created the National Institute of
Nanotechnology to fund nanotechnology research whilst emerging programs have
been announced in Eastern Europe. The potential impact of nanotechnology is a
global issue, and international partnerships and coordination of research and policy
are essential to ensure that this emerging technology becomes sustainable. An
important aspect of sustainability is the quantifi cation and minimisation of risk to
human and environmental health.

1.5 Development: Four Anticipated Generations

Currently, nanotechnology uses primarily passive nanomaterials in cosmetics, elec-
tronics, structural material and so on. However, more active structures are also
being used and further developed, for instance in drug delivery. Self-organisation
and assembly is a particularly active area of development. Future developments
are predicted to increase the more active uses of these materials. For instance, Roco
predicted four overlapping generations of nanotechnology products in the period
2000-2020 (Figure 1.2): passive nanostructures, active nanostructures, systems of
nanosystems and molecular nanosystems (Roco, 2005). The fi rst generation (after
2000) involved the basic discovery and production of passive nanostructures such
as the simple components of nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanolayers and nanocoat-
ings. They have steady-state structures and functions such as chemical reactivity or
mechanical behaviour during their use (Renn and Roco, 2006). The second genera-
tion ( 2005) involves active nanostructures that change their properties (morpho-

logy, shape, mechanical, electronic, magnetic, biological, etc.) during operation.
Examples are nanobiodevices, transistors, targeted drugs and chemicals, energy

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