Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
6.
Target research to poverty and health-related problems:
Food production
is among the application areas of nanotechnology in PACTI (2007-
2010) (MCT 2007). The National Institute for Science and Technology
is funded in nanobiopharmacy and other research targets medical
applications, including infectious diseases. It is unclear how much of
these innovations will benefit poor people in Brazil. RENANOSOMA
is very skeptical that nanotechnology development in Brazil will
benefit the poor in any way (Martins et al. 2007).
7.
Environmental sustainability:
Sustainable energy and environmen-
tal monitoring are among the application areas developed by
PETROBRAS, INPA, etc. Nanosensor technologies are being devel-
oped for environmental monitoring.
13.4.3.1 Conclusions for Brazil
In this section, nanotechnology policy in Brazil has been analyzed to iden-
tify bottlenecks for sustainable nanotechnology development and what role
international cooperation could play. The government, especially the MCT, is
playing a leading role in nanotechnology policy and research in the country.
One of their priorities is to build up a research capacity for nanotechnology in
less developed regions, to stimulate employment and socioeconomic devel-
opment. It remains to be seen how successful this strategy will be. Social sci-
entists are also actively discussing nanotechnology, taking mainly a critical
position. There appears to be a gap between proponents and opponents and
little communication between them. The government is successful in enforc-
ing respect for its national sovereignty; however, the complicated Brazilian
legal system imposes barriers to successful international cooperation.
Brazilian organizations are still not very active in patenting nanotechnology
inventions, which is a disadvantage in the current structures of the global
knowledge economy. Education and employment in nanotechnology is stim-
ulated but the capacity is limited. In general, deprived groups have limited
access to higher education. Whether poverty, health, and the environment
are priorities of nanotechnology funding is contested by RENANOSOMA.
13.4.4 Mexico
Mexico is a Latin American middle-income country with 110 million inhabi-
tants and a per capita income of US$10,000. It has been a member of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) since 1994 and of the OECD. It
has Free Trade Agreements with the EU, Japan, and several other countries.
Nanotechnology is mentioned as a strategic technology in one of 10 lines for
improving competitiveness (2008-2012) by the Secretariat for Economy. The
general aim of the policy is to contribute to more and better employment,
enterprises, and entrepreneurs. The application areas for nanotechnology are
