Editorial: Regulation of nanotechnology: Are we doing enough? ||FREE PAPER||

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Author: Thomas J Webster

Published Date October 2007 Volume 2007:2(3) Pages 275 - 276

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S

Thomas J Webster

Divisions of Engineering and Orthopedics, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

Abstract: On July 25, 2007, the Nanotechnology Task Force of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States released a report which addressed the regulatory challenges presented by products that use nanotechnology (FDA 2007). Since most of these potential products involve nanomaterial interactions with biological tissues, this report directly speaks to the field of nanomedicine. A general finding of the report was that nanoscale materials present regulatory challenges similar to those posed by products using other emerging technologies, with one big difference. Regulatory challenges may be magnified because at this nanometer scale, properties of a material relevant to their safety and effectiveness might be amplified. As an example, the toxicity of a certain material in micron form may be enhanced by transforming it into the nanoscale since it increases that material’s surface area and, thus, exposure to the body. But, do our regulatory agencies presently take into consideration if a product contains a nanomaterial?