Nanotechnology: Law and Business at One-Billionth of a Meter

Nanotechnology is officially defined by the federal government's National Nanotechnology Initiative as the science of engineering and manipulating matter at the level of approximately 1 to 100 nanometers, with a nanometer equaling one-billionth of a meter. National Science and Technology Council, Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials at iii (Sept. 2006). More generally, nanotechnology refers to the creation and use of structures, devices, and systems at the molecular and atomic level ' with novel properties and functions owing to their incredibly small size. Like prior enabling technologies ' the steam engine, the telephone, the computer chip, and plastics all come to mind ' nanotechnology is expected to transform human experience, cutting deeply across all sectors of the global economy, including, inter alia, pharmaceutical, medical device, transportation, communications, energy, and food products. See generally, Nanotechnology: The Plastics of the 21st Century? (Guy Carpenter & Co., Inc. 2006).