Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology Products and Markets

New nanotechnology consumer products are coming on the market at the rate of three to four per week, a finding based on the latest update to the nanotechnology consumer product inventory maintained by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN).One of the new items among the more than 600 products now in the inventory is Swiss dent Nanowhitening Toothpaste with “calcium peroxides, in the form of nano-particles.” Today, in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, PEN Project ,cited Ace Silver Plus—another of the nine nano toothpastes in the inventory—as an example of the upsurge in nanotechnology consumer products in stores. The hearing marks the start of U.S. Senate debate on the future direction of the annual $1.5 billion federal investment in nanotechnology research and development (R&D).The number of consumer products using nanotechnology has grown from 212 to 609 since PEN launched the world’s first online inventory of manufacturer-identified nanotech goods in March 2006. Health and fitness items, which include cosmetics and sunscreens, represent 60 percent of inventory products.