Comment in 2023

As researchers, developers, policymakers and others grapple with navigating socially beneficial advanced technology transitions — especially those associated with artificial intelligence, DNA-based technologies, and quantum technologies — there are valuable lessons to be drawn from nanotechnology. These lessons underscore an urgent need to foster collaboration, engagement and partnerships across disciplines and sectors, together with bringing together people, communities, and organizations with diverse expertise, as they work together to realize the long-term benefits of transformative technologies.

Reducing cancer-related deaths can only happen with a better understanding of cancer biology and the development of improved, new therapeutics and delivery mechanisms. Nearly all cancer research is dependent upon the models being used, the model’s accuracy, and appropriate validation and benchmarking. Here the need for such considerations is discussed in line with the goal of the Cancer Moonshot.

Nanotechnology is advancing at an accelerated pace in applications and novel nanomaterials. To become an enabling technology for a more sustainable society, we identify and assess nanomaterials and applications trends with potentially significant environmental implications.

The mounting environmental pressure on coral reefs calls for a rapid push towards innovative actions. Nanotechnology could help understand and protect present-day reefs to ensure their survival.

Increasing the capacity of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is an effective strategy to enhance food security while simultaneously reducing the carbon and nitrogen footprint of agriculture. Nanotechnology offers several pathways to enhance BNF successfully.

Nanomedicines are complex drugs where components that have typically been regarded as excipients may now be considered part of the active ingredient. The distinction between the active ingredient and excipients for nanomedicines has important consequences for regulatory review and product development. The dissimilarity in the review of the recent ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based lipid nanoparticles highlights the need for further regulatory alignment on this topic.

Recent advancements in DNA nanotechnology are enabling the construction of both aesthetically pleasing and functional structures using synthetic DNA strands, paving the way for practical applications in various fields.

Since the early 1990s, the intersection of genetics and nanomedicine has found a home in the clinic as one of the game changers of the past decade, holding great promise in fighting diseases by rapidly developing much-needed therapeutic platforms, from cancer to infectious or genetic diseases. And this revolution was just triggered by the amazing evolving world of messenger RNA and its ‘cues’.

Waste containing nanomaterials — or nanowaste — is an emerging safety concern worldwide, warranting specific environmentally sound waste management and regulation.