Nanoparticles are a mega business opportunity for multinationals but they may pose a health hazard to users
There is a new industrial revolution taking place all around us. The only problem is we can’t see it.
The building blocks, being developed at the cost of billions of dollars by scientists, governments and multinational corporations, are just a few atoms or molecules thick — nanoparticles. Many are less than 100 nanometres (nm) — one-billionth of a metre — thick. A single human red blood cell in comparison is around 500 nm in diametre.
No No, Nano!
(This story appears in the 18 June, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)