The nanomaterial characterization bottleneck.

The future of nanotechnology rests upon approaches to making new, useful nanomaterials and testing them in complex systems. Currently, the advance from discovery to application is constrained in nanomaterials relative to a mature market, as seen in molecular and bulk matter. To reap the benefits of nanotechnology, improvements in characterization are needed to increase throughput as creativity outpaces our ability to confirm results. The considerations of research, commerce, and regulation are part of a larger feedback loop that illustrates a mutual need for rapid, easy, and standardized characterization of a large property matrix. Now, we have an opportunity and a need to strike a new balance that drives higher quality research, simplifies commercial exploitation, and allows reasoned regulatory approaches.