Nanotechnology

Welcome to the InfoNano website, the Swiss federal government's central information hub for nanotechnology. It provides information on the opportunities and risks associated with nanomaterials, where nanomaterials are used and the completed action plan for synthetic nanomaterials (2008-19). Key topics include guidelines on safe use, promotion of public dialogue, key research and regulatory updates.

Nanomaterials are important building blocks of nanotechnology. They have potential for a variety of application areas in everyday life. Since the composition, size, shape and surface of these building blocks can be designed with virtually no limitation, they open an area of innovation in medicine, engineering and other high tech industrial branches. Incorporating nanomaterials into plastics can reduce both material and energy consumption of the respective applications.

In medicine, nanoscale materials help to convey medicines to their site of action with greater accuracy. Consequently, the amount of active ingredient for the same efficacy becomes smaller which in turn may reduce side effects. The other side of the coin are the nano-specific risks of the materials that do not exist with conventional materials. The nanoscale properties of nanomaterials do not only raise new toxicological questions, but also require that existing legal provisions are challenged for their appropriateness for nanomaterials.

Publishers
Federal Office of Public Health, Federal Offices for the Environment and Agriculture, Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, Commission for Technology and Innovation, Swissmedic and the State Secretariats for Economic Affairs and for Education, Research and Innovation.

Further topics