The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, also known as PEN, reportedly announced that the number of nanotechnology consumer products has just gone beyond the millennial mark for the very first time, thus indicating that this incredibly ‘small things’ industry has gone beyond the basic development phase and is now getting ready for the big time market expansion.

"The use of nanotechnology in consumer products continues to grow rapidly," said David Rejeski, director of PEN, in a statement. "When we launched the inventory in March 2006 we only had 212 products.”

Generally speaking, a nano is metric prefix that indicates one-billionth of some measure, which could for example be a kilogram or Hertz. The ‘nano’ in nanotechnology refers to a nanometer since the objects made are that small and also measured in nanometer units. To get a better perspective on this size, the average human head hair is approximately 100,000 nanometers, or one-tenth of a millimeter, in diameter.

Officials at PEN said that the accepted definition of nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture things usually between one and 100 nanometers, and noted that limit of the human eye's capacity to see without a microscope is about 10,000 nanometers.

The only other  reportedly even smaller metric prefix to be used freely to describe a well known product range is the ‘femto’ as in Femtocells (News - Alert). Historically, a femtocell was created in 2002 by a Motorola (News - Alert) development team, called the AFG, who also gave the device its name “Femto,” which is a metric prefix that means 1 divided by ten that is followed by 15 zeroes - “That Small!” a base station. Interestingly, on the other side of the scale is the number called ‘Googol,’ which means one followed by 100 zeroes. Googol was the first preferred name for Google (News - Alert) – “That Big!”

PEN said that the latest nanotech entrants in the consumer market are from conventional products like non-stick cookware and lighter, stronger tennis racquets, to more unique items such as wearable sensors that monitor posture. The increased acceptance of nanotechnology particles is a healthy sign for the industry, but may cause problems for regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration and Consumer Product Safety Commission.

“If the introduction of new products continues at the present rate, the number of products listed in the inventory will reach close to 1,600 within the next two years,” Rejeski said. “This will provide significant oversight challenges for agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Consumer Product Safety Commission, which often lack any mechanisms to identify nanotech products before they enter the marketplace."

Officials at PEN said that Lux Research’s latest market analysis on nanotechnology revealed that the global market for goods incorporating nanotechnology totalled $147 billion in 2007, and predicted that by 2015 the global revenues accrued could well be $3.1 trillion – massive figures for products so small.

Project officials just released its latest inventory of all nanotechnology consumer products ever made, and emphasized that a few of these products may not be in existence any longer. Officials claimed the release of the updated inventory coincides with the first public hearing on nanotechnology being held by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The CPSC, with a staff of fewer than 400 employees, oversees the safety of 15,000 types of consumer products.

"The CPSC deserves credit for focusing on nanotechnologies,” said Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor for PEN, in a statement. “The resources available to the agency to address health and safety issues are negligible compared to the over $1.5 billion federal investment in nanotechnology research and development."

Officials said that health and fitness items continued to constitute the majority of the PEN inventory, representing 60 percent of products listed, and said that a significant number of products are based on nanoscale silver, which is used primarily for its antimicrobial properties. Officials said that 259 of the 1,000 products, which represent 26 percent of the inventory, use silver nanoparticles.

For example, TSUNG-HAU Technology, makers of ‘260 Den Nano Silver Far Infrared Anti-odor Healthy Socks,’ said that their technology output, “combines pure nano silver ion with fiber by high tech to create a new product which has functions of anti-bacteria, disinfection and deodorization. It can also release an anion and healthy energy.”

PEN said the updated inventory represents products from over 24 countries, including the U.S., China, Canada, and Germany.