Nanoinformatics: Principles and Practice

There is a growing consensus that technically sound knowledge management and informatics tools must be developed and applied to provide a strong basis for the rational design of nanomaterials and products, prioritization of research, and assessment of risk across the nanoproduct lifecycle. For scientists in the field of nanotechnology, this book provides a guide to the principles and practice of informatics approaches, explains the benefits of good informatics practice in nanotechnology research, and summarizes resources currently available. For students and practitioners alike, this book introduces the special informatics needs in the growing field of nanotechnology.

Edited by experts in the field, four of whom made substantial contributions to the development of the Nanoinformatics 2020 Roadmap from the NSF (USA National Science Foundation), this is the first book-length study of the field of Nanoinformatics. In addition to informing current practitioners in both nanotechnology and informatics about current principles and practice, this book is designed to contribute to the accelerating rate and quality of nanotechnology discovery and applications.

Nanoinformatics presents some particular challenges. As a multidisciplinary field, nanotechnology has to bridge the terminology in use across disparate fields such as materials science, chemistry and drug design. In medical applications, both terminology and practice varies around the globe. In addition, at the nanoscale familiar distinctions such as the differentiation between a drug and a device become less clear. Similarly, applying the concept of positive controls to materials with a particle/chemical duality is not a straightforward extension of traditional biological test protocols. The authors of this book engage with these differences, and propose a methodical approach to nanoinformatics as essential for the rapid and efficient development of nanotechnology.

Because of the multidisciplinary challenge of nanotechnology and nanoinformatics, this guide will appeal to scientists, engineers R&D staff and clinicians across the following disciplines: biomedicine, nanotechnology regulation, environmental health and safety, occupational health and safety, computational nanotechnology and informatics, toxicology (eco and otherwise), industrial process design, patents and intellectual property, and legal requirements of nanotechnology.