A great deal of scientific and economic efforts is currently being focused on nanotechnology, providing ample opportunity for scientific advances and new products for virtually all fields of application. However, substantial hurdles still remain on the road from the conception of a nanomaterial to its everyday use or, in case of nanomedicine, to its adoption in the clinical practice. Some of these include, for instance, (1) the need to bridge existing interdisciplinary gaps in order to exploit all different fields of knowledge in the effective and efficient design, development and testing of new nanomaterials; (2) the necessity to define appropriate standardized methodologies and procedures along the entire nanomaterial production chain (i.e., from cradle to grave), thereby contributing actively in closing the persistent nanomaterial regulatory gap; and (3) the urgency to raise awareness about risks and benefits associated with nanotechnology and nanomaterials both to policy makers and the general public. This chapter will try to briefly review all these points, with a specific eye on nanomaterials for biomedical applications (aka nanomedicines).
