ABSTRACT
The foundations of nanotechnology and its fundamental principles were laid down already in the 1950s by visionaries like Prof. Richard Feynman. In 1986, Dr. Drexler cofounded the Foresight Institute in Paolo Alto, California, USA, which is the first not-for-profit organization to promote the development of nanotechnology. The dawn of the 21st century saw nanotechnology flourish. The buzz within the scientific community and a significant media boost attracted political attention, which in turn resulted in higher funding and emergence of concrete efforts to systematize nanoresearch. The National Nanotechnology Initiative was launched in the United States by the Clinton administration, while the European research in nanotechnology received funding as well as guidance through the Framework Programmes (FPs), from the FP6 to the ongoing FP8. An astounding number of scientific journals disseminating nanomedicine research emerged in quick succession with a surprisingly high number of research papers, reviews, commentaries, and other types of scientific publications published annually.
