Nanotechnology and the Developing World

"Nanotechnology can be harnessed to address some of the world's most critical development problems. However, to our knowledge, there has been no systematic prioritization of applications of nanotechnology targeted toward these challenges faced by the 5 billion people living in the developing world. In this article, we aim to convey three key messages. First, we show that developing countries are already harnessing nanotechnology to address some of their most pressing needs. Second, we identify and rank the ten applications of nanotechnology most likely to benefit developing countries, and demonstrate that these applications can contribute to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Third, we propose a way for the international community to accelerate the use of these top nanotechnologies by less industrialized countries to meet critical sustainable development challenges."