In the healthcare sector, nanomaterials offer the prospect of a wide range of medical applications such as improved drug solubility, drug delivery systems, cellular and tissue repair systems, diagnostic and imaging tools, and therapeutic medicines that can target specific diseased tissues within a patient’s body. 

HCWH Europe believes that nanomedicine may offer advantages and innovative solutions to some of our current health problems. However, we are also concerned that some of the new properties of nanomaterial products, while desirable from a strictly clinical perspective, can introduce new risks for human health and the environment. Currently, standard risk assessment procedures are inappropriate for dealing with nanomaterials and tools for environmental monitoring of such tiny materials have not yet been developed. For this reason, we believe nanomaterials should be regarded as new substances in legislation for the purposes of regulation, and that users should know where nanomaterials and nanomedicine is being used, so that informed choices can be made.

For more information about nanomaterials and nanomedicine, please see our nanomaterials resources page.