‘Nanobiotechnology is essentially different in many aspects from other areas of nanotechnology such as nano-electronics or nano-materials. It is certainly the most complex sub-area of nanotechnology, because it simultaneously involves very distant scientific disciplines such as physics and clinical research, biology and mathematics, or engineering and immunology,’ commences the final report of the FP7 Support Action EuroNanoBio. Entitled ‘Concept for a European Infrastructure in Nanobiotechnology’, the report provides several detailed recommendations for the creation of a ‘realistic roadmap for the construction of a European infrastructure in nanobiotechnology’:

1. [...] a European infrastructure has to be built on regional nanobio clusters, which have world-class facilities and expertise with high levels of engagement between industry and academia.
2. The nanobio clusters need to be connected and coordinated to share knowledge and equipment and to cover the whole value chain in specific application areas of
3. nanobiotechnology such as environment or medicine, for example.
4. A dedicated infrastructure management should improve the engagement between academic disciplines, research centres and companies inside and between the involved clusters.
5. Clear technical roadmaps for each of the application areas within nanobio should be defined to provide a catalyst for collaboration between industry and academia within the infrastructure.
6. ELSA [ethical, legal and social aspects] experts should be encouraged to work collaboratively with science departments, research institutes and industry [...].
7. Set-up and upgrading of clusters will require local, national and European political support and funding supplemented by private investments at a later more mature stage.
8. A European reference centre is needed for characterization and toxicology studies of nanoobjects, [...].
9. A European Centre for Risk and Safety Management should be established, which provides information and advice about handling of nanoobjects and protection measures to SMEs and universities, which cannot afford expensive risk assessment.
10. Clusters should help especially SMEs to articulate their needs and interests to regulatory and standardisation bodies.
11. The infrastructure should provide pools of experts and professional communication tools necessary for engagement with the public.
12. Promotion of the capabilities of nanobiotechnology to SMEs and clinicians should be facilitated by showcasing examples of successful exploitation of nanobiotechnology.
13. Engagement of the European infrastructure with nanobio clusters and research centres outside Europe should be encouraged.
14. The highly interdisciplinary nature of nanobiotechnology requires the integration of dedicated nanobio modules preferably at the MSc or PhD level.
15. [...] teaching an understanding of ethical and social aspects and training in science communication and public engagement should be included at the MSc and PhD level.
16. [...] targeted education and training programmes for in career training need to be developed.

The final EuroNanoBio report concludes: ‘[Successful promotion of nanobiotechnology] calls for an integration of people from different backgrounds, who had little or no previous contact or knowledge of each other. The best way to achieve this integration and to accommodate the complexity of nanobiotechnology is to set up a coordinated distributed European infrastructure of regional competence clusters.’

Follow these links to find out more about the EuroNanoBio Project, or to download the final report.