In this national debate, scientific
and non-scientific people are currently around the
globe examining the nanotechnology question in terms of
societal benefits and risks. The development of new nanotechnologies
needs innovative approaches encompassing
both scientific and societal issues. Here, we propose an integrative
approach from chemical synthesis to environmental
fate, including ecotoxicology and genotoxicology, to evaluate
the societal impact of a new nanotechnology.
The construction of new nano-tools is presented here
using the example of fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals,
quantum dots (QDs) [1]. The implementation of
new nano-material based technologies [2] must address
four issues including (I) fundamental aspects (chemistry