ABSTRACT
Introduction Nanotechnology has been regarded as a key technology for radical innovations leading to economic growth and employment since the 1990s. Up to the present time, large technological advances have been made. Many countries are trying to participate in the worldwide race for this interdisciplinary and knowledge-based technology in order to benefit from its potentials. Such countries launch, for instance, public programs to generate new products and production processes based on nanotechnology. Furthermore, they fund firms to generate cross-border networks in nanotechnology and support universities to establish new study courses in relevant disciplines such as physics and chemistry.
