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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2006;296:1458.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 141 words of the full text and any section headings.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formed an internal Nanotechnology Task Force to oversee regulations pertaining to the development of innovative, safe, and effective FDA-regulated products that use nanotechnology materials (which have components with dimensions at roughly 1 to 100 nanometers).

The task force will chair a public meeting in October (http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06n-0107-nm00002.pdf) to help the FDA further its understanding of developments in nanotechnology materials; explore opportunities to foster innovation using nanotechnology materials to develop safe and effective drugs and devices, and to develop safe foods and cosmetics; and consider appropriate ways to communicate with the public about the use of nanotechnology materials in FDA-regulated products.

Materials made in the nanoscale size range can have unique chemical and physical properties that offer great potential in the clinic, but they also carry various untested safety concerns.