Analytical nanoscience and nanotechnology today and tomorrow

This article discusses the mutual impact of nanotechnology and analytical science and illustrates how this technical trend can be expected to strengthen the role of analytical chemists. To this end, it defines the limits of actual nanotechnological approaches and uses selected examples to illustrate the three major relationships between nanotechnology and analytical science, namely: the design and use of nanodevices; the use of nanoparticles (and nanostructures) in analytical processes; and the extraction of accurate chemical information from the nanoworld. Finally, the future of analytical nanotechnology in the short and medium term is briefly addressed.