July 15, 2002 — Nanotechnology’s greatest short-term business opportunities lie in the materials sector due to relatively low barriers to entry, a broad IP landscape and customers integrating nanoparticulates into their products, according to a new report.

This is one of many findings in “U.S. Nanotechnology 2002: Technologies, Application Development, M&A, Patent Disputes, Markets, and Business Opportunity,” from MRG Inc. and Fuji-Keizai USA.

Nanotechnology growth may resemble the sizable growth curve of PCs, e-business, and wireless, the report said.

“The National Science Foundation predicts that the total market for nanotech products and services will reach $1 trillion by 2015,” said Elaine Mansfield, MRG analyst. “However, the speed of innovation and growth of nanotechnologies will fluctuate widely from industry to industry, with some, such as nanomaterials, commercializing significantly faster than others.”