This is a copy of the slides presented at the meeting but not formally written up for the volume.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, has an extensive nanotechnology portfolio to serve the measurement needs of its customers during every stage of technological innovation. This presentation will introduce the nanometrology program at NIST, emphasizing its impacts, both current and potential, on the biotechnology area. NIST’s main areas of focus will be described, as well as the influences of the needs of the biotechnology arena on the continual shaping of this program. NIST nanobiotechnology programs relate to the entire technological innovation continuum, from materials discovery/R&D through the end-use (and disposal) of a product. During the materials discovery and applied R&D stages, NIST measurement science provides many of the tools necessary to enable the components that will one day be inserted into commercialized products. NIST resources, such as the Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML), provide measurement tools needed to increase the nation’s capability to understand phenomena at the nanoscale and accelerate technological innovation. NIST perspectives on measurement needs and solutions in the earlier stages of technological innovation will be discussed in the context of the nanobiotechnology sector. As nanobiotechnology products move toward the marketplace, the need for standards becomes clear, not only for potential FDA regulatory policy, but also for interlaboratory comparisons, and to support the development of assay protocols and other products anticipated from such organizations as NCL and ASTM. NIST work in standards and standard reference materials / reference materials (SRM/RM) will be discussed in this light. NIST priorities at all stages are strongly influenced by an understanding of the needs of the sectors to which it provides services. In this light, partnerships are extremely important in optimizing the path to providing appropriate techniques for application in nanobiotechnology. The NIST role in a NIST-NCI-FDA partnership will be presented as an example.Finally, a NIST perspective on the future of measurement science and technology work for nanobiotechnology will be presented.