Already in your life
Nanotechnology you can buy, use or be treated with today: everything we track that is approved, on sale or in everyday use, and where you’d meet it. Most of it works without anyone mentioning “nano”.
- On sale or approved
- 15
- In everyday use
- 7
3 tracked
In your pocket
- Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithographyStep 5 · EverydayUsed to make the most advanced chips in phones, computers and AI data centers since 2019. TSMC, 7 Oct 2019
- Silicon-carbon battery anodesStep 5 · EverydayIn many new flagship Android phones, such as the OnePlus 13, and in some wearables. Android Authority, 19 Mar 2025
- Gate-all-around nanosheet transistorsStep 4 · On saleIn the newest phone, laptop and AI chips, starting in 2025 and 2026. TechSpot, Dec 2025
1 tracked
In the medicine cabinet
- Gold nanoparticle rapid testsStep 5 · EverydayIn pregnancy tests and COVID-19 rapid tests from pharmacies and supermarkets. University of Tübingen
1 tracked
In the bathroom
- Nano zinc oxide and titanium dioxide sunscreenStep 4 · On saleIn mineral sunscreens and some cosmetics. European Commission, SCCS opinion summary (2012)
1 tracked
In the kitchen
- Titanium dioxide food whitener (E171)Step 5 · EverydayStill allowed in some countries, such as the UK outside Northern Ireland; banned in food in the EU since August 2022. Food Safety Authority of Ireland, 15 July 2022
2 tracked
In the living room
- Quantum dot TVsStep 5 · EverydayIn QLED and other quantum dot TVs and monitors. Asia Economy, 19 Feb 2024
3 tracked
In the garage
- Carbon nanotube battery additivesStep 5 · EverydayIn electric car batteries: about a million EVs carry OCSiAl's nanotubes alone. electrive, 26 June 2026
- GrapheneStep 4 · On saleIn a few products so far: some phones and sporting goods, and under-hood parts of some Ford cars. Ford, 9 Oct 2018
- Silica aerogelsStep 4 · On saleAs thin heat barriers between the cells of electric car batteries made for GM, Toyota and ACC, and as industrial insulation. Aspen Aerogels annual report (10-K), 2025
7 tracked
At the doctor's or hospital
- mRNA vaccines in lipid nanoparticlesStep 5 · EverydayIn COVID-19 vaccines given around the world since December 2020. Pfizer and BioNTech alone had supplied more than a billion doses by July 2021. Reuters, 9 Aug 2021
- Patisiran (Onpattro)Step 4 · On saleGiven by infusion to adults with nerve damage from hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. Alnylam, 10 Aug 2018
- Liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil)Step 4 · On saleUsed in cancer treatment; a cheaper generic version has been approved in the US since 2013. HealthDay, 4 Feb 2013
- Albumin-bound paclitaxel (Abraxane)Step 4 · On saleGiven in cancer clinics, first approved for breast cancer that has spread. News-Medical, 9 Jan 2005
- Ferumoxytol (Feraheme)Step 4 · On saleGiven by IV in hospitals and infusion centers to adults with iron deficiency anemia. US FDA via Drugs.com, 30 Mar 2015
- Hafnium oxide nanoparticles for radiotherapy (NBTXR3)Step 4 · On saleIn clinical trials, including a global phase 3 trial in head and neck cancer now run by Johnson & Johnson. Nanobiotix, 24 Sept 2026
- Nanopore DNA sequencingStep 4 · On saleIn research and public health labs, on devices from pocket-sized to benchtop. Oxford Nanopore, 19 Feb 2025
4 tracked
Out in the world
On sale or approved, but in factories, farms and power plants rather than at home.
- Nanoimprint lithography for chipsStep 4 · On saleInstead of projecting a circuit pattern with light, nanoimprint lithography presses a mask carrying the pattern into a coating on the wafer, like a stamp.
- Silicon nanowire battery anodesStep 4 · On saleInstead of graphite, the anode in Amprius's batteries is close to pure silicon grown as a dense forest of nanowires, more than a million per square centimeter.
- Perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cellsStep 4 · On saleA tandem solar cell stacks a thin perovskite cell on top of an ordinary silicon cell.
- Nano urea fertilizerStep 4 · On saleNano urea is a liquid fertilizer from the Indian cooperative IFFCO, sprayed onto crop leaves.