Publications and patents in nanotechnology: an overview of previous studies and the state of the art

Nanotechnology and the sciences that are associated with it have attracted much attention. Experts from various fields believe that nanotechnology will be one of the key technologies affecting almost every aspect of the economy. While there are considerable efforts underway that aim to commercialise nanotechnology - carried by start-up companies as well as large internationally operating firms -, most of the activity seems to focus on research and development activities. There have been a number of technology studies and investment reports that describe the opportunities associated with this emerging area. Over the years there have also been a number of bibliometric and patent studies that examined the field. This paper provides an overview of measuring nanotechnology with commonly used indicators of bibliometric and patent analyses