title: A systematic nomenclature for codifying engineered nanostructures.
abstract: Nanotechnology's growing applications are fueled by the synthesis and engineering of a myriad nanostructures, yet there is no systematic naming or classification scheme for such materials. This lack of a coherent nomenclature is confusing the interpretation of data sets and threatens to hamper the pace of progress and risk assessment. A systematic nomenclature that encodes the overall composition, size, shape, core and ligand chemistry, and solubility of nanostructures is presented. A typographic string of minimalist field codes facilitates digital archiving and searches for desired properties. This nomenclature system could also be used for nanomaterial hazard labeling.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Darcy J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gentleman
authors.forename: Warren C W
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D049329:Nanostructures; D009626:Terminology as Topic