The Sackler Colloquium on promises and perils in nanotechnology for medicine

The Sackler Colloquium entitled "Nanomaterials in Biology and Medicine: Promises and Perils" was held on April 10-11, 2007. We have been able to assemble a representative sampling of 17 of the invited talks ranging over the topics presented. Any new technology carries with it both a promise of transforming the way we do things and the possibility that there are unforeseen consequences. The papers collected here represent a cross-section of these issues. As an example, we present our own work on nano-upconversion phosphors as an example of this new class of nanomaterials with potential use in medicine and biology.