Dovepress These two projects can be viewed as early results supporting our claims regarding the usefulness of nanoinformatics efforts in indexing resources about nanotoxicity using information available from the literature. However, even if it were possible to automatically generate a database of toxic effects from current data, this would provide no annotation regarding data reliability or reproducibility. Future efforts combining this kind of data with others derived from interlaboratory studies, as well as robust techniques for analysis of data for method development and validation efforts, are needed to help make sense of the data that can be aggregated. Similarly, data cura- tion will require wikis or other means to integrate and assess comment on search results, to help improve methods, models and techniques, and to demonstrate the utility, effectiveness, advantages, and risks of the enterprise. For such purposes, international collaborations among researchers with comple- mentary expertise will be crucial. Visual ontologies Particle shape and design are fundamental in determining the characteristics of the biological and biophysical processes that involve them. There are reports of the influence of nanoparticle shape and design on their interaction with target tissues and of these characteristics involving altered biodistribution, cellular internalization, and trafficking, among other processes.46 In nanomedicine, the effect of particle shapes on these processes might play a significant role in future applications of nanopar- ticles for drug delivery. We have carried out original research centered on the recognition of nanoparticle shape and its classi- fication by means of new types of visual ontologies/taxonomies for shapes and structures.123 There are two subobjectives: 1. a new approach to the creation of visual taxonomies and ontologies of shapes and structures more suitable than classical ontologies to handle the types of graphical and volume components that appear in structures such as proteins, viruses, and nanoparticles 2. research techniques for pattern recognition of nanopar- ticles and their automatic classification. At this time, we have already implemented a prototype of a recognition system that can automatically identify specific shapes of nanoparticles in two dimensions. Further research will be needed to create a system that identifies the three-dimensional shapes of nanoparticles that can be used in practice. In this regard, future applications might include the Material Genome Initiative (see the Appendix) or other projects involving information derived from both ligand and structural macromolecular databases.124 These applications might include models that could account for the different International Journal of Nanomedicine 2012:7 Nanoinformatics: a new area of research in nanomedicine conformations of ligands and macromolecules in various physiological environments. Ontologies or extensions of current terminologies (eg, Medical Subject Headings [MeSH]) can help to annotate or organize papers and experiments – as is done in the –omics area. For instance, papers can be better indexed in PubMed, improving search and access to the nano bibliography. Similarly, databases can be more effectively organized and curated. In this context, research on automated methods to create inventories of informatics resources in the nano areas can be beneficial, as we have shown previously in the bioinformatics area.105 Such nanoinformatics approaches can then facilitate access to differ- ent types of information and help growth within the field. Conclusion Nanomedicine raises numerous challenges119,125 and requires significant investment in informatics to accelerate current research and developments. Such informatics requirements are related to what biomedical informaticians have already carried out in post-genomic research projects, which have transformed biomedical research. For nanotechnology, addi- tional requirements are needed to accommodate the use of computational models and simulations, their range of valid- ity, and increased sharing of codes, to rationally assimilate models from different disciplines and areas of research. In addition, nanoinformatics still needs a common agreement on the goals, subfields, research topics, training needs, and ethical requirements, which could lead to more specific agendas for research and development. In this review, we have endeavored to illustrate illustrated major challenges and opportunities that research on nano- informatics faces in advancing nanomedicine. Without such informatics methods and tools, developments will surely lag. In addition, Table 2 and Figure 3 show a timetable of the main events that have taken place in the area of nanoinformatics over the last few years. They show a slow but continuous development, with significant achievements, including con- ferences, white papers, journal publications, and events. In this paper we have also illustrated the needs of nano- medicine, in terms of data and information management. We have also discussed some of the problems that nano- informaticians face with examples of key areas related to current research projects carried out by the authors, showing the kinds of problems and approaches that can be adopted in nanoinformatics. Finally, the potential impact of nanoin- formatics has been explored from economic, scientific, and ethical perspectives, emphasizing the opportunities that inter- national collaboration can provide to advance the field. submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com Dovepress 3881