Innovation and Sustainable Economic Competitive Advantage: From Regional Development to Global Growth 2466 Public and Scientific Community Attitudes towards Nanotechnology Applications Anna Godymchuk, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, National Research Technological University “MISIS”, Moscow, Russia, Godymchuk@mail.ru Ekaterina Galanina, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia, Galanina@tpu.ru Elena Yunda, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia, eny@tpu.ru Abstract. The emergence of nanotechnologies having high market potential is followed by concerns associated with their adoption, acceptance and diffusion. However, the public and academic anxiety about the risk of nanomaterial application in food, cosmetics, agricultural and other industries, may significantly affect the opportunities and prospects for the development of nanotechnologies. The paper is devoted to the study of social concerns related to nanotechnologies. It is concluded that there is no consensus among academia regarding opportunities and risks of nanomaterial implementation. The hazards and consequences of nanotechnology applications have been described. It has been demonstrated that studies of nanotoxicity are frequently carried out in far from reality conditions and tend to be perceived as prognostic. Nevertheless, assuming the results of this kind of studies being popularized through mass media, it can cause the formation of public opposition with respect to nanotechnology application. Keywords: nanotechnology, public community attitude, researchers’ perception, nanomaterials application, risks, toxicity. 1. Introduction Today nanotechnology is called the Industrial Revolution of the twenty-first century. According to Khan & Asmatulu (2013), within 10 or 15 years, it is expected that the industrial production of nanotechnology will be worth over $1 trillion. The development and implementation of nanotechnologies contribute to the progress in various fields: biomedical, pharmaceuticals, textile, aerospace, manufacturing, cosmetics, oil, defense, agricultural, construction and electronics industries. Therefore, as noted by Bozeman et al (2007), application of nanotechnologies has an enormous commercial potential for marketers and investors. In the very nearest future, nanotechnologies will be able to drastically change science, education, manufacturing, and lifestyles of people around the world (Khan & Asmatulu, 2013). That is why, as mentioned by Nerlich & Lemańczyk (2015), today we should consider nanotechnology as not just an emerging technology but also as a new social and cultural phenomenon. The attitude of public and scientific communities in particular, is of a high importance for the evolution of new and emerging science and technology. This is due to the concerns and hopes for nanotechnology among public and scientific community, as well as their attitude towards nanotechnology applications, being able both accelerate and suppress the development of nanomaterial production and consumption. However, the relations between nanotechnology, society and (nano)scientific community are still questionable. There is an ambivalent and ambiguous viewpoint of the society regarding nanotechnology application; profits and risks associated with nanomaterials are not unanimous. On the one hand, nanotechnologies provide much better quality and properties of the variety of materials, which, even today, leads to the development of different branches of economy and improvement of the population quality of life. On the other hand, numerous experimental studies of toxicologists have demonstrated that nanomaterial application may be insecure for human health and the environment. A number of studies on toxicity towards mammals, testified nanoparticles inhibit the phagocytic function of alveolar macrophages that cause an acute immune deficiency (Liu et al, 2013), induce