Nanoanalytics: history, concepts, and specificities.

This article deals with analytical chemistry devoted to nano-objects. A short review presents nano-objects, their singularity in relation to their dimensions, genesis, and possible transformations. The term nano-object is then explained. Nano-object characterization activities are considered and a definition of nanoanalytics is proposed. Parameters and properties for describing nano-objects on an individual scale and on the scale of a population are also presented. They enable the specificities of analytical activities to be highlighted in terms of multi-criteria description strategies and observation scale. Special attention is given to analytical methods, their dimensioning and validation.