To reduce to extreme small (nanoscale) particles. A newly-coined portmanteau word of nanometre and atomize.

The Microcoating Technologies company of Atlanta, Georgia has trademarked the term Nanomiser for its liquid atomizer for making ultra-fine powders. (www.microcoating.com/company/nanomiser.html)

The spelling Nanomizer seems to be in use by several Japanese companies. At www.ind-dia.com/product-e.htm we read that Nanomizer "is a wet-type continuous line equipment and can realize advanced emulsifying, dispersing, and crushing by utilizing phenomena (generation of shock wave, supersonic wave, etc. due to turbulent flow) occurring in the nozzle (generator) with its original structure." This also has pictures and technical specifications.

The word came to my notice in this week's New Scientist (7 September 2002, also in BBC science news on Web), in relation to a method for distributing very fine doses of insulin. A gas is put under extreme pressure and becomes a liquid-like supercritical fluid, in which the insulin is dissolved. Upon sudden decompression, the insulin precipitates out as very fine particles.

Conventional grinding cannot produce particles smaller than 1 micrometre, but nanomizing can take the size down to 50 nanometres.