Nanotech
What about Asimov's "Fantastic Voyage" - the shrinking of a full-size submarine and crew to cellular size to perform a life-critical operation? Although the tech was not manufactured as a nano, it was shrunk to that size to demonstrate the application of ultra-micro technology in medicine, imho.
Plus, it made a good story..
As with most SF stories, it discussed AN application of the technology, not the society-wide impact of multiple applications. - like the communicator vs the cell-phone or computer helpers vs the Internet.