Category Archives: Nanotechnology

Israels Shemen Industries introduced a product it calls Canola Active Oil, which it claims can reduce the bodys cholesterol intake by upwards of 14%. How does it do this? Using a technology it calls nano-sized self-assembled liquid structures (NSSL), which help to keep cholesterol from jumping from the digestive tract to the bloodstream. NSSLs, or nanodrops, as the company calls them, are added to the oil to create a water-soluble bubble of sorts that allows the healthier phytosterols that are abundant in plants and their oils to outcompete cholesterols to move into the bloodstream, thereby fighting against the causes of heart disease.

SlimShake-Chocolate, once marketed by Texas-based RBC Life Sciences (the product seems to have been discontinued since its nowhere to be found on the manufacturers site), featured an innovation called called Nanoclusters. These clusters were tiny structures that are 100,000th the size of a grain of sand. The company coated them with cocoa to form CocoaClusters, which, because of their greater surface area relative to their mass, delivered more chocolate taste, eliminating the need for excess sugar that makes these drinks bad for you.

The gloriously named Shenzhen Become Industry & Trade Co. Ltd., has developed a technique called ball-milling, which it uses to pulverize plants into particles that are fewer than 100 nanometers in diameter. The NanoTea made from this process allows for the release of 10 times as much selenium, a naturally occurring element that has antioxidative effects in the body.

A technology developed at the U.K.s University of Nottingham is another example of a nanofood exploiting the surface-area-to-mass ratio of a nanoparticle to deliver more flavor with less product. In the case of SODA-LO, the product is salt. By creating smaller salt crystals, SODA-LO, according to a press release from the company, enables added salt levels to be reduced by up to 30% in foods such as bread, pizza bases, pastry, savory pie fillings, cheese, and baked snacks.

First developed in the mid-1990s, FANTESK is a simple technology: Its essentially an oil trapped in a starch. That encapsulated oil, however, is distributed evenly in the starch giving it a uniform taste and allowing for the creation of many low fat items containing FANTESK, from soft-serve to cheddar cheese. Recently, scientists at the Agricultural Research Services National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois, have put a FANTESK mixture of cooking oil with no trans-fats and wheat flour into cake mixes and frostings. The result: Delicious buttercream with only half the fat.

Food isnt just the end product where these nano-developments end up. In some cases, food itself enables the technology. In 2005, two Dutch researchers revealed a method for creating a nanotube out of a protein found in milk called alpha-lactalbumin. The proteins ability to be coaxed into forming such a structure means it could well serve as a vehicle for encapsulated molecules, such as for example vitamins and enzymes, the researchers wrote in Trends in Food Science and Technology, which would allow scientists to easily fortify your breakfast cereal with more essential nutrients.

Scientists at Norwichs Institute of Food Research in the U.K. are working on a method for developing low-fat food that tastes good. They are specifically targeting emulsions, such as mayonnaise (which are simply oil suspended in proteins). Low-fat mayo is made by taking out half the yummy fat and replacing it with water. The researchers are hoping that by creating nano-droplets of water, they can suspend them in the oil, so an eater is greeted with that signature mayo taste with the water hidden within, instead of the current version, which tastes like watery mayo.

Writing in the journal Appetite, a group of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich discussed the risks associated with applying nanotechnology to the food industry. Among the topics mentioned in the report were so-called individually modifiable foods, which would employ various encapsulated ingredients so that heating an item in a microwave in a certain way could alter properties like its color or taste. Sure enough, there have been reports, such as this possibly tounge-in-cheek one in The Guardians Observer magazine, about programmable wine where one day a prospective buyer could decide at the absolute last minute (relatively speaking) whether he or she preferred white or red. Well believe this one when we see it.

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How Nanotechnology Is Changing How You Eat And Taste

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are carbon-based compounds, many of which are hazardous to humans' health. EU-funded researchers coordinated efforts to apply nanotechnology to the capture and sequestration of these compounds.

VOCs evaporate into the air at room temperature. The evaporation process produces tiny air-borne molecules that may be unsafe to those who inhale them, come into contact with them via skin, or drink them in contaminated water supplies.

While the use of VOCs has been restricted in recent years, there are still thousands of products present in everyday life that contain VOCs. Removal of VOCs from waste air streams, whether at factories that use VOCs or at wastewater treatment plants that remove VOCs from wastewater, is commonly accomplished with separation membranes.

The application of nanotechnology (technology on the scale of atoms or molecules) to membrane filtration of VOCs in waste air streams may greatly enhance functionality.

Nanoparticles have the unique feature of having very high surface areas compared to their volumes. This surface area is extremely useful as a work surface for chemical reactions and absorption of other molecules.

However, integration of nanotechnology with membrane separation technology for more efficient and greener removal of VOCs from waste air streams is an emerging, developing field.

In order to coordinate efforts in research with those in industry and in policymaking bodies, European researchers initiated the ANVOC project.

The main goal of the project was to organise a symposium bringing together stakeholders from all areas to disseminate knowledge to end users and to facilitate cooperation among research and development (R&D) bodies.

ANVOC scientists met all goals, bringing together international experts in nanotechnology, membrane technology and air pollution control.

The symposium presented R&D results, identified the types of membranes used in recovery of VOCs, and demonstrated the use of membranes in gas separation. In addition, valuable possibilities for future research collaboration were identified.

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Removing hazardous substances from the air

A novel nanotechnology drug delivery system under development to infiltrate breast cancer tumors could pave the way for treating other diseases.

Penn State College of Medicine received a $1 million grant from a state research fund set up with money from its tobacco settlement to assess the drug treatments commercialization potential.

The principal investigator for the nanotechnology delivery system is Mark Kester, a professor of pharmacology and director of the Penn State Center for NanoMedicine and Materials. He has been working for the past five to six years with Jim Adair with Penn States department of material sciences and engineering and Keystone Nano, a nanotechnology company spun out of Penn State University led by Jeff Davidson, the founder of the Biotechnology Institute and Pennsylvania Bio industry association.

The next generation of cancer fighting drugs, instead of going after cancer and non-cancer cells indiscriminately, specifically target cancer proteins. Although companies have recognized the ability of small interfering RNA as a small molecule that can be directed to interfere with the production of cancer cells, the toxicity of siRNA has proved a challenge in its use. Biotechnology companies and institutions have been studying ways to use different nanotechnology particles to house the toxic molecule.

In an interview with MedCity News, Kester explained that the team has developed non-toxic nanojackets using calcium phosphocillate nanoparticles, material that makes up teeth and bones, to deliver the toxic siRNA safely to the gene mutation, in this case the one that causes overexpression of an oncogenic protein in breast cancer patients.

Getting to this stage has taken five to six years. Kester estimates it will take another 1.5 years to get to the point where it will have enough data to submit an IND application. During that time it will work with contract research organizations across Pennsylvania to conduct preclinical trials using the nanojackets.

Even if the companys IND application is approved, it will take another five to eight years to get the technology to the point where it can be submitted for FDA approval.

A cursory search on Clinicaltrials.gov revealed that 10 clinical studies are using siRNA to combat diseases in clinical trials. The one that is using them to fight breast cancer uses fat cells to house the toxic molecule.

If successful, the siRNA molecule could theoretically be delivered to any protein mutation and destroy it, a development that would revolutionize not only cancer treatment but one that could lead to treating Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease and other unmet needs.

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Nanotechnlogy delivery system for breast cancer could be gamechanger for treating diseases

Brewer Science, a global leader in developing and manufacturing specialty materials, integrated processes, and laboratory-scale wafer processing equipment, is exhibiting at the 10th Annual NanoTechnology for Defense (NT4D) Conference, 6-9 August 2012, at the Red Rock Resort in Summerlin, Nevada.

Initiated a decade ago by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Army Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the NT4D Conference remains the premier event addressing emerging and nano-scale technologies for defense.

To highlight its advances in carbon nanotube technology to produce flexible electronics, Brewer Science will present "Design, prototying, and characterization of combustible passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensors on flexible substrates" during the conference poster session in the Red Rock Ballroom.

Visit Brewer Science at Booth No. 313 to learn about the advanced materials we offer for applications in U.S. Government energy and defense sectors.

Visit http://www.usasymposium.com/nano/exhibitors.htm for more information about the NT4D Conference.

About Brewer Science Brewer Science is a global technology leader in developing and manufacturing specialty materials, integrated processes, and laboratory-scale wafer processing equipment for applications in semiconductors, compound semiconductors, advanced packaging/3-D integrated circuits, MEMS, sensors, displays, LEDs, and printed electronics. The company continuously introduces high-technology solutions that enable reliable fabrication of cutting-edge, high-performance integrated microdevices used in the most advanced and elegant electronics such as tablet computers, smart phones, digital cameras, flat-panel monitors and TVs, and LED lighting. Since 1981, when its ARC material technology revolutionized lithography processes, Brewer Science has expanded its spectrum of technology to include products currently used in advanced lithography, chemical and mechanical device protection, thin layer handling, and 3-D integration, as well as products based on carbon nanotubes and nanotechnology. For more information on Brewer Science, please visit http://www.brewerscience.com

Brewer Science was recently named one of the top places to work by Missouri's largest daily newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

For additional information, contact: Patti Shaw, Marketing Communications Manager +1 573 364-0444, ext. 1183 pshaw@brewerscience.com

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Brewer Science to Exhibit Technologies of the Future for America's Defense at Nanotechnology ...

For all the TEDTalks that there have been, few have adequately addressed the topic of nanotechnology, with the possible exception of Bill Joys ironic path from nanotechnology doomsayer to cheerleader.

That is why when I saw that venture capitalist and Nanoholdings CEOJustin Hall-Tippinghad been given a forum to discuss nanotechnology for the illustrious TedTalks last year, I had to give a listen (see video below).

Hall-Tipping did not disappoint. As you will see in the video, he provides all the gee-whiz nanotech applications one could hope for and throws in some emotion to pull at our heartstrings.

Hall-Tipping highlights three technologies in the video that, as he explains, exhibit exquisite control over the electron and could change our current energy paradigmwhich, according to his calculations, is doomed to ultimate failure. Two of the technologies come from research originated at the University of Florida; the third comes from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Hall-Tipping says that one of the technologies developed at the University of Florida will result in a world that doesnt need artificial light to illuminate our nights. In this case, I believe he is referring to the work of Prof. Franky So, developer of lightweight night-vision technologies. Thats great, but if Hall-Tipping really expects that nearly ubiquitous night-vision capabilities are going to spell the end for artificial light, I think he may have overstated his point.

The other University of Florida technology that Hall-Tipping highlights uses carbon nanotubes embedded in transparent polymer films to absorb the suns energy and release it indoors during the winter. And as Hall-Tipping describes it, the same film will flip it back in the summer, preventing solar energy from heating living spaces when you want to keep things cool. This application seems to be built around the work of John Reynolds and Andrew Rinzler.I suppose this work could be adapted to collect solar power and reflect away sunlight, but I would like to see some figures on energy conversion efficiency before I start disconnecting myself from the grid.

In the final technology, from the University of Texas at Dallas, nanomaterials (of the carbon nanotube variety,we assume) enable a device that, according to Hall-Tipping, can park an electron on the outside, hold it until it's needed, and then to release it and pass it off. The machine that accomplishes this electron parking, dubbed eBox, has apparently been around since 2009. A prototype has been running for over a yearwithout, it seems, any effort to commercialize it.

Later in the video, Hall-Tipping makes the cogent point that water shortages are already becoming acute around the world and that energy-intensive desalination is a problematic solution based our current energy paradigm. But removing the grid, or depending on solar power to change the dynamics, seems to be missing the point of a lot of nanotech research related to desalination. I suppose Hall-Tippings company is not backing those horses.

Finally, Hall-Tipping makes his concerns about water shortages personal when he reveals a photograph that he has carried with him for the last 18 years; in it, a young girl in the Sudan is dying of thirst. A truly heart-wrenching image, and as Hall-Tipping says, one that should never happen. But maybe that girl would have been better served by rather simple nanotech-based solutions for providing clean drinking water instead of reinventing the electrical grid.

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Nanotechnology Comes to TedTalks, with Mixed Results

At the UAlbany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, students and residents from across the state spent their summer doing nanotechnology research. Vince Gallagher has a look at what went on.

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"That shape allows it to combine to certain proteins on the cancer cell surface and then we can use that to deliver drugs directly to those cancer cells," explained Brad Sutliff, a student from Syracuse.

Another worthy project is brain tumor research

"I found there's a barrier that surrounds the brain, it's actually a fluid that filters out the toxins in the blood, and certain toxins are thought as drugs so the brain rejects them," said Patricia Massa, a Clifton Park student.

So a solution is in the works. There's also a common theme between three students: nano-economics.

"The first student has focused on the aspects of entrepreneurial technology development, looking at incubation, funding, and other aspects of it. The second student looked at how does that compare to other universities, and what are the factors as to why certain universities succeed and others don't do quite as well," said Michael Fancher, nano-economics associate professor.

The third student applied that knowledge to smart cities technology. But regardless of the project, whether it's nano-engineering, nano-science, or nano-bioscience, this field of study is practically a necessity for the 21st century student.

It's something that puts a point on it to basically to help the economy by using all these researchers and basically help us come up with new products, said Sina Shahrezai, a student.

"You can definitely see the differences in all the posters around here, everybody is very specific about what they're doing, but without and understanding of the broad topic, it becomes very difficult to actually narrow it down," said Massa.

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State of Education: Nanotechnology studies