Category Archives: Nanotechnology

Just four months after the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) responded to the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technologys (PCAST) 2010 report on the status of nanotechnology, PCAST has offered up a new assessment.

While thePCAST report on the NNI in 2010 wanted to see greater efforts towards commercialization and some attempt to address environmental, health and safety (EHS) concerns, this time they just wanted to see how well the NNI had done in meeting their previous recommendations.

In the Whitehouse.gov blog covering the announcement it seems PCAST are satisfied:

PCAST found that the Federal agencies in the NNI have made substantial progress in addressing many of the 2010 recommendations that were aimed at maintaining U.S. leadership in nanotechnology The PCAST assessment particularly commends the expanded efforts of the NNCO in the area of commercialization and coordination with industry, and the NNCOs release of a focused research strategy for addressing environmental, health, and safety (EHS) implications of nanotechnology.

Okay, pat on the back, job well doneuh, wait, there are still some new recommendations that PCAST would like to see addressed. You can find them in the PDF of the full report on page vii. They fall into the areas of strategic planning, program management, metrics for assessing nanotechnologys commercial and societal impacts, andwait for itincreased support for EHS research.

Additional support for EHS research might be a required element for every PCAST report in the future. More interesting to me, however, is this continued emphasis on improved metrics for assessing nanotechnologys commercial and societal impacts.

It seems to me that this is an area in which everyone from governments to corporations wants a formula that will churn out a sense of what kind of impact nanotechnology is really having. While nobody is satisfied with the metrics that we have, I would suggest that there are few number-counting options that will really be able to sort out the full impact of nanotechnology. But again, it should be interesting to see what they come up with.

Continued here:
President's Council Wants a Few More Things from the National Nanotechnology Initiative

Public release date: 1-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Adriana Bobinchock abobinchock@partners.org 617-855-2110 McLean Hospital

Belmont, MA - Researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital have shown a new category of "green" nanoparticles comprised of a non-toxic, protein-based nanotechnology that can non-invasively cross the blood brain barrier and is capable of transporting various types of drugs.

In an article published May 1, 2012 online in PLoS ONE, Gordana Vitaliano, MD, director of the Brain Imaging NaNoTechnology Group at the McLean Hospital Imaging Center, reported that clathrin protein, a ubiquitous protein found in human, animal, plant, bacteria and fungi cells, can been modified for use as a nanoparticle for in-vivo studies. "Clathrin has never been modified for use in vivo and offers many new and interesting possibilities for delivering drugs and medical imaging agents into the brain", said Vitaliano.

Clathrin is the body's primary delivery vehicle responsible for delivering many different types of molecules into cells. Vitaliano therefore believed that the protein's naturally potent transport capabilities might be put to practical medical use for drug delivery and medical imaging.

"This study provides a new insight into utilizing bioengineered clathrin protein as a novel nanoplatform that passes the blood brain barrier," said Vitaliano, who successfully attached different fluorescent labels, commonly used in imaging, to functionalize clathrin nanoparticles. "We were able to show that the clathrin nanoparticles could be non-invasively delivered to the central nervous system (CNS) in animals. The clathrin performed significantly."

Of major importance for future clinical applications, Vitaliano also showed that clathrin crossed and/or bypassed the blood-brain barrier without enhancers or modifications, unlike other nanoparticles. These findings open the door to exploring new and important CNS medical applications.

One important medical application for clathrin nanoparticles would be Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Gadolinium contrast agents are often used to improve MRI performance. In one configuration, Vitaliano found that functionalized clathrin nanoparticles performed 8,000 times better than an FDA approved MRI contrast agent (gadopentetate dimeglumine).

"Stated another way, it means 8,000 times less gadolinium might be required for achieving good MRI results. Because very low gadolinium concentrations would be required for MRI, it could significantly decrease gadolinium toxicity, which is an important issue," explained Vitaliano. "Clathrin transported gadolinium is therefore among the most potent, biocompatible contrast agents available."

These results in two different applications showed that clathrin offers substantial functionalization and transport flexibility. Purified clathrin nanoparticles could therefore serve as an appealing alternative to other medical nanoplatforms such as dendrimers, nanogels, solid lipid nanospheres, liposomes, and the like.

The rest is here:
McLean Report on nanotechnology that may enhance medication delivery and improve MRI performance

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock dedicated its new nanotechnology center Wednesday as state leaders hailed Arkansas' emergence in the industry.

The $15 million, 50,500-SF UALR Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences (CINS) is five stories, and consists of offices, classrooms, conference rooms, labs, cold rooms and even a greenhouse. Construction began in June of 2010, and the center was financed mostly through bonds.

The CINS will serve as a point of collaboration between the state's research universities, specifically the nanotechnology research being conducted at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the system's flagship campus in Fayetteville. It will serve a crucial role in the partnership Gov. Mike Beebe made last year with the Food & Drug Administration establishing collaboration between Arkansas' research institutions and FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research at Jefferson.

Already, NCTR is partnering with local private firms that deal with nanotech applications. It is working with Little Rock's Vivione Biosciences (formerly Litmus Rapid-B) to commercialize research involving the detection of E coli and other pathogens.

The goal of the partnership is to advance nanotechnology through research and education, and to commercialize the technologies that come from it.

Beebe, 2nd District Rep. Tim Griffin, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and UA System president Donald Bobbitt were among the officials joining UALR chancellor Joel Anderson and center director and chief scientist Alex Biris for the dedication. John Boozman, Arkansas' junior U.S. senator, was scheduled to tour the facility Thursday.

The elected officials took turns praising UALR's "investment in the future."

Griffin cited the center's ability to attract future high-paying jobs to the state, its potential with national security, and its long-term impact on quality of life through the nanotech research being done in the areas of cancer treatment and other health-care applications.

"This will be an economic engine and a real source of job creation, here and in the private sector," he said.

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UALR Dedicates $15M Nanotechnology Center

FDA NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: April 20, 2012 Media Inquires: Curtis Allen, 301-796-0393, curtis.allen@fda.hhs.gov Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

FDA issues draft guidance on nanotechnologyDocuments address use of nanotechnology by food and cosmetics industries

Two draft guidance documents that address the use of nanotechnology by the food and cosmetics industries were issued today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Nanotechnology is an evolving technology that allows scientists to create, explore, and manipulate materials on a scale measured in nanometers particles so small that they can not be seen with a regular microscope. The technology has a broad range of potential applications, such as the packaging of food or altering the look and feel of cosmetics.

The two draft guidance documents are: Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes, including Emerging Technologies, on the Safety and Regulatory Status of Food Ingredients and Food Contact Substances, Including Food Ingredients that are Color Additives and Guidance for Industry: Safety of Nanomaterials in Cosmetic Products.

The food draft guidance describes the factors manufacturers should consider when determining whether changes in manufacturing processes, including those involving nanotechnology, create a significant change that may:

The cosmetic product draft guidance discusses the FDAs current thinking on the safety assessment of nanomaterials when used in cosmetic products.Key points include:

Both guidances encourage manufacturers to consult with the agency before taking their products to market. Such consultation can help FDA experts address questions related to the safety or other attributes of nanotechnology products, or answer questions about their regulatory status.

Strong science is critical to FDAs ongoing review of the products it regulates. FDA is investing in an FDA-wide nanotechnology regulatory science program to further enhance FDAs scientific capabilities, including developing necessary data and tools to identify properties of nanomaterials and assess the impact they may have on products.

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FDA issues draft guidance on nanotechnology

WASHINGTON (AP) Regulators are proposing that food companies that want to use tiny engineered particles in their packaging may have to provide extra testing data to show the products are safe.

The Food and Drug Administration issued tentative guidelines Friday for food and cosmetic companies interested in using nanoparticles, which are measured in billionths of a meter. Nanoscale materials are generally less than 100 nanometers in diameter. A sheet of paper, in comparison, is 100,000 nanometers thick. A human hair is 80,000 nanometers thick.

The submicroscopic particles are increasingly showing up in FDA-regulated products like sunscreens, skin lotions and glare-reducing eyeglass coatings. Some scientists believe the technology will one day be used in medicine, but the FDA's announcement did not address that use.

The draft guidance suggests the FDA may require food companies to provide data establishing the safety of any packaging using nanotechnology.

Under longstanding regulations, companies aren't required to seek regulatory approval before launching products containing established ingredients and materials, such as caffeine, spices and various preservatives.

But FDA officials said Friday that foods and packaging containing nanoparticles may require more scrutiny.

"At this point, in terms of the science, we think it's likely the exemption does not apply and we would encourage folks to come in and talk to us," said Dennis Keefe, director of FDA's office of food additive safety.

Keefe said companies are studying whether nanoparticles can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination in certain foods. He said the agency is aware of just one food package currently on the market that uses nanoparticles but did not identify it. He said more are expected in coming years.

The FDA has previously stated its position that nanotechnology is not inherently unsafe; however, materials at the nano scale can pose different safety issues than do things that are far larger.

"This is an emerging, evolving technology and we're trying to get ahead of the curb to ensure the ingredients and substances are safe," Keefe said.

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FDA outlines rules for nanotechnology in food

With strong representation from Israeli academia and industry, INNI is charged with setting national goals and priorities for advancing nanotechnology in Israel, creating long-range plans that fully exploit Israel's scientific and commercialcapabilities.

In the five years since declaring nanotechnology as a national priority, the field marked significant achievements. 88 world-class scientists immigrated to Israel and were accepted as faculty members at theuniversities. The number of junior scientists in the field (including post-doctorates) is 320, the number of doctoral students is about 800 and the number of masters students is more than 900. In the past three years over 6,000 scientific papers have been published where1170 of which resulted from collaboration between the universities.

The financial side is also impressive with$101 million invested in the last five years in basic equipment, in addition to 45 million invested in new infrastructure and facilities.

In these years therewere 625 collaborations between Israeli academia and industry (domestic and foreign), and 170 "success stories" in the form of startup companies and approved patents,with another704 patent filings.

Dan Vilenski, a member of the National Committee for Nanotechnology, says, "I believe we are on the correct path to turn Israel into a leading power in nanotechnology. The program's achievements prove:

In light of the achievements of the program during the first five years, it was decided to continue funding the program for another five years but with a change of emphasis. From a program designed to build applied nanoscience infrastructure as a foundation for academia and industry, the emphasis moves to focused R&D programs that can be applied to industrial applications within a reasonable time.

In order to accelerate establishment of industrial activity based on nanotechnology, the universitynanocenters have begun to employ industrialists / entrepreneurs whose role is to identify emerging opportunities at the nanocenters at the early stages,to identify strategic partners and to realize application of the emerging nanotechnologiesin industry.

About INNI

The INNI was established as a shared initiative of Israel's Forum for National Infrastructures for Research & Development (TELEM) and Israel's Ministry of Trade and Industry. The INNI Board of Directors is appointed by The Chief Scientist, Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor. The INNI BoD operates out of The MAGNET Program at the Office of the Chief Scientist.

In 2007, it was decided to establish the area of a national priority projectwith the goal of creating researchinfrastructure at six universities that will be the basis for nano industries in Israel.A fundingmechanism was established using a triangle support model wherethe government, the university and private donationseach provide a third of theprogram funding.

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5 Years of Nano-Technology as an Israeli National Project