TEHRAN A sum of 45 billion rials (around $160,000) has been paid to support 256 nanotechnology companies over the past Iranian calendar year (March 2021-March 2022).

Some 1,498 support services worth 45 billion rials (around $160,000) have been provided to 256 companies holding a nanoscale certificate.

These services were provided to companies active in the nanotechnology field in four general categories of "international market development", "business management", " production and development" and "domestic market development".

Nanotechnology improvement

One of the industries that have experienced good growth in Iran in recent years, provingthe countrys scientific development, is the nanotechnology industry, a subject area that has brought Iran to the worlds fourth place.

Currently, nanotech products are produced and marketed in more than 15 industrial fields based on domestic technologies and are being exported to 49 countries from five continents.

Over the past year (ended March 20), the total sale of Iranian nanoproducts has been equal to 115 trillion rials (nearly $425 million).

Services were provided for "international market development", "business management", " production and development" and "domestic market development".

The expansion of nanotechnology export programs in recent years and the establishment of bases for exporting nanoproducts to China, India, Indonesia, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq have provided the opportunity for the entry of Iranian nanotechnology goods, equipment, and services into global markets.

Some 42 percent of the products in this field are related to construction, more than 17 percent to the field of oil, gas, and petrochemicals, 13 percent to the field of automobiles, and over 10 percent to the field of optoelectronics.

Some 270 companies are active in the nanotechnology field and it is predicted that their revenue will reach up to 80 trillion rials (nearly $310 million), Vice President for Science and Technology, Sourena Sattari, announced.

Irans ranking in nanotechnology articles citation in 2019 has significantly improved compared to 2018, as it moved 26 levels higher, according to StatNanos statistics collected from the WoS database.

Based on a report Nanotechnology Publications report, Iran ranked 38 worldwide for the average number of times the nano-articles have been cited in the Journal Citation Reports in 2019, while in 2018, it was placed 64.

It also ranked 4th for the highest number of nano-article publications.

FB/MG

Excerpt from:
Over 250 nanotechnology companies supported in a year - Tehran Times

It's difficult to imagine ways in which we could make ordinary clothing high-tech. There's almost nothing as mundane as a t-shirt, or a pair of socks, but nanotechnology might be changing all of that. Treating existing fabric materials with nanoparticles can grant them a whole host of interesting characteristics.

A number of companies have begun work in this space, including Nanotex, Aspen Aerogel, BASF, and Nano-Horizons, according to a study published in the journal Nanomaterials. Precisely how each company constructs and applies their nanoparticle or nanofiber coatings to fabrics is difficult to ascertain, as they are often trade secrets, but the published research reveals some details about their function.

These coatings work by applying a layer of hydrophobic molecules to the fabric, making them capable of repelling liquids as simple as water, or as complex as coffee, wine, and mustard. Consequently, treated fabrics are seemingly impervious to getting wet or getting stained. The coatings themselves are nearly weightless, and don't otherwise fundamentally change the nature of the fabric. As a result, there's no noticeable change in the experience of the wearer.

In addition to preventing stains, research has shown resistance to bacteria through the production of reactive oxygen species. The upshot is that odor-causing bacteria doesn't accumulate in the material, and your clothes smell fresher, longer.

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The Surprising Ways Nanotechnology Is Changing The World Around Us - SlashGear

Nanotechnology, nicknamed "the manufacturing technology of the twenty-first century," allows us to manufacture a vast range of sophisticated molecular devices by manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. These nanomaterials possess the ideal properties of strength, ductility, reactivity, conductance, and capacity at the atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels to create useable devices and systems in a length range of 1-100 nm. The materials' physical, chemical, and mechanical characteristics differ fundamentally and profoundly at the nanoscale from those of individual atoms, molecules, or bulk material, which enables the most efficient atom alignment in a very tiny space. Nanotechnology allows us to build various intricate nanostructured materials by manipulating matter at the atomic and molecular scale in terms of strength, ductility, reactivity, conductance, and capacity [1,2].

"Nanomedicine" is the science and technology used to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases. It is also used for pain management and to safeguard and improve people's health through nanosized molecules, biotechnology, genetic engineering, complex mechanical systems, and nanorobots [3]. Nanoscale devices are a thousand times more microscopic than human cells, being comparable to biomolecules like enzymes and their respective receptors in size. Because of this property, nanosized devices can interact with receptors on the cell walls, as well as within the cells. By obtaining entry into different parts of the body, they can help pick up the disease, as well as allow delivery oftreatment to areas of the body that one can never imagine being accessible. Human physiology comprises multiple biological nano-machines. Biological processes that can lead to cancer also occur at the nanoscale. Nanotechnology offers scientists the opportunity to experiment on macromolecules in real time and at the earliest stage of disease, even when very few cells are affected. This helps in the early and accurate detection of cancer.

In a nutshell, the utility of the nanoscale materials for cancer is due to the qualities such as the ability to be functionalized and tailored to human biological systems (compatibility), the ability to offer therapy or act as a therapeutic agent, the ability to act as a diagnostic tool, the capability to penetrate various physiological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier, the capability to accumulate passively in the tumor, and the ability to aggressively target malignant cells.

Nanotechnology in cancer management has yielded various promising outcomes, including drug administration, gene therapy, monitoring and diagnostics, medication carriage, biomarker tracing, medicines, and histopathological imaging. Quantum dots (QDs) and gold nanoparticles are employed at the molecular level to diagnose cancer. Molecular diagnostic techniques based on these nanoparticles, such as biomarker discovery, can properly and quickly diagnose tumors. Nanotechnology therapeutics, such as nanoscale drug delivery, will ensure that malignant tissues are specifically targeted while reducing complications. Because of their biological nature, nanomaterials can cross cell walls with ease. Because of their active and passive targeting, nanomaterials have been used in cancer treatment for many years. This research looks at its applications in cancer diagnosis and therapy, emphasizing the technology's benefits and limitations [3-5]. The various uses of nanotechnology have been enumerated in the Table 1.

Early cancer detection is half the problem solved in the battle against cancer. X-ray, ultrasonography, CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and PET scan are the imaging techniques routinely used to diagnose cancer. Morphological changes in tissues or cells (histopathology or cytology) help in the final confirmation of cancer. These techniques detect cancer only after visible changes in tissues, by which time the cancer might have proliferated and caused metastasis. Another limitation of conventional imaging techniques is their failure to distinguish benign from malignant tumors. Also, cytology and histopathology cannot be employed as independent, sensitive tests to detect cancer at an early stage. With innovative molecular contrast media and materials, nanotechnology offers quicker and more accurate initial diagnosis, along with an ongoing assessment of cancer patient care [6].

Although nanoparticles are yet to be employed in actual cancer detection, they are currently being used in a range of medical screening tests. Gold nanoparticles are among the most commonly used in home test strips. A significant advantage of using nanoparticles for the detection of cancer is that they have a large surface area to volume ratio in comparison to their larger counterparts. This property ensures antibodies, aptamers, small molecules, fluorescent probes, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and other molecules cover the nanoparticle densely. This presents multiple binding ligands for cancer cells (multivalent effect of nanotools) and therefore increases the specificity and sensitivity of the bioassay [7,8]. Applications of nanotechnology in diagnosis are for the detection of extracellular biomarkers for cancer and for in vivo imaging. A good nanoprobe must have a long circulating time, specificity to the cancer tissue, and no toxicity to nearby tissue [9,10].

Detection of Biomarkers

Nanodevices have been studied to detect blood biomarkers and toxicity to healthy tissues nearby. These biomarkers include cancer-associated circulating tumor cells, associated proteins or cell surface proteins, carbohydrates or circulating tumor nucleic acids, and tumor-shed exosomes. Though it is well known that these biomarkers help to detect cancer at apreliminary stage, they also help to monitor the therapy and recurrence. They have limitations such as low concentrations in body fluids, variations in their levels and timings in different patients, and difficult prospective studies. These hurdles are overcome by nanotechnology, which offers high specificity and sensitivity. High sensitivity, specificity, and multiplexed measurements are all possible with nano-enabled sensors. To further illuminate a problem, next-generation gadgets combine capture with genetic analysis [11-15].

Imaging Using Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology uses nanoprobes that will accumulate selectively in tumor cells by passive or active targeting. The challenges faced are the interaction of nanoparticles with blood proteins, their clearance by the reticuloendothelial system, and targeting of tumors.Passive targeting suggests apreference for collecting the nanoparticles in the solid tumors due to extravasation from the blood vessels. This is made possible by the defective angiogenesis of the tumorwherein the new blood vessels do not have tight junctions in their endothelial cells and allow the leaking out of nanoparticles up to 150 nm in size, leading to a preferential accumulation of nanoparticles in the tumor tissue. This phenomenon is called enhanced permeability and retention (EPR).Active targeting involves the recognition of nanoparticles by the tumor cell surface receptors. This will enhance the sensitivity of in vivo tumor detection. For early detection of cancer, active targeting will give better results than passive targeting [16-18].

This can be classified as delivery of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and gene therapy, and delivery of chemotherapy is aimed at improving the pharmacokinetics and reducing drug toxicity by selective targeting and delivery to cancer tissues. This is primarily based on passive targeting, which employs the EPReffect described earlier [16]. Nanocarriers increase the half-life of the drugs. Immunotherapy is a promising new front in cancer treatment based on understanding the tumor-host interaction. Nanotechnology is being investigated to deliver immunostimulatory or immunomodulatory molecules. It can be used as an adjuvant to other therapies [19-21].

Role of Nanotechnology in Radiotherapy

Thistechnology involves targeted delivery of radioisotopes, targeted delivery of radiosensitizer, reduced side effects of radiotherapy by decreasing distribution to healthy tissues, and combining radiotherapy with chemotherapy to achieve synergism but avoid side effects, andadministering image-guided radiotherapy improves precision and accuracy while reducing exposure to surrounding normal tissues[22,23].

Gene Therapy Using Nanotechnology

There is a tremendous interest in the research in gene therapy for cancer, but the results are still falling short of clinical application. Despite a wide array of therapies aimed at gene modulation, such as gene silencing, anti-sense therapy, RNAinterference, and gene and genome editing, finding a way to deliver these effects is challenging. Nanoparticles are used as carriers for gene therapy, with advantages such as easy construction and functionalizing and low immunogenicity and toxicity. Gene-targeted delivery using nanoparticles has great future potential. Gene therapy is still in its infancy but is very promising [24].

Nanodelivery Systems

Quantum dots: Semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) have outstanding physical properties. Probes based on quantum dots have achieved promising cellular and in vivo molecular imaging developments. Increasing research is proving that technology based on quantum dots may become an encouraging approach in cancer research[4]. Biocompatible QDs were launched for mapping cancer cells in vitro in 1998. Scientists used these to create QD-based probes for cancer imaging that were conjugated with cancer-specific ligands, antibodies, or peptides. QD-immunohistochemistry (IHC) has more sensitivity and specificity than traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC) and can accomplish measurements of even low levels, offering considerably higher information for individualized management. Imaging utilizing quantum dots has emerged as a promising technology for early cancer detection[25,26].

Nanoshells and gold nanoparticles/gold nanoshells (AuNSs) are an excellent example of how combining nanoscience and biomedicine can solve a biological problem. They have an adjustable surface plasmon resonance, which can be set to the near-infrared to achieve optimal penetration of tissues. During laser irradiation, AuNSs' highly effective light-to-heat transition induces thermal destruction of the tumor without harming healthy tissues. AuNSs can even be used as a carrier for a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic substances[27].

Dendrimers: These are novel nanoarchitectures with distinguishing characteristics such as a spherical three-dimensional shape, a monodispersed uni-micellar nature, and a nanometric size range. The biocompatibility of dendrimers has been employed to deliver powerful medications such as doxorubicin. This nanostructure targets malignant cells by attaching ligands to their surfaces. Dendrimers have been intensively investigated for targeting and delivering cancer therapeutics and magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. The gold coating on its surface significantly reduced their toxicity without significantly affecting their size. It also served as an anchor for attaching high-affinity targeting molecules to tumor cells [28].

Liposomal nanoparticles (Figure 1): These have a role in delivery to a specific target spot, reducing biodistribution toxicity because of the surface-modifiable lipid composition, and have a structure similar to cell membranes. Liposome-based theranostics (particles constructed for the simultaneous delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic moieties) have the advantage of targeting specific cancer cells.Liposomes are more stable in the bloodstream and increase the solubility of the drug. They also act as sustained release preparations and protect the drug from degradation and pH changes, thereby increasing the drug's circulating half-life. Liposomes help to overcome multidrug resistance. Drugs such as doxorubicin, daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, paclitaxel, cytarabine, and irinotecanare used with liposome delivery [29-31].

Polymeric micelles: Micelles are usually spherical particles with a diameter of 10-100 nm, which are self-structured and have a hydrophilic covering shell and a hydrophobic core, suspended in an aqueous medium. Hydrophobic medicines can be contained in the micelle's core. A variety of molecules having the ability to bind to receptors, such as aptamers, peptides, antibodies, polysaccharides, and folic acid, are used to cover the surface of the micelle in active tumor cell targeting. Enzymes, ultrasound, temperature changes, pH gradients, and oxidationare used as stimuli in micelle drug delivery systems. Various physical and chemical triggers are used as stimuli in micelle drug delivery systems. pH-sensitive polymer micelle is released by lowering pH. A co-delivery system transports genetics, as well as anticancer medicines. Although paclitaxel is a powerful microtubule growth inhibitor, it has poor solubility, which causes fast drug aggregation and capillary embolisms. Such medicines' solubility can beraised to 0.0015-2 mg/ml by encapsulating them in micelles. Polymeric micelles are now being tested for use in nanotherapy [32].

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs): Carbon from burned graphite is used to create hollow cylinders known as carbon nanotubes (CNTs). They possess distinct physical and chemical characteristics that make them interesting candidates as carriers of biomolecules and drug delivery transporters. They have a special role in transporting anticancer drugs with a small molecular size. Wu et al. formed amedicine carrier system using multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) and the 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) anticancer compound. As a spacer between MWCNTs and HCPT, they employed hydrophilic diamine trimethylene glycol. In vitro and in vivo, their HCPT-MWCNT conjugates showed significantly increased anticancer efficacy when compared to traditional HCPTformulations. These conjugates were able to circulate in the blood longer and were collected precisely at the tumor site [33,34].

Limitations

Manufacturing costs, extensibility, safety, and the intricacy of nanosystems must all be assessed and balanced against possible benefits. The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles in biological systems determine their biocompatibility and toxicity. As a result, stringent manufacturing and delineation of nanomaterials for delivery of anticancer drugs are essential to reduce nanocarrier toxicity to surrounding cells. Another barrier to medication delivery is ensuring public health safety, as issues with nanoparticles do not have an immediate impact. The use of nanocarriers in cancer treatment may result in unforeseen consequences. Hypothetical possibilities of environmental pollution causing cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality, production of reactive oxygen species causing inflammation and toxicity, and neuronal or dermal translocations are a few possibilities that worry scientists. Nanotoxicology, a branch of nanomedicine, has arisen as a critical topic of study, paving the way for evaluating nanoparticle toxicity [35-37].

Nanotechnology has been one of the recent advancements of science that not only has revolutionized the engineering field but also is now making its impact in the medical and paramedical field. Scientists have been successful in knowing the properties and characteristics of these nanomaterials and optimizing them for use in the healthcare industry. Although some nanoparticles have failed to convert to the clinic, other new and intriguing nanoparticles are now in research and show great potential, indicating that new treatment options may be available soon. Nanomaterials are highly versatile, with several benefits that can enhance cancer therapies and diagnostics.

These are particularly useful as drug delivery systems due to their tiny size and unique binding properties. Drugs such as doxorubicin, daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, paclitaxel, cytarabine, irinotecan, and amphotericin B are already being conjugated with liposomes for their delivery in current clinical practices. Doxorubicin, cytarabine, vincristine, daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, and paclitaxel, in particular, are key components of cancer chemotherapy. Even in the diagnosis of cancer for imaging and detection of tumor markers, particles such as nanoshells, dendrimers, and gold nanoparticles are currently in use.

Limitations of this novel technology include manufacturing expenses, extensibility, intricacy, health safety, and potential toxicity. These are being overcome adequately by extensive research and clinical trials, and nanomedicine is becoming one of the largest industries in the world. A useful collection of research tools and clinically practical gadgets will be made available in the near future thanks to advancements in nanomedicine. Pharmaceutical companies will use in vivo imaging, novel therapeutics, and enhanced drug delivery technologies in their new commercial applications. In the future, neuro-electronic interfaces and cell healing technology may change medicine and the medical industry when used to treat brain tumors.

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The Application of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: A Review - Cureus

Sep 14, 2022(Nanowerk News) Researchers around the world are working to develop efficient materials to convert CO2 into usable chemical substances work that is particularly pressing in view of global warming.A team from the University of Gttingen, Germany, and the Ulsan National Institute for Science, South Korea, has discovered a new and promising approach: catalytically active molecules are nanoconfined meaning they are put into an environment that leaves very little space for the single molecules on a surface that serves as a conductive electron supplier. These molecules promote specific chemical reactions. Such hybrid systems make use of both the properties of the molecules and the properties of the substrate.The results were published in Science Advances ("Making and breaking of chemical bonds in single nanoconfined molecules").Image showing how the catalytically active molecules arranged themselves into almost perfect single-layer structures on a polished silver surface. (Image: Ole Bunjes)The first step for the team was to deposit the catalytically active molecules as a vapour onto polished silver before examining them with a high-resolution scanning tunneling microscope built in Gttingen."To our absolute astonishment, the molecules arrange themselves, as if by magic, into almost perfect single-layer structures on the surface," says Lucas Paul, PhD student, University of Gttingen, and co-author of the study."In addition to imaging individual molecules, the energy of the injected electrons can be adjusted so precisely in the scanning tunneling microscope that chemical reactions can be induced and observed in a single molecule," explains physicist Professor Martin Wenderoth.Wenderoth led the project together with chemist Professor Inke Siewert, at the University of Gttingens Collaborative Research Centre 1073 Atomic Scale Control of Energy Conversion. Siewert adds, "We are able to very precisely break individual chemical bonds."The researchers show that molecules that are particularly densely packed on the surface have altered chemical properties. Thus, exclusively for the "trapped" molecules the bond can be broken and subsequently also restored, since the separated part of the molecule can only move very slightly away from the rest of the molecule."This shows how a lack of space, at an atomic level, can be used to manipulate chemical reactions," says first author Ole Bunjes, University of Gttingen.The research team wants their experiments to contribute to the development of efficient molecular surface systems with precisely determined properties. In addition, they want to investigate whether their new system is suitable as a molecular data memory.

Original post:
Making and breaking of chemical bonds in single nanoconfined molecules - Nanowerk

On September 7, 2022, the United States Department ofAgriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service(USDA-APHIS) announced the completion of the firstRegulatory Status Review (RSR) of a genetically engineered plantunder the SECURE rule. APHIS concluded that a new geneticallyengineered tomato produced by Norfolk Plant Sciences is unlikely topose an increased plant pest risk compared to a conventionaltomato, and is therefore not subject to regulation under the SECURErule. This means that these tomato plants, which have beenengineered to produce deep purple tomatoes with enhancednutritional quality, may be legally imported, moved interstate, or"released" into the environment (including, for example,in a field trial) in the United States without a permit fromAPHIS.

Notably, this finding also means that subsequent genetictransformation events involving the same combination of plantspecies, trait, and mechanism of action ("PTMOA") asNorfolk Plant Sciences' purple tomatoes are also no longerregulated under the SECURE rule. Thus, other subspecies andvarieties of Solanum lycopersicum that have been modifiedto produce the same trait by the same mechanism ofactioneven if by different transgenic eventsare nowexempt under 340.1(c) of the SECURE rule. More informationon this so-called PTMOA exemption is available in APHIS's"Guide for Requesting a Confirmation of Exemptionfrom Regulations under 7 CFR part 340" (published August31, 2022; document ID BRS-GD-2020-0001). This approach is differentfrom the "event-by-event" regulation that was previouslyrequired, and represents the first time that APHIS has made an RSRdetermination under its new rules.

Additional information about the contours of the SECURE rule andthe genetic engineering that Norfolk Plant Sciences used to producetheir purple tomato is provided below.

The SECURE rule (7 CFR part 340) governs how APHISregulates certain organisms developed using genetic engineering,with the goal of protecting U.S. agriculture from plant pest risksunder the Plant Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7701et seq.). It replaced the previous version of 7 CFR part 340, whichhad been in place largely unchanged since APHIS's biotechnologyregulations were established in 1987, in phases between May 18, 2020 and October 1,2021.

The new regulations completely overhauled and streamlined theregulatory process for assessing the plant pest risk oforganisms developed using genetic engineering, taking into accountadvances in scientific understanding, and focusing more on theproperties of the engineered organism and less on the method(s)used to produce it.

The revised regulations exempt certain types of modificationsfrom regulation; such exemptions are self-determined, though developers may voluntarily requestconfirmation from APHIS that a given exemption applies. Thisexemption/confirmation process replaced the previous "Am I Regulated?"process on June 17, 2020, and APHIS has since issued 15 confirmation lettersas of this writing, with the earliest in April 2021.

However, no plant had made it through the new RSR process untilnow. The RSR process is an option for instances in which no SECURErule exemptions apply to a given engineered plant, but thedeveloper feels that the plant nonetheless does not pose anincreased plant pest risk and should therefore not be regulated bythe SECURE rule. The RSR process replaced the previous"petition" process for requesting deregulation from 7 CFRpart 340 due to low likelihood of posing a plant pest risk.

The RSR process became available for corn, soybean, cotton,potato, tomato, and alfalfa on April 5, 2021, and for all otherplant species on October 1, 2021. APHIS received Norfolk PlantSciences' RSR request on August 4, 2021 and responded onSeptember 6, 2022 (both the request and the response documents areavailable here, under RSR number 21-166-01rsr). As ofthis writing, Norfolk Plant Sciences' tomato is the only RSRrequest publicly available on APHIS's website.

Under the RSR process, APHIS reviews "the biologicalproperties of the plant; and the trait (or new characteristic); andthe mechanism of action (or how the genetic modification causes thenew trait to occur)" in order to evaluate plant pest risk. There are twopotential steps to this process, depending on what APHIS determinesduring the first step. In Step 1, APHIS identifies whether theengineered plant poses a plausible pathway to increased plant pestrisk compared to a "comparator" plant. If APHIS finds nosuch pathway, the RSR process concludes, and APHIS notifies therequestor that the plant in question is not subject to regulationunder the SECURE rule. This was the outcome for Norfolk PlantSciences' tomato.

On the other hand, if APHIS does determine that the engineeredplant may plausibly pose an increased plant pest risk, there areseveral potential next steps. First, the developer may accept thatthe plant is regulated under the SECURE rule, and then eitherrequest a permit before moving or releasing the plant, or take nofurther action and not move or release the plant. Alternatively oradditionally, the developer may request that APHIS proceed to Step 2 of the RSR process, which entails amore involved review, subsequent publication in the FederalRegister, and solicitation and review of public comments before afinal determination. As of this writing, no plant has gone throughthis second step of the RSR process.

As described in its RSR request, Norfolk Plant Sciences createdits purple tomato plant by Agrobacterium-mediatedinsertional mutagenesis of the "MicroTom" tomato variety,and subsequent crossing into other tomato varieties. The plants areengineered to increase expression of their natural anthocyaninpigments, which is what causes the fruits to have a deep purplecolor and also enhances their nutritional value.

Specifically, the inserted DNA contains two transcriptionfactors from the snapdragon plant (Antirrhinum majus),which serve to activate production of the tomato's nativeanthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, causing increased anthocyaninproduction. Each of these two transcription factor genes, calledDel and Ros1, is expressed from the T-DNA under anative tomato promotor that causes fruit-specific expression. TheT-DNA also includes the nptII selectable marker with apromotor and terminator from Agrobacterium tumefaciens,which have a decades-long history of safe use and consumption.

Complete genome sequencing revealed that the T-DNA was insertedat a single site in chromosome 4, accompanied by several smalldeletions. Phenotypic evaluation of the transformed plants revealedthat they grew effectively the same as non-transgenic tomatoes,except that they produce deep purple fruit with significantlyhigher anthocyanin content. Photos of the plants and fruit areavailable in the published RSR request.

APHIS considered the information disclosed in Norfolk PlantSciences' RSR request, alongside "publicly availableresources, and APHIS' familiarity with tomato and knowledge ofthe trait, phenotype, and mechanism of action" and "didnot identify any plausible pathway by which [the] modified tomato,or any of its sexually compatible relatives, would pose anincreased plant pest risk relative to a comparator tomato"(21-116-01 RSR Response, page 1). As such, APHIS concluded thatthese purple tomatoes are not subject to regulation under theSECURE rule.

It is important to note that deregulation from APHIS'sSECURE rule does not mean that the plant is wholly removed fromU.S. federal regulatory oversight. For example, regulationsimplemented by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and/or other arms of USDA(such as Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) import and exportregulations, and/or Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) labelingrequirements) may still apply. Along those lines, Norfolk PlantSciences' RSR request states that Norfolk Plant Sciencessubmitted a food and feed safety and nutritional assessment of thePurple Tomato to FDA under the voluntary Biotechnology Notification Consultationprogram, which was received as BNF number 178. As of thiswriting, FDA has not yet published a completed consultation forNorfolk Plant Sciences' purple tomato.

This regulatory review is an important milestone for regulationof genetically engineered plants in the United States. It is thefirst public test of the SECURE rule's RSR process since itsimplementation more than a year ago, when it became one of the mostscientifically progressive such review processes in the world, atleast on paper. The deregulation of Norfolk Plant Sciences'purple tomatoes shows that USDA-APHIS is embracing its newproduct-focused regulations. Although the review took more than ayearsignificantly longer than the 180 days promised by APHIS for Step1the process will likely become more efficient as the agencyand developers become more familiar and comfortable with the newsystem. It will be interesting to see how the exemption and reviewprocesses grow and possibly become more streamlined with additionaluse.

Because of the generality of this update, the informationprovided herein may not be applicable in all situations and shouldnot be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particularsituations.

Morrison & Foerster LLP. All rights reserved

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Purple Tomato Is First Genetically Engineered Plant To Be Deregulated Through USDA's New Regulatory Status Review Process - Life Sciences,...

A startup company founded by a Waterloo Engineering professor and two of his graduate students has won US $250,000 to expand and commercialize green technology for the packaging industry.

Nfinite Nanotechnology was launched on Earth Day in 2021 by Kevin Musselman, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, and Chee Hau Teoh (MASc 20) and Jhi Yong Loke (MASc 21), who earned masters degrees while developing the technology in his lab.

Based in Waterloo, Nfinite was announced this week as one of two winners of seed funding from Amcor, an international packaging company with US $15 billion in annual sales in 43 countries.

Chee Hau Teoh is CEO of nanotechnology startup Nfinite, a spinoff from Waterloo Engineering.

We are excited to work with industry leaders the calibre of Amcor to rethink and redefine packaging for a circular economy, Teoh, the chief executive officer, said in a media release.

Nfinite is developing nanocoating technology to keep products fresh and enable the use of sustainable packaging.

Its vapor-deposited nanocoating, applied at low temperature in the open air without a vacuum chamber, is described as eco-friendly, solvent-free, ultrathin and multifunctional.

Amcor launched its seed funding initiative, called Amcor Lift-Off, to target breakthrough, state-of-the-art technologies and make the future of packaging more sustainable.

The other winner, Bloom Biorenewables, converts plant waste into chemicals that are used in packaging. It is based in Switzerland.

Both start-ups are rooted in a culture of innovation and creativity, looking to break boundaries and disrupt the packaging industry as we know it, Frank Lehmann, a vice president at Amcor, said in the media release.

Photo by SHVETS productions

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Going green with Nfinite | Waterloo News - The Iron Warrior

The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MITs research enterprise in Singapore has announced a five-year grant awarded to the SMART Innovation Center (SMART IC) by the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) as part of its Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan. The SMART IC plays a key role in accelerating innovation and entrepreneurship in Singapore and will channel the grant toward refining and commercializing developments in the field of deep technologies through financial support and training.

Singapore has recently expanded its innovation ecosystem to hone deep technologies to solve complex problems in areas of pivotal importance. While there has been increased support for deep tech here, with investments in deep tech startups surging from $324 million in 2020 to $861 million in 2021, startups of this nature tend to take a longer time to scale, get acquired, or get publicly listed due to increased time, labor, and capital needed. By providing researchers with financial and strategic support from the early stages of their research and development, the SMART IC hopes to accelerate this process and help bring new and disruptive technologies to the market.

SMARTs Innovation Center prides itself as being one of the key drivers of research and innovation, by identifying and nurturing emerging technologies and accelerating them towards commercialization, says Howard Califano, director of SMART IC. With the support of the NRF, we look forward to another five years of further growing the ecosystem by ensuring an environment where research and research funds are properly directed to what the market and society need. This is how we will be able to solve problems faster and more efficiently, and ensure that value is generated from scientific research.

Set up in 2009 by MIT and funded by the NRF, the SMART IC furthers SMARTs goals by nurturing promising and innovative technologies that faculty and research teams in Singapore are working on. Some emerging technologies include, but are not limited to, biotechnology, biomedical devices, information technology, new materials, nanotechnology, and energy innovations.

Having trained over 300 postdocs since its inception, the SMART IC has supported the launch of 55 companies that have created over 3,300 jobs. Some of these companies were spearheaded by SMARTs interdisciplinary research groups, including biotech companies Theonys and Thrixen, autonomous vehicle software company nuTonomy, and integrated circuit company New Silicon. During the RIE 2020 period, 66 Ignition Grants and 69 Innovation Grants were awarded to SMARTs researchers, as well as faculty at other Singapore universities and research institutes.

The following four programs are open to researchers from education and research facilities, as well as institutes of higher learning, in Singapore:

Innovation Grant 2.0: The enhanced SMART Innovation Centers flagship program, the Innovation Grant 2.0, is a gated three-phase program focused on enabling scientist-entrepreneurs to launch a successful venture, with training and intense monitoring across all phases. This grant program can provide up to $800,000 Singaporean dollars and is open to all areas of deep technology (engineering, artificial intelligence, biomedical, new materials, etc). The first grant call for the Innovation Grant 2.0 is open through Oct. 15. Researchers, scientists, and engineers at Singapores public institutions of higher learning, research centers, public hospitals, and medical research centers especially those working on disruptive technologies with commercial potential are invited to apply for the Innovation Grant 2.0.

I2START Grant: In collaboration with SMART, the National Health Innovation Center Singapore, and Enterprise Singapore, this novel integrated program will develop master classes on venture building, with a focus on medical devices, diagnostics, and medical technologies. The grant amount is up to S$1,350,000. Applications are accepted throughout the year.

STDR Stream 2: The Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR) program is jointly operated by SMART, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and the Experimental Drug Development Center. The grant is available in two phases, a pre-pilot phase of S$100,000 and a Pilot phase of S$830,000, with a potential combined total of up to S$930,000. The next STDR Pre-Pilot grant call will open on Sept. 15.

Central Gap Fund: The SMART IC is an Innovation and Enterprise Office under the NRFs Central Gap Fund. This program helps projects that have already received an Innovation 2.0, STDR Stream 2, or I2START Grant but require additional funding to bridge to seed or Series A funding, with possible funding of up to S$5 million. Applications are accepted throughout the year.

The SMART IC will also continue developing robust entrepreneurship mentorship programs and regular industry events to encourage closer collaboration among faculty innovators and the business community.

SMART, through the Innovation Center, is honored to be able to help researchers take these revolutionary technologies to the marketplace, where they can contribute to the economy and society. The projects we fund are commercialized in Singapore, ensuring that the local economy is the first to benefit, says Eugene Fitzgerald, chief executive officer and director of SMART, and professor of materials science and engineering at MIT.

SMART was established by MIT and the NRF in 2007 and serves as an intellectual and innovation hub for cutting-edge research of interest to both parties. SMART is the first entity in the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise. SMART currently comprises an Innovation Center and five Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Antimicrobial Resistance, Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine, Disruptive and Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Future Urban Mobility, and Low Energy Electronic Systems.

The SMART IC was set up by MIT and the NRF in 2009. It identifies and nurtures a broad range of emerging technologies including but not limited to biotechnology, biomedical devices, information technology, new materials, nanotechnology, and energy innovations, and accelerates them toward commercialization. The SMART IC runs a rigorous grant system that identifies and funds promising projects to help them de-risk their technologies, conduct proof-of-concept experiments, and determine go-to-market strategies. It also prides itself on robust entrepreneurship boot camps and mentorship, and frequent industry events to encourage closer collaboration among faculty innovators and the business community. SMARTs Innovation grant program is the only scheme that is open to all institutes of higher learning and research institutes across Singapore.

More here:
SMART Innovation Center awarded five-year NRF grant for new deep tech ventures - MIT News

India is brimming with biotech companies and a young and skilled workforce. Heres a quick glance at the private healthcare biotechs in India that captured investors imaginations in the last couple of years.

India has historically been known for its large IT, pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing sectors, but is also a force to be reckoned with in the global biotechnology market. The nation boasts around 5,000 biotech companies, with more than 4,000 being startups. This startup count is expected to reach 10,000 by 2024.

With a huge population of young and skilled workers, India has many ingredients for expanding the number of its biotech companies in the coming years. Add to this a large patient pool for lifestyle-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, and there is a large potential for generating innovations in healthcare.

Weve assembled a shortlist of the hottest private biotech companies in India by checking whos raised impressive cash in the last few years. These companies are carrying out innovative healthcare research and are primarily based in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Founded: 2014

Headquarters: Bengaluru, India and Saratoga, U.S.

Bugworks has multiple sites in the U.S. and Australia with a research and development base in India. The firm specializes in the development of antibiotics that could address the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance.

Bugworks lead candidate antibiotic blocks the replication machinery in invading bacteria. In addition, the drug is designed to bypass normal resistance mechanisms in bacteria, which could make it harder for strains to become resistant to the treatment.

The company is testing its antibiotic in phase 1 trials for the treatment of multi-drug resistant infections in collaboration with the nonprofit initiatives CARB-X and the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP).

Bugworks is financing its antibiotics research with a $18 million Series B1 round closed in February 2022. In addition, Bugworks will use the proceeds to fund the preclinical development of a dual-acting drug to treat cancer.

Founded: 2012

Headquarters: Mumbai

Epigeneres Biotech hit the headlines in January 2022 with a $6 million Series B funding round. The Indian biotech company is using the cash to develop a wide range of different technologies in its arsenal, including cancer tests, nanotechnology-based medicines and nutraceuticals.

Cancer detection is Epigeneres most recent pursuit. In 2021, the firm teamed up with the Singaporean company Tzar Labs to develop cancer diagnostics that screen for telltale RNA molecules from tumors at early stages of disease. Epigeneres is poised to launch a screening service in India based on the technology.

Epigeneres also has nucleic acid drugs in development for the treatment of conditions ranging from infertility to renal failure to autoimmune diseases. The firm uses a form of nanotechnology to boost the delivery of the drugs to the target cells.

In addition, Epigeneres is working on small molecule drugs that can increase the population of stem cells in the body in a regenerative medicine setting.

Founded: 2016

Headquarters: Bengaluru

In August 2022, Eyestem caught the eye of investors in a $6.4 million Series A round. The Indian biotech startup is working on cell therapies for eye disorders, with a flagship therapy in the pipeline for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD).

There is currently no treatment for dry AMD. In patients with the condition, the eye accumulates cellular debris, which causes destructive inflammation in the retina. This leads to a loss of retinal pigment epithelium, the layer of cells that support the photosensitive cells we need to see.

Eyestem is developing an off-the-shelf stem cell therapy to replace lost retinal pigment epithelium. The biotech has earmarked money from its recent Series A round for preparing its cell therapy for early-stage clinical testing.

Founded: 2019

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Immuneel Therapeutics is making waves in the field of autologous CAR-T cell therapy, where a patients immune T cells are removed, engineered in the lab to kill blood cancer cells, and reinfused into the patient. There are CAR-T therapies already available, but these complex, expensive therapies are currently limited to only the wealthiest countries.

Immuneels mission is to develop CAR-T therapies that are accessible and affordable in India. To support this push, the company raised $15 million in June 2022 in a Series A round.

The therapies in Immuneels pipeline are targeted to various types of blood cancer in children and adult patients. As the Indian biotech closed its Series A round, Immuneel kicked off a phase 2 trial of a CAR-T therapy in what it claims is the first industry-sponsored CAR-T trial in India.

Founded: 2013

Headquarters: Bengaluru and Wilmington, U.S.

MedGenome has sites around the globe, with a large part of its operations and genetic testing situated in, and targeted to, India.

The company carries out genomics-focused research and diagnostics services for biopharma clients that can help in the development of drugs tackling cancer, diabetes, eye conditions and cardiovascular diseases. To provide a rich dataset, the company works with more than 500 hospitals in India.

MedGenome raised one of the Asia-Pacific regions biggest biotech investments in August 2022 a $50 million round led by Novo Holdings. The funds will be used to increase access to genetic testing in emerging markets, which have lagged behind the wealthier parts of the world.

MedGenome also aims to collect genetic data from a wide range of populations in Asia, which could provide a treasure trove of clinical insights for genes related to disease. In keeping with this aim, the company is a founding member of the initiative GenomeAsia 100K, which will analyze the genomes of 100,000 people from a range of Asian populations to speed up the development of precision medicine in this part of the world.

Read the rest here:
The five hottest private biotech companies in India - Labiotech.eu