TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today unveiled its next-generation EVG150 automated resist processing system. The high-volume coater/developer has been completely redesigned to provide customers with a flexible, modular platform that integrates spin coating and developing with EVG's advanced, proprietary spray coating technology.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120904/SF67114)

"Close collaboration with our customers made it clear that the next logical step for our coater/developer technology was to create a universal approach for high-volume processing of devices with more complicated structures and topographies," stated Markus Wimplinger, EV Group's corporate technology development and IP director. "This latest incarnation of our EVG150 system addresses customers' production needs for back-end lithography, conformal coating and planarization all in one modular, fully automated platform. Leveraging EVG's 15 years of experience in resist coating and developing, and particularly our spray coating, the EVG150 is ideally suited for high-volume coater/developer applications needing increased uniformity and process flexibility."

Part of EVG's resist processing equipment family, which addresses all wafer sizes up to 300 mm, the EVG150 platform can accommodate wafers from 50 mm to 200 mm in diameter, and enables up to four wet process modules to be combined with two stacks of hot plates, chill plates and vapor prime modules. The system performs spin coating, developing, spray coating and lift off, and its modular structure helps minimize system downtime and improve serviceability. Throughput is optimized via EVG's latest Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Framework software platform and unmatched process control.

EVG currently has more than 100 customers implementing its proprietary OmniSpray technology, which is also integrated into the new EVG150 resist processing platform. EVG's OmniSpray technology specifically allows the conformal coating of high topography surfaces via its proprietary ultrasonic nozzle. Spray coating technology is ideally suited for ultra-thin, fragile or perforated wafers. Additionally, the implementation of OmniSpray coating can result in a greater-than-80-percent reduction in material consumption compared to traditional spin coating. Another available option for the EVG150 platform is EVG's NanoSpray technology, which is an enhanced, patented coating technique that can coat surfaces with vertical sidewall angles thus, for example, enabling conformal coating of through-silicon vias (TSVs) with polymer liners and photoresist.

The modular EVG150 automated resist processing platform is available immediately for demonstration and evaluation.

For media interested in learning more about EVG's technology solutions, please visit EV Group at booth #1076 at SEMICON Taiwan in Taipei, where the company will be exhibiting from September 5-7, 2012.

EV Group (EVG) is a leading supplier of equipment and process solutions for the manufacture of semiconductors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), compound semiconductors and power devices, and nanotechnology devices. Key products include wafer bonding, thin-wafer processing, lithography/nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and metrology equipment, as well as photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems. Founded in 1980, EV Group services and supports an elaborate network of global customers and partners all over the world. More information about EVG is available at http://www.EVGroup.com.

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EV Group Unveils Its Next-Generation EVG150 Automated Resist Processing Platform For High-Volume Coating/Developing ...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bljlqk/plunketts_nanotec) has announced the addition of Plunkett Research Ltd's new book "Plunkett's Nanotechnology & MEMS Industry Almanac 2012: Nanotechnology & MEMS Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends & Leading Companies" to their offering.

Key Features:

- Industry trends analysis, market data and competitive intelligence

- Market forecasts and Industry Statistics

- Industry Associations and Professional Societies List

- In-Depth Profiles of hundreds of leading companies

- Industry Glossary

- Statistical Tables Provided: 8

- Companies Profiled: 279

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Research and Markets: Plunkett's Nanotechnology & MEMS Industry Almanac 2012: Nanotechnology & MEMS Industry Market ...

Solar Blocker helps to avoid sun damage to products while reducing energy costs

BRAMPTON, ON, Aug. 31, 2012 /CNW/ - Hy-Power Nano Inc. has launched its first nanotechnology enabled product, the Hy-Power Clear Liquid Solar Blocker, and demonstrated it to a group of customers at the International Conference Centre in Mississauga. The solar blocker is the first in a series of products to be developed by Hy-Power Nano and marks a key milestone in the company's progress in creating nanotechnology enabled products.

"While we all love sunlight, ultraviolet (UV) rays can be damaging and infrared (IR) rays are a source of energy costs," says Joseph Grzyb, President and CEO of Hy-Power Nano. "Our Clear Liquid Solar Blocker is so clear you can't see it on glass, yet it blocks 99.99 per cent of UV and 40 per cent of infrared rays. Since the product is liquid-based, it can be applied on a variety of glass surfaces and geometries."

"There are many applications for this product. For example, for retailers, that means products in windows won't fade from sunlight while allowing customers a completely unobstructed view of the goods in the window. Skylights coated with our product allow people to enjoy the comfort and natural light without any negative impacts. There are actually quite a range of needs addressed by this product," adds Grzyb.

Today's announcement is the culmination of two-and-a-half years work after Hy-Power's Grzyb recognized the potential impact of combining 46-years of industrial coating expertise with the promise of nanotechnology.

"We've had a tremendous response both from customers and investors who were in the room to see our product in action first-hand," adds Gryzb. "Companies have already approached us about partnerships and customers want to trial it on a variety of their properties. It's very exciting."

Hy-Power has already activated a sales campaign using internal and external sales teams and is working toward establishing strategic partnership to supply the Liquid Solar Blocker within Canadian, U.S. and global markets.

About Hy-Power Nano Inc.

Hy-Power Nano Inc. (www.hy-powernano.com) of Brampton, ON, is a subsidiary of Hy-Power Coatings Limited, Southern Ontario's premier coatings service provider with a 46-year track record of innovation and application of industrial coatings. Hy-Power Nano is developing "next generation" nanocoating products that can deliver exceptional solar blocking and thermal insulation benefits. Hy-Power has attracted the interest of a number of commercial partners seeking the use of nano-enabled coatings and paints to enhance the energy efficiency of their products and the growing demand for high quality nano oxides used as transparent conductors to enable touch screen functionality.

SOURCE: Hy-Power Nano Inc.

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Hy-Power Nano Inc. launches first nanotechnology enabled product

A Northwest Arkansas company is in the national spotlight for its nanotechnology innovation.

NanoMech has won an Innovator of the Year Award from the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA).

NanoMech is an international material science company based in Springdale.

"We are very proud of this recognition," said Jim Phillips, NanoMech Chairman and CEO. "The breakthrough technologies the NanoMech team has developed, such as nGlide, TuffTek, and TriboTuff, have led to this tremendous honor for our family of loyal employees and very supportive investors. NanoMech is focused on innovating by applying breakthrough novel science into "must-have" products bringing immediate and drastic improvement into existing major markets."

The NanoBCA is the industry's top trade organization dedicated to promoting the advancement and commercialization of nanotechnology while helping companies bring affordable, life-improving nanotech products to the market.

Mr. Vincent Caprio, the CEO of the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association said, "We are very proud to single NanoMech out of the vast field of up and coming emerging nanotechnology companies in America. NanoMech is a clear leader in converting massive brainpower and applied research to market-ready products that will disrupt huge companies overnight in the energy and manufacturing sectors, bringing immediate efficiency and performance improvements to these global industries! They are clearly a company to watch and at the top of our list."

Dr. Ajay P. Malshe, the CTO of NanoMech said, "In 2012 NanoMech commercialized two nano-engineered product platforms never achieved before. TriboTuff is a nano-inspired industrial lubricant which reduces friction (to near zero) and wear of mechanical parts by orders of magnitude allowing hundreds of percent enhancement in wear reduction in machines, vehicles, and components such as valves, gears and much more. These performance increases also produce incredible energy savings. Our second nanotechnology platform of products is TuffTek coated cutting tool inserts and wear parts made of carbides, metals and ceramics. As natural resources such as metals and ceramics are depleting nationally and globally, TuffTek radically transforms surfaces with nano engineered coating solutions, that increase the life of cutting tools and wear parts by as much as 1000% while enhancing their performance and sustainability."

NanoMech Inc. was founded in 2002 and creates advanced engineering materials through patent and patent-pending nano-inspired and nano-manufactured product development.

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70% TStorms

SPRINGDALE, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

NanoMech, an international material science company and leader in nanotechnology innovation, is pleased to announce that the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA) has selected it for the 2012 Top Emerging Nano Innovators Award.

We are very proud of this recognition, said Jim Phillips, NanoMech Chairman and CEO. The breakthrough technologies the NanoMech team has developed, such as nGlide, TuffTek, and TriboTuff, have led to this tremendous honor for our family of loyal employees and very supportive investors. NanoMech is focused on innovating by applying breakthrough novel science into "must-have" products bringing immediate and drastic improvement into existing major markets."

The NanoBCA (www.nanobca.org) is the industrys top trade organization dedicated to promoting the advancement and commercialization of nanotechnology while helping companies bring affordable, life-improving nanotech products to the market.

Mr. Vincent Caprio, the CEO of the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association said, "We are very proud to single NanoMech out of the vast field of up and coming emerging nanotechnology companies in America. NanoMech is a clear leader in converting massive brainpower and applied research to market-ready products that will disrupt huge companies overnight in the energy and manufacturing sectors, bringing immediate efficiency and performance improvements to these global industries! They are clearly a company to watch and at the top of our list."

Dr. Ajay P. Malshe, the CTO of NanoMech said, "In 2012 NanoMech commercialized two nano-engineered product platforms never achieved before. TriboTuff is a nano-inspired industrial lubricant which reduces friction (to near zero) and wear of mechanical parts by orders of magnitude allowing hundreds of percent enhancement in wear reduction in machines, vehicles, and components such as valves, gears and much more. These performance increases also produce incredible energy savings. Our second nanotechnology platform of products is TuffTek coated cutting tool inserts and wear parts made of carbides, metals and ceramics. As natural resources such as metals and ceramics are depleting nationally and globally, TuffTek radically transforms surfaces with nano engineered coating solutions, that increase the life of cutting tools and wear parts by as much as 1000% while enhancing their performance and sustainability."

About NanoMech:

NanoMech Inc., (www.NanoMech.com), was founded in 2002 and creates advanced engineering materials through patent and patent-pending nano-inspired and nano-manufactured product development. NanoMech is a pioneer in applying breakthrough nano-engineered innovations to robust areas of national interest including machining and manufacturing, lubrication and energy, and strategic military applications. NanoMech brings ideas from innovation to implementation, commercializing nanomanufactured products at record speed in the market. NanoMech is a member of President Obamas Materials Genome Initiative, a public / private collaboration with the aim of doubling the speed and reducing the cost of discovering, developing, and deploying new advanced materials. NanoMech is also a member of the U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative (USMCI) and the U.S. Technology Leadership and Strategy Initiative, (www.Compete.org) both based in Washington, DC.

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NanoMech Wins 2012 Innovator of the Year Award from Leading Nanotechnology Trade Organization

Public release date: 29-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Zenaida Kotala zenaida.kotala@ucf.edu 407-823-6120 University of Central Florida

A University of Central Florida assistant professor has developed a new material using nanotechnology, which could help keep pilots and sensitive equipment safe from destructive lasers.

UCF Assistant Professor Jayan Thomas, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University Associate Professor Rongchao Jin chronicle their work in the July issue of the journal Nano Letters. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl301988v)

Thomas is working with gold nanoparticles and studying their properties when they are shrunk into a small size regime called nanoclusters. Nanoparticles are already microscopic in size, and a nanometer is about 1/80000 of the thickness of a single strand of human hair. Nanoclusters are on the small end and nanocrystals are on the larger end of the nanoregime. Nano clusters are so small that the laws of physics that govern the world people touch and smell aren't often observed.

"Nanoclusters occupy the intriguing quantum size regime between atoms and nanocrystals, and the synthesis of ultra-small, atomically precise metal nanoclusters is a challenging task," Thomas said.

Thomas and his team found that nanoclusters developed by adding atoms in a sequential manner could provide interesting optical properties. It turns out that the gold nanoclusters exhibit qualities that may make them suitable for creating surfaces that would diffuse laser beams of high energy. They appear to be much more effective than its big sister, gold nanocrystal which is the (nano) material used by artists to make medieval church window paintings.

So why does it matter?

Think of commercial pilots or fighter pilots. They use sunglasses or helmet shields to protect their eyes from the sun's light. If the glasses or helmet shield could be coated with nanoclusters tested in Thomas' lab at UCF, the shield could potentially diffuse high-energy beams of light, such as laser. Highly sensitive instruments needed for navigation and other applications could also be protected in case of an enemy attack using high energy laser beams.

"These results give me great pleasure since the technique we used to study the optical properties of these atomically precise particle is one invented by UCF Professors Eric VanStryland and David Hagan many years ago," Thomas said. "But the progression we've made is very exciting."

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Breakthrough in nanotechnology

With food sustainability rising up the political agenda, understanding and managing shelf-life will be critical for future quality and profitability of food products.

The development of novel technologies to help solve this has been identified by the EU as one of the main drivers going forward, especially in creating intelligent and smart packaging solutions which could, for example, incorporate sensors to monitor the condition of food.

The workshop is being hosted by the Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN) alongside partners Biosciences KTN and Leatherhead Food Research.

The technologies under discussion will include pulsed light, high pressure processing, modified atmosphere packaging and pulsed electric fields.

In particular, demonstrations around category label technology will show how this can be used to display ripeness levels, defrosting indication and the ingress of other contaminants.

NanoKTN theme manager Dr Barry Park said that with increasing pressures on the food industry, events like this will be "crucial" to engaging the entire supply chain.

"More and more we are hearing about the need for food to stay fresher for longer, whilst maintaining consistent characteristics in terms of texture, colour and taste and also whilst still being healthy, safe and value for money," he said.

High-tech breakthroughs such as nanotechnology are now paving the way forward for future packaging innovations as companies look to optimise material performance in terms of product preservation and environmental impact.

Maxine Perella

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Nanotechnology takes centre stage in food waste talks

Under attack: policemen stand guard outside the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education after a letter bomb exploded there in August 2011.

A. FRANCO/AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

The shoe-box-sized package was addressed to Armando Herrera Corral. It stated that he was the recipient of an award and it was covered in official-looking stamps. Herrera, a computer scientist at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico City, shook the box a number of times, and something solid jiggled inside. What could it be? He was excited and a little nervous so much so, that he walked down the hall to the office of a colleague, robotics researcher Alejandro Aceves Lpez, and asked Aceves to open it for him.

Aceves sat down at his desk to tear the box open. So when the 20-centimetre-long pipe bomb inside exploded, on 8 August 2011, Aceves took the full force in his chest. Metal pierced one of his lungs. He was in intensive care. He was really bad, says Herrera's brother Gerardo, a theoretical physicist at the nearby Centre for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav). Armando Herrera Corral, who was standing nearby when the bomb went off, escaped with a burst eardrum and burns to his legs.

The next day, an eco-anarchist group calling itself Individuals Tending Towards Savagery (ITS) claimed responsibility for the bombing in a 5,500-word diatribe against nanotechnology that it published online. Police found a charred copy of a similar text in the detritus of the explosion. The bombers said that Herrera had been targeted for his role as director of the technology-transfer centre at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (commonly known as Monterrey Tec), one of the major universities that has staked everything on the development of nanotechnology. The text talked of the potential for the field to cause environmental nanocontamination, and concluded that technology and civilization as a whole should be held responsible for any environmental catastrophe. Chillingly, the bombers listed another five researchers at Monterrey Tec as presumptive targets, as well as a further six universities.

Reporter Leigh Phillips talks about anti-science violence in Mexico.

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The incident had precedent. The ITS had already claimed responsibility for bomb attacks in April and May 2011, both targeting Carlos Alberto Camacho Olgun, head of engineering and nanotechnology at the Polytechnic University of the Valley of Mexico in Tultitln. The first bomb wounded a security guard; the second was identified and disposed of before anyone could be hurt. Last December, the group struck again this time at the Polytechnic University of Pachuca, where a package containing gunpowder exploded in the hand of a teacher, causing minor burns (see 'A litany of letter bombs'). No other developing country has suffered a comparable string of anti-technology attacks.

One year on from the bombing at Monterrey Tec, the repercussions are still being felt. Armando Herrera Corral and Aceves will not speak to Nature about what happened. It's too sensitive, you understand? is all Aceves would say. Herrera has left his job as director of the university's technology park and is now head of postgraduate studies. Other Mexican universities with nanotechnology research programmes have evacuated campuses in response to bomb threats, and universities across the country have introduced stringent security measures. Some researchers are anxious for their own safety; some are furious about being targets. But all the researchers that Nature spoke to in Mexico are adamant that the attacks will not discourage them from their research or dissuade students from entering the field.

So far, there has been little explanation of where the vitriol is coming from. Why are radical environmental groups targeting nanotechnology? Is this field being confronted with the same sort of militant hostility that has dogged genetic-modification research and animal testing? And why Mexico?

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Nanotechnology: Armed resistance

Bangalore, Aug 28 (IANS) The fifth edition of Bangalore Nano 2012, the premier nanotechnology event Dec 6-7, will focus on business opportunities in the sunrise sector, which helps in improving the quality of life and environment, a Karnataka government official said Tuesday.

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Bangalore Nano to focus on business opportunities

Nanotechnology for food and other industries is receiving strong support in the Basque region of Spain, with cash being channelled to researchers through the EU Framework 7 research funding programme.

Thats according to Dr Yolanda de Miguel, research and development project manager working on nanostructured and eco-efficient materialsat Tecnalia Research & Innovations construction unit, sustainable development divisin.

The group is exploring a wide variety of pan industry studies, including nanotechnology, which de Miguel told FoodNavigator has broad applications for the food industry.

Some scientists are looking at ways of using nanotechnology to block cholesterol from entering the bloodstream. Others are looking at applying it to the area of food safety, using antimicrobial coatings for work surfaces.

'Bettering packaging'

Others are exploring its potential for use in packaging materials to extendproductshelf life, for example.Its being explored in bettering packagingby increasing its oxygen-barrier properties,"saidDr. de Miguel.

Major food brands such as Nestl, Unilever, Kraft and Heinz were known to be investigating nanotechnology and the Basque research would help support such endeavours, she said.

One of her major areas of focusat present is developingnano-coatingsfor different types ofsurfaces,which would in a sense make them self-cleaning. The coatings use nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, which at that size become translucent and react with oxygenand water moleculesin air to release high energy radicals, which destroy the cell wall of harmful microbes.These hydroxyl radicalswill alsodegradeorganic material on the surface, which meansthat the surfacestays clean for longer,said de Miguel.

Hydrophilic

Coating nanoparticlesof titanium dioxideonto a given surface can also make it hydrophilic, whichmeans water canbe used more easily to washit,plusthe surface does not show water droplets remaining on it as the droplets run easily off them.

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Basque region backs nanotechnology research

It is important to focus on nanotechnology field

The fifth edition of Bangalore Nano, the annual nanotechnology conference-cum-trade show organised by the Karnataka government, will be held on December 6 and 7.

C.N.R. Rao, scientific adviser to the Prime Minister, said that it was a matter of pride that his city, Bangalore, was at the forefront of leading and nurturing innovation in the field of nanotechnology. He spoke about his visit to Israel where he met a young researcher who wanted to use exhaled air and analyse molecules to detect cancer. Years later, Prof. Rao got to know that the researcher came up with a product called the nano nose that helps detect cancer. Such are the possibilities of nanotechnology, and this is why it is important to focus on this emerging field, he said.

Criticising the resistance among academia to collaborate on research work, Prof. Rao said that working together is imperative to move forward.

Nano, a game changer

Chief Secretary S.V. Ranganath said that Karnataka has taken an early lead in science and technology, and compared the nanotechnology scene now to what IT was two decades ago. Nano is going to be a game changer, and it presents a unique challenge as it applies across disciplines. He said that Karnataka has 396 research and development organisations and over 2,100 IT companies, and that over 40 per cent of software exports come from here.

The two-day event includes several plenary sessions on healthcare and medicine, aerospace and defence, electronics, food and agriculture, energy and environment, water management solutions and advanced materials.

The event organisers claim that over 100 leading international and domestic companies are slated to participate. A poster presentation session will display at least 120 posters, and 450 graduate level students will attend the event. As part of the conference, the Research Industry Collaboration Hub will be organised.

The pre-event schedule includes a pre-conference tutorial session on December 5 for delegates.

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Fifth edition of Bangalore Nano on December 6, 7

The Former Head of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Massoud's Research Spans Embedded Systems, Signal Processing, Nanotechnology, and BiotechnologyWorcester, MA (PRWEB) August 27, 2012 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) announced today that Yehia Massoud, PhD, will join the university on Sept. 1 as the new head of the university's ...

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Yehia Massoud Named Head of WPI's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

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ANSI Nanotechnology Standards Panel Meeting Announced for October in Washington, DC New York August 27, 2012

The American National Standards Institute's Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP) will hold a meeting on October 30, 2012, in Washington, DC. Formed in 2004, ANSI's NSP serves as the cross-sector coordinating body for the facilitation of standards development in the area of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology, linked to nanoscale science and engineering, involves the understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale, (approximately 1-to-100 nanometers), where unique phenomena allow for innovation and novel technological applications. The ANSI-NSP works to provide a forum for standards developing organizations (SDOs), government entities, academia, and industry to identify needs and establish recommendations for the creation or updating of standards related to nanotechnology and nanomaterials. In addition, the ANSI-NSP solicits participation from nanotechnology-related groups that have not traditionally been involved in the voluntary consensus standards system, while also promoting cross-sector collaborative efforts.

ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia said, Nanotechnology is a growing and vital field that has the potential to change current industries and pave the way to new ones. The ANSI-NSP looks forward to building on its record as a coordinator and facilitator of responsive nanotechnology standardization activities that keep pace with the fields advancement.

The ANSI-NSP encourages SDOs involved in nanotechnology standardization, representatives from companies working with nanomaterials or developing nanotechnology-based products and solutions, government agencies, consumer groups, and academics, to take part in the October meeting, which is free to attend. The meeting will include updates from SDOs developing nanotechnology standards and from industry representatives regarding their current needs in this area.

The meeting will take place on October 30, 2012, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the offices of the law firm Sidley Austin LLP (1501 K Street NW, Washington, DC). Individuals planning to attend the October NSP meeting may register online here. For more information, visit the event Web page or contact Heather Benko (hbenko@ansi.org), ANSI senior manager, nanotechnology standardization activities.

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ANSI Nanotechnology Standards Panel Meeting Announced for October in Washington, DC

23 August 2012 Last updated at 22:27 ET

Inhaling tiny fibres made by the nanotechnology industry could cause similar health problems to asbestos, say researchers.

Some are similar in shape to asbestos fibres, which have caused lung cancers such as mesothelioma.

Research on mice, published in Toxicology Sciences, suggests the longer nanofibres are more dangerous.

Human and mouse lungs are different, but the researchers hope the study will help to design safer nanofibres.

Nanofibres are in a range of goods, from airplane wings to tennis rackets.

Ken Donaldson, professor of respiratory toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Concern has been expressed that new kinds of nanofibres being made by nanotechnology industries might pose a risk because they have a similar shape to asbestos."

Silver nanofibres of varying lengths were injected into the lungs of mice.

Those larger than five micrometres, or five-thousandths of a millimetre, tended to become lodged in the lungs and cause inflammation. The smaller ones were cleared from the lungs.

Prof Donaldson said: "We knew that long fibres, compared with shorter fibres, could cause tumours, but until now we did not know the cut-off length at which this happened.

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Nanofibres 'may pose health risk'

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Industrial Nanotech, Inc. (Pink Sheets:INTK), an emerging global leader in nanotechnology based energy saving solutions, today announced that the Companys patented Nansulate(R) translucent thermal insulation and protective coating was specified into a recently awarded renovation project by the City of Miami. The nanotechnology based coating, which insulates while allowing through visible light and providing UV resistance, will be used for skylight insulation in the Caribbean Marketplace Renovation Project being undertaken by the City of Miami.

We look forward to having our technology be a part of the renovation of an important piece of South Florida history, stated Francesca Crolley, V.P. Business Development for Industrial Nanotech, Inc. Our coating technology is very well suited for use as skylight insulation because it provides an effective way to reduce heat transfer through glass or plexiglass, while also allowing transmission of approximately 92% of visible light, as tested on pane glass, and providing important UV resistance. Our coatings have been used in skylight applications at the Tampa Port Authority, The Vernon Bank in Louisiana, and at the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University, just to name a few. Skylights are often used in architecture to allow in natural daylight, which reduces the need for interior lighting. Unfortunately, without the protective advantage that Nansulate(R) offers, they can act as a problem area for heat loss and gain, therefore increasing cooling and heating costs. Another issue is glare and harmful UV rays streaming through the glass, which are all problems that our coating technology solves. Nansulate(R) translucent coatings are easy to apply, highly resistant to UV rays, and diffuse light... causing less glare. This combination of protective benefits along with energy savings make our technology a perfect option for insulation of skylights."

The return of the Caribbean Marketplace marks renewed efforts to boost tourism for Miami while preserving Little Haiti's history. The only building in South Florida to win the American Institute of Architects' national honor award, the structure was designed by Haitian-American Charles Harrison Pawley and inspired by the famed Iron Market in Port-au-Prince.

About Nansulate(R)

Nansulate(R) is the Company's patented product line of award winning, specialty coatings containing a nanotechnology based material and which are well-documented to provide the combined performance qualities of thermal insulation, corrosion prevention, resistance to mold growth, chemical resistance and lead encapsulation in an environmentally safe, water-based, coating formulation. The Nansulate(R) Product Line includes industrial, residential, agricultural and solar thermal insulation coatings. Additional information about the Company and its products can be found at their websites, (www.inanotk.com) and (www.nansulate.com). Blog: http://www.nansulate.com/nanoblog, Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/NanoPioneer, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Nansulate.

About Industrial Nanotech Inc.

Industrial Nanotech Inc. is a global nanoscience solutions and research leader and member of the U.S. Green Building Council. The Company develops and commercializes new and innovative applications for sustainable nanotechnology which are sold worldwide.

Safe Harbor Statement

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release includes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products, the ability to meet customer demand, the ability to manage growth, acquisitions of technology, equipment, or human resources, the effect of economic and business conditions, and the ability to attract and retain skilled personnel. The Company is not obligated to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

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Industrial Nanotech, Inc. Announces Another Skylight Project

In a nanotechnology two-for-one, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (Hopkins CCNE) have created a polymer nanoparticle that overcomes tumor resistance to the common anticancer agent doxorubicin and that protects the heart against drug-triggered damage, a therapy-ending side effect that limits doxorubicins effectiveness. This novel nanoparticle incorporates both doxorubicin and curcumin, a major component of the bright yellow spice turmeric.

This work was led by Anirban Maitra, a principal investigator in the Hopkins CCNE. Dr. Maitra and his colleagues published the results of their work in the journal Oncotarget.

Numerous studies over the past few years have shown that high doses of curcumin can overcome the resistance to multiple anticancer agents that many, if not most, tumors develop over time. Curcumin, however, is poorly soluble in the blood stream and as a result, getting high enough levels of this agent to tumors has proven challenging. Dr. Maitras approach to solving this problem has been to use polymer nanoparticles to deliver curcumin to tumors. He and his colleagues have published several papers over the past two years describing the development and behavior of their curcumin-nanoparticle formulation and its ability to make drug-resistant tumors susceptible to chemotherapy.

In their current paper, the investigators discuss how they prepared a polymer nanoparticle containing both curcumin and doxorubicin. Both in vitro and animal tests demonstrated that this formulation had striking anticancer activity in models of multiple myeloma, leukemia, and prostate and ovarian cancers. Perhaps equally important, the animals treated with the nanoparticle did not experience any cardiac toxicity or bone marrow suppression, even at cumulative doses that normally trigger cardiac toxicity by free doxorubicin or liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin, which was the first nanoparticle drug approved for use in treating cancer in humans and is widely used in treating breast cancer. Further examination of the heart-protecting characteristics of this formulation showed that encapsulating doxorubicin in a polymer nanoparticle spared heart muscle cells from oxidative stress normally triggered by doxorubicin.

This work is detailed in a paper titled, A composite polymer nanoparticle overcomes multidrug resistance and ameliorates doxorubicin-associated cardiomyopathy. An abstract of this paper is available at the journal's website.

More information: Abstract: http://www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path%5b%5d=543

Journal reference: Oncotarget

Provided by National Cancer Institute

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Polymer nanoparticle overcomes anticancer drug resistance

Over the past six years, the National Cancer Institutes (NCI) Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL), a key component of the NCIs Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, has characterized more than 250 different nanomaterials developed by over 75 research groups. This extensive experience has given NCL staff a unique perspective on how to design safe and biocompatible nanomaterials for human use. In a paper published in the journal Integrative Biology, the NCL team shared some of the lessons they have learned.

The NCL performs and standardizes the pre-clinical characterization of nanomaterials intended for cancer therapeutics and diagnostics developed by researchers from academia, government, and industry. The Lab serves as a national resource and knowledge base for cancer researchers, and facilitates the development and translation of nanoscale particles and devices for clinical applications. Scott McNeil, the NCLs director, and seven colleagues compiled the common pitfalls that nonmaterial developers encounter on their path from basic research, to products that will be tested as agents for imaging or delivering drugs to tumors in humans.

One important lesson for nanomaterial developers, who tend to be academic researchers with little experience developing products intended for clinical use, is that they need to focus more on ensuring that the materials they develop for testing in animals, and eventually humans, are sterile. A recent review of 75 samples arriving at the NCL for testing found that more than one-third showed evidence of bacterial contamination.

Another important lesson was that commercially available materials, whether they are nanomaterials or chemicals used to make nanomaterials, are not always what they appear to be. In some cases, these raw materials are contaminated with bacterial toxins, in other cases the products do not meet the specifications advertised by the manufacturers. Dr. McNeil and his colleagues note that it is in the researchers best interest to always characterize materials before proceeding with synthesis and more expensive functionalization and biological testing.

NCL staff also found that investigators need to do a better job purifying their nanomaterials of residue remaining from the processes they use to manufacture their nanoparticles and other formulations. In some cases, nanomaterials that appeared to be toxic were in fact biocompatible. Instead, it was production impurities that were causing toxicity issues. Additionally, NCL studies have shown that nanomaterial toxicity can often be eliminated by choosing slightly different starting materials that are incorporated into the final product but that do not play a role as an imaging agent or anticancer drug.

The last two lessons have to do with the importance of developing the right methods for assessing a nanomaterials stability in the body and the rate at which it releases its cargo at the intended target, the tumor. NCL team leaders recommend that nanomaterial developers employ multiple assays before beginning animal studies to determine these characteristics of their nanomaterials because single assays can often paint an incomplete picture that can lead to wasted time and money.

The work that produced these findings is described in more detail in a paper titled Common pitfalls in nanotechnology: lessons from the NCIs Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory. An abstract of this paper is available at the journals website.

More information: Abstract: DOI: 10.1039/C2IB20117H

Journal reference: Integrative Biology

Provided by National Cancer Institute

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Lessons learned in creating biomedical nanoparticles for human use

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 of 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 specifically target cancer proteins rather than attack cancer and noncancer cells indiscriminately. 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 nontoxic nanojackets that use 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 one-and-a-half 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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‘Nanojackets’ for treating breast cancer could be game changer for cancer care

There still is no decision from the Army Corps of Engineers about key preparations for land being marketed to nanotechnology companies as a chip fabrication site.

But local economic development officials say the process has become a race against time, as the multi-billion dollar industry ramps up for a shift in the way chips are produced.

We think the next site selection will be in 2013 and 2014, said Mohawk Valley EDGE economic development agency President Steve DiMeo. The major players and some of the support industry (are) talking about timelines for actually building and having output from a 450 mm plant.

DiMeo was referring to the new generation of nanotechnology chips, which will be made in a new 450 mm format.

Currently, most of the chips, which can be found in everything from cell phones to medical devices, are made many at a time on 300 mm wafers. Companies now want to make them on 450 mm wafers, so more of the tiny chips can be manufactured at once.

In September 2011, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $4.4 billion in private investment in nanotechnology initiatives in New York state.

That was in addition to the 2009 announcement that $45 million in state funds would be spent at SUNYIT to create a state of the art nanotechnology research and development compound.

Those investments are hoped to up the appeal of the Marcy site, which has been on the market for more than a decade. So far, about $16 million has been spent to prepare the site. A total of $39 million in work is planned.

Long time coming

The tussle with the Army Corps has been going on almost as long as the SUNYIT-owned site has been marketed to the nanotechnology industry.

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Officials continue to push for chip fab manufacturer

Dr. Scott Rickert, President and CEO of the nanotechnology company Nanofilm, will speak at the Global Polymer Innovation Expo in Columbus, Ohio, August 26-29, 2012, Columbus Convention Center, Battelle Hall, in Columbus, Ohio.Valley View, OH (PRWEB) August 15, 2012 Dr. Scott Rickert, President and CEO of the nanotechnology company [Nanofilm, will speak at the Global Polymer Innovation Expo in ...

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Scott Rickert, Nanofilm CEO, Addresses Global Polymer Innovation Expo on Fast-Tracking Commercialization of ...