Another Report Laments the Status of Carbon Nanotube Development

In the last half-a-decade we have witnessedonce-beloved carbon nanotubes (CNTs) slowly being eclipsed by graphene as the wonder material of the nanomaterial universe.

This changing of the guard has occurred primarily within the research community, where the amount of papers being published about graphene seems to be steadily increasing. But in terms of commercial development, CNTs still have a leg up on graphene, finding increasing use in creating light but strong composites. Nonetheless, the commercial prospects for CNTs have been taking hits recently, with some producers scaling down capacity because of lack of demand.

With this as the backdrop, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), famous for its estimate back in 2001 that the market for nanotechnology will be worth $1 trillion by 2015, has released a report based on a meeting held last September. The report, called Realizing the Promise of Carbon Nanotubes: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Pathway to Commercialization,offers recommendations on the commercialization path for CNTs.

None of the recommendations should come as a surprise to those who have followed the commercial travails of CNTs over the years. While one of the recommendations of the report seemingly incongruously urges the scaling up of CNT production, it would appear the report is recommending a particular kind of increase. The aim ofthe recommendation is to support a scaled-up manufacturing that would impart the same kind of functionality seen in individual CNTs for CNT-based bulk materials.

Also, for those who measure all nanomaterial research by the degree to which it addresses environmental concerns, the report ticks that box by highlighting the need for life-cycle assessments as products based on CNTs reach commercialization.

Over the years, there has been a regular stream of research that has improved upon CNT production, whether its for electronics applications or for advanced composites.

Despite these advances, it doesnt seem that anyone has been able to translate them into real-world products. Thats why the report contains what has come to be a fixture in any review on the status of nanomaterials: a lamentation of the innovation ecosystem.

It makes perfect sense that the report offers this recommendation: Use of public-private partnerships or other collaboration vehicles to leverage resources and expertise to solve these technical challenges and accelerate commercialization.

While urging the creation of a more effective innovation infrastructure is incumbent upon any report dealing with nanotechnology, it might be time for one of these groups to not only identify the need for it but also to outline what that infrastructure would look like and actually begin buidling it. Until then, were likely to see more reports such as these, which tell those who are likely to being paying attention all the things they already know.

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Another Report Laments the Status of Carbon Nanotube Development

The nanotech revolution: Sonia Trigueros | WIRED Health preview

From Fantastic Voyage to Star Trek'sSeven of Nine, the use of nanotechnology inside the human body has long been explored in science fiction. However, WIRED Health speaker Sonia Trigueros is working to make nanotechnology in healthcare a science fact.

Imagine a world without chemotherapy. Where cancer treatment consists of a pill that selectively targets and kills cancer cells without damaging healthy ones. She believes that world is within our reach, perhaps 20 years away.

Trigueros is co-director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Nanotechnology at the University of Oxford; she will speak at WIRED Health in the session A Nanoscale Approach to Cancer.

The purpose of her work -- using DNA molecules wrapped around single-walled carbon nanotubes -- is to create a highly efficient drug delivery system for use in the battlegrounds of cancer and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This use of nanoparticles in medicine could totally transform healthcare.

A molecular biologist, Trigueros works as part of an interdisciplinary team that includes chemists, physicists and engineers, all working towards creating new healthcare treatments through the use of nanotechnology.

"You are reading and learning from all the different methodologies," Trigueros says. "So you cannot stop learning." After eight years in the physics department she has had to learn a lot in order to speak the same scientific language as her colleagues.

But for Trigueros it's not just about collaboration. "It's about placing yourself out of your comfort zone," she says. "You have to be outside of your knowledge. You're collaborating with people but you have to know about their discipline. Because if not, it's going to be impossible."

Why? Because, she says, nanotechnology is a game-changer: "It is changing the way that we see science because it's impossible to do it in one discipline only."

When most people think about nanotechnology they think about making things smaller. However, for Trigueros that is not the most relevant aspect. She says the most relevant aspect is that when we use nanotechnology to make something smaller, the material changes and develops different properties: something light becomes heavier; metallics behave completely differently.

"What we have here is a new area of research," she says, "with completely new properties. And we only know about 10 percent of them. As soon as we know the basic properties of the materials the applications are millions. It's a new science."

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The nanotech revolution: Sonia Trigueros | WIRED Health preview

NNI publishes report on carbon nanotube (CNT) commercialization

IMAGE:This is a scanning electron microscopy image of the cross-section of a CNT yarn. view more

Credit: NASA

The National Nanotechnology Initiative today published the proceedings of a technical interchange meeting on "Realizing the Promise of Carbon Nanotubes: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Pathway to Commercialization," held at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters on September 15, 2014. This meeting brought together some of the Nation's leading experts in carbon nanotube materials to identify, discuss, and report on technical barriers to the production of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based bulk and composite materials with properties that more closely match those of individual CNTs and to explore ways to overcome these barriers.

A number of common themes and potential future research and development priorities emerged:

The outcomes of this meeting, as detailed in this report, will help inform the future directions of the NNI Nanotechnology Signature Initiative "Sustainable Nanomanufacturing: Creating the Industries of the Future," which was launched in 2010 to accelerate the development of industrial-scale methods for manufacturing functional nanoscale systems.

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To view the full document, visit http://www.nano.gov/2014CNTReport.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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NNI publishes report on carbon nanotube (CNT) commercialization

Power of Nanotechnology The Next Generation Digital World Future Plans Explained – Video


Power of Nanotechnology The Next Generation Digital World Future Plans Explained
Look around. Technology is all around us. We use it in every aspect of our lives. It enables us to do amazing things. But what if we could go further? What if we could go beyond the screen?...

By: Srinivas Nimmala

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Power of Nanotechnology The Next Generation Digital World Future Plans Explained - Video

NNI releases supplement to the president's 2016 budget

Budget provides $1.5 billion in funding; details progress on NSIs, collaborations between federal agencies

IMAGE:This is pie chart showing NNI Program Component Areas. view more

Credit: NNCO

The President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 provides $1.5 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a continued Federal investment in support of the President's priorities and innovation strategy. Cumulatively totaling more than $22 billion since the inception of the NNI in 2001, this funding reflects nanotechnology's potential to significantly improve our fundamental understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale and to translate that knowledge into solutions for critical national needs.

Nearly half of the requested budget is dedicated to applications-focused R&D and support for the Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives (NSIs), reflecting an increased emphasis within the NNI on accelerating the transition of nanotechnology-based discoveries from lab to market. The NSIs are multiagency initiatives designed to accelerate innovation in areas of national priority through enhanced interagency coordination and collaboration. Furthermore, the NNI has continued to grow its hallmark environmental, health, and safety (EHS) activities, which now account for more than 10% of the NNI's total budget (7% in dedicated EHS investments, as shown in the figure at left, plus approximately 3% in additional EHS-related investments within the NSIs).

"Right now, the NNI is focused on innovations that support national priorities, while maintaining a strong foundation of fundamental research in nanoscience," says Dr. Michael Meador, Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. "Our goal is to create an environment to foster technology transfer and new applications today, while supporting the basic research that will provide a continuing pipeline of new discoveries to enable future revolutionary applications tomorrow."

The President's 2016 Budget supports nanoscale science, engineering, and technology R&D at 11 agencies; another 9 agencies have nanotechnology-related mission interests or regulatory responsibilities. The NNI Supplement to the President's 2016 Budget documents activities of these agencies in addressing the goals and objectives of the NNI.

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To view the full document, visit http://www.nano.gov/2016BudgetSupplement.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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NNI releases supplement to the president's 2016 budget

N1 Technologies files patent for bio based non-petroleum motor oil

ABR Staff Writer Published 10 March 2015

Nanotechnology Research and Development company N1 Technologies has filed a patent for a bio-based non-petroleum motor oil.

The non-petroleum motor oil has been created, using a blend of plant oils with Tungsten and Carbon Nanotubes.

According to N1 Technologies, the green oil is capable of performing better than standard petroleum motor oil and the nanotechnology engineered into the organic oil is likely to allow the oil to transfer heat, reduce friction and increase the life of the motor oil.

N1 Technologies CEO Steve Lovern said: "Tests conducted on older high mileage vehicles have yielded tremendous results, one 200,000 mile engine still runs like new.

"A bio-degradable motor oil that can go toe to toe with the best petroleum motor oil is the Holy Grail and we believe we have it with NanoSave N1-Organic."

The Organic Bio-Based patent will facilitate assembly process for blending Nanotubes and various highly viscous all natural plant oils to form NanoSave N1-Organic.

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N1 Technologies files patent for bio based non-petroleum motor oil

FDA Adopts 3 Standards focusing on nanotechnology.

International Standard Developed under U.S. Leadership in ISO TC 229 WG 3

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently adopted three nanotechnology standards as part of a major update to the administrations List of Recognized Standards. The documents comprise a Technical Specification (TS) developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 229 on Nanotechnologies, and two standards developed by ASTM International (ASTM), a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and ANSI-accredited Standards Developer.

ISO/TS 14101, Surface characterization of gold nanoparticles for nanomaterial specific toxicity screening: FT-IR method, adopted by the FDA in January 2015, was developed by ISO TC 229, WG 3, Health, safety, and environment, under U.S. leadership. At the time of the documents publication, Dr. Laurie Locascio of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) served as the WG 3 Convenor, and Dr. Nam Woong Song of Korea served as the project leader. The U.S.s Dr. Vladimir Murashov of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) currently serves as WG 3 Convenor.

ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies defines nanotechnology as application of scientific knowledge to manipulate and control matter predominantly in the nanoscale (approximately 1 nm to 100 nm) to make use of size- and structure-dependent properties and phenomena distinct from those associated with individual atoms or molecules, or extrapolation from larger sizes of the same material. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling and manipulating matter at this length scale.

One of ISOs most active committees, ISO/TC 229 focuses on the development of nanotechnology standards, including those for terminology and nomenclature; metrology, and instrumentation, test methodologies; modeling and simulations; and science-based health, safety, and environmental practices. To ensure the U.S. is strongly represented throughout TC 229s areas of activity, the ANSI-accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO TC 229, administered by ANSI , formulates and delivers U.S. positions and proposals to ISO in all areas of nanotechnology. Mirroring ISO TC 229s four-WG structure, the U.S. TAG is made up of U.S. private- and public-sector experts in nanotechnology who serve as delegates for ISO TC 229 meetings, with Steve Brown of Intel Global Environmental Health and Safety serving as overall TAG Chair.

The FDA advises referring to the relevant documents for points to consider when assessing whether an FDA-regulated product involves the application of nanotechnology. Among the various properties of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), surface ligand characteristics are found to play an important role in determining the behavior of Au NPs, including the aggregation/agglomeration properties of Au NPs in solution, protein binding of these particles to surfaces in cell culture media, and toxicity of Au NPs to living cells.

The FDAs other adopted standards, ASTM E2490, Standard Guide for Measurement of Particle Size Distribution of Nanomaterials in Suspension by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS), and ASTM E2535, Standard Guide for Handling Unbound Engineered Nanoscale Particles in Occupational Settings, were developed by ASTMs Committee E56 on Nanotechnology.

More detailed information on all three documents referenced can be found in the ANSI-NSP Nanotechnology Standards Database at Nanostandards.ansi.org. For more information regarding either the ANSI-NSP or ANSI-Accredited U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 229, contact Ms. Heather Benko (senior manager, nanotechnology standardization activities, hbenko@ansi.org).

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

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FDA Adopts 3 Standards focusing on nanotechnology.

FDA Adopts Three Nanotechnology Standards

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently adopted three nanotechnology standards as part of a major update to the administrations List of Recognized Standards. The documents comprise a Technical Specification (TS) developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 229 on Nanotechnologies, and two standards developed by ASTM International (ASTM), a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and ANSI-accredited Standards Developer.

ISO/TS 14101, Surface characterization of gold nanoparticles for nanomaterial specific toxicity screening: FT-IR method, adopted by the FDA in January 2015, was developed by ISO TC 229, WG 3, Health, safety, and environment, under U.S. leadership. At the time of the documents publication, Dr. Laurie Locascio of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) served as the WG 3 Convenor, and Dr. Nam Woong Song of Korea served as the project leader. The U.S.s Dr. Vladimir Murashov of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) currently serves as WG 3 Convenor.

ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies defines nanotechnology as application of scientific knowledge to manipulate and control matter predominantly in the nanoscale (approximately 1 nm to 100 nm) to make use of size- and structure-dependent properties and phenomena distinct from those associated with individual atoms or molecules, or extrapolation from larger sizes of the same material. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling and manipulating matter at this length scale.

One of ISOs most active committees, ISO/TC 229 focuses on the development of nanotechnology standards, including those for terminology and nomenclature; metrology, and instrumentation, test methodologies; modeling and simulations; and science-based health, safety, and environmental practices. To ensure the U.S. is strongly represented throughout TC 229s areas of activity, the ANSI-accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO TC 229, administered by ANSI , formulates and delivers U.S. positions and proposals to ISO in all areas of nanotechnology. Mirroring ISO TC 229s four-WG structure, the U.S. TAG is made up of U.S. private- and public-sector experts in nanotechnology who serve as delegates for ISO TC 229 meetings, with Steve Brown of Intel Global Environmental Health and Safety serving as overall TAG Chair.

The FDA advises referring to the relevant documents for points to consider when assessing whether an FDA-regulated product involves the application of nanotechnology. Among the various properties of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), surface ligand characteristics are found to play an important role in determining the behavior of Au NPs, including the aggregation/agglomeration properties of Au NPs in solution, protein binding of these particles to surfaces in cell culture media, and toxicity of Au NPs to living cells.

The FDAs other adopted standards, ASTM E2490, Standard Guide for Measurement of Particle Size Distribution of Nanomaterials in Suspension by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS), and ASTM E2535, Standard Guide for Handling Unbound Engineered Nanoscale Particles in Occupational Settings, were developed by ASTMs Committee E56 on Nanotechnology.

More detailed information on all three documents referenced can be found in the ANSI-NSP Nanotechnology Standards Database at Nanostandards.ansi.org. For more information regarding either the ANSI-NSP or ANSI-Accredited U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 229, contact Ms. Heather Benko (senior manager, nanotechnology standardization activities, hbenko@ansi.org).

***

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

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FDA Adopts Three Nanotechnology Standards

Together, nanotechnology and genetic interference may tackle 'untreatable' brain tumors

Tel Aviv University researchers' groundbreaking strategy stops brain tumor cell proliferation with targeted nanoparticles

There are no effective available treatments for sufferers of Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and devastating form of brain tumor. The disease, always fatal, has a survival rate of only 6-18 months.

Now a new Tel Aviv University study may offer hope to the tens of thousands diagnosed with gliomas every year. A pioneer of cancer-busting nanoscale therapeutics, Prof. Dan Peer of TAU's Department of Department of Cell Research and Immunology and Scientific Director of TAU's Center for NanoMedicine has adapted an earlier treatment modality -- one engineered to tackle ovarian cancer tumors -- to target gliomas, with promising results.

Published recently in ACS Nano, the research was initiated by Prof. Zvi R. Cohen, Director of the Neurosurgical Oncology Unit and Vice Chair at the Neurosurgical Department at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer. The Israeli Cancer Association provided support for this research.

Trying a new approach to gliomas

"I was approached by a neurosurgeon insistent on finding a solution, any solution, to a desperate situation," said Prof. Peer. "Their patients were dying on them, fast, and they had virtually no weapons in their arsenal. Prof. Zvi Cohen heard about my earlier nanoscale research and suggested using it as a basis for a novel mechanism with which to treat gliomas."

Dr. Cohen had acted as the primary investigator in several glioma clinical trials over the last decade, in which new treatments were delivered surgically into gliomas or into the surrounding tissues following tumor removal. "Unfortunately, gene therapy, bacterial toxin therapy, and high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy had all failed as approaches to treat malignant brain tumors," said Dr. Cohen. "I realized that we must think differently. When I heard about Dan's work in the field of nanomedicine and cancer, I knew I found an innovative approach combining nanotechnology and molecular biology to tackle brain cancer."

Dr. Peer's new research is based on a nanoparticle platform, which transports drugs to target sites while minimizing adverse effects on the rest of the body. Prof. Peer devised a localized strategy to deliver RNA genetic interference (RNAi) directly to the tumor site using lipid-based nanoparticles coated with the polysugar hyaluronan (HA) that binds to a receptor expressed specifically on glioma cells. Prof. Peer and his team of researchers tested the therapy in mouse models affected with gliomas and control groups treated with standard forms of chemotherapy. The results were, according to the researchers, astonishing.

"We used a human glioma implanted in mice as our preclinical model," said Prof. Peer. "Then we injected our designed particle with fluorescent dye to monitor its success entering the tumor cells. We were pleased and astonished to find that, a mere three hours later, the particles were situated within the tumor cells."

A safer, more promising approach

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Together, nanotechnology and genetic interference may tackle 'untreatable' brain tumors

Singh Center Director talks nanotechnology

PennEngineering professor Mark Allen

What goes on in the orange world behind the glass wallsof the nanotechnology building? The Daily Pennsylvanian sat down with Engineering professor Mark Allen, the Inaugural Scientific Director of the Singh Center for Nanotechnology, to get an inside look.

The Daily Pennsylvanian:What does nanotechnology actually mean?

Mark Allen: The best way to describe it is applying the science of the very small. There are two interesting things that happen when things get really small. One is that by being able to put very small things in close proximity you can build up complex systems. Weird quantum things also start to occur; things you normally think are intuitive, stop being intuitive.

DP:Why has this field become so popular recently?

MA: Over the past 20 years, the ability to manipulate things on small scales has become available. There have been tremendous examples of impactful successes, like the integrated circuit, that allow people to see the benefit of making things smaller and smaller.

DP:What is your area of research?

MA: Our research group is in the area of MEMS, which stands for micro-electro-mechanical systems. A lot of things that are sensed in the natural world are through these mechanical structures. For example, iPhones have small accelerometersinside that measure the acceleration due to gravity and adjusts the screen appropriately. These small mechanical structures started off as devices in cars to fire off airbags, since then they have become widespread.

DP:What are other applications for your research in MEMS?

MA:Some other things weve done in our groupweve built devices that are planted in the body and are used to measure pressures inside the body. This information can be communicated wirelessly to doctors and they can figure out how best to help people with heart failure.

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Singh Center Director talks nanotechnology

Invisibility may be possible with nanotechnology

For those set on sneaking into the nonexistentrestricted sectionof Van Pelt Library late at night, electrical and systems engineering professor NaderEngheta is working with materials that can bend light in a manner reminiscent of an invisibility cloak straight out of Harry Potter.

Engheta works with materials known as metamaterials, which are engineered to have certain properties that are not currently found in nature.When these materials are manipulated, theycan gain strange capabilities like the ability to bend waves around an object, hiding that object from sight.

You can write down the theoretical equations that show that you can bend light around an object, said professor Mark Allen, director ofthe Singh Center of Nanotechnology. Then what I would see is whats behind you. To me you would look invisible.

These metamaterials do not only work with waves of light they have also been used to bend heat around objects and reduce the scattering of electrons, which could increase the efficiency of electronic devices.

Waves are all around usfrom radio stations, micro-ovens and light, Engheta said. We work with how to control these waves with materials and structures that might make them do something unusual.

Some other applications for this technology could include blocking electromagnetic radiation andguiding cellphone tower signals.

However, this technology is not quite from a J.K. Rowling novel. It only worksover a narrow range of light, which means that only light of a particular color shown from a particular direction can be bent.So if someone or somethingwere to be invisible from the front, they would still be visible from the back.

Wharton Sophomore Luis De Castrois interested in the possible applications that these nanomaterials might offer.

It makes me excited for the future, saidDe Castro, who is also the captain of the Penn Quidditch teamBoth scientifically, and the idea that things that are so clearly magic arent.

Yet, Engheta's technology may never create a complete invisibility cloak because the daylight hours feature too many distinct wavelengths. Even so, his research may contribute to a more worldly application he has recently been investigating how scattering light throughmetamaterials cansolve complex mathematical equations.

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Invisibility may be possible with nanotechnology