1. Nanotechnology

Category Archives: Nanotechnology

Are nanoparticles the answer to cancer?

Posted on by

Story highlights Scientists in the U.S. are applying nanotechnology research to the battle against cancer and Ebola Man-made nanostructures would attach themselves to viruses or cancerous cells, nullifying them Nanostructured surfaces are already in use for medical conditions and implants, reducing the risk of infection

From targeted remedies such as monoclonal antibodies to surgery, cancer has still managed to elude a treatment that discretely and separately attacks it alone.

Nanotechnologies, however - the manipulation of matter at a molecular and even atomic scale to penetrate living cells -- are holding out the promise of opening a new front against deadly conditions from cancer to Ebola.

According to Dr Thomas Webster, the chair of chemical engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, research into medical nanotechnology is gaining pace and the medical establishment is starting to sit up and pay attention.

At the core of the technology is the ability to attach drugs, and in some cases metals and minerals, to nanoparticles that would then bind themselves to life threatening cancer cells or viruses.

In one study, Dr Webster's team is developing methods to attach gold nanoparticles to cancer cells.

Infrared light would then heat up the nanoparticles, killing the cancer cells with heat but leaving the healthy cells alive to do their job.

"This technology has been studied for the better part of a decade, but we're looking at ways of making it better," Dr Webster told CNN. "One that we've created in the lab we've called 'nanostars.'

"A star shape has a lot more surface area, so they can kill cancer cells faster than a nanosphere because they heat up faster.

"Even if it's carrying a drug, a star has a lot more surface area on which to attach it -- it's got a different morphology."

Read the original here:

Are nanoparticles the answer to cancer?

Nanotech offers hope fighting cancer

Posted on by

Story highlights Scientists in the U.S. are applying nanotechnology research to the battle against cancer and Ebola Man-made nanostructures would attach themselves to viruses or cancerous cells, nullifying them Nanostructured surfaces are already in use for medical conditions and implants, reducing the risk of infection

From targeted remedies such as monoclonal antibodies to surgery, cancer has still managed to elude a treatment that discretely and separately attacks it alone.

Nanotechnologies, however - the manipulation of matter at a molecular and even atomic scale to penetrate living cells -- are holding out the promise of opening a new front against deadly conditions from cancer to Ebola.

According to Dr Thomas Webster, the chair of chemical engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, research into medical nanotechnology is gaining pace and the medical establishment is starting to sit up and pay attention.

At the core of the technology is the ability to attach drugs, and in some cases metals and minerals, to nanoparticles that would then bind themselves to life threatening cancer cells or viruses.

In one study, Dr Webster's team is developing methods to attach gold nanoparticles to cancer cells.

Infrared light would then heat up the nanoparticles, killing the cancer cells with heat but leaving the healthy cells alive to do their job.

"This technology has been studied for the better part of a decade, but we're looking at ways of making it better," Dr Webster told CNN. "One that we've created in the lab we've called 'nanostars.'

"A star shape has a lot more surface area, so they can kill cancer cells faster than a nanosphere because they heat up faster.

"Even if it's carrying a drug, a star has a lot more surface area on which to attach it -- it's got a different morphology."

See the article here:

Nanotech offers hope fighting cancer

Czech Republic has potential to become world leader in nanotechnology, says deputy PM

Posted on by

The Czech Republic has the potential to become a world leader in nanotechnology, Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Blobrdek said on Tuesday, referring to the countrys long-term commitment in research and development in the field. A patent dating back to 2004 proved a game changer and a number of firms have since added to the initial success.

Ji Fusek, photo: archive of Ji Fusek I spoke to nanotechnology sector specialist Ji Fusek of CzechInvest, asking him if he agreed the Czech Republic could be a bigger player in the field.

I think so and it was great to hear the deputy prime minister speaking in those terms, showing that support for Czech nanotechnology internationally as a priority. Nanotechnology is still a young field but now I would say that we are reaching a more mature stage of development, which is also easier for companies or investors to approach.

2004 is cited as a milestone year why that year?

It is largely thanks to the patent registered on advanced electro-spinning, which was invented at the Technical University in Liberec by Professor Jirsk. The same year Elmarco began the commercialization of the patent and was successful, now with branches in the US and Japan. Because of this patent, the Czech Republic gained international recognition and new companies were able to develop final applications using Nano fibres.

Other companies have been involved in creating veterinary applications and now are moving in the field of human medicine or in the creation of electron microscopes. The company Tescan, which has some 1,600 installations all over the world and cover one-third of the market in Korea one of the most advanced countries in the world in this field.

Photo: Filip Jandourek A new nanotechnology industry association was formed in the Czech Republic last year: how important a step was it?

I think it was definitely important and it has worked quite well. It would also be great to become a part of European and international structures to promote Czech nanotechnology there. We are grateful that a conference held on the subject on Tuesday was attended by the ECs Christos Tokamanis and he promised to help the association become a part of European projects which would clearly be a big help.

Here is the original post:

Czech Republic has potential to become world leader in nanotechnology, says deputy PM

Ancon Medical Researchers Make Nanotechnology Breakthrough for Disease Screening Technology

Posted on by

BLOOMINGTON, MN (PRWEB) March 25, 2015

Researchers at Ancon Medical Inc. have made a breakthrough in nanoparticle technology that will enable broader and less invasive screening for cancer, tuberculosis and many other diseases with a simple breath screen. The Minnesota-based medical device maker will move ahead on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process and is targeting a fall 2016 launch of the innovative Nanoparticle Biomarker Tagging device.

Ancon Medicals nanoparticle breakthrough comes as scientists continue to find ways to use nanotechnology in cancer treatment, as this week researchers at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute announced the development of a pancreatic cancer treatment that can reduce the need for chemotherapy, according to Phys.org on March 24.

Though known for their microscopic size, NBT works by using nanoparticles to make certain molecules appear bigger and easier to detect. NBT technology can detect the presence of a wide array of diseases just by testing an individuals breath for biomarker molecules that serve as a chemical fingerprint for the disease.

Detecting individual molecules is extremely challenging, but doing so opens a whole world of medical screening possibilities said Ancon Medical President Wesley Baker. For more than a decade, researchers at Ancon Medical have been working with nanotechnology in order to make NBT technology the most sensitive breath screening disease detection technology available.

Nanotechnology made the goal of single molecule discovery possible for researchers at Ancon Medical, who were working in aerosol science to find a method of breath screening for disease detection, Baker said.

At first, Ancon Medical researchers were focused on technology that allowed nanoparticles to be enlarged through means of nucleation and condensation so they could be detected with visual equipment such as photomultipliers. In the 1990s, Ancon Medical researchers were successful in their ability to detect a single molecule of sulfuric acid using this technology. However, this nucleation-condensation detection technology based on aerosol science was effective for only certain chemicals, giving the technology limited overall practical application.

We needed to find a way to take what we had discovered in aerosol technology and apply it more broadly. Then, nanotechnology came along and gave us the breakthrough we needed, Baker said.

In 2002, Ancon Medical researchers expanded on their discoveries by working on ways to enlarge a molecule to make it easily detectable. Advances in nanotechnology made it possible to tag molecules with nanoparticles that would increase the molecules size to that of the tagging nanoparticle. Thus, it became possible for Ancon Medical researchers to detect any molecule, regardless of its chemical nature.

This breakthrough eliminated the chemical limitations of existing molecular detection methods and paved the way for the creation of Ancon Medicals NBT technology, which utilizes both aerosol science and nanotechnology to be able to detect individual molecules in an individuals exhaled breath.

Continue reading here:

Ancon Medical Researchers Make Nanotechnology Breakthrough for Disease Screening Technology

The Global Nanotechnology-based Medical Devices Market is Expected to Reach Around $5 billion by 2019

Posted on by

(PRWEB) March 25, 2015

The Nanotechnology in Medical Devices Market - By Product (Biochip, Implant Materials, Medical Textiles, Wound Dressing, Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices, Hearing Aid, Retina Implant), Application (Therapeutic, Diagnostic, Research) Global Forecast to 2019

Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the nanotechnology-based medical devices market. http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/nanotechnology-medical-device-market-65048077.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports.

This report studies the nanotechnology-based medical devices market over the forecast period of 2014 to 2019. The nanotechnology-based medical devices market witnessed healthy growth during the last decade primarily attributed to the rising aging population and increasing government support, globally. However, high costs and time-consuming product approval processes of the nanotechnology-based medical devices are inhibiting the growth of this market to a certain extent.

Inquiry before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=65048077

In this report, the nanotechnology-based medical devices market is divided on the basis of products, applications, and regions. On the basis of products, the market is categorized into biochips, implantable materials, medical textile and wound dressing, active implantable devices, and others. The implantable materials segment is bifurcated into dental filling materials and bone restorative materials; while the active implantable devices segment is bifurcated into cardiac rhythm management devices, hearing aid devices, and retinal implants. On the basis of applications, the nanotechnology-based medical devices market is categorized into three major segments, namely, therapeutic applications, diagnostics applications, and research applications.

In 2014, the active implantable devices segment accounted for the largest share of the market. Rising incidence of lifestyle and age-related disorders (such as cardiovascular and hearing disorders) has contributed significantly to the growth of the nanotechnology-based active implantable devices market. In addition, availability of insurance coverage and reimbursement for medical procedures, presence of well-structured distribution channels, and growing out-of-pocket healthcare spending are further boosting the growth of the active implantable devices market.

On the basis of regions, North America accounted for the largest share of this market in 2014, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW. However, the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing market for nanotechnology-based medical devices primarily due to the rising aging population, increasing international research collaborations, and increasing nanotechnology R&D expenditure. In addition, large-scale improvements in the healthcare infrastructure of countries such as China, Taiwan, and India are further driving the market in these regions.

Cardiac Monitoring & Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Market [ECG, Implantable Loop Recorder, Holter, Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), Automated External Defibrillator (AED), Pacemaker, CRT-D, CRT- P] - Global Forecasts to 2017 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cardiac-monitoring-advanced-technologies-and-global-market-55.html

Browse Related Reports: Biomaterials Market [By Products (Polymers, Metals, Ceramics, Natural Biomaterials) & Applications (Cardiovascular, Orthopedic, Dental, Plastic Surgery, Wound Healing, Tissue Engineering, Ophthalmology, Neurology Disorders)] Global Forecasts to 2017 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/biomaterials-393.html

Go here to read the rest:

The Global Nanotechnology-based Medical Devices Market is Expected to Reach Around $5 billion by 2019

Nanotechnology platform shows promise for treating pancreatic cancer

Posted on by

18 hours ago by Shaun Mason Axial CT image with i.v. contrast. Macrocystic adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head. Credit: public domain

Scientists at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have combined their nanotechnology expertise to create a new treatment that may solve some of the problems of using chemotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer.

The study, published online in the journal ACS Nano, describes successful experiments to combine two drugs within a specially designed mesoporous silica nanoparticle that looks like a glass bubble. The drugs work together to shrink human pancreas tumors in mice as successfully as the current standard treatment, but at one twelfth the dosage. This lower dosage could reduce both the cost of treatment and the side effects that people suffer from the current method.

The study was led by Dr. Huan Meng, assistant adjunct professor of medicine, and Dr. Andre Nel, distinguished professor of medicine, both at the Jonsson Cancer Center.

Pancreatic cancer, a devastating disease with a five-year survival rate of 5 percent, is difficult to detect early and symptoms do not usually appear until the disease is advanced. As a result, many people are not diagnosed until their tumors are beyond the effective limits of surgery, leaving chemotherapy as the only viable treatment option. The chemotherapy drug most often used for pancreas cancer is gemcitabine, but its impact is often limited.

Recent research has found that combining gemcitabine with another drug called paclitaxel can improve the overall treatment effect. In the current method, Abraxanea nano complex containing paclitaxeland gemcitabine are given separately, which works to a degree, but because the drugs may stay in the body for different lengths of time, the combined beneficial effect is not fully synchronized.

"The beauty of the silica nanoparticle technology is that gemcitabine and paclitaxel are placed together in one special lipid-coated nanoparticle at the exact ratio that makes them synergistic with one another when co-delivered at the cancer site, giving us the best possible outcome by using a single drug carrier," Meng said. "This enables us to reduce the dose and maintain the combinatorial effect."

After the scientists constructed the silica nanoparticles, they suspended them in blood serum and injected them into mice that had human pancreas tumors growing under their skin. Other mice with tumors were given injections of saline solution (a placebo with no effect), gemcitabine (the treatment standard), and gemcitabine and Abraxane (an FDA-approved combination shown to improve pancreas cancer survival in humans).

In the mice that received the two drugs inside the nanoparticle, pancreas tumors shrank dramatically compared with those in the other mice.

Similar comparisons were made with mouse models, in which the human tumors were surgically implanted into the mice's abdomens in order to more closely emulate the natural point of origin of pancreatic tumors and provide a better parallel to the tumors in humans. In these experiments, the tumors in the mice receiving silica nanoparticles shrank more than the comparative controls. Also, metastasis, or tumor spread, to nearby organs was eradicated in these mice.

Read this article:

Nanotechnology platform shows promise for treating pancreatic cancer

Nanotechnology and Its Relevance in India video lessons for ias upsc preparation – Video

Posted on by


Nanotechnology and Its Relevance in India video lessons for ias upsc preparation
Nanotechnology and Its Relevance in India - General studies paper 2 for IAS Mains examination.video lessons for ias upsc preparation. The video is useful for the students appearing for competitive...

By: Learners #39; Planet

Read the rest here:

Nanotechnology and Its Relevance in India video lessons for ias upsc preparation - Video

IIN Frontiers in Nanotechnology Seminar Series – Dr. Keith Brown – Video

Posted on by


IIN Frontiers in Nanotechnology Seminar Series - Dr. Keith Brown
Keith A. Brown International Institute for Nanotechnology Northwestern University "Making Room at the Bottom With Scanning Probes" Abstract Through technologies like the integrated circuit,...

By: International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University

Read more from the original source:

IIN Frontiers in Nanotechnology Seminar Series - Dr. Keith Brown - Video

Global Nanotechnology in Energy Applications Market Trends Forecast in 2014 2018 and Applications – Video

Posted on by


Global Nanotechnology in Energy Applications Market Trends Forecast in 2014 2018 and Applications
Global Nanotechnology in Energy Applications Market Size, Share, Growth, Company Profiles, Demand, Insights, Analysis, Research, Report, Opportunities, Segmentation, Landscape, scenario.

By: Mark Holman

Read this article:

Global Nanotechnology in Energy Applications Market Trends Forecast in 2014 2018 and Applications - Video

Nanotech risks must be managed

Posted on by

Ireland has a global reputation for leadership in nanotechnology, with three of its largest industries directly impacted by nano-science: Medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs, and information and communications technology.

Worldwide, nanotechnology is a major driver of economic growth and, while its overall contribution to world GDP is disputed, conservative estimates suggest it is a multibillion-dollar sector in high growth. That said, concerns over the risk posed by this emerging technology threaten to derail the bandwagon.

It is difficult to underestimate the potential of insurance in terms of improving the resilience of the commercial entities that make up the commercial nanotech sector and, by extension, its centrality to the very sustainability of that industry. The importance of SMEs at strategic junctures of the value chain of the sector further emphasises the importance of risk transfer.

SMEs in this sector are vulnerable to changes in risk perception on the part of key stakeholders, particularly the insurance sector. Without the ability to transfer risk or indeed access to insurance markets, the viability of many SMEs operating in this sector is questionable.

The nexus of a regulation, law, and insurance in many jurisdictions, particularly in the areas of workers compensation and environmental liability, means that without insurance operations, nanotech activity may be curtailed.

The ability to communicate risk effectively also has a major impact on regulators and investors, both key communities that sustain nanotechnology in Europe. In the medium term, maintaining, indeed creating, a vibrant sector will require an effective and robust risk-assessment tool.

To this end, researchers at the University of Limerick have assembled a consortium that includes some of the major players in risk governance and nanotech data from across Europe. The combination of major insurance syndicates, together with blue chip IT involvement in the area of artificial intelligence, represents an unprecedented joint effort to fulfil the long-standing ambition to create a state-of-the-art risk governance tool for the nanotech sector.

The contested nature of the nanotech toxicology/exposure field makes this an ideal case for a big data tool. The ability to analyse metadata represents a major step forward in terms of the risk governance of nanotech and of emerging technology more generally

The multidisciplinary team at UL effectively acts as a bridging point between the scientific community and those stakeholders that require more effective risk assessment. A deeper understanding and more granular view of the economic ecosystem that sustains the nanotech sector is an essential prerequisite for effective risk governance.

Our strategic goal is to develop a tool which will place the industry on a more sustainable footing. This will allow interested parties and key stakeholders to efficiently categorise risks pertaining to the sector. At the same time this project will address the key issue of nascent catastrophic risk.

Link:

Nanotech risks must be managed

NNI publishes workshop report assessing the status of EHS risk science

Posted on by

Report examines progress 3 years after the release of the 2011 NNI EHS Research Strategy

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) today published the report from the workshop, "Stakeholder Perspectives on Perception, Assessment, and Management of the Potential Risks of Nanotechnology" (R3 Workshop), which was held September 10-11, 2013, in Washington, D.C. The goal of the workshop was to assess the status of nanotechnology environmental, health, and safety (EHS) risk science three years after the development of the 2011 NNI EHS Research Strategy and to identify the tools and best practices used by risk assessors to address the implications of nanotechnology. A wide range of stakeholders including Federal and State regulators, small and large businesses, insurance companies, academic researchers, occupational safety specialists, and public and environmental advocacy groups shared their perspectives on the risk management process; discussed strategies and approaches for improving risk science methods; and examined ways that NNI agencies can assist stakeholders in the responsible development of nanotechnology.

Stakeholders participating in the workshop presented their perspectives and methods used to assess and manage the potential risks of nanotechnology. Research presented at the workshop shows that technical risk data alone will not enable decisions; risk evaluations by different stakeholders with varying biases, values, and stances can affect the perceptions and behaviors (e.g., investment or personal safety decisions) of consumers, regulators, developers, manufacturers, and insurers.

Following a robust dialogue among participants, including a variety of stakeholder perspectives, participants identified needs in four areas. (The following list is not prioritized):

###

To view the full report, please visit http://www.nano.gov/R3report.

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.

Read more:

NNI publishes workshop report assessing the status of EHS risk science


  1. Nanotechnology