NAPLES, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Industrial Nanotech, Inc. (Pink Sheets:INTK), an emerging global leader in nanotechnology based energy saving and sustainable solutions announced today that the Company is opening a Corporate Sales Office in India with the next 4-6 weeks. Industrial Nanotech, Inc. has seen significantly increased demand in India for their Nansulate energy saving and protective coatings from OEM manufacturers as well as end manufacturing users to reduce energy costs. The company plans to establish an office first in Southern India, in or near Bangalore, with expansion to Northern India and Western India in the near future.

India has become an increasingly important country as their manufacturing sectors and economy as a whole continue to have a healthy growth rate, stated Francesca Crolley, VP of Business Development for Industrial Nanotech, Inc. We began a strategy this year focused on boosting our marketing and brand presence in India as an energy saving solution and it has returned significant results. These include multiple inquiries from manufacturers that want to use Nansulate coatings for insulation of their equipment for energy savings and surface temperature reduction, as well as a meeting with a leading OEM manufacturer of process cooling systems with 14 locations throughout India, and an international client base, that is interested in incorporating our technology into the process cooling systems they manufacture and sell. We have seen our marketing, which was focused on commercial and industrial, bring in sales and inquiries from multiple markets and at such a response level that it was obvious to us that setting up an Industrial Nanotech, Inc. office in India, staffed by a sales and technical support team which we hire and train, was the logical next step. The availability of a well educated workforce with an excellent work ethic presents a tremendous opportunity for the Company and will allow us to both accommodate factory visit requests from around the country with our own technical teams, as we do in the US, and the ability to more rapidly service and grow this vital market.

India’s economic growth is expected to remain robust in 2012 and 2013, despite likely headwind of double-dip recessions in Europe and the US, according to a United Nations’ annual economic report – World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012. The Indian economy is expected to grow between 7.7 per cent and 7.9 per cent this year, as per the report. India is the second most preferred destination for foreign investors, according to the report ‘Doing Business in India’ by Ernst & Young. The report explores India’s key sectors, investment climate, funding scenario, laws and regulations, to aid companies that are doing, or plan to do business in India.

About Nansulate

Nansulate 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, fire resistance, chemical resistance and lead encapsulation in an environmentally safe, water-based, coating formulation. The Nansulate 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: www.nansulate.com/nanoblog, Twitter: www.twitter.com/NanoPioneer, Facebook: 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 Expansion to India with Corporate Sales Office

A nanotechnology system that will allow sailors on Navy submarines to breathe easy has won Pacific Northwest National Laboratory a national award.

The 2012 Federal Laboratory Consortium Interagency Partnership Award was given to the Department of Energy national lab in Richland.

Researchers created a system that captures carbon dioxide directly from the air within a submarine to improve air quality, while providing a more environmentally friendly removal process.

The technology — self assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports or SAMMS — can be used to replace a system relied on for more than half a century by the U.S. Navy and many other countries.

The current system is a bulky, heavy, corrosive and malodorous liquid process that produces a significant amount of organic solvent waste, according to PNNL.

“This is a new application of a technology that was previously developed by PNNL to remove heavy metal contamination from ground and surface waters found at many DOE waste sites,” PNNL material scientist Glen Fryxell, one of the key inventors of the SAMMS technology, said in a statement.

The SAMMS materials can absorb large quantities of liquid and airborne contaminants without creating secondary waste and can be disposed of as nonhazardous waste.

The SAMMS technology is based on a new class of hybrid nanoporous materials that can rapidly capture contaminants such as carbon dioxide, mercury or arsenic directly from the atmosphere or liquid environments.

For air rejuvenation systems, SAMMS can provide a controlled release of the carbon dioxide using a gentle application of heat or vacuum, according to PNNL.

“The technology could open doors to other large-scale or small-scale air quality treatments,” Fryxell said.

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PNNL honored for nanotechnology to help sailors

Category: Science & Technology Posted: May 11, 2012 09:40AM Author: Guest_Jim_*

Whoever first had the idea for the lithography system used to produce modern integrated circuits, probably did not think their invention would be used to clean a person’s blood. As reported by the American Institute of Physics, researchers at MIT and the National University of Singapore have created a device that cleans infections from the blood. The key was using margination, a natural phenomenon that separates parts of the blood.

As your blood flows through your blood vessels, white blood cells and bacteria move towards the wall of the vessel, while the red blood cells flow through the middle. The researchers decided to try making a device that replicates this effect. By etching microfluidic channels just 20 micrometers (millionths of a meter: m) by 20 m into a polymer chip, the researchers successfully removed at least 80% of the E. coli bacteria, yeast, and other inflammatory components from a blood sample.

Potentially this technology could be used to treat sepsis, a dangerous and systemic inflammatory response to blood infections. First small-scale in vivo animal tests have to be successful, but this is definitely a promising and interesting way to clean ones blood.

See the article here:
Nanotechnology for Cleaning Blood

Pakistan’s spike in nanotech research publications has been hit by funds crunch.

Flickr/nic221

[KARACHI] Nanotechnology research in Pakistan, which had shown a trend of higher publication numbers over the last decade, has suffered from the countrys present financial crisis, a study said.

In 2008 the government did not extend the term of the National Commission for Nanoscience and Technology, initially set up in 2003 for three years and later extended for two more years.

The study, published online on 29 March in Scientometrics, said research publications in the field had grown from seven in 2000 to an impressive 542 papers in 2011, registering a 29 per cent annual growth rate.

This is higher than the average annual growth rate of 23 per cent registered globally, said Rizwan Sarwar Bajwa, research associate at the Preston Institute of Nanoscience and Technology in Islamabad who, together with his colleague Khwaja Yaldram, had carried out the study.

Much of the contribution came from 13 universities while only two state-owned research and development institutions in the country participated in nanoscience and nanotechnology research.

The study attributed the spurt in research and publications to heavy government spending on manpower training and procuring the latest equipment for laboratories working in the field.

“Unfortunately, the present financial crunch faced by the country could have a negative impact on the progress achieved so far,” the study concluded.

“The publication shows that despite availability of funding, the research and development institutes contributed very little in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology,” Bajwa, lead author of the study, told SciDev.Net.

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Funds crunch hits Pakistan’s surge in nanotech research

In his visit to Albany Tuesday, President Barack Obama highlighted the nanotechnology initiatives in Upstate New York as the foundation for a new era in American manufacturing.

He spoke at the Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, which is partnering with SUNYIT in Marcy to make New York a center for computer technology businesses and research.

The reason I came here today is because this school and this community represent the future of our economy, Obama said. Right now, some of the most advanced manufacturing work in America is being done right here in Upstate New York. Cutting-edge businesses from all over the world are deciding to build here and hire here.

Click here for entire speech.

SUNYIT President Wolf Yeigh, who attended the event, said Obama had hit it right on.

He said bring these outsourced jobs back to America, and it is happening right there in Albany, Yeigh said. He mentioned that semiconductors are the next wave of American greatness. The Mohawk Valley is poised to be on that wave.

Albany’s nanotechnology sector was jump-started in the mid-1990s, as state dollars were poured into the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. It has been growing ever since.

SUNYIT was brought into the mix in 2009, when state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and other state officials announced $45 million to create a Computer Chip Commercialization Center and Center for Advanced technology.

Then, in September of 2011, $4.4 billion in government and private sector investments in nanotechnology statewide were announced. SUNYIT also is set to gain from that windfall.

All told, more than 900 jobs, many of them well paid, are expected to land in the Mohawk Valley, officials have said.

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Obama in Albany: CNY enters new era with nanotechnology

Newswise UALR – The University of Arkansas at Little Rock – has opened its new home for the Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences. The five-story, $15 million building is a working symbol of Arkansas major stake in atomic-sized technology that will make a giant difference to the future of central Little Rock.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, and U.S. Congressman Tim Griffin were on hand for the May 2 opening ceremonies, citing the centers mission to take discoveries in the lab and turn them into new products, new businesses, and new jobs.

We no longer have to take a backseat to any state in the nation,Gov. Beebe said. The United States has invested more than any other nation in nanotechnology, and Arkansas has kept pace. We are one of the few states in the nation where it is really happening.

The new center combines three major roles of the university education, research, and economic development to recruit and inspire a generation of scientists, nurture their research, and apply it to create new marketable products that launch new businesses and create new jobs for Arkansas.

What we are doing here is quite unique. It is to combine education with research and economic development, said Dr. Alexandru Biris,director of the new center and the UALR Sturgis Chair inNanotechnology.Students from the high school to the post-doctoral level are already interacting with researchers and representatives of local companies to find answers and expand the understanding of how the properties of elements behave at the atomic scale and apply knowledge to development new products, enterprises, and jobs.

We are trying to grow the next generation of scientists in Arkansas,Biris said. We are taking students we have met and turning them into scientists, doctors, researchers highly educated individuals(without whom) it will be very difficult to advance economically.

Scientists and students at the new UALR center are wrapping a few atoms of gold in a graphite nanotube a few atoms thick to hunt and kill cancer cells without affecting healthy tissue. Working with colleagues at the cross-town sister school, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, they already have succeeded with rats.

Although she is only a freshman, Natasha Sra of Cherokee Village in northeast Arkansas, is learning and discovering along with doctors and post-docs on the project.

She never heard of nanotechnology before she enrolled in the ArkansasSchool for Science, Mathematics, and the Arts and her teacher pointed her to a summer program for high schoolers at the UALR nanotechnology center. Now a freshman at UALR, the chemistry and biology major is working on novel research on how low-levels frequency on nano particles affect breast cancer cells.

The center also offers its research assistance and lab facilities to local companies, making locating and expanding businesses in centralArkansas more attractive to high-tech firms.

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New Nanotechnology Center Opens in Little Rock

Mississauga nanotechnology developer and manufacturer Integran Technologies Inc. has received a repayable loan of nearly $400,000 from the federal government for a new development project. The company is developing nano-structured aerospace and defence products. The money will be used to create “next-generation metal alloys that are more robust and free from toxic beryllium copper,” which will help expand the company’s product line and its customer base. Industry Minister Christian Paradis said the money will come from the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative, which supports industrial research and development projects in the aerospace, defence, space and security industries. “By investing in innovative firms like Integran, our government is ensuring that Canada’s aerospace and defence industry remains a global leader and continues to be a major contributor to our economy,” said Paradis. “This support will allow Integran to realize new market opportunities in an emerging market segment.” As part of the initiative, Integran will work with graduate-level engineering students from the University of Toronto. “Since being founded over 12 years ago, Integran has been committed to developing environmentally benign alternatives to toxic materials and processes,” said company president and chief executive officer Gino Palumbo. “Integran is confident that through this program, our core patented nanotechnology can be optimized and demonstrated to be a viable, cost-effective alternative to the alloying of copper with toxic beryllium – a strengthening process that remains in widespread use for various industrial, aerospace and defence applications.” cclay@mississauga.net

Muslim clothing store opens

Fatma Nurmohamed says it will no longer be a chore for Muslim women to find western-inspired, Muslim clothing that still meets their needs of modesty in Mississauga.

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Nanotechnology firm receives nearly $400K

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ths3db/nanotechnology_for) has announced the addition of the “Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery: Global Market for Nanocrystals” report to their offering.

Nanocrystals will account for 60% of a $136 billion nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery market by 2021. We forecast the total market size in 2021 to be US$136 billion, with a 60/40 split between nanocrystals and nanocarriers respectively.

Since we now understand that most (if not all) biological processes occur at the nanoscale, the application of life science principles – studying the causes of biological phenomena at the molecular level – means that medical and biomedical research is increasingly using a bottom-up (rather than the top-down) approach.

The healthcare market is changing. The author is seeing a paradigm shift away from blockbusters and a one-size fits all’ approach to a more personalised medicine based on an individual’s unique genome and immune response. The more scientists learn about the molecular causes for disease the more targeted and effective nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery therapies will become.

Nanocrystals will outperform nanocarriers by 20%

Nanocrystal-based drugs showed the highest market growth in the last decade compared to other nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems studied, according to Cientifica Ltd.’s latest research. This is largely due to the shorter development times and smaller investment needed to create nanocrystals. The report presents a detailed discussion of recent developments (2000-2010) in nanocrystal therapies and future opportunities (2011-2021).

The low bioavailability resulting from traditional oral (both tablet and liquid) drug delivery methods and the market forces at work in the pharmaceutical industry – where patents expire after a relatively short period of time unless a novel form of drug delivery is developed that will extend the patent – are two major forces that will fuel the growth of the nanotech enabled drug delivery market, said Harper.

The National Science Foundation has forecast the global nanotech-enabled market will reach US$1 trillion by 2015, while the National Nanotechnology Initiative predicts it will reach US$3 trillion by 2020. Drug nanocrystals would therefore account for approximately 2.5% of the total global nanotechnology market in 2015 and 3.5% in 2021.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ths3db/nanotechnology_for

Originally posted here:
Research and Markets: Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery: Global Market for Nanocrystals – Drug Nanocrystal Market Will …

Nanotechnology, which is used to build structures that are smaller than subatomic particles, is an exciting, cutting-edge field of scientific study. It also represents a major economic opportunity for Arkansas. That opportunity increased this past week as officials at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock dedicated a new, state-of-the-art research building. This building houses the Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences, where research will not only create jobs in Arkansas, but could also improve the quality of life for all mankind.

Most of us are already using nanotechnology; we just may not realize it because nano materials are so tiny. The thickness of a sheet of newspaper, for example, measures 100,000 nanometers. Products like eyeglasses, cosmetics and cell phones all utilize this science. And its application is growing, thanks to research being conducted at institutions worldwide, including several in Arkansas. Scientists at UALR are focused on research that, among other things, could someday isolate and destroy cancer cells with amazing precision.

As each new discovery finds practical applications, the economic impact of nanotechnology grows. Projections show that nanotechnologies could have a $2.4 trillion global economic impact within three years. In less than 10 years, it is projected that six-million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide.

To attract those future jobs, Arkansas must have a workforce capable of keeping up with the technology. This is just one of the goals of our initiative to emphasize public-school instruction in science, technology, engineering and math, otherwise known as the STEM subjects. This initiative will give more students the solid foundation to pursue studies in fields like nanotechnology when they arrive at college. But they dont have to wait until college. One of the goals of the Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences is to inspire student interest and involvement earlier on, through programs like a Nano Academy for high-school students and internships for undergraduates.

While we dont know everywhere the research being conducted at Arkansass nanotechnology institutions will take us, weve already seen results arrive within our borders. The Center at UALR has already generated two Arkansas-based companies. NanoMech, an internationally known company based in Springdale, grew directly out of Nanoscience programs at the U of A in Fayetteville. Its employees now make an average of $41 an hour.

Last year, five Arkansas academic institutions signed an agreement with the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson County. The resulting joint research, educational training, collaborations and outreach in support of the Food & Drug Administration at NCTR will further develop Arkansass niche in bio-nano advances.

The United States has invested more than any other nation in nanotechnology, and Arkansas has kept pace. The leaders of our research institutions will help produce the next generation of American scientists. As their promising work continues in nanotechnology, you wont see their innovations with the naked eye, but well all see the positive results their work has for Arkansas and our people.

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Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Big Potential in Tiny Particles

May 3, 2012 – U.S. FDA has issued 2 draft guidance documents that address use of nanotechnology by food and cosmetics industries. According to FDA, food draft guidance describes factors manufacturers should consider when determining whether changes in manufacturing processes, including those involving nanotechnology, create significant change in identity, safety, or regulatory status of food substance. Cosmetic draft guidance discusses safety assessment of nanomaterials when used in cosmetic products. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 25 West 43rd Street, 4th Floor New York, NY, 10036 USA Press release date: April 26, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – has issued two draft guidance documents that address the use of nanotechnology by the food and cosmetics industries.

As coordinator of the U.S. standardization system, ANSI invites any interested U.S. stakeholder to review the files and submit their comments directly to FDA by July 24, 2012.

According to FDA, the food draft guidance describes the factors manufacturers should consider when determining whether changes in manufacturing processes, including those involving nanotechnology, create a significant change in the identity, safety, or regulatory status of the food substance. The cosmetic product draft guidance discusses the FDA’s current thinking on the safety assessment of nanomaterials when used in cosmetic products.

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

“Understanding nanotechnology remains a top FDA priority. FDA is strengthening the scientific tools and methods for evaluating food products, cosmetics, drugs and medical devices,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “We are taking a prudent scientific approach to assess each product on its own merits and to not make broad, general assumptions about the safety of nanotechnology products.”

FDA has also published a nanotechnology fact sheet.

Instructions for submitting comments can be found in the following Federal Register notices:

Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes, Including Emerging Technologies, on the Safety and Regulatory Status of Food Ingredients and Food Contact Substances, Including Food Ingredients That Are Color Additives; Availability

Draft Guidance for Industry: Safety of Nanomaterials in Cosmetic Products; Availability

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FDA Seeks Comment on Draft Guidance on Use of Nanotechnology by Food and Cosmetics Industries

Local officials along with some 100 area educators and members of the public attended a nanotechnology forum at SUNYIT Thursday afternoon. The forum addressed aspects of nanotechnology for the business community as well as educators who teach anything from kindergarten to college classes. These forms are very vital for our work force and our educators, said Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, D – Utica. We want to make sure, that going forward; we have a work force that is well trained and ready to meet these job demands. SUNYIT President Bjong Wolf Yeigh asked those who attended the forum to try to formulate a plan as to how the Mohawk Valley can embrace nanofever. Build it and the people will come, said Bill Gaetano, of Gaetano Construction in Utica, referring to the planned Marcy NanoCenter. Its a great opportunity for our students.

Original post:
Educators discuss nanotechnology at SUNYIT forum

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LR nanotechnology center opens

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

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

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

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

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

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

The elected officials took turns praising UALR’s “investment in the future.”

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

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

[Link to this article]

Originally posted here:
UALR Dedicates $15M Nanotechnology Center

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

View original post here:
McLean Report on nanotechnology that may enhance medication delivery and improve MRI performance

As many as four out every 1,000 babies worldwide are born with cerebral palsy. It is a condition that affects brain development and leaves people struggling with co-ordination. A study using nanotechnology suggests it may be possible to dramatically improve the condition.

Al Jazeera’s Caroline Malone reports.

Original post:
Nanotechnology offers hope on cerebral palsy

Purdue researchers have developed efficient nanotechnology to convert wasted heat energy to generate electricity.

Scott Finefrock, a graduate student, said most of the energy generated today is lost as heat, and trying to recapture some of this energy is what makes nano-thermoelectrics exciting.

“Anywhere that you have heat flow especially significant amounts of heat flow with a big temperature difference across it that is where you can put a thermoelectric (device),” Finefrock said.

Thermoelectric materials currently used are not flexible enough to be wrapped. The newly developed thermoelectric nanofibers can be used to solve this problem. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the New Faculty Start-up Grant.

The nanofibers are composed of thermoelectric lead telluride crystals. The crystals are coated onto glass fibers to make it more flexible and cost-efficient.

Yue Wu, assistant professor of chemical engineering, said there was a need for more flexible and cost-effective thermoelectric technology in the market, technology that would fit into all sorts of irregular places to capture energy.

“Thermoelectric material is (traditionally) several millimeters thick,” Wu said. “In our case, we only use (lead telluride coating that is) 300 nanometers thick.”

The use of less material makes it more cost-effective and flexible. A potential application of this technology is to fit it into the tailpipe of a car to make it more fuel efficient. Wu said this has been done on a General Motors prototype.

“(Nanofiber thermoelectrics) is the most efficient technology when the heat exchange region is small,” Finefrock said.

These thermoelectric nanofibers can also be used in chemical industries and power plants to generate electricity. Another potential application for this product is to use it in buildings for air conditioning. Through a reverse process, the nanofiber material could absorb heat, Wu said.

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Nanotechnology recycles heat energy to electricity