Nanotechnology Deployed In Textiles To Fight Global MRSA Bug -- Silicon Republic (10/6/2008)

Researchers from the University of Limerick, National University of Ireland Galway, Irish companies BeoCare and Cook Medical, and nine other European agencies have partnered to develop nanotechnology-enhanced textiles that are resistant to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria. Project coordinator Dr. Tofail Syed said: “A significant element of the MRSA problem arises from the use of conventional textiles such as hospital gowns, curtains, beddings and pillow covers. As a result, hospital sterility has been a major concern in countries such as Ireland, Germany and Belgium. We intend to develop nanotechnology-derived textiles that will help hospitals in their fight against MRSA.” According to the article, nosocomial infections account for about 50,000 deaths per year in the EU, and one in ten European hospital patients will become infected by a drug-resistant microbe like MRSA. The article further says that Ireland is a European leader in the development of nanotechnology-based healthcare solutions. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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Rusnano Seeks Nanotechnology Partners in Taiwan and Korea -- Nanowerk (10/6/2008)

A delegation from the state-run Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) is visiting Taiwan and South Korea this week for a fact finding trip to establish potential ties between political and business leaders in the three countries to facilitate collaboration in the area of nanotechnology. The article says that the delegation will study Taiwan and South Korea’s “experience in managing their innovation practices, which play a significant role in attracting private capital to the innovative businesses.” The delegation will also present an overview of RUSNANO’s current activities and describe the corporation’s incentives for private investors, including foreign investors. While in Taiwan, the delegation will visit the Centre of Nanotechnology at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute. In South Korea, the delegation will visit the Association of Nanotechnological Studies and the Korean Institute of Science and Technologies (KIST), as well as meet with representatives from the Korean Fund for International Collaboration, Science and Technology to discuss potential areas for joint projects. The delegation will also meet with the South Korean Minister of Education, Science and Technologies. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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Researchers Use Nanoparticles To Deliver Treatment For Brain, Spinal Cord Injuries -- Nanotechnology Now (10/6/2008)

Researchers from Purdue University in the U.S. have developed a technique for targeting and repairing injured brain and spinal cord cells using polymer-coated silica nanoparticles. The researchers had previously demonstrated that the polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG), when mixed with saline and injected, could be used to treat rats with brain injuries and dogs with spinal cord injuries by targeting and sealing damaged cells and restoring cell functions. Researcher Richard Borgens explained: "Composition and concentration limited how much PEG we could get to the injury. If you change the composition to make the PEG more potent, it produces ethylene glycol, the poison in antifreeze. If you change the concentration of PEG in another way, the solution becomes syrupy and difficult to inject.” To resolve these limitations, the researchers coated silica nanoparticles with PEG and used them to treat guinea pig spinal cord injuries. The researchers report that the treated spinal cord cells demonstrated improved physiological functioning. The researchers also tested PEG-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with hydralazine, an antihypertension drug, to treat secondary damage to cells. Borgens explained: "When cells are injured, they produce natural toxins. Acrolein is the most poisonous of these toxins. It's an industrial hazard for which hydralazine is an antidote." In tests, the researchers found that the hydralazine-loaded nanoparticles restored disrupted cell function caused by acrolein. The researchers are now testing the new treatments on rats with brain injuries. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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Insurer Excludes Nanotechnology from Policies -- NanoBusiness Alliance (9/30/2008)

Continental Western Insurance Group, a U.S. regional commercial property and casualty insurer, has announced that it will cease insuring against “bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury related to the actual, alleged, or threatened presence of or exposure to nanotubes or nanotechnology in any form” starting November 15. The insurance company bases the decision on the unknown risks of nanotechnology generally and carbon nanotubes specifically, referencing recent reports of potential health risks associated with some multiwalled carbon nanotubes. In this article, the U.S. NanoBusiness Alliance says that the insurer’s decision to exclude nanotechnology as a singular entity is poorly thought out because nanotechnology itself does not have any inherent risks; only its applications and products may. The NanoBusiness Alliance also argues that the definitions used by the insurer are so broad as to ensure almost any business will be subject to exclusion. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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US Army to Explain Military Interest in Nano Materials at Major Nanotechnology Conference This Week -- Nanotechnology Now (9/30/2008)

On October 2 at the nanotxUSA 2008 conference held in the U.S., Dr. Jacob Stanley of the U.S. Army Research and Development will present on nanotechnology applications needed by the U.S. military. According to Stanley’s abstract, there are five key areas of military nanotechnology interest: warfighter support; installations (for transformational, operational, and environmental issues); environment; water resources; and information technology. Stanley will present on the military’s goals to “characterize physical/chemical interactions between engineered nanomaterials and environmental media,” as well as to develop a “computational approach for predicting relevant characteristics (persistence, fate, toxicology).” He will also present on the military’s interest in developing applications to replace or enhance explosives, coatings, industrial abrasives, and drug delivery. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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ETPN Addresses Responsible Research and Innovation in Nanotechnology for Health -- AZoNano.com (9/30/2008)

Spanish biotechnology company Zeltia Group and its companies Noscira and PharmaMar along with the Spanish Nanomedicine Platform (NANOMED) recently hosted the annual meeting of the working groups of the European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine (ETPN), a group of European industrial and academic nanotechnology experts established to address nanotechnology research, development, and innovation in the field of healthcare to improve the scientific and industrial competitiveness of Europe and to improve the “quality of life and health care” of Europeans. The meeting featured 150 experts from the fields of diagnostics, regenerative medicine, drug delivery, particle physics, nanoengineering, and others. The meeting concluded with a decision to establish a calendar of short, medium, and long term priorities to be financed and met in order to spur the development of medicines using new technologies. The meeting also featured presentations on three areas in which the EPTN has been focusing: diagnostic technologies, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery systems. Presentations were also given on new advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Jose Maria Fernandez Sousa said: "We need new ways of doing things in the twenty-first century, we need of the interaction of different disciplines and technologies to find new solutions. . . It is the way to achieve the competitiveness we need in Europe." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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It Takes A Heart To Empower Women -- The Times of India (9/29/2008)

Dr. K.M. Cherian from Frontier Lifeline Hospital in the India and six girls from India’s countryside who work in his research laboratory are using nanotechnology to improve animal vein, artery, and tissue implants for human hearts. The hospital has given implants from buffaloes and pigs to over 400 patients in the last four years. Soma Guhathakurtha, director and consultant cardiac surgeon from Frontier Lifeline said: “In most cases, the grafts were used on patients who had problems on the right side of the heart, a low pressure zone. If we used them on the left side, they tended to give way. We needed a coating that would keep them strong. That's when we thought of nanotechnology.” According to the article, the hospital has developed a method in which the animal grafts soak in a special solution for a week, are processed to avoid immunogenic reactions, and then are coated with a nanotechnology-based material to strengthen them and render them biocompatible. Dr. Cherian decided to train non-graduates to carry out this process. One of the girls working his lab said, "Initially, I didn't know what scientists in the lab were talking. Today, after daily lessons in English, biology and anatomy, I have a fair understanding of medical terms and the job I am doing.” Dr. Cherian said: "People think only highly skilled experts who have doctorate degrees can work on them. We used highly skilled researchers to train these girls to assist them in making the products we need for cardiac surgery. The technology developed by the researchers is being executed by these girls. I call this empowerment.” The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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Call For Papers On The Impact Of Nanoscale Science And Technology On Disability, Community And Rehabilitation. -- International Journal on Disability, Community & Rehabilitation (9/29/2008)

The International Journal on Disability, Community & Rehabilitation (IJDCR) has issued a call for papers on the potential implications of nanotechnology for people with disabilities, the communities connected to them, and rehabilitation practitioners for a special issue of the journal dedicated to the topic of nanoscale science and technology. Abstracts can be submitted by contributors from all fields of study and are due on October 30, 2008. Nanotechnology has the potential to converge with other areas of technology, including biotechnology and biomedicine, include genetic engineering; information technology; cognitive science; and synthetic biology, creating a broader field known as NBICS (nano-bio-info-cogno-synbio). NBICS is considered by many to have great potential enabling medical solutions, both preventative and rehabilitative, for disabled people. Additionally, NBICS is thought by some to have the potential to enable transhumanist solutions, such as enhancement of the human body, without ensuring social solutions such as acceptance or equal rights. Nanotechnology and NBICS can potentially affect disabled people in at least four ways: (1) by enabling environmentally-adaptive tools that allow disabled people to live more easily without biological alteration; (2) by enabling diagnostic tools to detect impaired biological traits, allowing for preventative measures; (3) by enabling treatments that eliminate the disability; and (4) by influencing the discourses, concepts, trends, and areas of action that impact disabled persons. The Call for Papers provides a detailed list of topics on which contributors may choose to write, including the potential positive and negative impacts of nanotechnology on the employability, citizenship, and body image of disable people; health care for disabled people; disabled people in low income countries; laws related to disabled people such as the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities; and many others. Email requests for the Call for Papers can be directed to Gregor Wolbring at gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca. More information on the International Journal of Disability, Community & Rehabilitation can be viewed online at the link below.

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