This is the last week of Summer and the end of a month long holiday.
The following occurred whilst the Editor was away...
From Institute of Nanotechnology
Photonic Quantum Technologies Could Be Only Light Years Away
Sumio Iijima Announced as Winner of 2007 Balzan Prize for Nanoscience
IBM Unveils Two Major Nanotechnology Breakthroughs as Building Blocks for Atomic Structures and Devices
From Nanotechweb
September
Fears were expressed about the safety of some cosmetics at the BA Festival of Science in York, UK, last week. The products contain buckyballs – or fullerenes – whose safety in cosmetics was questioned by chemistry professor Tony Ryan from the University of Sheffield. Sircuit® Cosmeceuticals Inc's website advertises skin nutrient products containing fullerenes as being for sale throughout the US. Zelens Fullerene C60 Day Cream, which is no longer on sale in the UK, is sold in Asia, where it will be replaced by another range of Zelens products early next year. The day cream costs £135 for 30 ml. Tony Ryan questioned the safety of carbon nanoparticles in cosmetics. "I wouldn’t put buckyballs anywhere near my face," he said. However, the Zelens website says that its formulas "have been extensively tested at the most prestigious international university laboratories."
New look for nanothermometers
A new electromechanical nanothermometer has been designed by scientists in the UK and Russia. The device would work by measuring the change in conductivity of a double-walled carbon nanotube when it is in contact or filled with a sample. It could be ideal for applications in the semiconductor industry to monitor the temperature of single chips and in nanobiology.
See http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/6/9/10?alert=1
NanoSight, a UK developer of nanoparticle sizing and tracking systems, has completed a successful round of angel funding, building on previous investments from NESTA, Strathdon and South West Ventures. The latest investment comes from members of the SWAIN and OEI Investment Networks, although figures were undisclosed. Nanosight's customers include BASF, ICI, BP, Unilever and Roche.
"The investment round was oversubscribed, which is very encouraging for the company, and brings on board a group of investors with experience in growing high-technology companies," commented John Knowles, chairman of NanoSight. "We aim to use the funds to support the growth of our worldwide distributor network and to increase the functionality of the NANOSIGHT LM20 and LM10 systems."
Semi Scenic, a Lanarkshire-based semiconductor support specialist, has secured a contract worth more than $1 m to supply essential components to the UK's flagship micro- and nanotechnology project based in Scotland. Semi Scenic has agreed the deal with Semefab (Scotland), a Glenrothes semiconductor manufacturer at the forefront of the UK's centre for micro- and nanotechnology (MNT) network.
The announcement comes as Semefab plans to further expand its operations and investment in the £15 m UK MNT project. It has acquired a 3000 m2 facility adjacent to its existing premises in Fife that will enable it to roll out the next phase of the project. Scottish Enterprise has invested £3 m and the Department of Trade and Industry a further £3.6 m in Semefab to establish a UK centre of excellence in micro- and nanotechnology processing.
Unidym, a manufacturer of CNTs, has appointed Ralph Harms as its chief financial officer. Harms has worked for a number of high-growth technology companies specializing in semiconductors, data networking and telecommunications, software and internet infrastructure.
"Ralph has experience in building the infrastructure necessary to successfully deal with the intricacies of technology manufacturing and licensing businesses," commented Art Swift, Unidym's president and CEO. "[His] background is an essential addition to Unidym as we expand our leadership position in carbon nanotube applications."
Unidym recently merged with Carbon Nanotechnologies and claims to possess a patent portfolio that covers nearly every aspect of carbon nanotube manufacturing and processing.
Former Zyvex production director Mark Banash has joined Nanocomp Technologies as vice-president of engineering. He will manage process scale-up and quality control as Nanocomp builds out its carbon nanotube yarn and sheet manufacturing operation.
Nanocomp says that it is the only company to produce both multifunctional non-woven sheet and yarn textiles from long, pure, single-wall carbon nanotubes. Potential applications for the strong, lightweight and conductive materials include body armour, structural composites, energy storage and electronics thermal management.
Oerlikon has named Jeannine Sargent to head up its newly created Oerlikon Solar division as the firm brings its solar-related business under the one umbrella. Sargent was most recent executive vice-president and general manager of metrology and instrumentation at Veeco Instruments.
Bayer MaterialScience is opening a second carbon nanotube (CNT) production facility at H C Starck in the town of Laufenburg on the German–Swiss border. The new plant has an annual capacity of 30 metric tons and pushes Bayer's total capacity up to 60 metric tons per year. "The investment in Laufenburg represents an important step towards gaining access to large, lucrative industrial CNT applications and securing long-term market share," said Martin Schmid, head of global Baytubes operations at Bayer MaterialScience.
Nanocomposites are at an interesting stage in their product-life cycle, moving from innovation to the growth phase, according to Frost & Sullivan. The market analyst estimates that the "world nanoparticles in composites market" earned revenues of $33.7 m in 2006 and could reach $144.6 m in 2013. At the same time, industry watchers caution that the high prices of nanoparticles (including nanotubes and nanofibres) remain a key concern.
"Taking the industry out of the labs and into the markets is a major challenge for suppliers in the nanocomposites market," explained Hariharan Ramasubramanian of Frost & Sullivan. "Very often, suppliers have found it difficult to replicate their successes in the lab to large-scale production lines."
Atmospheric aerosols form at the nanoscale
Aerosols in the atmosphere may begin to form in uncharged clusters that are just 1.5 nm in size. This is according to scientists in Finland, Estonia and the UK who have used new instruments to measure aerosols below the previous limit of 3 nm for the first time. The nanoparticle clusters are important in cloud formation, atmospheric chemical reactions and air quality and should be included in future climate models, says the team.
From James Tyrrell, Editor
See http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/6/9/1?alert=1
Europe's homegrown supply of carbon nanotubes gets a boost this week following the news that Bayer MaterialScience has opened a second production plant on the German-Swiss border. Scroll down to Business briefs for an update on this topic and more.
August
Tescan, a European manufacturer of scanning electron microscopes, has appointed the ISS Group as its distributor for the UK and Ireland. ISS describes itself as a one-stop facility for characterizing materials at the nano and microscale and has more than 30 years experience serving the electron microscopy community. Founded in Brno in the Czech Republic in 1991, Tescan has supplied more than 400 systems worldwide.
• Industrial Nanotech has awarded Czech/Hungary/Slovakian distribution rights for its Nansulate product line to Sperka Izol.
"We welcome Sperka Izol as our newest international distributor," commented Francesca Crolley, vice president of operations and marketing for Industrial Nanotech. "Nansulate has been well received in Europe and these regions present a rich market opportunity for Industrial Nanotech's products. We feel Industrial Nanotech's energy saving, corrosion resistant and mold resistant Nansulate line of coatings will make a significant impact to the fast-developing regions of Eastern Europe."
Cientifica says that nanotechnologies are set to "Shake Up" and "Shake Out" the drug delivery market in its latest report. Analysts project that the total market for nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery will rise to $26 billion by 2012 from its current size of $3.39 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of 37%.
Third-order nanotechnologies says that its patent applications describing various chromophore architectures are now being considered at national level in Australia, Canada, China, Europe (via the European patent convention), Japan and the US. The company plans to use organic polymers to enable high-speed communication systems and expects to complete a prototype optical modulator by the end of this year.
The Centre of Excellence in Metrology for Micro and Nano Technologies (CEMMNT) has expanded its measurement, characterization and design capabilities to provide extensive calibration and test services through its UKAS accredited partners, which include the National Physical Laboratory and Ametek Taylor Hobson. According to the centre, new standard samples are now available for verifying the performance of stylus, optical, scanning probe and co-ordinate measuring machines, and similar instruments.
FEI, a provider of nanoscale imaging products, has announced record sales for the second quarter of 2007. Net sales of $148.6 m were up 33% compared to the same period last year. "In the second quarter, we formally introduced the PhenomTM, our exciting low-cost imaging device that opens new markets for us," said Don Kania, president and CEO of FEI. "We expect it to begin contributing meaningfully to our results in 2008."
Cnano, US, has received $6 m in venture funding to commercialize carbon nanotubes. The firm claims that its novel hybrid technology results in significantly reduced manufacturing costs compared to any other carbon nanotube production methods to date. "Cnano's unique technology and manufacturing in China will enable it to compete effectively in the global market place," said Peter Liu, chairman of WI Harper Group, an investor in Cnano. "Cnano is expected to target several large, high-growth carbon nanotubes applications [cleantech, speciality material and electronics]."
