Conference announcement: Nanotechnology: Towards Reducing Animal Testing

Institute of Nanotechnology

Animal testing is costly and there is a great deal of research on finding viable and effective alternatives (new methods that refine existing tests by minimizing animal distress, reducing animal usage, or replacing whole animal tests). Despite large reductions in animal testing since the early 1980s due to improved in vitro methods, levels remain high (over 3 million procedures in 2006) and results cannot always be extrapolated to humans.

The application of nanotechnology is currently revolutionizing medicine and this two-day conference, the first of its kind in Europe, will examine the role nanotechnology could also play in improving or refining the development of alternatives to animal testing whilst maintaining safety.

Themes will include:

· a review of some of the most promising human cell-based in vitro models

· novel lab-on-a-chip and bioreactor systems for screening, toxicology and targeting studies

· surface modification at the nanoscale to improve biosensors and in vitro test systems

· potential new strategies for applying nanotechnology to alternatives

· the role of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM)

The conference will be of particular interest to those involved in:

· pharmaceutical, medical device and cosmetic development and testing

· environmental and food testing

· regulation

· organizations interested in the development of animal alternatives.

For online registration and payment visit https://www.nano.org.uk/payments/index.php.

Further abstracts are welcomed for oral or poster presentations by 26 November 2007, please contact carrie.smith@nano.org.uk.

Standard Delegate - £500; Academic/IoN Member - £450;
Exhibitor (incl. one delegate) - £750; Additional delegate - £350

Visit www.nano.org.uk/events/ionevents.htm for regular updates on the event.

Fax to: 01786 447530 or contact Carrie Smith Tel: +44 (0)1786 447520

Registered charity no. SC 025709

AMD, Carl Zeiss, and Qimonda partner on semiconductor nanoanalysis

Small Times

Three companies -- AMD, Carl Zeiss SMT, and Qimonda -- are working together on new analytical and characterization methods required for the development of next-generation microchips. The work is being conducted within the framework of the Nanoanalysis Project, which the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has backed with 12 million Euros. This strengthens the competency of the newly founded Carl Zeiss Innovation Center Dresden, particularly in the fields of semiconductor analysis and metrology.

Dr. Wolf-Dieter Lukas, Head of the BMBF Department "Key Technologies -- Research for Innovations," the strategic setup and expansion of microelectronics competency centers is an important goal. "Only by setting targeted priorities in research funding will we succeed in maintaining Dresden's leading role in high-tech chip production and in further expanding it through such innovative approaches as here in the field of nanoanalysis."

The Carl Zeiss Innovation Center Dresden, an important part of the Nanoanalysis Project, offers ultrahigh resolution particle beam systems that use electron and ion beams instead of light. These systems enable the imaging, analysis and processing of specimens down to the level of individual atoms. In this way, they are playing a decisive role in the characterization of three-dimensional semiconductor structures and in the development of new materials for chip fabrication. "With its Innovation Center, Carl Zeiss SMT is becoming involved in 'Silicon Saxony,' Europe's leading microelectronics cluster. Not only is the cluster being strengthened in its function as a research location, but the ongoing development of the local semiconductor industry is also being promoted", said Dr. Dirk Stenkamp, Member of the Carl Zeiss SMT Board of Management.

"As a manufacturer of innovative microprocessors, we are faced with the challenge of producing increasingly complex structures with smaller and smaller dimensions and with maximum yield", says Dr. Udo Nothelfer, Vice President AMD Fab 36. "Therefore, process control at an atomic level plays a key role. Through our joint work in the Carl Zeiss Innovation Center Dresden, we have access to leading edge electron and ion microscopes and believe we can therefore further accelerate the introduction of new technologies. The experience gained in industrial utilization may be incorporated at an early stage in the development of future analytical systems."

Europe launches $8.8B (€6B) nanoelectronics R&D program

Small Times

November 13, 2007 -- MEDEA+, a Europeanwide collaborative research program centred on microelectronics, and part of the EUREKA project, has announced that CATRENE (Cluster for Application and Technology Research in Europe) is to be the follow-on program designed to take electronics into the nanoscale era.

The new program has two important novel features: the Lighthouse Project -- which will address major socioeconomic needs such as transportation, health care, security, energy and entertainment -- and a new structure that will focus on large application markets, identified in a roadmap of required technologies.

The MEDEA+ program supported 77 projects and the work resulted in important innovations within a number of areas, including automotive and traffic control, broadband communications, secure society, energy saving and health care. The new CATRENE public-private partnership aims to ensure the continued development of European expertise in semiconductor technology and applications.

Like MEDEA+ and its predecessors MEDEA and JESSI, the new program involves all the key actors in the value chain including those working with applications, technology and materials, as well as equipment suppliers. Industrial companies, both large and small, universities, and research institutes will take part with the support of public authorities.

"For more than a decade the EUREKA JESSI, MEDEA and MEDEA+ programs have made it possible for Europe's industry to reinforce its position in semiconductor process technology, manufacturing and applications to become a key supplier to markets such as telecommunications, consumer electronics and automotive electronics," said Jozef Cornu, MEDEA+ chairman and CATRENE chairman-elect.

The start date for CATRENE is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2008; it will last four years, extendable by another four years, and will operate under the auspices of the EUREKA program. Commercial participants in EUREKA projects can get half their costs paid by their national governments, while academic institutions can get up to 75 percent of their costs paid. The program has been earmarked to make use of 4000 person-years of effort each year, equivalent to EUR 6 billion (about $8.8 billion) for the extended program.

Key technology goals contained within the program include maintaining and increasing Europe's strength in intellectual property across the entire electronics supply chain, as well as sustaining and strengthening leadership in lithography and silicon-on-insulator materials and component packaging, and reinforcing European expertise in applying semiconductor process technology to efficient design for new electronics applications.

"Nanoelectronics will offer enormous opportunities to those who are the first to master and bring to market new technologies and applications and we believe that CATRENE will play a vital role in helping Europe's microelectronics industry to go from strength to strength," Cornu said.

Nanotech in food presents a regulatory challenge in Europe

Small Times

The growing use of nanotechnology in food applications poses new challenges for both science and regulation in Europe's food and nutrition market, an industry expert said.

EAS-Italy nutritional product regulatory affairs manager Stefanie Geiser said that as the nanotechnology market continues to grow, regulators and scientists are actively working to find regulatory and risk assessment models to embrace its research and safety aspects.

The first nano-food contact material (a silicon dioxide coating) has already been approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) this year, and a second, titanium nitride, is under review. However, EFSA has said that it will not be able to meet the European Commission's mandate for a complete generic risk assessment of nanotechnology by March 31, 2008 because of the vast range of existing nanomaterials with completely divergent physical/chemical properties and safety profiles.

Instead, EFSA has proposed to issue only an initial scientific opinion by summer 2008, and now plans to set up a working group of 10 to 15 Member State scientific experts to analyze and build on already generated opinions by EU scientific advisory bodies and third countries.

A first discussion on this working strategy for nanotechnology will be held by the EFSA Scientific Committee November 19 - 20, 2007. Discussions will further be followed up at the Brussels EFSA Scientific Forum event November 20 - 21.

"It will prove difficult to find a common risk assessment umbrella that can embrace the diversity of all current and future nanomaterial food applications," Geiser said in a podcast interview. "The Commission is therefore actively involved in finding ways of integrating nanotechnology as far as possible into already existing EU regulatory frameworks. Nanotechnology aspects have recently been included in the Commission's proposals for a revision of the EU Novel foods Regulation and also the revision of the Food Additives and Enzymes Regulations."

Nanotech Northern Europe 2008

23-25 September 2008, Bella Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark

Nanotech Northern Europe brings together the field's top scientists and leading international companies in order to advance the beneficial use of nanotechnology. The 2008 event covers three application areas: Energy and Environment, ICT, and Nanobiotechnology and Nanomedicine. The conference will feature work ranging from the latest scientific breakthroughs to industrial uses of nanotechnology, whilst technology transfer sessions will offer opportunities for start-ups and universities to market their technologies. The exhibition will demonstrate developments in nanotechnology-based products, tools and other services.

For more information please visit www.nanotech.net

NanoTransfer 2007

The 3rd Nanotechnology Transfer Executive Summit in Europe
December 3-4, 2007 • Novotel Charenton, Paris
Co-located with ENS 2007

Who will attend:

• Established companies interested in nanotechnology
• Nanotechnology Start-ups
• Investors and experts from areas supporting tech transfer
• Technology Transfer and Licensing Offices

Registration now open

JPK translates BioSPM skills into sales success

James Tyrrell, editor of nanotechweb.org

JPK Instruments is one of Germany's leading nanotechnology companies, according to the firm's auditor Deloitte and thanks to a sales growth rate of over 970% during the past five years. A developer of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) for biologists, JPK is now number two in Deloitte's "Technology Fast 50" life sciences segment.

Torsten Jähnke, chief technology officer of JPK and one of the company's founders, knows the firm's products inside out. He spoke to nanotechweb.org about what it takes to develop an SPM for biological applications.

"It is important to introduce new technology into biology as a turnkey solution," Jähnke said. "Operators do not necessarily have a background in instrumentation, which you may find in physics or engineering."

Sample handling is another factor to consider. "The workflow can be completely different to other fields," explained Jähnke. "Biologists often take the same sample, mostly in liquid, from one tool to the next to build up a complete profile of the structure." Against this backdrop, the SPM has evolved to fit in with the whole analysis process.

"You must create a tool that can be combined with other tools – today's BioSPMs are increasingly integrated with other techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy," said Jähnke. "Users want to measure the chemical properties of their sample and to combine the data with SPM and optical images at the same spot and at the same time."

For a company like JPK this means partnering with leading research labs and attending not just SPM events but a wide range of related workshops in other disciplines, like fluorescence and confocal microscopy. In-house, the firm has put together a multi-skilled team to develop its instruments. "I think part of our success is due to the fact that at JPK, biologists sit in the same room as the engineers," commented Jähnke.

SPMs have come a long way since their inception. Closed-loop scanning stages have all but eliminated the problems related to piezo creep and hysteresis, but one of the biggest developments in recent years has been in the software.

"The user interface has improved tremendously," said Jähnke. "Researchers can calibrate or auto-align the system with one click." Software is now responsible for controlling the temperature and humidity of the sample and it plays a major role in guiding the user through the instrument.

"Operators don't want a six month learning period when they switch to a new instrument," explained Jähnke. "Today, technicians can get to grips with the equipment very quickly and that is due to the software."