Tag Archives: Small Times Magazine

March 2, 2009: Advanced BioNutrition Corp. and the US Geological Survey are looking to partner on a project that would evaluate whether a nanotechnology product can control flying carp in Wisconsin waterways, according to a report in the Onalaska Holmen Courier-Life.

According to the report, a USGS biologist asked the Lake Onalaska Protection and Rehabilitation District if it could test MicroMatrix, a nanotech-based product that delivers a range of bioactive compounds in animals and human foods, at its French Island facility to see if it will work with flying carp and other aquatic invasive species.

The USGS, however, doesn’t have the roughly $3 million it would cost to fund the first year of the three- to five-year study.

“We could do it on a small scale basis in-house, but for large scale research, we need more staff and resources,” USGS biologist Randy Hines was quoted as saying. “The beauty of it is it has the ability to target the species and a particular part of the body and not affect other species.”

The paper said that, despite lack of funding, Advanced BioNutrition is still building a working prototype the USGS can test. Meanwhile, local officials are writing letters to their congressional representatives to see if they can get funding.

March 2, 2009: Pixavi has launched a MEMS-featured videoconferencing camera that it is billing as “recession-proof technology.”

The Xcaster, the Norway-based company said in a news release, is a compact, wireless videoconferencing and collaboration camera, capable of communication and collaboration using high definition video and cd quality audio to any computer, video conferencing or telepresence endpoint. It offers an “audiovisual experience so far offered only by stationary and meeting room HD video conference systems,” the release said. “The result is obvious: Reduced travel cost and increased efficiency.”

The MEMS component is an integrated gyroscopic sensor, enabling the user to collaborate in real time over HD video and audio ubiquitously with his or her surroundings.


The Xcaster wireless HD camera contains MEMS gyros for stabilization

March 2, 2009: Norcada Inc., a MEMS design and product development company, has announced the availability of a new TEM (transmission electron microscope) nitride window array device to the TEM research community.

The new TEM window array devices enable the end users to conduct multiple analyses in-situ on a single TEM nitride membrane device, which increases the throughput significantly, Norcada announced in a news release.

The TA301 series TEM nitride window array device has nine individual membrane windows in a 3×3 array pattern on a single 200μm-thick octagon-shaped silicon frame, which fits inside a 3mm diameter circle. Each silicon nitride window of the 3×3 array is 100μm × 100μm in size, and the spacing between two adjacent windows is 350μm (edge to edge).

The initial devices being offered have a 100nm thickness low-stress silicon nitride membrane (part number TA301C). Additional TEM devices with 30nm and 50nm thickness silicon nitride membranes will become available shortly.


Norcada TEM Window. (Photo courtesy of Norcada Inc.)

February 27, 2009: The US Anti-Doping Agency has awarded nanotech company Ceres Nanosciences LLLP $65,000 and research support for development of a urine test to detect human growth hormone, according to a Bloomberg report.

Ceres, in partnership with George Mason University, will try to prove that Ceres’s technology can detect HGH, a performance-enhancing drug that grows muscle and aids recovery after training. Currently, no urine test exists to detect HGH that would stand up in court, Ceres CEO Tom Dunlap told Bloomberg.

Major League Baseball banned HGH in 2005 but, like other professional sports, does not test for the substance.

February 27, 2009: Researchers at Northeastern University created a network of nanowires that can be scaled up more efficiently and cost-effectively to create displays such as the Nasdaq sign in New York City’s Times Square.

Using gallium nitride (GaN), a highly effective semiconductor material, the team created, for the first time, a horizontally aligned network of GaN nanowires, which are integral components in the development of electrical circuits in the nanoscale. GaN is currently used to create light-emitting diodes (LED) and blue and ultra-violet emitting lasers.

“Making devices that emit blue light and ultraviolet light is currently very expensive,” said Latika Menon, assistant professor of physics and co-author of the study. “The horizontal structure of the GaN nanowire network will result in a more cost-effective way to advance this technology.”

Electrodes allow for the flow of electricity between GaN nanowires and electrical wires, and the horizontal structure of the GaN nanowire networks are more easily attached to electrodes than vertical networks. In addition, the GaN nanowires have a cubic structure, with optical and transport properties that are more advanced than other nanowire structures, resulting in a more effective electrical circuit.


(Source: Journal of Materials Chemistry)

In terms of manufacturing, these horizontal network patterns can also be scaled up to large wafer sizes that are more compatible with the technology used to integrate them into new nanoelectronic devices. These devices connect nanotechnology and electronic devices to develop smaller and less costly manufacturing processes and products.

The research, published in a recent issue of the Journal of Materials Chemistry, was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing at Northeastern. Other Northeastern researchers participating in this project include physicist Zhen Wu, as well as Myung Gwan Hahm and Yung Joon Jung from the department of mechanical and electrical engineering.

February 27, 2009: CombiMatrix Corp. (Nasdaq: CBMX) has announced positive preliminary data on its investigational Comprehensive Cancer Array (CCA) test showing it can noninvasively screen for the early detection of cancer, the company announced in a news release.

The study focused on prostate, colon, ovarian, breast and lung cancers because they comprise roughly 85% of all solid tumors in the US, the company said.

Preliminary data using serum from cancer-free patients and patients with cancer at various stages (stage 1 to stage 4) were presented. CombiMatrix used a comprehensive micro RNA (miRNA, a recently discovered type of nucleic acid) array built on its CustomArray platform to perform this study. The study’s key demonstration was that the miRNA expression patterns, in blood, for patients with cancer (including early stage 1) were dramatically different from patients who were cancer-free.

The resulting analysis indicated that a clear distinction could be made between patients with cancer and those without. Results also indicated that identification of the specific cancer was possible.

Further data from this and other studies will be presented in the coming months.

The study, titled Detection of Cancer with Serum miRNAs on an Oligonucleotide Microarray” (PDF 1.1MB), was presented as a poster by Dominic Suciu, senior scientist at CombiMatrix.

February 27, 2009: Sun Dry Technologies, a division of Solestrom International, has launched a line of nanotech-enhanced activewear fabric that repels wetness and dries within moments.

Sun Dry Swim features quick dry nanotechnology enhanced activewear fabric that sheds water as naturally as skin, the company said in a news release. Once removed from water, wetness surfaces and beads off Sun Dry Swim fabric, after wearing the bathing suits are simply shaken to dry.

“Sun Dry Swim fabrics are treated using our proprietary methods with a nanotechnology process that is inert, UV stable and completely harmless to skin,” Sales Manager Amy Hardin said in the news release. “Optimal technical performance paired with ultimate comfort. The nontoxic nanotechnology treatment is water based and environmentally friendly.”

Sun Dry Swim fabric has an invisible nanotechnology mesh around each fabric fiber, creating a permanent water repelling material without interfering with the fabric weave, the company said. This effect creates an easy to clean, breathable protected surface with water resistant properties, the material cannot soak up liquid, while the fabric still looks and performs like top quality swimsuit fabric.


Sun Dry Swim Tank Suit. (Photo Courtesy of Sun Dry Technologies)

February 26, 2009: Nanotechnology will have a strong future in Australia if industry and community can agree on the type of technologies that should be adopted, according to one of a number of findings from a nanotechnology report by Australian Innovation Minister Kim Carr.

The report is based on a workshop on social inclusion and engagement on nanotechnology held in Canberra in December.

“This workshop and subsequent report demonstrate the power of big ideas for small and exciting technologies,” Carr said in a prepared statement. “In particular it has found the pressing need for increased dialogue between interest groups.

“Industries of the future will be based on the convergence of nanotechnology with biotechnology, information technology and cognitive technologies — all of which will have a significant impact across our economy and society.

“The government will continue to work hard to facilitate this dialogue between researchers, industry and the general public.”

The report shows that different interest groups sometimes have strongly differing perspectives on the adoption of new technologies. It also shows how it is possible for different voices to come together.

“The Rudd Government is committed to supporting the development of new technologies that benefit Australia and we are committed to protecting the health and safety of Australians. We must foster informed community debate,” Carr said.

February 26, 2009: Evolutec Group plc has announced the proposed acquisition of Nanoco Tech plc, a nanotechnology company based in Manchester, UK. Once the acquisition is approved by shareholders, the enlarged group will be known as Nanoco Group plc and have a market capitalization of approximately $55.2 million.

The acquisition constitutes a reverse takeover, according to a company news release.

Nanoco is involved in the development and manufacture of fluorescent semiconducting materials called quantum dots.

Nanoco’s business strategy is to work in partnership with quantum dot application developers, the company said, adding that the developers tend to be large global technology companies working to incorporate quantum dots into a specific end use application such as LEDs, displays and solar cells.

February 26, 2009: Nanogen Inc., developer of molecular and rapid diagnostic products, has expanded its partnership with HandyLab Inc. by signing a licensing and supply agreement for use of the company’s proprietary Minor Groove Binder Probe technology and synthetic nucleic acid chemistries, including dyes and quenchers, for use in vitro diagnostic testing.

Under the licensing agreement, HandyLab receives a non-exclusive license to market, sell and distribute PCR test kits utilizing Nanogen’s patented technology for use on HandyLab’s Jaguar System and other HandyLab systems. Terms of the agreement include an upfront license fee and a commitment to supply HandyLab with Nanogen’s proprietary PCR products, according to a Nanogen news release.

The licensing agreement marks the expansion of an already established partnership. In 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a $10.4 million, two-year contract to Nanogen for the development of a multi-analyte molecular diagnostic assay for influenza. The influenza test is being developed for use with the HandyLab microfluidic real-time PCR Raider instrument.