IANS | Toronto June 10, 2017 Last Updated at 15:42 IST

Using nanotechnology, scientists have developed a new diagnostic process that can identify aggressive prostate cancer from a single drop of blood with 40 per cent more accuracy than current screening methods.

The Extracellular Vesicle Fingerprint Predictive Score (EV-FPS) test uses machine learning to combine information from millions of cancer cell nano-particles in the blood to recognise the unique fingerprint of aggressive prostate cancer.

The diagnostic, evaluated in a group of men suspected of prostate cancer, correctly identified aggressive prostate cancer 40 per cent more accurately than the most common blood test -- Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) and helped them avoid unnecessary painful biopsies and over-treatment.

"Higher sensitivity means that our test will miss fewer aggressive cancers...for this kind of test you want the sensitivity to be as high as possible because you don't want to miss a single cancer that should be treated," said John Lewis from the University of Alberta in Canada.

Current tests such as the PSA and digital rectal exam (DRE) often lead to unneeded biopsies, the researchers said, while presenting the paper at the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles conference in Toronto recently.

More than 50 per cent of men who undergo biopsy do not have prostate cancer, yet suffer the pain and side effects of the procedure.

It is estimated that successful implementation of the EV-FPS test could eventually eliminate up to 600,000 unnecessary biopsies, 24,000 hospitalisations and up to 50 per cent of unnecessary treatments for prostate cancer each year in North America alone, Lewis said.

"Compared to elevated total PSA alone, the EV-FPS test can more accurately predict the result of prostate biopsy in previously unscreened men," added Adrian Fairey, Urologist from the University of Alberta.

--IANS

karthik/rt/nir/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Using nanotechnology, scientists have developed a new diagnostic process that can identify aggressive prostate cancer from a single drop of blood with 40 per cent more accuracy than current screening methods.

The Extracellular Vesicle Fingerprint Predictive Score (EV-FPS) test uses machine learning to combine information from millions of cancer cell nano-particles in the blood to recognise the unique fingerprint of aggressive prostate cancer.

The diagnostic, evaluated in a group of men suspected of prostate cancer, correctly identified aggressive prostate cancer 40 per cent more accurately than the most common blood test -- Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) and helped them avoid unnecessary painful biopsies and over-treatment.

"Higher sensitivity means that our test will miss fewer aggressive cancers...for this kind of test you want the sensitivity to be as high as possible because you don't want to miss a single cancer that should be treated," said John Lewis from the University of Alberta in Canada.

Current tests such as the PSA and digital rectal exam (DRE) often lead to unneeded biopsies, the researchers said, while presenting the paper at the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles conference in Toronto recently.

More than 50 per cent of men who undergo biopsy do not have prostate cancer, yet suffer the pain and side effects of the procedure.

It is estimated that successful implementation of the EV-FPS test could eventually eliminate up to 600,000 unnecessary biopsies, 24,000 hospitalisations and up to 50 per cent of unnecessary treatments for prostate cancer each year in North America alone, Lewis said.

"Compared to elevated total PSA alone, the EV-FPS test can more accurately predict the result of prostate biopsy in previously unscreened men," added Adrian Fairey, Urologist from the University of Alberta.

--IANS

karthik/rt/nir/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

IANS

http://bsmedia.business-standard.com/_media/bs/wap/images/bs_logo_amp.png 177 22

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Nanotech-based test can predict prostate cancer risk better ... - Business Standard

Interview conducted by Mychealla RiceJun 9 2017

In this interview Steve Ryan, Divisional Vice President from Technical Manufacturing Corporation (TMC) talks to AZoNano about the importance of adding vibration control to Nano-Tech Facilities. In the past, buildings that have been designed to be extremely quiet still suffer from vibration when the building is populated with equipment and people.

The adverse effect of vibration typically manifests itself in decreased resolution of the instrument. Electron Microscopes have resolution ranging from tens of nanometers to sub-nanometer.

Atomic Force Microscopes and Scanning Tunneling Microscopes have resolutions to sub-Angstrom levels. Floor vibration often prevents such tools from meeting their design specifications.

The concept may be summarized as Quiet Buildings or Quiet Islands? Architects can design buildings to meet moderate floor vibration levels without too much difficulty. However designing buildings to meet the extremely low vibration levels required for nanotech research facilities requires exponentially more cost with diminishing returns.

Diminishing returns because even to the extent that the building floors are quiet, as soon as the building is populated with people and machinery, vibration sources are placed in the quiet structure negating much of the benefit of the quiet building design.

Figure 1: Quiet Island being utilised in a Nano-Tech Facility

Rather than trying to achieve a quiet building, it is much more efficient to place quiet islands at the discrete locations where precision instruments, experiments, and research will be conducted.

A Quiet Island is a rigid, damped platform matching the footprint of the instrument supported by an active, piezoelectric vibration cancellation system.

The Quiet Island replaces a section of the raised access floor with an isolated foundation, mounted to the sub-floor and actively cancelling sub-floor vibration from reaching the instrument.

As requirements for quiet buildings become increasingly demanding, it becomes exponentially difficult and expensive to achieve the goal; placing the instrument on a site that meets the instruments floor vibration spec. Using inertial active control techniques lends itself to achieving a very quiet surface but only over a limited size.

There is a direct analogy to this approach of Quiet Islands vs. Quiet Buildings. As semiconductor node sizes rapidly decreased, cleanliness requirements for semiconductor fab cleanrooms became much more stringent.

Eventually it became virtually impossible to have people in cleanrooms without contamination and failure to meet cleanliness specs.

The solution was to create SMIF and FOUP mini-environments to house in-process silicon wafers. Rather than making a cleanroom the industry turned to and adopted clean islands.

The Quiet Island approach is to start with low frequency inertial vibration sensors in three axes arranged to sense floor vibration at the point-of-use.

The measured signals are conditioned, amplified and fed through an advanced controller to drive high capacity piezoelectric actuators and filter the floor motion from reaching the isolated surface of the Quiet Island.

As the floor moves up, the piezos contract. As it moves down, the piezos expand. This is done in all three axes to achieve six degrees-of-freedom over a bandwidth of 0.6 to 150 Hz.

This technology has been rapidly and increasingly adopted in advanced semiconductor factories. As chip-makers race to keep up with Moores Law (chip density doubles every two years) they must design ever finer IC geometries.

Such finer geometries are correspondingly more difficult to pattern and inspect.

Now, scientists at nanotechnology research centers and advanced electron microscope and imaging centers require the same solution.

Figure 2: The Stacis III

Physically, Quiet Islands are easily designed to fit beneath sensitive tools and the sub-floor. The capacity and size is simply designed to match the tool. To determine the acceptable floor vibration levels, the specifications for the most sensitive tools must be compiled.

Adjusting for the vibration transfer function of the Quiet Island, architects can design floors to meet a less stringent spec corresponding to the improved transfer function provided by the Quiet Island.

Successful installations number in the thousands. Too many to name hwoever a few include NIH (National Institutes for Health), Texas Instruments, University of Maryland BioMET, Rice University BioScience Research Collaborative, and Jagiellonian Unviversity Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology Center (Krakow, Poland).

Floor vibration is a key, inherent limitation to imaging and patterning at the sub-nanometer scale. As scientists and engineers go to ever smaller scales, TMCs vibration control solutions ensure that the adverse effects of floor vibration can be mitigated.

Please check out our website at http://www.techmfg.com. Or contact one of our Sales Engineers at 978 532 6330 or [emailprotected]

Steve Ryan is the Divisional Vice President with overall responsibility for TMC, an AMETEK business. He holds a B.S. in Physics from Bates College and has over 30 years of experience in building floor vibration control and vibration control of nuclear reactors and steam & electric plants in Trident and Seawolf submarines. A patented inventor with other patents pending.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.

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The Benefits of Including Floor Vibration Control for Nano-Tech Facilities over Designing 'Quiet' Buildings - AZoNano

Nanotech Security Corp (NTS.V) shares are moving today onvolatility1.56% or $0.02 from the open.TheTSXV listed companysaw a recent bid of $1.30 and12900shares have traded hands in the session.

Some dedicated market watchers will preach the old adage, nothing ventured nothing gained. Some may adhere to the slow and steady mindset. The correct play for one investor may not be the same for another. Some may choose to be fully invested while others may keep some cash on the sidelines. Active stock market investors may have to find that perfect balance between being too risky or playing it too safe. If the market keeps charging higher in the second half of the year, investors may have to decide whether to take profits, or let it ride.

Digging deeping into the Nanotech Security Corp (NTS.V) s technical indicators, we note that the Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -17.65. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.

Nanotech Security Corp (NTS.V) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of 67.14. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.

Currently, the 14-day ADX for Nanotech Security Corp (NTS.V) is sitting at 14.96. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.

The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, the 14-day RSI for Nanotech Security Corpis currently at 54.42, the 7-day stands at 61.16, and the 3-day is sitting at 75.27.

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Watching the Tape Move for Nanotech Security Corp (NTS.V) - Stock Rover

The moving average of trading ranges over a specified time period is known as the Average True Range. Market bottoms following a panic sell-off are often where high values occur, and low values are often found during extended sideways periods, such as those found after consolidation periods at tops. Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK)s 9-Day Average True Range is0.006 and the 14-Day Average True Range is 0.0063. Digging deeper, the 20-Day Average True Range is 0.0064, the 50-Day Average True Range is0.0062 and, lastly, the 100-Day Average True Range is 0.0079.

Volume is the number of shares traded specific period of time. Every buyer has a seller, and each transaction adds to the total count of the volume. When a buyer and a seller agree on a transaction at a certain price, it is considered to be one transaction. For example, if only twenty transactions occur in a trading day, the volume for the day is twenty. Volume is used to measure the relative worth of a market move. When the markets make a strong price movement, the strength of that movement depends on the volume over that period. The higher the volume means the more significant the move. Volume levels give clues about where to find the best entry and exit points. Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK) experienced a volume of 266388. Volume is an important measure of strength for traders and technical analysts because volume is the number of contracts traded. The market needs to produce a buyer and a seller for any trade to occur. The market price is when buyers and sellers meet. When buyers and sellers become very active at a certain price, this means that there is high volume. Bar charts are used to quickly determine the level of volume and identify trends in volume.

A 52-week high/low is the highest and lowest share price that a stock has traded at during the previous year. Investors and traders consider the 52-week high or low as a crucial factor in determining a given stocks current value while also predicting future price movements. When a commodity trades within its 52-week price range (the range that exists between the 52-week low and the 52-week high), investors usually show more interest as the price nears either the high or the low. One of the more popular strategies used by traders is to buy when the price eclipses its 52-week high or to sell when the price drops below its 52-week low. The rationale involved with this strategy says that if the price breaks out either above or below the 52-week range, there is momentum enough to continue the price fluctuation in a positive direction. Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK)s high over the last year was $0.1275 while its low was $0.0155.

A pivot point is a technical analysis indicator used to glean the overall trend of the market over differing time periods. The pivot point itself is simply the average of the high, low and closing prices from the previous days trading. On the following day, any trading above the pivot point indicates ongoing bullish trends, while trading below the pivot point indicates a bearish trend. Pivot point analysis is used in alongside calculating support and resistance levels, much like trend line analysis. In pivot point analysis, the first support and resistance levels are found by utilizing the width of the trading range between the pivot point and either the high or low prices of the previous trading day. Secondary support and resistance levels are found using the full width between the high and low prices of the previous trading day.

Pivot points are oft-used indicators for trading futures, commodities, and stocks. They are static, remaining at the same price level throughout the day. Five pivot point levels are generated by using data from the previous days trading range. These are composed of a pivot point and two higher pivot point resistances called R1 and R2 and also two lower pivot point supports called as S1 and S2. Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK)s Pivot Point is 0.0358. Barchart Opinions show investors what a variety of popular trading systems are suggesting. These Opinions take up to 2 years worth of historical data and runs the prices through thirteen technical indicators. After each calculation, a buy, sell or hold value for each study is assigned, depending on where the price is in reference to the interpretation of the study.

Todays opinion, the overall signal based on where the price lies in reference to the common interpretation of all 13 studies, for Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK) is 40% Sell. Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK)s Previous Opinion, he overall signal from yesterday, based on where the price lies in reference to the common interpretation of all 13 studies was 16% Sell. Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK)s opinion strength, a long-term measurement of signal strength vs. the historical strength, is Minimum.

Opinion strength ranges from Maximum, Strong, Average, Weak, Minimum. A stronger strength is less volatile and a hold signal does not have any strength. The Opinion Direction, a three-day measurement of the movement of the signal, an indication of whether the most recent price movement is going along with the signal. Strongest, Strengthening, Average, Weakening, or Weakest. A buy or sell signal with a strongest direction means the signal is becoming stronger. A hold signal direction indicates where the signal is heading (towards a buy or sell): Bullish, Rising, Steady, Falling, or Bearish. Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK)s direction is Strengthening.

Disclaimer: Nothing contained in this publication is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. The general information contained in this publication should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from a licensed professional.

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Nanotech Entertainment Inc. (NTEK) True Range Review - Nelson Research

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Nanotech: Making Photovoltaics Possible 2017" report to their offering.

This research report takes a look at how nanotechnology is changing the world of solar photovoltaics and making possible advances which earlier one could not even possibly imagine. The report looks at the technology which is making this possible. Basics of nanotechnology, of photovoltaics, of the current PV industry worldwide, and of course, of the usage of solar power worldwide, is all analyzed in this report. Information on companies making possible the usage of nanotechnology to further increase the profitability of photovoltaics is also provided in this report.

Presently, the climate of economic difficulty facing the world is resulting in a rising demand for going green. An attempt is being made to stimulate economies by an expansion of government spending in the areas of sustainability, energy conservation and renewable energy. However the credit crunch and wild swings in the price of oil could get in the way of these nanotech solutions being aggressively pursued.

Key Topics Covered:

A. Executive Summary

B. Introduction to Solar Energy

C. About Nanotechnology

D. Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics

E. Photovoltaics and Nanotechnology

F. Applications of Nanotechnology in Energy

G. Global Scenario and R&D of Nano in Solar Cells

H. Research Trend in Nano Solar Cells

I. Technological Advancements that will Grow Nano PV Cells

J. Present Market Economics of Nano & Future Prospects

K. Leading Industry Contributors

L. Appendix

M. Glossary of Terms

Companies Mentioned

- Applied Materials

- BASF Corporation

- DuPont

- Merck KGaA

- Nano-C Inc.

- NanoFlex Power Corporation

- NanoGram Corporation (part of the Teijin Group)

- PV Nano Cell

- Samsung Group

- SunFlake

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/lkg24m/nanotech_making

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Nanotech Report: Making Photovoltaics Possible 2017 - Research and Markets - Business Wire (press release)

As reported in the Science News Journal, a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Sciences (CFANS) created a sponge to address this growing problem. Within seconds, the sponge can absorb mercury from a polluted water source.

The team used nanotechnology to develop a sponge that has outstanding mercury adsorption properties. Mercury contamination can now be removed to below detectable limits from tap and lake water in less than 5 seconds. It takes about 5 minutes to remove the mercury from industrial wastewater. The contamination is converted into a complex that is not toxic and the sponge can be disposed of in a landfill after use. The sponge also kills fungal and bacterial microbes.

Nano Sponge

As an illustration, if Como Lake in St. Paul were contaminated with mercury at the U.S. EPA limit, a sponge the size of a basketball would be needed to remove all of the mercury.

This is an important development for the state of Minnesota. More than 66% of the waters on Minnesotas 2004 Impaired Waters List are compromised as the mercury contamination in those waters ranges from 0.27 to 12.43 ng/L (the EPA limit is 2 ng/L).

Many Great Lake States and Provinces have had to establish fish consumption guidelines, as mercury contamination of lake waters leads to mercury accumulation in fish. It is advised that a number of fish species store bought or caught in the Great Lakes should not be consumed more than once a week or even once a month.

A reduced deposition of mercury is also projected to have economic benefits. U.S. EPA forecasts show that reducing mercury emissions to the latest established effluent limit standards would result in 130,000 fewer asthma attacks, 11,000 fewer premature deaths and 4,700 fewer heart attacks each year. That translates to between $37 billion and $90 billion in annual monetized benefits.

The new technology would have an impact on inspiring new regulations in addition to improving aquatic life, air and water quality, and public health. Technology shapes regulations and this, in turn, determines the value of the market.

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Nanotech Sponge Removes Mercury from Water - HazMat Management Magazine (subscription)

Researchers take big step forward in nanotech-based drugs ... Science Daily New research takes a step forward in the understanding of nanoparticles and how they can best be used to deliver drugs. and more »

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Researchers take big step forward in nanotech-based drugs ... - Science Daily

Nanotechnology has become a growing part of medical research in recent years, with scientists feverishly working to see if tiny particles could revolutionize the world of drug delivery.

But many questions remain about how to effectively transport those particles and associated drugs to cells.

In an article published in Scientific Reports, FSU Associate Professor of Biological Science Steven Lenhert takes a step forward in the understanding of nanoparticles and how they can best be used to deliver drugs.

After conducting a series of experiments, Lenhert and his colleagues found that it may be possible to boost the efficacy of medicine entering target cells via a nanoparticle.

We can enhance how cells take them up and make more drugs more potent, Lenhert says.

Initially, Lenhert and his colleagues from the University of Toronto and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology wanted to see what happened when they encapsulated silicon nanoparticles in liposomes or small spherical sacs of molecules and delivered them to HeLa cells, a standard cancer cell model.

The initial goal was to test the toxicity of silicon-based nanoparticles and get a better understanding of its biological activity.

Silicon is a non-toxic substance and has well-known optical properties that allow their nanostructures to appear fluorescent under an infrared camera, where tissue would be nearly transparent. Scientists believe it has enormous potential as a delivery agent for drugs as well as in medical imaging.

But there are still questions about how silicon behaves at such a small size.

Nanoparticles change properties as they get smaller, so scientists want to understand the biological activity, Lenhert says. For example, how does shape and size affect toxicity?

Scientists found that 10 out of 18 types of the particles, ranging from 1.5 nanometers to 6 nanometers, were significantly more toxic than crude mixtures of the material.

At first, scientists believed this could be a setback, but they then discovered the reason for the toxicity levels. The more toxic fragments also had enhanced cellular uptake.

That information is more valuable long term, Lenhert says, because it means they could potentially alter nanoparticles to enhance the potency of a given therapeutic.

The work also paves the way for researchers to screen libraries of nanoparticles to see how cells react.

This is an essential step toward the discovery of novel nanotechnology based therapeutics, Lenhert says. Theres big potential here for new therapeutics, but we need to be able to test everything first.

Other researchers contributing to the work are Aubrey Kusi-Appiah, Lida Ghazanfari, and Plengchart Prommapan from Florida State University; Melanie Mastronardi, Chenxi Qian, Ken Chen, and Geoffrey Ozin from the University of Toronto; and Christian Kubel from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Florida State University

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Huge Step Toward Nanotech-Based Drugs - Controlled Environments Magazine

Among the numerous inventions that IBM Corp. has racked up over its more than centurylong history are DRAM, the disk drive and several other foundational components of modern data storage. On Wednesday, the company added another breakthrough to the list by revealing that it has managed to encode information into a single atom.

The IBM Research team behindthe project (pictured) published the details of their effort in this weeks edition of the science journal Nature. For the storage medium, they used an atom of the rare earth element holmium, which is employed in a variety of scientific and industrial applications including nuclear reactors. It stands out for having the highest magnetic strength on the periodic table, a property that Big Blues researchers exploited to mimic the behavior of a bit.

The team placed their holmium atom on a surface made of magnesium oxide to produce magnetic bistability, a phenomenon wherein a particle has two potential magnetic states. They then used a customized scanning tunneling microscope, an invention that happen to have originated at IBM as well and earned its creators a Nobel prize, to run a 150-millivolt current through the atom. The jolt changed its magnetic field, an effect equivalent to flipping the value of a bit in a traditional data storage medium.

From there, IBMs researchers were able to read the contents of the holmium atom by placing an iron atom in the vicinity that reflected the magnetic change in its own behavior. Developing this sensing approach was an achievement of its own that the team shared in a companion paper published by Nature Nanotechnology.

According to an IBM spokesperson, the breakthrough may one day make it possible to store the more than 25 million songs in Apple Inc.s iTunes on a device the size of a credit card. But nothing is certain at such an early stage. To make the technology viable for commercial use, the company would likely have to spend years improving its implementation and manufacturing processes.

In the meantime, new alternatives to traditional storage media are already starting to hit the market. One of the most promising contenders is NRAM, a type of non-volatile memory based on carbon nanotubes that can read and write data 100 times faster than flash while providing superior density. Nantero Inc., the startup behind the technology, recently raised $21 million in funding to fuel its commercialization efforts.

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IBM shrinks data storage to the atomic level in latest nanotech milestone - SiliconANGLE (blog)

Steven Lenhert, associate professor of biological science

Nanotechnology has become a growing part of medical research in recent years, with scientists feverishly working to see if tiny particles could revolutionize the world of drug delivery.

But many questions remain about how to effectively transport those particles and associated drugs to cells.

In an article published today in Scientific Reports, FSU Associate Professor of Biological Science Steven Lenhert takes a step forward in the understanding of nanoparticles and how they can best be used to deliver drugs.

After conducting a series of experiments, Lenhert and his colleagues found that it may be possible to boost the efficacy of medicine entering target cells via a nanoparticle.

We can enhance how cells take them up and make more drugs more potent, Lenhert said.

Initially, Lenhert and his colleagues from the University of Toronto and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology wanted to see what happened when they encapsulated silicon nanoparticles in liposomes or small spherical sacs of molecules and delivered them to HeLa cells, a standard cancer cell model.

The initial goal was to test the toxicity of silicon-based nanoparticles and get a better understanding of its biological activity.

Silicon is a non-toxic substance and has well-known optical properties that allow their nanostructures to appear fluorescent under an infrared camera, where tissue would be nearly transparent. Scientists believe it has enormous potential as a delivery agent for drugs as well as in medical imaging.

But there are still questions about how silicon behaves at such a small size.

Nanoparticles change properties as they get smaller, so scientists want to understand the biological activity, Lenhert said. For example, how does shape and size affect toxicity?

Scientists found that 10 out of 18 types of the particles, ranging from 1.5 nanometers to 6 nanometers, were significantly more toxic than crude mixtures of the material.

At first, scientists believed this could be a setback, but they then discovered the reason for the toxicity levels. The more toxic fragments also had enhanced cellular uptake.

That information is more valuable long term, Lenhert said, because it means they could potentially alter nanoparticles to enhance the potency of a given therapeutic.

The work also paves the way for researchers to screen libraries of nanoparticles to see how cells react.

This is an essential step toward the discovery of novel nanotechnology based therapeutics, Lenhert said. Theres big potential here for new therapeutics, but we need to be able to test everything first.

Other researchers contributing to the work are Aubrey Kusi-Appiah, Lida Ghazanfari and Plengchart Prommapan from Florida State University; Melanie Mastronardi, Chenxi Qian, Ken Chen and Geoffrey Ozin from the University of Toronto; and Christian Kubel from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Interested in learning more? Read about this work in Lenherts own words.

Follow this link:

FSU researchers take big step forward in nanotech-based drugs - Florida State News

March 8, 2017

Nanotechnology has become a growing part of medical research in recent years, with scientists feverishly working to see if tiny particles could revolutionize the world of drug delivery.

But many questions remain about how to effectively transport those particles and associated drugs to cells.

In an article published today in Scientific Reports, FSU Associate Professor of Biological Science Steven Lenhert takes a step forward in the understanding of nanoparticles and how they can best be used to deliver drugs.

After conducting a series of experiments, Lenhert and his colleagues found that it may be possible to boost the efficacy of medicine entering target cells via a nanoparticle.

"We can enhance how cells take them up and make more drugs more potent," Lenhert said.

Initially, Lenhert and his colleagues from the University of Toronto and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology wanted to see what happened when they encapsulated silicon nanoparticles in liposomesor small spherical sacs of moleculesand delivered them to HeLa cells, a standard cancer cell model.

The initial goal was to test the toxicity of silicon-based nanoparticles and get a better understanding of its biological activity.

Silicon is a non-toxic substance and has well-known optical properties that allow their nanostructures to appear fluorescent under an infrared camera, where tissue would be nearly transparent. Scientists believe it has enormous potential as a delivery agent for drugs as well as in medical imaging.

But there are still questions about how silicon behaves at such a small size.

"Nanoparticles change properties as they get smaller, so scientists want to understand the biological activity," Lenhert said. "For example, how does shape and size affect toxicity?"

Scientists found that 10 out of 18 types of the particles, ranging from 1.5 nanometers to 6 nanometers, were significantly more toxic than crude mixtures of the material.

At first, scientists believed this could be a setback, but they then discovered the reason for the toxicity levels. The more toxic fragments also had enhanced cellular uptake. That information is more valuable long term, Lenhert said, because it means they could potentially alter nanoparticles to enhance the potency of a given therapeutic.

The work also paves the way for researchers to screen libraries of nanoparticles to see how cells react.

"This is an essential step toward the discovery of novel nanotechnology based therapeutics," Lenhert said. "There's big potential here for new therapeutics, but we need to be able to test everything first."

Explore further: New method to diagnose cancer

An international group of scientists has created a new approach to the diagnostics of breast cancer with the help of nanoparticles of porous silicone.

(Medical Xpress) -- New technology being developed at Florida State University could significantly decrease the cost of drug discovery, potentially leading to increased access to high-quality health care and cancer patients ...

Nanoparticles are being studied as drug delivery systems to treat a wide variety of diseases. New research delves into the physical properties of nanoparticles that are important for successfully delivering therapeutics within ...

Nanoparticles are particles that are smaller than 100 nanometers. They are typically obtained from metals and, because of their tiny size, have unique properties that make them useful for biomedical applications. However, ...

Lomonosov Moscow State University researchers, in collaboration with German colleagues, have applied silicon nanoparticles to diagnose and cure cancer. For the first time, scientists have demonstrated the ability of particles ...

A nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that can sense and respond to different conditions in the body, as well as to an externally applied magnetic field, could enhance doctors' ability to target drugs to specific sites ...

Rice University's latest nanophotonics research could expand the color palette for companies in the fast-growing market for glass windows that change color at the flick of an electric switch.

Cage-like compounds called clathrates could be used for harvesting waste heat and turning it into electricity. UC Davis chemists just discovered a whole new class of clathrates, potentially opening new ways to make and apply ...

A single cell can contain a wealth of information about the health of an individual. Now, a new method developed at MIT and National Chiao Tung University could make it possible to capture and analyze individual cells from ...

The most complex crystal designed and built from nanoparticles has been reported by researchers at Northwestern University and confirmed by researchers at the University of Michigan. The work demonstrates that some of nature's ...

The darkest form of ultraviolet light, known as UV-C, is unique because of its reputation as a killer of harmful organisms.

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have 3D printed a lifelike, functional blood vessel network that could pave the way toward artificial organs and regenerative therapies.

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Researchers take big step forward in nanotech-based drugs - Phys.org - Phys.Org

Canaccord Genuity Cuts Nanotech Security Corp (NTS) Price Target to C$1.75 Chaffey Breeze Nanotech Security Corp logo Nanotech Security Corp (CVE:NTS) had its price objective reduced by Canaccord Genuity from C$2.00 to C$1.75 in a report released on Thursday morning. They currently have a speculative buy rating on the stock. Canaccord ...

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Canaccord Genuity Cuts Nanotech Security Corp (NTS) Price Target to C$1.75 - Chaffey Breeze

Yet, the importance of nanoconfinement is not only this. Researchers from Mahidol University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have found that nano-hydrides can alter the nano-interfaces, which are phases that occur when the material is cycled.

Consequently, the researchers decided to apply nanoconfinement into Lithium Nitride hydrogen storage system. At the end, it was proved that nano-interfaces completely changed the pathways of the reaction pathways, and made the charging unit much faster and reversible.

The results were published in the Advanced Materials Interfaces journal on February 23rd. Regarding the results Brandon Wood, an LLNL materials scientist and lead author of the paper, commented:

The key is to get rid of the undesirable intermediate phases, which slow down the materials performance as they are formed or consumed. If you can do that, then the storage capacity kinetics dramatically improve and the thermodynamic requirements to achieve full recharge become far more reasonable.

In this material, the nano-interfaces do just that, as long as the nanoconfined particles are small enough. Its really a new paradigm for hydrogen storage, since it means that the reactions can be changed by engineering internal microstructures.

The paper has also opened an important door for the research on about solid-solid phase reaction in energy storage and the contribution of the nanoconfinement in this matter through thermodynamic modeling method. Tae Wook Heo, another LLNL co-author on the study, said:

There is a direct analogy between hydrogen storage reactions and solid-state reactions in battery electrode materials. People have been thinking about the role of interfaces in batteries for some time, and our work suggests that some of the same strategies being pursued in the battery community could also be applied to hydrogen storage. Tailoring morphology and internal microstructure could be the best way forward for engineering materials that could meet performance targets.

[via llnl]

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New Nanotech Material Could Solve On-Vehicle Hydrogen Storage Problems - The Green Optimistic (blog)

Harkesh Mittal (left), advisor and head of National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, inaugurates the PSG Nanotech Research, Innovation and Incubation Centre in Coimbatore on Monday. L. Gopalakrishnan, Managing Trustee of PSG Sons and Charities is seen in the picture . | Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan With efforts to encourage commercial production of innovative products in areas such as biotechnology, internet of things, and nano technology, about 30 % companies at the technology business incubators in the country are in such high-end technologies, Harkesh Mittal, advisor and head of National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), told presspersons here on Monday. He inaugurated here the PSG Nanotech Research, Innovation, and Incubation Centre, which is a collaboration of the PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, PSG College of Technology, and PSG-STEP and is supported by the NSTEDB. This is the only incubation centre so far for nano technology and it will focus on smart textiles, healthcare, renewable energy, and plastic electronics. The area of nano technology is new and lot of research is happening in this field. There is a need for transfer of technology, taking ideas to the market. The incubator will support such an effort, he said. The NSTEDB aims to start 20 new technology business incubators every year in different verticals. There are 110 technology business incubators in the country and 50 of these give seed support to the incubatees. The NSTEDB gives ?10 crore to each of these incubators and the amount is disbursed as loan or equity in two to three years. The National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations was launched last year. Under this initiative, an incubator gets seed support, has the scope to upscale, and will get support to covert ideas into prototypes. PSG STEP will launch shortly an entrepreneurial residential programme. It is among the 10 incubators in the country that will offer fellowship for a year to students who are entrepreneurs. A student can receive up to ?30,000 a month. E...

News Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/nanotech-incubation-centre-inaugurated/article17381285.ece

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Nanotech incubation centre inaugurated - NYOOOZ

Nanotech Security Corp (NTS) PT Lowered to C$1.75 at Canaccord Genuity Sports Perspectives Nanotech Security Corp logo Nanotech Security Corp (CVE:NTS) had its price target decreased by Canaccord Genuity from C$2.00 to C$1.75 in a research report released on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity currently has a speculative buy rating on the stock.

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Nanotech Security Corp (NTS) PT Lowered to C$1.75 at Canaccord Genuity - Sports Perspectives

Scientists, including those from the University of Minnesota in the US, developed a way to safely thaw frozen tissues with the aid of nanoparticles. (Representative image: Reuters)

Scientists are developing a new method to safely bring frozen organs back to life using nanotechnology, an advance that may make donated organs for transplants available to virtually everyone who needs them. The number of donated organs that may be transplanted into patients could increase greatly if there were a way to freeze and reheat organs without damaging the cells within them.

Scientists, including those from the University of Minnesota in the US, developed a way to safely thaw frozen tissues with the aid of nanoparticles.

The researchers manufactured silica-coated nanoparticles that contained iron oxide. When they applied a magnetic field to frozen tissues suffused with the nanoparticles, the nanoparticles generated heat rapidly and uniformly.

The tissue samples warmed up at rates of up to more than 130 degrees Celsius per minute, which is 10 to 100 times faster than previous methods.

Researchers tested their method on frozen human skin cells, segments of pig heart valves and sections of pig arteries.

None of the rewarmed tissues displayed signs of harm from the heating process, and they preserved key physical properties such as elasticity.

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The researchers were able to wash away the nanoparticles from the sample after thawing, Live Science reported.

Previous research successfully thawed tiny biological samples that were only one to three milliliters in volume.

The new technique works for samples that are up to 50 millilitres in size. The researchers said there is a strong possibility they could scale up their technique to even larger systems, such as organs.

We are at the level of rabbit organs now. We have a way to go for human organs, but nothing seems to preclude us from that, said John Bischof, from University of Minnesota.

The findings are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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Nanotech may help bring frozen organs back to life - Financial Express

Analyst Activity Canaccord Genuity Lowers Its Price Target On ... Market Exclusive Today, Canaccord Genuity lowered its price target on Nanotech Security Corp (CVE:NTS) to C$1.75 per share. There are 1 hold rating on the stock. The current ... Canaccord Genuity Lowers Nanotech Security Corp (NTS) Price ...Community Financial News all 2 news articles »

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Defense industry veteran Kevin Ruelas and his team announce the acquisition of Ti-Nanotech, formerly known as Crista Chemical Company.

SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) March 02, 2017

Defense industry veteran Kevin Ruelas and his team announce the acquisition of Ti-Nanotech, formerly known as Crista Chemical Company. Ti-Nanotech will join Syndetix, Inc., under the umbrella of the newly formed Defense and Government Solutions (DGS).

"We're thrilled to bring Ti-Nanotech's advanced and patented technology to our customers in the defense and law enforcement sectors," stated DGS and Ti-Nanotech CEO Ruelas. "By bringing Ti-Nanotech together with Syndetix under DGS, we see opportunities for growth in sectors where material strength and reliability are paramount, including aerospace and commercial products such as batteries, medical devices and military hardware."

Ti-Nanotech began as Cristal Chemical Company in 1999, focused on finding a non-toxic replacement for cadmium plating. They sought to do this without compromising strength, adding weight or creating corrosion issues. The solution was titanium plating for end products, which has applications in a variety of sectors including defense, commercial, aerospace and automotive.

Since then, the company has earned a reputation as a thought-leader in titanium coating. Titanium can be stronger than steel while being much lighter with the highest strength to weight ratio of any metal. It is also non-toxic and one of the only metals able to be put inside humans. Ti-Nanotech's patented technology makes titanium coating possible for a wide variety of industries including armored shields, reinforced consumer products such as medical devices and the growing field of next-generation batteries.

Ti-Nanotech will join Syndetix Inc., a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business and technology developer for the defense and law enforcement industries, under the umbrella of the newly formed DGS. With established contacts and customers in the defense and law enforcement sectors, DGS will introduce Ti-Nanotech's technologies to new audiences. With the formation of DGS both companies will be able to expand by reaching new customers leveraging their technology and service offerings including the aerospace industry and medical device manufacturers.

About DGS Formed in 2016, Defense and Government Solutions (DGS) and its holdings serve clients in the defense, law enforcement and commercial sectors. Its main holdings include Ti-Nanotech, focused on titanium electromagnetic plating for end products, and Syndetix, a technology company focused on designing, engineering and building technologies for international and domestic security forces. DGS is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business based in Las Cruces, N.M.

About Ti-Nanotech Since 1999, Ti-Nanotech has been in industry leader in titanium plating for end products. From the defense sector, to the aerospace industry and even the medical device field, Ti-Nanotech's titanium electromagnetic plating process can be applied to a variety of end products. Ti-Nanotech is a defense and government solutions company based in San Diego.

About Syndetix Since 1985, Syndetix, Inc. has been designing, engineering and building technologies that protect those who protect us. Founded as a technology spinoff from New Mexico State University's Physical Science Laboratory, Syndetix, Inc. provides high-caliber design and engineering services for the Department of Defense, Department of Justice and civilian markets to enable mission critical success.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/03/prweb14107155.htm

Originally posted here:

Ti-Nanotech Acquired by Defense Industry Veteran Kevin Ruelas ... - Benzinga

SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) March 02, 2017

Defense industry veteran Kevin Ruelas and his team announce the acquisition of Ti-Nanotech, formerly known as Crista Chemical Company. Ti-Nanotech will join Syndetix, Inc., under the umbrella of the newly formed Defense and Government Solutions (DGS).

Were thrilled to bring Ti-Nanotechs advanced and patented technology to our customers in the defense and law enforcement sectors, stated DGS and Ti-Nanotech CEO Ruelas. By bringing Ti-Nanotech together with Syndetix under DGS, we see opportunities for growth in sectors where material strength and reliability are paramount, including aerospace and commercial products such as batteries, medical devices and military hardware.

Ti-Nanotech began as Cristal Chemical Company in 1999, focused on finding a non-toxic replacement for cadmium plating. They sought to do this without compromising strength, adding weight or creating corrosion issues. The solution was titanium plating for end products, which has applications in a variety of sectors including defense, commercial, aerospace and automotive.

Since then, the company has earned a reputation as a thought-leader in titanium coating. Titanium can be stronger than steel while being much lighter with the highest strength to weight ratio of any metal. It is also non-toxic and one of the only metals able to be put inside humans. Ti-Nanotechs patented technology makes titanium coating possible for a wide variety of industries including armored shields, reinforced consumer products such as medical devices and the growing field of next-generation batteries.

Ti-Nanotech will join Syndetix Inc., a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business and technology developer for the defense and law enforcement industries, under the umbrella of the newly formed DGS. With established contacts and customers in the defense and law enforcement sectors, DGS will introduce Ti-Nanotechs technologies to new audiences. With the formation of DGS both companies will be able to expand by reaching new customers leveraging their technology and service offerings including the aerospace industry and medical device manufacturers.

About DGS Formed in 2016, Defense and Government Solutions (DGS) and its holdings serve clients in the defense, law enforcement and commercial sectors. Its main holdings include Ti-Nanotech, focused on titanium electromagnetic plating for end products, and Syndetix, a technology company focused on designing, engineering and building technologies for international and domestic security forces. DGS is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business based in Las Cruces, N.M.

About Ti-Nanotech Since 1999, Ti-Nanotech has been in industry leader in titanium plating for end products. From the defense sector, to the aerospace industry and even the medical device field, Ti-Nanotechs titanium electromagnetic plating process can be applied to a variety of end products. Ti-Nanotech is a defense and government solutions company based in San Diego.

About Syndetix Since 1985, Syndetix, Inc. has been designing, engineering and building technologies that protect those who protect us. Founded as a technology spinoff from New Mexico State Universitys Physical Science Laboratory, Syndetix, Inc. provides high-caliber design and engineering services for the Department of Defense, Department of Justice and civilian markets to enable mission critical success.

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Ti-Nanotech Acquired by Defense Industry Veteran Kevin Ruelas - PR Web (press release)

Frozen organs could be brought back to life safely one day with the aid of nanotechnology, a new study finds. The development could help make donated organs available for virtually everyone who needs them in the future, the researchers say.

The number of donated organs that could be transplanted into patients could increase greatly if there were a way to freeze and reheat organs without damaging the cells within them.

In the new work, scientists developed a way to safely thaw frozen tissues with the aid of nanoparticles particles only nanometers or billionths of a meter wide. (In comparison, the average human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide.) [9 Most Interesting Transplants]

The researchers manufactured silica-coated nanoparticles that contained iron oxide. When they applied a magnetic field to frozen tissues suffused with the nanoparticles, the nanoparticles generated heat rapidly and uniformly. The tissue samples warmed up at rates of up to more than 260 degrees Fahrenheit (130 degrees Celsius) per minute, which is 10 to 100 times faster than previous methods.

The scientists tested their method on frozen human skin cells, segments of pig heart valves and sections of pig arteries. None of the rewarmed tissues displayed signs of harm from the heating process, and they preserved key physical properties such as elasticity. Moreover, the researchers were able to wash away the nanoparticles from the sample after thawing.

Previous research successfully thawed tiny biological samples that were only 1 to 3 milliliters in volume. This new technique works for samples that are up to 50 milliliters in size. The researchers said there is a strong possibility they could scale up their technique to even larger systems, such as organs.

"We are at the level of rabbit organs now," said study senior author John Bischof, a mechanical and biomedical engineer at the University of Minnesota. "We have a way to go for human organs, but nothing seems to preclude us from that."

However, this research will likely not make it possible to return frozen heads back to life anytime soon, if ever, the scientists noted.

Since the first successful kidney transplant in 1954, organ transplantation has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients. If it weren't for the large and growing shortage of donor organs, the life-saving procedure might help even more people. According to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, more than 120,000 patients are currently on organ-transplant waitlists in the United States, and at least 1 in 5 patients on these waitlists die waiting for an organ that they never receive.

Right now, the majority of organs that could potentially be used for transplants are discarded, in large part because they can only be safely preserved for 4 to 36 hours. If only half the hearts and lungs that are discarded were successfully transplanted, the waitlists for those organs could be eliminated in two to three years, according to the Organ Preservation Alliance.

One way to save donated organs for transplantation is to freeze them. Ice crystals that can damage cells typically form during freezing, but in prior work, researchers have found a technique known as vitrification which involves flooding biological specimens with antifreeze-like compounds that could help cool down organs to stave off decay, while also preventing the formation of ice crystals.

Unfortunately, ice crystals can also form during the reheating process. Moreover, if thawing is not uniform across samples, fracturing or cracking may occur. Although scientists had developed methods to safely use freezing-cold temperatures to "cryopreserve" tissues and organs, they had not yet developed a way to safely reheat them. [5 Amazing Technologies That Are Revolutionizing Biotech]

In future research, scientists will attempt to transplant thawed tissues into living animals to see how well they do. "From my perspective and my collaborators' perspective, there is no reason why that should not work," Bischof told Live Science.

However, the researchers stressed that it was unlikely these findings would apply to the controversial field of cryonics, which seeks to freeze patients or their brains in the hope that future scientists will find a way to safely revive people. "There are huge scientific hurdles ahead of us, and it's rather premature to get into rewarming a whole person," Bischof said.

"Even if you preserved the whole body, the chances that neural pathways established during life were maintained during and after cryopreservation are probably remote," said study co-author Kelvin Brockbank, chief executive officer of Tissue Testing Technologies in North Charleston, South Carolina. "I don't think we'll see success for rewarming whole bodies within the next hundred years."

The scientists detailed their findings online March 1 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Original article on Live Science.

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Reviving Frozen Organs: Nanotech May Pave the Way - Live Science