Nanotechnology characterization laboratory

The second generation of nano-enabled drugs are being enabled by the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) in Frederick, Maryland. 

The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) [3] has recently started publishing standards for nanomedicine and the toxicity testing of nanomaterials. The intention is to develop a set of characterisation protocols that can be used in research laboratories to assess toxicity. The testing will, as a consequence, be carried out under similar conditions, making it possible to compare different nanoparticle systems and obtain a systematic imderstanding of their in vivo and in vitro effects. 

Resources are available to assist entities with taking steps to identify, quantify, and manage potential risks of products to employees, consumers, and the environment. Some of these resources include the Nanoparticle Information Library maintained by NIOSH collaborations with universities and government laboratories the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)-mandated National Nanotechnology Characterization Centers and the International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) Nanotech EHS Reference Database. 

The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories (http //cint.lanl.gov) will feature low vibration for sensitive characterization, chemical/biological synthesis labs, and clean rooms for device integration. Sandia will focus on nanomaterials and microfabrication from the existing Integrated Materials Research Laboratory, while Los Alamos will focus on biosciences and nanomaterials. 

The methods have in turn launched the new fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology, in which the manipulation and characterization of nanometre-scale structures play a crucial role. STM and related methods have also been applied with considerable success in established areas, such as tribology [2], catalysis [3], cell biology [4] and protein chemistry [4], extending our knowledge of these fields into the nanometre world they have, in addition, become a mainstay of surface analytical laboratories, in the worlds of both academia and industry. 

Essentially, nano-ZnO is an inorganic material of significant interest in nanotechnology, used particularly in gas sensors, solar cells, and luminescent materials. It is a nonvolatile, nonhygroscopic, odorless, and white crystalline solid with versatile properties. It can be easily synthesized in the laboratory by various methods including sol-gel, precipitation, thermal, and pyrolysis techniques and is characterized by... 

In nanotechnology numerical simulation can help to predict properties of new materials that do not yet exist in reality. And it can help to identify the most promising or suitable materials. The trend is towards virtual laboratories in which materials are designed and studied on a computer. Simulation offers the possibility of determining mean or average properties for the material macroscopic characterization. At... 

In the past few years there has been a real surge of new techniques for the preparation of porous materials that are characterized by well-defined cylindrical pores of sizes from a few micrometers, down to the nanometer range. Most notably, porous anodic alumina (PAA) [17] and porous silicon (p-Si) [18,19] that are prepared by electrochemical anodization, and track-etched polymer membranes (polycarbonate, polyimide, polyethylene terephtalate, etc.), represent the most well-known cases of porous membranes that are candidates for filtration applications and also for their use as templates in nanotechnology (nanowire fabrication [20]). The pore diameter range of these membranes is comparable to the typical thickness of polymer brushes that are usually prepared in the laboratory. 

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