1 februari 2023 13:00 till 15:00 | Föreläsning

Creating Trust in Nanotechnology: a Tetra Pak and NanoSafe4All webinar

Tetra Pak, and the Lund University collaboration initiative, NanoSafe4All, are inviting you to a webinar about trust, communication and collaboration for safe innovation in nanotechnology.

“Working with materials where risks are unknown requires trust, transparency and close collaboration. Together with NanoSafe4All, we want to expand our network of companies and researchers interested in developing sustainable nanotechnologies with safety in focus” says Lars Sickert, Product Life Cycle Management at Tetra Pak, and member of NanoSafe4All.

He continues: “The idea is that this network can work in close collaboration with a future Scandinavian Nanosafety Center initiative, which will aim to provide relevant risk assessments, as well as initiating and supporting research in relevant nanosafety areas, including communication, together with Lund University and other academic institutions in the Nordic countries.”

As the use of nanomaterials is growing, so is the need for more knowledge on safety

The use of nanomaterials is growing rapidly, both through technique development and political initiatives. Yet, it is still difficult for many companies to get an overview of nanosafety risks over the entire product life cycle. Especially in products which does not contain engineered nanomaterials. While there is information, standards and guidelines, on how to handle potential safety issues relating to the production phase and work environment aspects of handling nanomaterials, there is much uncertainty around what happens when products enter the end-of life phase, and how the degradation of products containing nanomaterials can impact the natural environment. These knowledge gaps can pose challenges for companies who want to make use of nanotechnology today, and in the future.

During this webinar, we will discuss how to create trust in nanotechnology and what industry need to work with nanotechnology in a safe and sustainable way. We will also highlight what risk assessments are possible to do today, present the latest research on nanosafety, and discuss how all nanomaterial innovation (including risk handling) is closely related to communication, trust and transparency.

Agenda

13.00 Tetra Pak and nanosafety: presentation of how we work with nanorisk assessments and communication, Lars Sickert, Product Life Cycle Management at Tetra Pak.

13.15 Public perceptions on nano, trust and communication: a research overview, Camilla Nothhaft, Senior Lecturer, Department of Strategic Communication, Lund University.

13.30 Latest developments in nanosafety research (aerosols and operational health and safety, aquatic environments, life cycle perspective, and end of life), Tommy Cedervall, Associate Professor at Biochemistry and Structural Biology, and Mistra Nanosafety programme director, Lund University.

Virtual coffee break

13.45 What can we do today in terms of risk assessments? What gaps need to be addressed in the short and long term? Professor Ian Cotgreave, leader of the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Toxicology at RISE.

14.00 Nanotechnology and the legal frame with a focus on REACH legislation, Steffen Foss Hansen, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Danish Technical University.

14.15 Panel debate: how do you create trust in nanotechnology and work with nanosafety?

14.45 Open discussion: what does industry need to go forward, what services would you like to see, and how can a future Scandinavian Nanosafety Center support you the best?

15.00 End

The webinar is organised by Tetra Pak and NanoSafe4All, a collaboration initiative led by Lund University, in collaboration with the research programme Mistra Environmental Nanosafety.

Read more about the Mistra Environmental Nanosafety programme on its website 

Registration

Register your attendance at the online webinar 

Recent highlights from PRNANO, CLINAM’s free, open-access, peer-reviewed international journal:

Nanoliposomes as Drug Delivery Systems for Antifungal Therapy


Shathar Alobeidat
,
Tamara Athamneh

Institute of Nanotechnology, Jordan University of Science and Technology

Abstract

Nanoliposomes are lipid bilayer nanostructures recently gaining popularity as drug delivery vehicles. Their biocompatibility, safety, high entrapment efficiency and drug release profiles have made them suitable candidates for biomedical applications. The treatment of fungal infections is one of the most significantly researched fields in which nanoliposomes (NLPs) find a variety of uses. Although this topic has been referenced in several general reviews, it has never been thoroughly discussed. In ourreview, we give a detailed summary of the recent advancements made in this field, with a focus on encapsulated synthetic and natural antifungal agents for oral, parenteral, and transdermal applications, and the numerous advantages they have over conventional antifungal therapies, recent strategies at sitespecific targeting using targeting moieties, as well as highlighting the safety concerns associated with NLP nanocarriers.

Download this article from Precision Nanomedicine PRNANO

 

 

11th International Congress, 12-14 April
BioNanoMed 2023 – Nanotechnology enables Personalized Medicine
• Call for Papers is open!

 

 

 

The three day congress BioNanoMed 2023 on 12 – 14 March 2023 in Graz/Austria will bring together academia, industry, governmental and non-governmental institutions to discuss current, emerging and future trends of ”Nanotechnology for Personalized Medicine”.

You are cordially invited to sponsor BioNanoMed 2023 congress. With this unique opportunity to accommodate the conference in Graz, it serves as an excellent platform to promote your product portfolio and to establish direct links to a broad audience of experts. Please be welcome to join this event! As an exhibitor or sponsor you will make a great contribution to the BioNanoMed 2023!

Different exhibition & sponsoring packages are offered but feel free to ask for individual package deals for your presentation at the BioNanoMed 2023.

Information about the congress you can find on our website www.bionanomed.at  the exhibition packages you can find here

BioNanoMed 2023 is jointly organized by Techkonnex – High-Tech Promotion, the University of Graz, Institute Pharmaceutical Technology & Biopharmacy and the Medical University Graz in cooperation with the Johannes Kepler University Linz.

Organised by the Nano Today journal and Elsevier in partnership with Materials Today, the 8th Nano Today Conference seeks to bring together researchers interested in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Chaired by Paul S. Weiss, Californian NanoSystems Institute, UCLA, CA, USA,this international conference will present the latest research at the multidisciplinary frontier of nanostructured materials and devices.

Oral and poster abstracts are invited on the following topics. Please submit using the online abstract submission system. Abstract Submission Deadline: 11 November 2022

Topics

• Nanoscience and nanotechnology in energy and sustainability, including catalysis, blue & green energy, and remediation
• Nanomedicine, including drug delivery, devices, diagnostics, imaging, therapeutics, and vaccines
• Nano environmental health and safety
• Nanomaterials in reduced dimensions – 0D, 1D, 2D
• Nanobiomaterials and applications
• Nanophotonics and optoelectronic nanomaterials
• Nanostructure synthesis, characterization, modeling, and simulations
• Inorganic nanomaterials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and related materials
• Quantum information science, sensors, and opportunities
• Self- and directed assembly, and soft nanomaterials
• Sensors, including implantable, wearable, flexible, and brain-machine interfaces
• Young Scientist forum

Three questions to

Prof. Agneta Richter-Dahlfors (Center for the advancement of Integrated Medical and Engineering Sciences, KI/KTH) about optotracers.

What is an optrotracer?
Optotracers belong to a family of small fluorescent tracer molecules which we use to follow biochemical processes. Real-time analysis is possible thanks to the optotracers’ unique capability to switch from an off-state to an on-state, just like a light switch. The signal is extremely low from optotracers free in solution, whereas the light is turned on when the optotracer binds to a target molecule. Using microscopy or spectroscopy, this process can be easily followed and analysed.

Applications of optotracers within the nanomedicine field? 
Optotracers have been applied to visualize nanostructured biomaterials in several fields of research. One type of optotracers, which now are commercially available via Ebba Biotech, is called EbbaBiolight. This series is used to visualize bacterial biofilm formation and bacterial colonization of body surfaces such as mucosal linings, or on materials such as glass and stainless steel. The series Carbotrace has been used to validate the performance of medical devices that includes nanocellulose as an important component. Carbotrace is also used for quality control in the production of ligno-cellulosic biomaterials, as well as for diagnosing biofilm-associated urinary tract infections based on bacterial produciton of cellulose. The third series of optotracers is called Amytracker, which is used to monitor the fibrillation process of amyloid proteins. This is relevant for a large set of protein-misfolding diseases, such as Alzheimers disease.

What´s next? 
We currently develop the EbbaBiolight technique such that it allows us to analyze the effect of antibiotics on bacteria growing in biofilms. The current antibiotics were developed using liquid cultures of bacteria, not bacterial biofilms which are linked to a majority of infections. Our hope is that optotracing will help us to develop biofilm-specific antibiotics, and thereby lower the risk of bacteria becoming antibiotic resistance. Also, we develop the Carbotrace technique such that it can be used to map the polysaccharide composition in plant tissues. This will be of great value in the growing biomass and biorefinery industries, thereby contributing to our strive towards a circular bioeconomy.

For more information please contact Agneta Richter-Dahlfors
agneta.richter.dahlfors@ki.se

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research highlights from NanoMed North members.

If you would like to share a publication within the nanomedicine area please contact magdalena.almen@medeon.se

• Molecularly imprinted nanoparticles

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are artificial receptors with template tailored recognition sites complementary to the targets. In this work, a novel solid-phase imprinting strategy was developed to prepare phospholipid imprinted nanoparticles. Find out more about this research here.

•  Biosensor for wireless detection of glucose

To maximize the potential of 5G infrastructure in healthcare, simple integration of biosensors with wireless tag antennas would be beneficial. This work demonstrate that wireless glucose detection can be realized by exploiting direct electron coupling of glucose dehydrogenase to the nanomaterial integrated into a tag antenna circuit. Find out more about this research here.

Enhanced Optical Biosensing by Aerotaxy Ga(As)P Nanowire Platforms

 
Sensitive detection of low-abundance biomolecules is central for diagnostic applications. This work shows that aerotaxy nanowires offer a pathway to scalable, low-cost production of highly sensitive nanowire-based platforms for optical biosensing applications. Read more about this research here.

Abstract
Dermal injuries (e. g., trauma, surgical incisions, and burns) are burdensome health care issues in the world. The delayed healing process can be caused by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria infections, including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus and Enterococcus species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Peptostreptococcus, and Coliforms. Therefore, reduction of bacterial burden to an acceptable level promotes healing. The rationale for this innovative wounddressing relies on good hydration as the single most important external factor responsible for optimal

DOWNLOAD the article here

NanoMed North have signed a co-marketing agreement with Precision Nanomedicine and NanoMed North members can now publish for free in the journal. Refer to NanomedNorth in the cover letter.

NanoMed North Annual meeting no 10
DATE: Wednesday 1th of June 2022, 16.00
PLACE: Malmö universitet Per Albin Hanssons väg 35, Malmö

REGISTER HERE to participate in
– Annual Meeting, Focus Seminar and Dinner
Please register as soon as possible but latest May 18, thank you.

Ulf G Andersson
Chairman NanoMed North

16.00-16.55 Focus Seminar:
What’s going on at Malmö University at the nano-level? 


Prof. Johan Engblom: “Bicontinuous cubic liquid crystals as potential matrices for noninvasive topical sampling of low molecular weight biomarkers”

Prof. Börje Sellergren: “Artificial receptors as tools in future sustainable healthcare”

Prof. Sergey Shleev: “Hybrid electric power sources for biomedical applications”.

17.00-17.25 AGENDA Annual meeting
§ 1 Opening of the meeting
§ 2 Short update of NMN
§ 3 Election of Board Members

Suggestion:
• Kristian Thulin, Obducat Technologies, re-election (for two years)

• Tomas Rindzevicius, Danish Technical University, re-election (for two years)

• Åsa Sjöholm Timén, Astra Zeneca. re-election (for two years) and

• Ulf G Andersson, Medeon Science Park & Incubator, re-election (for two years)

§ 4 Other matters (if pre-announced by any members)

§ 5 Closing of the meeting

17.30 Dinner – Aplate, Medeon Science Park

Three questions to

Maria Kempe (Assoc. Professor and PI, Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at the Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University) about the project “A novel sustainable route to polymer nanoparticles”.

What´s the novelty with this project? 
A sustainable procedure for the synthesis of colloidal polymer nanoparticles is provided. It is based on a phenomenon called the ouzo effect. By utilizing the ouzo effect, we have obviated the need of extensive energy-consuming agitation/mixing and addition of surfactants and other stabilizing agents, which otherwise are required in traditional emulsification methods. Another advantage is that no other solvents than environmentally friendly ones, i.e., water and minute amounts of ethanol, are required. The project has also provided a novel route to molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and provided water-compatible MIP nanoparticles selective for cortisol. The nanoparticles were fabricated by carrying out the ouzo polymerization in presence of cortisol. The nanoparticles were capable of recognizing and binding cortisol in water and showed antibody-like cross-reactivity.

Future implications?
We have demonstrated that a bottom-up approach starting from monomers that are polymerized by free-radical polymerization under the influence of the ouzo phenomenon is a feasible and facile approach to fabricate polymer nanoparticles and that it can be applied also to molecular imprinting. The attractive sustainability features of the ouzo polymerization warrant a wider application. For the industry, the procedure has good potentials to reduce energy consumption and environmental footprint while also reducing production costs.

What´s next? 
We are investigating the application of the ouzo polymerization to other types of monomers to fabricate a range of different polymer nanoparticles. An interesting finding with our currently reported nanoparticles is that they show a raspberry-like morphology. Although the existence of the ouzo effect is well-known, the mechanism behind the effect has still not been fully elucidated. We believe that the ouzo polymerization can shed some more light into the mechanism and possibly explain the raspberry-like morphology. We also believe that the ouzo polymerization will be useful for preparing MIP nanoparticles targeted for other templates than cortisol. An obvious next step is to apply our current cortisol-selective nanoparticles as molecular recognition elements (“plastic antibodies”) in assays and sensors and as drug delivery carriers.

For more info about the project please contact Maria Kempe, maria.kempe@med.lu.se

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research highlights from NanoMed North members.

If you would like to share a publication within the nanomedicine area please contact magdalena.almen@medeon.se

Rowan Berries: a potential source for green synthesis of nanoparticles

Green methodologies for nanoparticles production are considered facile, non-toxic, eco-friendly, and economical. In this work, gold and silver nanoparticles were synthesized using aqueous extract of rowanberries. Read more about this work here.
(Ivan Mijakovic, Chalmers)

•  Photo-biodevices and sustainable electrical energy production

Direct transformation of solar energy into electrical energy by means of biological photosynthesis is considered as an attractive option for sustainable electrical energy production. This work shows a novel design for photo-electric biosupercapacitors. Find out more about this research here.
(S Shleev, Mau, K Thulin, Obducat)

Single-cell nanoencapsulation

Single-cell nanoencapsulation
Single-cell encapsulation using metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) is an emerging technique to protect cells from stressors. This work demonstrates, for the first time, MPN coating of algae. Read more about this research here.
(A Boisen, DTU)

NanoMed North have signed a co-marketing agreement with Precision Nanomedicine and NanoMed North members can now publish for free in the journal. Refer to NanomedNorth in the cover letter.

AI-driven cancer nanotherapies: from computation to clinic
– an EVO NANO workshop

The workshop, read more; DOWNLOAD PDF

Join us to hear more about the project and how it might impact your work

Location: virtual via zoom

Presenters: from across the Evo nano team

Date and time: Wednesday 16 March 1100 – 1330 (GMT) with a break 1215 – 1230

To register and for more information, please go here
https://evonanoproject.eventbrite.co.uk