Exploring the nano-world - CORDIS

Transcription

CORDIS
Issue number
006
22 — March 2
ISSN 1725-6658
http://cordis.europa.eu.int
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● Converging
● Safety keep
Exploring
the nano-world
In this issue
●Natural nano-design is a beauty
to behold, page 18
●Rapid commercialisation for a European
‘nanoscalpel’, page 24
Leading
Leading EU
EU research
research in
in nanosciences
nanosciences
and
and nanotechnologies
nanotechnologies
● Nano-sized thermoelectric materials,
page 33
● Engaging the public in debate, page 39
● Assessing the safety of nanoparticles,
© Image courtesy of Accelrys, www.accelrys.com
page 45
EN
EDITORIAL
A CORDIS focus Supplement devoted
to nanosciences and nanotechnologies
Office for Official Publications
of the European Communities
FISR 04/418 — L-2985 Luxembourg
Fax (352) 29 29-44090
E-mail: cordis-focus@cec.eu.int
CORDIS: Community Research
and Development Information Service
CORDIS focus is also available at:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/focus/en
CORDIS focus is published by the Office
for Official Publications of the European
Communities as part of the European
Community’s Sixth Research Framework
Programme and presents information
on European Union research
and innovation and related programmes
and policies.
This CORDIS focus Thematic
Supplement is based on information
from CORDIS and additional content
mainly provided by the European
Commission’s Directorate-General
for Research, notably articles from the
European Industrial Research magazine
and the Industrial Technologies website
(http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/
industrial_technologies/index_
en.html) as well as NEST and Pathfinder
project descriptions, a complete list of
which is accessible on http://cordis.
europa.eu.int/nest/home.html.
The Supplement features project news and
updates recently published on CORDIS
and on the Industrial Technologies
website. While the aim was to showcase
a representative range of projects, the
coverage makes no claim to completeness,
nor is a relative ranking of projects implied
or intended.
nity, 2006
© European Commu
Published by:
The aim of this Supplement
is to highlight the progress made
in nanosciences and
nanotechnologies by some of the
projects funded in Europe, as well
as the measures being taken to
ensure that progress is safe and
successful in terms of innovations,
sustainable growth and
employment.
Nanotechnology is essentially the
control of matter at the molecular
level. Nanotechnology has a
two-fold potential, in offering
solutions to many current problems
and expectations of citizens; and in
opening up opportunities for wealth
creation and new employment by
turning fundamental research into
successful innovations. Nanotechnology
will also make some essential
contributions to solving global,
environmental and medical challenges,
first of all through a better use of
resources and less waste.
José Manuel Silva Rodríguez
Smaller, lighter and better performing materials, components and systems are being realised.
New engineered surfaces allow making everyday products with novel functionalities.
New medical treatments are emerging for fatal diseases, such as brain tumours
and Alzheimer’s disease. Computers are increasingly built using nanoscale components,
and improving their performance depends upon shrinking these dimensions yet further.
Nanotechnology is also already playing its part in helping the environment through more
efficient catalysts, better batteries and more efficient light sources.
Europe invested early with many programmes in nanosciences starting in the
mid to late 1990s. As a result it is in a leading position in nanotechnology and must
now ensure that European industry and society reap the benefits of this knowledge through
the development of new products and processes.
To meet the challenges and to ensure Europe’s competitiveness in this sector we need
to join forces across disciplines, sectors and national borders. We need to coordinate actions,
increase investment, boost interdisciplinarity, create the necessary infrastructures and train
human resources to support research and foster innovation. At the same time, we need
to address all societal concerns that may come with the development of new applications.
These priorities are central to the European integrated, safe and responsible
approach to nanotechnology, as proposed by the European Commission
with two Communications, the European strategy and the action plan,
and endorsed by the European Council.
A list of frequent abbreviations used in
this Supplement is available on page 16.
© European Communities 2006 – Reproduction is authorised,
provided the source is acknowledged.
Legal notice: Neither the Office for Official Publications nor any
person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the
use which might be made of the information contained in this
publication, nor for any errors which may appear.
José Manuel Silva Rodríguez
Director-General for Research
European Commission
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities,
FISR 04/418, 2, rue Mercier, L-2985 Luxembourg.
Fax (352) 29 29-44090; e-mail: cordis-focus@cec.eu.int
CORDIS focus Thematic Supplement — No 22 — March 2006
table of contents
Introduction
Nanotechnologies: past, present and future
4
Current EU framework
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies in the EU’s framework
programmes for research and technological development
NMP work programme for 2005
6
7
Looking ahead
Nanotechnology action plan advocates responsible innovation
Looking forward to NMP in FP7
Industrial technology research under FP7
Analysing the nano-needs of SMEs
NRM project develops a roadmap for nanotechnology applications
8
10
10
12
13
Exploring the fundamentals
EU funding to help establish European nanoscience facility
Energy in a vacuum
Polish researcher heads ground-breaking EU project in nanotechnology
The molecular basis of toughness
Addressable molecular building blocks
Natural nano-design is a beauty to behold
14
15
16
17
17
18
A new generation of scientists
Striving for leadership in life sciences
Assessing education and training needs for N & N
Molecular magnets — small and attractive
Networked research explores the nano-bio interface
19
20
21
22
Tools for tomorrowHandling nanoscale objects
Rapid commercialisation for a European ‘nanoscalpel’
Report provides comprehensive analysis of Europe’s nano infrastructure
Efficient software modelling of optics in two dimensions
Silicon-free computer circuits
Understanding single molecular motors
Heat sensors tunnelling the gap
Nanopatterning for all
Making faster chips a reality
Sticky nano-solutions for electronic assembly
23
24
25
25
26
26
26
27
27
28
Materials with tailored properties
Tougher ceramics
Firefighting on the nanoscale
New processes for high-sensitivity piezoelectric ceramics
Using nanoparticles to create new consumer products
Nano-dot materials shrink laser dimensions
EU project to deliver smaller and cheaper components
for laptops and mobile phones
Bio-based food packaging
Small particles releasing greater energy
Nano-sized thermoelectric materials
ERA-NET project to strengthen collaboration in European materials science
29
30
30
30
31
Converging technologies
A research and innovation vision for nanoelectronics
Advances in neutron detection
Mass spectrometer has the fingerprint for success
Looking into the future of nanofabrication
FP6 project to keep the EU at the forefront of nanoelectronics
35
35
36
37
37
Responding to societal needs
Talking it over
Looking at ethics
NanoDialogue project to engage the public in debate on N & N
Vision for the future of nanomedicine
Microsystems and nanotechnology for prenatal diagnosis
Rapid and effective diagnosis of infectious diseases
Making detailed biological maps
Programming for cell therapy
38
38
39
40
40
41
42
43
Safety keeping pace with innovation
Is it safe?
Particulate problems
Scenihr opinion on risk assessment methods for nanotechnologies:
highlights from the public consultation
Assessing the safety of nanoparticles
Weather forecasting storms ahead
Assessing aerosol polymer impact
44
45
Further information
32
32
32
33
33
46
46
47
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48
Nanotechnologies: past, present and future
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies (N & N) originate from a concept
often attributed to the famous lecture of the physicist and Nobel laureate
Richard P. Feynman ‘There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom’, presented
at the California Institute of Technology in 1959.
Feynman stated: ‘Many of the (biological) cells
are very tiny, but they are active; they manufacture substances; they walk around; they
wiggle; and they do all kind of marvellous
things — all on a very small scale. Also, they
store information. Consider the possibility that
we too can make a thing very small, which does
what we want — and that we can manufacture
an object that manoeuvres at that level.’
Nanotechnology has now become an umbrella term used to encompass the study, manipulation and application of matter based
on its properties at the atomic scale. The
‘nano’ prefix derives from the Greek noun
nanos, meaning dwarf. A nanometre (nm) is
one billionth (1 x 10-9) of a metre: the length
of ten hydrogen atoms placed side-by-side,
or 1/80 000th of the thickness of a human
hair. Nanotechnology is now generally considered to relate to the organisation of atoms
and molecules within a size range of 1 to
100+ nm, although much larger structures,
devices and systems that incorporate or owe
their existence to such entities are also described as nanotechnological.
For more than a century, chemists have been
learning to control the arrangement of small
numbers of atoms inside molecules, bringing an ability to create more effective drugs,
high-performance plastics and other purpose-designed materials. Major technological advances over the past few decades have
also permitted a progressive downsizing
of products — notably in the area of electronics — reducing materials consumption,
saving energy and cutting costs, while also
greatly expanding functionality.
Transition to the ‘nano-domain’ nevertheless remains a giant step. Despite major advances in recent years, much remains to be
learned about the aggregation of atoms and
molecules at the lowest level.
Size does matter
The reason for the widespread interest in
this field is that materials can exhibit very
different behaviour at the nanoscale to that
observed in the mass. At nanometre length
scales, quantum effects prevail, so properties
are determined by quantum mechanics rather
than the classical mechanics that govern
matter at the macro- and even micro-scale.
Fundamental characteristics such as electrical conductivity, colour, strength and melting point are all subject to change, often
bringing dramatic improvements in performance. Because of their very small size,
nanoparticles also have a relatively huge
surface area, making them ideal for use as
absorbers, sensors and catalysts.
Of course, these phenomena have always
existed, despite the fact they were only recently recognised as such by man. Glass and
ceramics are two long-established materials
that depend upon nanoscale properties,
while photography is a more recent process
that unknowingly employed such effects.
With deliberate and concerted efforts to tailor the structure of materials at the nanoscale, it will become possible to engineer novel materials that have entirely new properties
never before identified in nature. However,
this demands multidisciplinary knowledge
acquisition through the convergence of
nanoscience, biotechnology, information
technology and cognitive (NBIC) sciences.
Heavy investment, wide-ranging and crosssectoral research collaboration to provide
the required critical mass, as well as new approaches to education, are essential if Europe is
to achieve a competitive position in world markets for the resultant materials and products.
Dawn of a new age
Today, the nanotechnology revolution is still
at a very early stage. Most applications to
date can be described as ‘bulk nanotechnology’ — i.e. the commercial-scale production
of ultra-thin films and nano-sized particles,
such as metal oxides and clays. This alone is
already bringing many significant advances.
Examples include:
• zinc oxide, used to provide UV protection
in sun creams. When reduced to nanosize, the particles become transparent
and are thus more cosmetically appealing
than the traditional white product;
• particles for improving lacquers and paints to
provide better protection of surfaces against
scratching, soiling or algae coverage;
• self-cleaning or self-sterilising surfaces with
important applications in the food industry
and healthcare. These are made by growing
hydrophobic or lipophobic chains on a surface to make it water- or fat-repellent;
• medical devices and implants, with surfaces modified through nanotechnology
to reduce rejection rates. Functionalised
nanoparticles also have the potential to
accumulate in tumour cells, making them
more accessible for treatment;
• high density data storage media making use
of the major magnetoresistive properties of
nanoscale granular magnetic materials.
Carbon fullerenes — nanotubes and ‘buckyballs’ — are a further particularly exciting class
of materials. Many times stronger and lighter
than steel, and able to act as electrical conductors or semiconductors, they will open the door
to a huge range of applications once methods
have been developed to manufacture them inexpensively in industrial quantities.
Challenge of molecular
manufacturing
Goals for the future are to develop fabrication processes that will permit the organisation of nanoparticles into reproducible supra-molecular arrangements, and ultimately
into larger structures that have practical
uses. The two main routes leading to this
so-called ‘molecular manufacturing’ are:
1. ‘top-down’, taking the path that pursues
the continuing miniaturisation of existing
micro-systems and processes. It will not necessarily lead to dramatic breakthroughs, but
holds out the earliest prospects of producing
commercially marketable results; and
2. ‘bottom-up’ synthesis taking nature as a
model and trying to assemble structures from
the starting point of atoms and molecules.
Present-day production and handling of
nanometre-sized particles or the functionalisation of material surfaces can be seen as
intermediate approaches that use elements
of the two approaches.
Feynman’s imagined creation of molecular
machines that are able to move and to perform given tasks — often described as nanorobots — represents a level of complexity
that is far beyond current capabilities.
Although considered by many to be a pipe
dream, the nanotechnologists’ holy grail is
to unlock the secrets of self-assembly. This
is a phenomenon that is widespread in the
natural world, from the growth of crystals
to the formation of complex functional biological cells. Yet the mechanisms of these
processes are thus far little understood, and
mimicking even the simplest biological systems remains a formidable challenge.
In an interview with the techno-business
newsletter Red Herring, Dr K. Eric Drexler,
head of the California-based Foresight Institute and author of the pioneering nano-
Evolution of worldwide public expenditure
(EUR 1 = USD 1 to avoid distortions due to exchange rate variations)
feasible to reinvent the whole computer, not
just the transistor.
Nanobiotechnology is another prime field of
investigation. Here, the aim is to combine
nanoscale engineering with biology to manipulate living systems directly or to build
biologically-inspired materials and devices
at the molecular level. This has the potential
to bring many health-related innovations.
In the area of nanomedicine, precisely targeted drugs and drug delivery systems, as
well as nano-engineered materials for increasingly biocompatible implants and prosthetics, are now beginning to emerge.
Source: Some figures on nanotechnology R & D in Europe and beyond, Research DG working document, December 2005.
technology book Engines of Creation?,
highlighted the difficulties — and the eventual benefits — by contrasting conventional
manufacturing methods with the workings
of nature:
‘[A] tree is successfully making devices that
use the light, and convert this light into electronic energy and move it around to a position where it can turn into chemical energy.
And the inputs are not sand and aluminium,
but air, water, and some light — all common
to the biosphere. This is all very cheap because
it’s not bulky, it doesn’t consume a lot of energy,
and the capital equipment that it consists of
can be made using the same process.’
‘No matter how productive a semiconductor
plant is, you can’t use semiconductor manufacturing equipment to make semiconductor
manufacturing equipment, so it is a process
that is always dependent upon other technologies. Molecular manufacturing systems
will be built by molecular manufacturing
systems. This is a very basic difference in
economic structure between the old and
future processes.’
This could extend the validity of Moore’s Law,
which states that computer power will double
every 18 months, well beyond its expected demise between 2010 and 2020. At the nano-level,
operation at the rate of peta (1015) bytes per second becomes possible, resulting in systems a billion times more efficient than those of today.
Self-assembling nanotube ‘wires’ just 2 nm
wide and with 9 nm separation are already a
reality. The combination of silicon structures
and molecular electronics may open the way
for solutions of truly impressive potential.
Two immediate targets are to develop new
switching devices and new fabrication processes. More innovation could come when
looking at the architecture: it could prove
Single cell analysis and treatments can be
imagined. Physicophysics is another fascinating field of application that would, for
example, allow images to be processed and
seen by blind people. The futurists envisage
putting nanomachines to work inside the
human body, to perform cellular functions,
or repair damage.
Biomolecular analogues also hold out tremendous promise in areas such as molecular computation, optoelectronic devices and
bioelectronics.
If the self-assembly breakthrough can be
achieved and super-powerful nano computers constructed, the future for nanotechnology will be boundless. Optimistic forecasts paint the picture of a world in which
consumer products are made at virtually
zero cost, pollution is eradicated, illness and
famine eliminated, extinct plants and animals reintroduced, and space travel is a safe,
affordable activity.
(First published in European Industrial
Research)
Absolute world public expenditure in 2004
Principal targets
Nanoelectronics is a major focus of the research aimed at realising molecular manufacturing. Reducing the size of electronic
circuits permits ever-faster data transmission. With current lithographic production
processes approaching the limits of their
ability to shrink device dimensions, nanoelectronics could form the basis of increasingly powerful components for tomorrow’s
computers, telephones, cars, domestic appliances and automation systems.
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies
in the EU’s framework programmes for research
and technological development
Europe started investing in N & N in the mid-to-late 1990s, and since
has built up an impressive portfolio of projects in this area.
Throughout successive framework programmes, EU-funded research
has evolved in line with the EU’s research and technological development
(RTD) priorities and the underlying political goals for European integration.
The first N & N research activities were carried out from 1994 to 1998 under the Fourth
Framework Programme (FP4). FP4 promoted N & N activities through a number of programmes: Brite Euram funded projects related to industrial modernisation and materials,
Esprit supported projects on electronics and
informatics, and the Biotechnology (Biotech)
and Biomedicine (Biomed) programmes involved a small number of projects covering
bio- and medical nanotechnology. Nano-related standards, measurements and testing
projects also gained attention under FP4.
Altogether, some 70 projects were funded.
Focused primarily on advanced functional
materials, electronics and optoelectronics,
instrumentation and metrology or nanobiotechnology, they commanded an approximate
total annual budget of EUR 30 million.
The Fifth Framework Programme (FP5),
which ran from 1998 to 2002, introduced
a new interdisciplinary structure extending
the scope of N & N activities. Initially, the
bulk of EU funding focused on shared cost
collaborative projects involving academic
and industrial partners from several European countries, selected among the submitted proposals and funded to 50 % of the
total cost of the research. FP5 introduced
an orientation towards problem solving at
European level. Funding for nanotechnology-related projects distributed across FP5
increased to some EUR 45 million per year
out of the total FP5 budget of EUR 14.96 billion. N & N were present in all four thematic
programmes representing the major RTD areas: quality of life (QoL), information society
technologies (IST), competitive and sustainable growth (Growth), and energy and the
environment (EESD). The horizontal programme ‘Improving human potential’ (IHP),
on training and education, also included a
training network for nanotechnology.
From 2000, a series of political developments
moved EU RTD support firmly into the
limelight. On 18 January 2000 the European
Commission presented the Communication
Towards a European Research Area, which
aimed to create a genuine internal market in
research in order to increase pan-European
cooperation and coordination of national research activities — and to place research back
at the heart of society. Major considerations
involved in developing the European Research
Area (ERA), whose main financial instruments are the EU’s framework programmes
for research and technological development,
were to increase the volume and impact of research; improve the coordination with national
programmes; support SMEs; promote human
resources, with special emphasis on mobility
and European careers; strengthen the interaction
between science, society and citizens, and
explore the international dimension, notably
regarding global problems.
In the area of N & N, Europe recognised
a need to capitalise on its strong position
and translate it into a real competitive advantage for European industry. Under FP6,
funded research — even if at long term and
high risk — was to be oriented towards industrial application and/or coordination of
efforts at EU level. An active policy of encouraging the participation of industrial
companies and SMEs, including start-ups,
was to be pursued through the promotion
of strong industry/research interactions in
consortia undertaking projects with substantial critical mass. R & D activities were
also to promote development of new professional skills, which in the case of N & N
may involve an adaptation of education and
training strategies. Moreover, whenever appropriate, ethical, societal, communication,
health, environmental and regulatory issues,
in particular metrology and measurement
traceability aspects, were to be addressed.
Moreover, through the adoption in 2000
of the Lisbon strategy, which aims to make
the EU ‘the most competitive and dynamic
knowledge-driven economy by 2010’, and
the 2002 declarations of Gothenburg (on
sustainable development) and Barcelona (on
education, training and innovation), Europe
set itself new strategic goals with a critical
impact on its approach to RTD activities,
which triggered a series of changes for the
framework programmes.
FP6 was the first framework programme
to introduce a specific thematic priority focused on nanotechnology research: thematic
priority 3 (TP3), which is devoted to N & N,
knowledge-based multifunctional materials,
and new production processes and devices
(NMP). The primary objective of TP3 was to
promote real industrial breakthroughs, based
on scientific and technical excellence. Radical
breakthroughs were expected to be achieved
through two complementary approaches: the
creation of new knowledge, and new ways of
integrating and exploiting existing and new
knowledge. From a total FP6 budget of EUR
17.883 billion (excl. Euratom), EUR 1.447 billion were devoted to TP3. The whole budget
for nanotechnology projects under FP6, including nanotechnology research in other
thematic priorities, averaged EUR 450 million annually between 2003 and 2006.
The definition of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) thus needed to integrate the
ERA objectives and the elements for this
transition towards a knowledge-based society,
sustainable development demands and educational excellence. This involved adjusting the
emphasis of Community research from the
short to the longer term as well as to innovation, with a shift from incremental to radical
innovation and breakthrough strategies, while
emphasising an integrating approach. Also,
as a tool to support the ERA and to promote
competitiveness, FP6 was to concentrate on
selected thematic priority areas.
Given its wide-ranging nature, nanotechnology clearly cross-links with other TPs, such as
TP1 ‘Genomics and biotechnology for health’
and TP2 ‘Information science technologies’,
which thus also contribute to the funding of
N & N activities. Additional N & N research
is supported by other parts of FP6, which
include cross-cutting research into new and
emerging science and technology (NEST)
and activities aiming to strengthen the
foundations of the ERA, notably Marie Curie
Actions aiming to develop human resources
and mobility, and actions promoting a fabric
of research infrastructures.
More info?
The NMP activity service provides comprehensive information for proposers, including the call documents required by proposers,
explanations of the rules and procedures, contact details and specifics of funding opportunities, as well as data on funded projects:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nmp
A database with detailed information on EU-funded nanotechnology projects is available on:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nanotechnology/src/fp_funded_projects.htm
The 2005 FP6 Thematic Priority 3 work programme
The NMP work programme outlined the proposed research areas and described the topics for which calls for proposals were invited,
specifying both crucial research topics that needed to be addressed urgently and more long-term objectives, for which structuring actions
were preferred. The work programme was updated annually and its evolution echoed both the coverage of previous calls and new issues
that arose. The final call under the NMP priority of FP6 closed in September 2005.
Topics for 2005 (chosen instrument)
3.4.1. 3.4.1.1 Long-term interdisciplinary research
Nanotechnologies
into understanding phenomena, mastering and nanosciences
processes and developing research tools 3.4.1.2 Nanobiotechnologies 3.4.1.3 Nanometre-scale engineering techniques to create materials and components 3.4.1.4 Development of handling and control
devices and instruments
3.4.1.5 Applications in areas such as health and medical systems, chemistry, energy, optics, food and the environment Towards ‘converging’ technologies (STREP)
Standardisation for nanotechnology (SSA)
3.4.2. 3.4.2.1 Development
Knowledge-based of fundamental knowledge
multifunctional materials
3.4.2.2 Technologies associated with the production, transformation and processing of knowledge-based multifunctional materials 3.4.2.3 Engineering support for materials development Interfacial phenomena in materials (STREP)
New generation of tools for advanced materials
characterisation (CA)
Methods of computational modelling
of multifunctional materials (CA)
Advanced materials processing (CA)
Development of nanostructured porous materials (IP)
Multifunctional ceramic thin films with radically
new properties (STREP)
Materials by design: multifunctional organic materials (STREP)
Materials for solid state ionics (STREP)
3.4.3. New production 3.4.3.1 Development of new processes and
processes and devices flexible, intelligent manufacturing systems 3.4.3.2 Systems research and hazard control 3.4.3.3 Optimising the life-cycle of industrial
systems, products and services New production technologies for new micro-devices
using ultra precision engineering techniques (IP)
New generation of flexible assembly technology and processes (IP)
New concepts for global delivery (STREP)
Roadmapping and foresight studies on the future
of manufacturing (Manufacture) (SSA)
Coordination of European manufacturing research activities (CA)
3.4.4. Integration of nano-technologies, new materials, and new production technologies for more cost- and eco-effective sectoral applications
3.4.4.1 Multifunctional material-based factory of the future (IP)
3.4.4.2 New construction products and processes for
high added value applications (IP)
3.4.4.3 Mastering ‘industrial biotechnology’ —
environmental technology for sustainable production
of added value products (IP)
3.4.4.4 Multifunctional technical textiles for construction,
medical applications and protective clothing (IP-SMEs)
3.4.4.5 Simultaneous engineering and production of integrated
high-tech components for European transport (IP-SMEs)
3.4.4.6 Biomaterials technologies for implants (IP-SMEs)
3.4.4.7 Nanotechnological approaches for improved
security systems (IP-SMEs)
3.4.5. Cross-priority actions and links to other research actions 3.4.5.1 Basic materials and industrial processes
research on functional materials for fuel cells (STREP)
3.4.5.2 Improved, energy efficient hydrogen
storage systems especially for transport (STREP)
3.4.5.3 Cooperation with third countries in the field
of nanotechnology, advanced multifunctional materials
and new ways of production research (SSA)
Using nature as a model for new nanotechnology-based
processes (STREP)
Three - dimensional nanostructures based
on other elements than carbon (STREP)
Nanotechnology-based targeted drug delivery (IP)
Interaction of engineered nanoparticles with
the environment and the living world (STREP)
Research area Looking ahead
Looking ahead
Nanotechnology action plan
advocates responsible innovation
Research into N & N is a focus of global attention. Manipulating
matter at the atomic and molecular scale has the potential
to deliver exciting novel materials, super-powerful computers,
revolutionary medical treatments and more environment-friendly products,
all of which will form the basis of new wealth-creating industries.
‘But’, urges the European Commission in an action plan adopted
in June 2005, ‘the drive for innovation must be tempered by openness
and responsibility in identifying and dealing with any possible risks.’
‘Europe is in a leading position in nano‑
technology and our citizens expect to benefit
from this scientific and technological progress
in terms of better-performing products and
services, wealth generation and new jobs. We
must build on our strengths and advances to
make sure that nanotechnology research is
carried out with maximum impact and responsibility and that the resulting knowledge
is applied in products that are useful, safe and
profitable.’ So says European Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik in his foreword to
the EC Communication Nanosciences and
nanotechnologies: An action plan for Europe
2005-2009.
‘We are witnessing a very important turning
point, the private funding invested in nanotechnology research and development (R & D)
is approaching the level of public investment.
Nanotechnology is moving out of the laboratories and onto the markets. However, many
challenges are still to be faced. With this
action plan, we wish to take concrete steps
forward to implement an integrated and responsible approach on nanotechnology at EU
level. To be able to meet the challenges and to
ensure Europe’s competitiveness in this sector we need to join forces across disciplines,
sectors and national borders. We need to coordinate actions, increase investment, create
the necessary infrastructures and boost human resources to support research and foster innovation. But we also need to properly
address the societal concerns that come with
the development of new applications.’
•
•
•
•
•
infrastructures (‘poles of excellence’) that
take into account the needs of both industry and R & D organisations;
promote the interdisciplinary education and
training of R & D personnel, while adopting
a stronger entrepreneurial mindset;
provide favourable conditions for industrial innovation to ensure that R & D is
translated into affordable and safe wealthgenerating products and processes;
respect ethical principles, integrate societal considerations into the R & D process
at an early stage and encourage a dialogue
with citizens;
address public health, occupational health
and safety, environmental and consumer
risks of N & N-based products at the earliest possible stage; and
complement the above actions with appropriate cooperation and initiatives at
the international level.
An invitation for all interested stakeholders
to comment on the proposals drew over 750
responses, making this the largest survey of
its kind on nanotechnology to be conducted
in Europe. Based on its findings, the Commission’s latest Communication defines a series of
articulated and interconnected actions for the
immediate implementation of a safe, integrated and responsible strategy for N & N.
The document outlines a series of proposed
EU-wide actions to be undertaken in the context of the forthcoming FP7, and calls upon
the Member States to launch complementary
activities at national and regional level.
Balancing risk and benefit
The nature of N & N is such that advances
could be made in virtually all technology
sectors. However, industry, R & D organisations, universities and financial institutions
must all work together to avoid a continuation of the ‘European paradox’, which has
prevented excellence in research from producing commercially viable outcomes that
stimulate growth and the creation of jobs. At
the same time, standards providing a level
playing field for markets and international
trade are prerequisites for fair competition,
comparative risk assessments and regulatory measures. The protection of intellectual
property rights (IPR) is another essential for
innovation, both in terms of attracting initial
investment and ensuring future revenue.
Although advances in nanotechnologies are
already bringing important life-enhancing
benefits for society, some risk is inherent
in venturing into the unknown. Nanoparticles exist in nature or can be produced by
Evolution of funding for nanotechnology R & D
in the EU Framework Programmes
(2005 data are a to-date estimate and subject to change)
Strategy established
The plan stems from a European strategy for
nanotechnology adopted by the Commission
on 12 May 2004 and endorsed by the
Competitiveness Council of 24 September. The
Communication Towards a European strategy
for nanotechnology, which seeks to bring the
discussion on N & N to an institutional level
and proposes an integrated and responsible
strategy for Europe, highlights the need to:
• increase investment and coordination of
R & D to reinforce scientific excellence,
interdisciplinarity and competition in N & N
together with industrial exploitation;
• develop world-class competitive R & D
Integrated FP funding devoted to nanotechnology R & D
(2005 data are a to-date estimate and subject to change)
The Commission’s aim in drafting the action
plan is to encourage the development of a
society where citizens, scientists, industry,
financial operators and policy-makers feel
comfortable in dealing with issues associated with N & N, and where the various EU
regions share equitable access to its fruits.
The full text of Communication COM(2004)
338, the action plan and other official documents on nanotechnology are available for
download in PDF format: http://cordis.europa.
eu.int/nanotechnology/actionplan.htm
human activities, intentionally or unintentionally. Since at reduced particle sizes the
relative active surface area is dramatically
increased, toxicity and health hazards may
become correspondingly greater.
Research)
Nanotechnology R & D areas supported by successive FPs
It is therefore crucial that N & N researchers and industries take full account of health,
safety and environmental aspects when pursuing their technological developments.
Equally essential is the establishment of an
effective dialogue with all stakeholders, informing them about progress and the expected benefits, while taking into account public
expectations and concerns, both real and perceived. Every effort must be made to ensure
that all applications and practices comply
with the highest levels of public health and
safety, as well as affording protection to consumers, workers, and the environment.
Risk assessment must extend to all stages of
the technology life-cycle, starting at the point
of conception and including R & D, manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal or
Regulatory aspects
While it is recognised that nanotechnologies will have a strong impact on many
industrial domains and consumer products, there are also concerns on possible risks.
Following the action plan, the Commission intends to examine
the need for possible measures to protect the health and safety
of European consumers and workers as well as of the environment. There also is a need to avoid a fragmentation of the market
through dispersed national measures. At present the Commission
is in a prospecting phase to assess the extent to which the current
regulatory framework is sufficient and if necessary which additional action is the most promising.
This regulatory effort draws on expertise from several areas of
competence of the European Commission, and consequently
mobilises resources from several Directorates-General, under
the coordination of the Directorate-General for Enterprise and
Industry.
Looking ahead
recycling. Appropriate evaluations will need
to be carried out and risk management procedures elaborated before commencing with
the large-scale production and application
of engineered nanomaterials. Particular attention will have to be paid to existing products and those that are close to commercial
launch, including household products, cosmetics, pesticides, food contact materials,
and medical products and devices.
Looking forward to NMP in FP7
Looking ahead
With the recent publication of the Commission’s proposal for the Seventh
Research Framework Programme (FP7), which is proposed to run from
2007 to 2013, the broad lines are becoming clear. The proposal contains nine
themes for EU action, among them industrial technologies research.
Continuing directly from FP6, the industrial research theme covers nanosciences,
nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies. It makes a central
contribution to FP7’s overall objective of
helping Europe and European enterprises
to make the transition away from resourcebased production and towards the knowledge economy — vital if Europe is to remain
competitive in the global economy.
As well as the collaborative research programmes to which we are accustomed, the
proposal includes several new features and
some changes of emphasis. Joint Technology Initiatives (JTI), closely linked to the
Technology Platforms, will be important to
achieve industrial objectives. They provide
the framework for long-term public-private
research partnerships. They will mobilise a
mix of funding from industry and the EU,
together with loan finance from the European Investment Bank. It is hoped that the
involvement of all an industrial sector’s
stakeholders will build enough momentum
through the Technology Platforms and JTIs
to help whole supply chains to make the
transition to knowledge-based economy.
Continued construction of the European
Research Area (ERA) is also included,
with the proposal to expand the ERA-NET
scheme for coordinating national research
programmes. This represents a key means
for overcoming the fragmentation that penalises research in Europe in comparison
with that of its current and future global
competitors. A number of industrially relevant ERA-NETs already exist, and in FP7
these will be extended to the new Member
States, while new ERA-NETs can also be
expected.
Industrial technology research under FP7
With the proposals for FP7 still under consideration, a recent issue
of the European Industrial Research (EIR) magazine explored
what the programme might hold in store for NMP. If FP7’s vastly
increased budget is approved, will it be able to stimulate private-sector
investment enough to help restore European competitiveness?
Five experts interviewed by EIR expressed their views.
Current European
industrial technology research,
supported under
thematic priority
3 of the present
FP6, is monitored by an expert Advisory
Group that adMaria Founti
vises the Commission on its
progress. The Advisory Group’s mid-term
assessment was one of the inputs to the discussion on the industrial technologies theme
in FP7, which recommended a doubling of
the proposed budget for industrial research.
EIR talked to five members of the Advisory
Group, including one from the European Investment Bank, about the future.
new production processes and devices. The
Advisory Group members are unanimous
about the importance of these areas for
Europe’s future competitiveness. Professor
Maria Founti explains: ‘The Lisbon objective cannot be met without the active support of industry. TP3 plays a major role in
the transfer of knowledge from academic research to the industrial environment.’ Marie
Arwidson agrees: ‘Industry is fundamental
10
Research)
To follow up on the preparations for FP7, please visit:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/fp7
Further information on Technology Platforms is available on:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/technology-platforms/home_en.html
for European competitiveness — TP3 will
enable industry to integrate nanotechnology
and nanoscience into production processes,
giving the necessary breakthrough in
innovation.’
‘Nanotechnology is rapidly becoming the
engine room of industrial development,’
insists Dr Terry Wilkins. ‘It will be tremendously important for growth in speciality
materials, leading into life sciences, transport, energy, consumer products, personal
care and manufactured foods. It is critical
for developing new collaboration models
between universities, industry (particularly
SMEs) and end-user applications.’ While the
Advisory Group welcomes the greater support for nanotechnology planned in FP7,
‘We do not want to see other important areas of manufacturing cut back, particularly
automated high-tech manufacturing for
consumer goods,’ warns Dr Wilkins. ‘If the
development side is weak, all the wonderful new materials for potential breakthrough
products will be held in a bottleneck.’
Strong foundations
The experts feel that industrial technology
research should be strongly represented in
all the proposed FP7 programmes of Cooperation (collaborative research), Ideas, People and Capacities. As Professor Founti says:
A question of priorities
The thematic priority 3 (TP3) of FP6 covers
nanotechnology and nanosciences, knowledge-based multifunctional materials, and
As in FP6, the integration of technologies
with industrial applications will continue to
be emphasised, with the encouragement of
generic technologies with cross-sectoral applications. Technology Platforms can help
here by sharing new technologies across a
range of sectors. Integrating stakeholders
under industrial leadership, organisations
such as the European Technology Platform
for Nanoelectronics (ENIAC) and the European Technolog y Platform for NanoMedicine will undoubtedly play a major role
not only in FP7 but also in the wider task
of shifting European enterprise towards the
knowledge-intensive products and services
on which Europe’s future economic and social welfare depends.
Marie S. Arwidson
continued on page 11
continued from page 10 ‘Industrial technology research under FP7’
definitely be needed. Ideally, about 20 % of
proposals need to win funding. If the rate is
higher, the quality goes down.’
‘Because of its horizontal and multidisciplinary nature, research in industrial technologies will have a vital role in all branches of
FP7. And the initiation of technology platforms by industrial and academic partners
will complement the research programme.’
Hans Pedersen believes that ‘collaborative
research projects with large business potential or societal impact will remain the most
important aspect’.
Several experts were keen to stress the importance of developing infrastructures.
Hans Pedersen: ‘I strongly believe that Europe should have state-of-the-art infrastructure, for example a synchrotron — the new
fusion research is a tremendous step that
can be shared by other countries. It is very
encouraging that large-scale infrastructures
are again a high political priority.’ Exchange
of human resources will also be favoured
under FP7, and Professor Founti points to
the new Member States. ‘European industries are investing and transferring production lines there,’ he says. ‘The new Member
States have very good traditional scientists
and engineers, and I see no difference in the
research performance of the old and new
member countries in the areas of materials
and production processes.’
Banks lend support
Through the Innovation 2010 Initiative (i2i),
the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the
European Investment Fund are able to complement Framework Programme research funding. The EIB lends funds to banks for direct
on-lending to companies, while the European
Investment Fund can guarantee risk financing for SMEs. As the EIB’s Orlando Arango
explains: ‘i2i will offer up to EUR 50 billion
investment until 2010 for training, R & D, and
ICT. We have already invested about EUR 25
billion, of which some EUR 10 billion is for
R & D. These funds will encourage the private
sector to invest even more. The Member States
are aiming to invest around 3 % of GDP in
The experts
Professor Maria Founti is Director of the
Laboratory of Heterogeneous Mixtures and
Combustion Systems within the Mechanical Engineering Department of the National
Technical University of Athens. She is Chairman of the TP3 Advisory Group.
Marie S. Arwidson is Managing Director of
the Swedish Forest Industries Federation.
She is one of the Vice-Chairmen of the TP3
Advisory Group.
Hans J. Pedersen is General Manager of
Danfoss Bionics, a Danish start-up company in innovative medical device technology,
and also CEO of Ossacur AG, a technology
company working on innovative bone graft
materials. He is also a TP3 Vice-Chairman.
Fundamentals of funding
The Advisory Group’s views on FP6 have
been influential in shaping FP7. In particular, the number of high-quality project
proposals which could not be funded under FP6 suggested a mismatch between
the programme’s budget and the capacity
of European research. Professor Founti explains: ‘The first FP6 call for proposals was
very broad, so it was vastly oversubscribed.
Later calls were more specifically directed to
materials and production technologies. This
enabled us to keep within the budget and
shape the direction of the work programme.’
Hans Pedersen continues: ‘The work programme will be very important for FP7 as it
covers seven years, annual adjustments will
Orlando Arango
Orlando Arango is Press and Communications Officer with the EIB, Brussels, and a
member of the TP3 Advisory Group.
Dr Terry Wilkins has recently moved from
ICI to become CEO of the new Nanomanufacturing Institute of Leeds University, and
is a member of the TP3 Advisory Group.
Terry Wilkins
R & D by 2010 — we estimate that this means
EUR 300 billion a year, or EUR 100 billion
more than current investment. We believe that
if the EU budget, the EIB and national budgetary sources could raise EUR 25 billion a year,
the private sector could raise the rest.’
Research)
11
Looking ahead
Hans J. Pedersen
‘Meeting all the needs of all the different
sectors of industrial technologies would
need a much greater budget than that of
FP6,’ says Professor Founti. The Advisory
Group recommended at least a four-fold increase in the TP3 budget in order to remain
competitive in manufacturing, especially
in nanotechnology. ‘Reduction of the proposed FP7 budget will put at risk European
industry’s chances of remaining competitive
in the global market,’ says Marie Arwidson.
Dr Wilkins continues: ‘My guess is that the
Ideas side of FP7, supported by the new European Research Council budget, will significantly enhance basic research in nanomaterials, but a reduction in TP3’s resources
would slow down the rate at which this exciting new science is translated into novel
products and processes.’
Arango feels that investment in industrial
research and innovation is a key feature
for European competitiveness. ‘We clearly
have to support breakthrough innovation,’
he insists. ‘But we also need enormous effort further downstream to ensure that basic
research is disseminated and used. Investment in ICT is now likely to fall, while more
goes into international facilities like CERN
or ITER. And to achieve successful research
funding, the financial sector, scientists, technologists and legal experts all need to cooperate and share their specialist knowledge.’
The NanoRoadSME project, one of two roadmapping projects supported
by the EU in the area of nanotechnology, develops technology roadmaps
and uses them to facilitate the transfer and integration of European RTD
results from the nanotechnological field to SMEs. The main challenge
is to encourage a knowledge-based approach in the SMEs’ strategies and
so promote a cultural change in industry towards a knowledge-based society.
Over the coming ten years scientific developments in the field of nanomaterials will
influence many different industrial branches, such as automotive industries, aeronautics, mechanical engineering, medical systems and health. In these industrial sectors
many SMEs are involved as traditional suppliers, start-ups or producers of high-tech
products. In order to remain competitive on
these markets, companies have to integrate
these new results in their commercial vision
for future products.
The project, which involves partners from
seven Member States and the International
Network for Nanomaterials NanoMat, was
launched in March 2004 with a total budget
of EUR 1.1 million for a period of 24 months.
It is structured in three main phases.
Phase A consisted of a market-driven approach including an analysis of SME and
market needs. The needs of SMEs were
taken into account from the very beginning
through an industrial survey, which aimed
produce a realistic picture of the actual situation for SMEs, the survey also examined the
barriers for the application of nanomaterials
and revealed four principal obstacles: production process technology (41 %), price/
performance ratio (37 %), information about
research results (33 %), and market volume
(18 %). SWOT analyses were added to identify technological problems in specific
industrial branches and opportunities to use
nanomaterials to address these problems.
Phase B involved a technology-driven approach. Reports summarising all the important information from existing studies and
national reports, projects, patents, interviews
of experts as well as literature surveys were
prepared for seven main categories of material: metals and alloys, ceramics, polymers,
composites, nano-glasses, carbon-based and
biological materials. The seven R & D reports
provide a detailed picture of the domain
identifying the trends, the properties of the
relevant materials, and possible applications.
ch Center
© NASA Ames Resear
Looking ahead
Analysing the nano-needs of SMEs
to identify the essential success factors and
barriers to the industrial application of nanomaterials. Companies which were already
working with nanomaterials were asked for
their main success factors, which turned
out to be material properties (78 %), quality improvement (47 %), cooperation with
other companies (37 %), and cooperation
with R & D organisations (33 %). In order to
Phase C advanced the roadmapping activity
by gathering the collected data in a knowledge database, which made it possible to establish specific technology roadmaps for specific branches and industrial applications.
Further information is available on:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nanotechnology/src/pressroom_
projects.htm
Technology Marketplace:
Connecting people with technology
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/marketplace
Introducing the latest research results:
• a selection of the latest and best technologies emerging from European R&D;
• a focus on key exploitable results in three sections: business, science, society;
• a short presentation of each new technology with contact details.
Helping you to better exploit new technologies:
• supports interaction between research & business
communities and society;
• encourages technology transfer and promotes
European best research results;
• offers links to support organisations around
the world;
• helps you in promoting your research results;
• offers helpful technology business tips, and more.
CORDIS is a service provided by the Office for Official
Publications of the European Communities.
12
NRM project develops a roadmap
for nanotechnology applications
The objective of the NanoRoadMap
(NRM) project funded under FP6 was to
carry out a long-term (ten-year) forecasting exercise to provide coherent scenarios
and technology roadmaps for nanotechnology applications in three important industrial fields: materials; health and medical services; and energy.
Understanding, observing and controlling
the properties of matter with lengths of between 1 and 100 nanometres is a new challenge for the research community and industry. Nanotechnology is expected to bring
about a manufacturing revolution, changing
the face of industry and, as a general-purpose technology, often combined with nonnanotechnology applications, has a significant impact on almost all industries and
areas of society. It could offer better built,
longer lasting, cleaner, safer, and smarter
products for the home, for communications,
for medicine, transportation, energy, agriculture and food, and for industry in general.
Among other areas, the project covers:
• nanomaterials, which include lightweight,
tough nanocomposites, novel nano-coatings that are dirt-, bacteria- and corrosion-repellent, carbon nanotubes and
their almost limitless applications, and
the uses of nanoparticles for new products and packaging;
• new and improved medical diagnostic
products and techniques for cancer, ge-
netic diseases that allow the detection of
disease at much earlier stages and with
lower, safer concentrations of contrast
agents. Medical supplies and devices such
as active ingredients in burn and wound
dressings, medical implants, drug coatings and targeted drug delivery systems;
• nanotechnology and processing, storing
and disseminating information: displays
that are as light as paper, textiles that
monitor health, products that communicate with each other, lightweight and
flexible electronics with anti-counterfeit,
information display and tracking applications, and for energy, cheap solar collectors for powering everything from water
purifiers to global positioning systems.
But these enormous benefits are coupled
with potential dangers: molecular nanotechnology will allow the rapid prototyping
and inexpensive manufacture of a wide variety of powerful products with the potential to disrupt many aspects of society and
politics. In the military field, minute but
powerful weapons and surveillance devices
are a possibility, as is environmental damage
provoked by the extensive use of inexpensive products.
The control of these technologies could lead
to abusive market restrictions, or create a
demand for a black market almost impossible to stop as, due to the reduced size, small
Looking ahead
Current nanotechnology applications exploit existing knowledge to create
advantages for existing products. But in the medium and long term, greatly
improved, or even entirely new, technologies and applications are expected to
emerge, initiating a new technological cycle.
nanofactories could easily be smuggled, and
potentially dangerous. This means that, in
order to gain public favour, in addition to
technological aspects, attention must be
paid to any societal implications deriving
from the surge of nanotechnology.
‘Nanotechnology
is expected to bring about
a manufacturing
revolution, changing the
face of industry, with
significant impact on
almost all areas of society.’
NRM was funded under the NMP thematic priority of FP6. The consortium gathered eight research and industrial partners
from the public and private sectors from
the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain
and the UK, all of whom have a long history
of disseminating information, contacting
research institutions and companies (large
and small), and assisting them in their
quest for innovation.
A two-step approach was adopted for the
project. First, following a thorough survey
of the available information, a general report was prepared for each of the three sectors covered by the project. It consolidates
the activity going on in Europe and in other
parts of the world, as well as assessing existing roadmaps and forecasts. Then, based
on this picture and to avoid the roadmaps
becoming too general, the topics that were
deemed of the highest priority in each of
the three fields were identified. The current
roadmapping exercise focused on 12 selected themes. The project also involved the dissemination of the roadmaps.
ch Center
© NASA Ames Resear
NRM ended in December 2005, and the results of the roadmap exercise, based on surveys of 35 countries and opinions of experts
from all over the world, were presented at
the international conference in Cologne,
‘NanoSolution 2005’, and at eight national
conferences in the partners’ countries.
For further information, please call up article 24582
in the CORDIS news database on:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/news
13
Nanotechnology — the ability to arrange
matter at the scale of individual atoms and
molecules — has the potential to transform
medicine, computing and energy production, and offers the prospect of reducing
the quantity of raw materials required for
the manufacture of goods. Today, nanotechnology is only in its infancy. To benefit
fully from its potential, Europe must mobilise and develop its considerable capacity for
fundamental science in a massive, long-term
programme of coordinated research.
Nanotechnology is based on the science
of the very, very small. One nanometre
(1 nm or 10 -9 m) is a millionth of a millimetre — about eight times the radius of
‘At the nanometre scale,
matter behaves differently.’
an atom, and a hundred times smaller than a
bacterial cell. At this scale, matter behaves differently. It often becomes more reactive, and
quantum effects can produce surprising results.
A material’s electrical conductivity, strength and
melting point may all change, for example.
Since the invention of the scanning tunnelling
microscope (STM) in the 1980s, researchers
have developed increasingly powerful techniques for seeing and manipulating surfaces
at the nanoscale. This has led to the
development of new materials, and
even to the conceptual design of molecular pumps and motors.
© Philips
A number of commercial applications have already reached the market. These include biocompatible
medical implants, high-performance
computer hard drives, scratch-resistant paints and self-sterilising surfaces.
Many of these important applications
have been realised through unexpected discoveries made in the course of
fundamental research. Yet, much basic
science remains to be done if nanotechnology’s full social and economic benefits are to be realised. The private sector will
normally fund only research that promises
a commercial payback. But developing the
building-blocks of knowledge that underpin
industrial research, and the tools required to
carry it out, still demands long-term publicly funded research.
Learning to predict accurately how material will behave at the nanoscale requires
extensive theoretical and modelling work.
Much research has centred on ‘top-down’
approaches that further miniaturise existing
fabrication technologies. In the long term,
‘bottom-up’ self-assembly — perhaps using
processes of biochemical synthesis similar
EU funding to help establish European
nanoscience facility
In order to promote increased collaboration between nanoscience
researchers in Europe, the EU is to part-finance the creation
of a European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF) along the lines
of existing European synchrotron laboratories.
The ETSF is an initiative put forward by
the Nanoquanta NoE, funded under the
nanotechnologies strand of FP6, with additional resources provided by national research funding organisations. The countries
represented in the network are Belgium,
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
The project builds on 15 years of successful
collaboration between leading condensed
matter theory groups in Europe, whose
work focuses on the properties of electronic
excited states in matter, particularly nanostructures.
According to Lucia Reining, research director at the École Polytechnique in Paris: ‘Over
the last two decades, European research and
training networks have increasingly contributed to the development of scientific communities. In order to share this benefit more
widely between scientists and with society,
we have to find new forms of working to-
14
gether. The ETSF will be a major help for us
to answer this challenge.’
The main objective of the ETSF, as announced in a press release in May 2005, will
be to bring a deeper theoretical understanding of the science that underlies nanotechnologies to the wider scientific community.
‘Until now,’ the network stated, ‘support for
such work by the EU and national organisations has concentrated on self-contained,
fixed-term research projects and networks
with no permanent opportunity for other
researchers to benefit from the new theoretical
and computational developments.’
In a similar way to existing synchrotron
facilities, the ETSF will act as a professionally managed knowledge centre whose expertise, theory and associated software can
be employed differently according to the
needs and interests of its various users. At
its core will be a number of collaborating
to those employed by nature itself — may
have even greater potential.
Despite rapid current progress, science
has still only scratched the surface of what
nanotechnology can offer. Without continuing public support for basic research, atomby-atom nano-assembly, quantum computing and many other anticipated technologies
may be developed with considerable delay,
or may indeed never be realised at all. The
EU framework programmes will continue to
play a critical role in the years ahead. The
projects presented in this section illustrate
some of the fundamental research carried
out with their support.
research groups specialising in the theory
of nanosciences or associated software developments, while users of the facility will
be drawn from a much wider community,
comprising researchers from both the public
and private sector that wish to benefit from
the latest developments in the field.
Such outreach initiatives will include the
dissemination of theories, algorithms and
computer programmes through publications, events and training sessions, as well as
hosting visiting research teams from universities, research institutes and other organisations. The ETSF will also provide long-term
training for users and doctoral students, as
well as modules for Masters-level students.
Martin Stankovski, a doctoral student at the
University of York which is coordinating the
Nanoquanta network, concludes: ‘Nanotechnology has enormous potential for the industry, but deeper theoretical knowledge of the
science involved is often missing in the broader
research communities, especially in the private
sector. With the ETSF we have the opportunity
to get the experience and knowledge of our
research out where it will be of direct use.’
It may seem unlikely from our everyday experience, but quantum theory tells us that
the energy density of completely empty
space is, in fact, staggeringly high at ~10115 J
per cubic metre. Of course, all the normal
processes we observe in the universe have
energies relative to this point, known as the
quantum zero point energy of a vacuum.
Force is versatile and, in theory, changing shape
and/or material of the ‘optical cavity’ can significantly change its strength and even transform
it into a repulsive force. The understanding acquired will enable optimisation of the surface
properties required to maximise the force. This
‘In order to make
nanoscale machines,
a method of transmitting
force that avoids
damage-inducing contact
between component
surfaces is necessary.’
However, at microscopic distances this
quantum phenomenon results in potentially
very useful forces. One such is the Casimir
Force — first predicted in 1948 — which is
an attractive force between two surfaces.
The Nanocase project partners will combine their considerable expertise in nanolithography, cryogenic scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), and quantum field
theory to investigate the Casimir Force in
full. Scientists from France, Sweden and
the UK will measure the force between
parallel flat reflecting plates accurately in
ultra-high vacuum (UHV), along with its
variation depending on the surface coating
of the plates, their separation and temperature. The measurements will be the most
accurate performed to date.
The next stage will be to examine the effect
of plate geometry and material. The Casimir
at Riverside
Fabrication of the devices and measurement of forces will involve state-of-the-art
instrumentation and etching techniques.
The initial ‘simple’ device will essentially be
a flat square plate suspended above a substrate by four silicon springs. The unstressed
distance between the two surfaces will be in
the range 0.5-1 μ and the movable plate will
be a 10 μ square. The distance between the
fornia
een, University of Cali
A significant problem for the development
of nanotechnology is force transmission. In
order to make nanoscale machines, a method of transmitting force that avoids damage-inducing contact between component
surfaces is necessary. Macroscopic solutions,
such as lubrication, are not practical, but application of the Casimir Force could be. Enhanced understanding of the force will also
benefit progress in quantum theory.
will be used to design a simple nano-machine
capable of transmitting force between components without physical contact.
© Credit Umar Mohid
The force becomes measurable on the sub-micron (10-6 m) scale and for two perfectly flat
reflecting surfaces increases rapidly as they get
closer to each other. In principle, by using surfaces that have a nanoscale texturing, this ‘normal’ force can be converted to a ‘lateral’ force
that could be used to drag (or push) an object
through empty space without physical contact.
The existence of this ‘vacuum force’ was confirmed soon after it was predicted, but with the
advent of modern scanning probe technology
we can now measure it more accurately and
possibly put it to good use.
The Casimir Force derives essentially from the physics of
nothing — empty space. Nevertheless, it could have very real application
in nanotechnology devices. The NEST project Nanocase will
use state-of-the-art instrumentation to investigate this force between
surfaces which becomes significant at nanometre distances.
Success will lead to the design of nanotechnology devices
that can transmit force between components without
contact — an essential prerequisite for practical nano-machines.
chnology
for Biologic Nanote
© Michigan Center
Energy in a vacuum
plates and the force between them will be
measured by an atomic force microscope
(AFM). The AFM uses a very fine probe on
a cantilever to provide images of surfaces
down to atomic resolution by scanning and
effectively ‘feeling’ the surface — rather like
a high-resolution Braille reader.
For the Nanocase project, a nanosphere of
around 0.5 μ in diameter will be attached
to the AFM tip and used to apply force to
the centre of the flat plate. This should
allow the Casimir Force between the plates
to be measured for separations in the range
of 800-10 nanometres (10-9 m) — a wider
range than previously attempted. One of the
silicon surfaces can also be coated with gold
to examine the effect of changing the surface
coating. Further experiments will use micro-electronic mechanical systems (MEMS)
to measure the force using a well-characterised combi-drive technology that
has a resolution of 0.1 nm.
The experimental data obtained
will allow the theorists to define
the optimum parameters for a
practical nano-machine design.
Such a device could open the
way for the construction of real
machines capable of manipulating matter at the scale of individual cells or even molecules
— with huge potential for academic, industrial and societal
application.
Further information on NEST projects is available on:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nest
15
Polish researcher heads ground-breaking
EU project in nanotechnology
In order to foster long-term development of nanosciences and technology
in the EU, the European Commission is providing EUR 2.2 million
to a unique FP6 project combining expertise in synchrotrons, diffusion,
magnetism, phonons and surface science.
The project, named Dynasync (Dynamics in nanoscale materials studied with
synchrotron radiation), aims to increase
current knowledge in nanostructures dynamics and to develop new methods of
preparation, modelling and characterisation in order to improve the performance
of future nanoscale devices.
As Polish coordinator Jozef Korecki, Professor of physics and applied computer science
and member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, told CORDIS News in an interview
in February 2005, the project is also exceptional in that it plans to give a leading role to
scientists of the new Member States.
The consortium, which combines the available expertise of seven European countries
including Hungary and Poland, spent the
first nine months of the project building
both the infrastructure and the experimental method needed to study nanostructures
dynamics in depth. This is because knowledge of the dynamical properties of condensed matter is vital for the functionality
of future nanoscale devices.
As Professor Korecki explains, if an object
is very small it is more susceptible to excitation than bulk materials. It is therefore essential to study dynamics properly and with
a special methodology.
‘This is because with nanostructures, the
process is very fast — we are dealing with
nanoseconds, with extremely short time
scales. This is why we are using a method
relating to synchrotron radiation which is
similar to X-ray radiation. Nuclear resonant
scattering (NRS) of synchrotron radiation is
well suited to reveal the structure and dynamics of thin films, clusters, nanoparticles
and interfaces because its time structure is
not continuous but in pulses,’ Professor Korecki told CORDIS News.
‘With this special method we gain added
sensitivity as well as energy resolution,’ continued the Professor.
The initial phase of the project was devoted
to the setting up of an ultra high vacuum
(UHV) system at the European Synchrotron
Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, one
of the partners in the project.
‘The system has now been installed in the
beam line ID18 and we are able to study
dynamics using NRS of synchrotron radiation “in situ”, which means we can analyse
samples without removing them from their
place of origin,’ explained Professor Korecki.
‘This is important because the samples are
very sensitive to the atmosphere. They have
to be studied in a special sample environment, in this UHV.’
‘Now that we have the new system,’ added the
Professor, ‘lots of improvements have to be
made in our home labs so that they are compatible with the new system. Once this is done
we will divide the samples between the different labs so they can be studied and measured.’
The next phase of the project will be dedicated to four work packages that correspond
to three classes of phenomena, namely diffusion, phonons and magnetisation dynamics. The project will study the different dynamical aspects on carefully selected model
nanostructures in order to understand the
size dependence and interplay between the
various excitation mechanisms. The fourth
work package deals with instrumentalisation and software, which will form the basis
of future experiments.
‘We are only at the start of our project and
we have already established that this new
experimental method, which is unique in
the world, can approach a broad class of
dynamical phenomena,’ enthused Professor
Korecki. ‘The combination of NRS experiments with advanced computational methods has produced unprecedented views
into the modification of collective excitations, the role of diffusion in the kinetics
of structural changes that occur during the
processing of materials and the dynamical properties of magnetic nanostructures,’
added Professor Korecki.
According to Professor Korecki, by strengthening the impact of synchrotron radiation
in the nanosciences, the project is creating
a scientific case for new research infrastructure and is paving the way for new synchrotron radiation sources.
‘Fundamental research always leads to new
challenges,’ concluded the Professor.
Frequent abbreviations
CA
Coordination action
CORDIS Community Research and Development
Information Service
ERA
European Research Area
FP5Fifth Framework Programme of the European
Community for research, technological
development and demonstration activities
FP6
Sixth Framework Programme of the European
Community for research, technological
FP7
Seventh Framework Programme of the
European Community for research, technological
IP
Integrated Project
16
IP-SMEs
MEMS
N & N
nm
NMP
NoE
R & D
RTD
SMEs
STREP
SSA
TP3
Integrated Project dedicated to SMEs
Micro-electronic mechanical systems
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies
Nanometre
Nanotechnology and nanosciences,
knowledge-based multifunctional materials,
and new production processes and devices
Network of Excellence
Research and development
Research and technological development
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Specific targeted research project
Specific support action
Thematic priority 3
The molecular basis of toughness
Many ceramic materials are produced by
sintering powders at high temperatures; typically powders of silicon nitride or carbide,
alumina or zirconia are used. Atoms of rare
earth elements are introduced, for example
lanthanum or lutetium, and these migrate
to the crystal-film interface, where their position and concentration are critical to the
strength and toughness of the final ceramic
material. The exact positions of rare earth
atoms, under varying growth conditions,
can now be determined microscopically
and these positions compared to computer
model predictions. The models can then be
used to determine how to change and tailor
the physical properties of the materials. ‘Al-
though we knew already that the rare earths
controlled these properties,’ says coordinator Professor David Cockayne from Oxford
University, ‘as a result of Nanoam we are
now in a position to predict the microstructure, and to understand how the rare earth
atoms control grain growth and the spreading of cracks along the interface.’
Nanoam began as a three-year EU project
under the FP5 Growth programme, with
Oxford University, the Max-Planck Institute,
Karlsruhe University and the French Atomic
Energy Authority as partners, in collaboration with major US research groups under
the 1998 EU/US Science and Technology
Cooperation Agreement. The US National
Science Foundation (NSF) funded the US
groups that came from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), the Universities of Missouri and Pennsylvania, and Rutgers University, New Jersey. Other US group
members were the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory (California) and the
IBM Watson Laboratory, New York.
Addressable molecular building blocks
A French research team led by Jean-Marie Lehn, 1987 Nobel Prize
laureate for his research on supramolecular chemistry, joins teams
from Italy, Sweden and the UK in the AMNA project. Their aim
is to produce functionalised, addressable nanoscale networks — a kind
of 3D grid — which may well become the platform for future applications
in molecular electronics and diagnostic sensors.
The consortium’s radical technique is an exciting, practical example of the bottom-up
approach. The project hopes to construct
networks in which each point can be given
its own function by attaching a different enzyme or chemical sensor.
The full name of the project, which was
launched in January 2005 with EUR 2.5
million of EU funding for a duration of 35
months, is ‘Addressable molecular node as-
sembly — a generic platform of nanoscale
functionalised surfaces based on a digitally
addressable molecular grid’. Its goal is a nanotechnology platform based on a 100 nm size
grid of addressable molecular building blocks,
a novel bottom-up modular approach to place
functional groups at defined positions in space
with sub-nm precision. An almost complete
freedom of choice, for grid assembly as well as
positioning of functional groups is based on a
‘digital’ code for molecular recognition.
Nanoam contains much more basic research
than is common in most of the materials
science projects supported under the EU
Framework Programmes. As it is unravelling
the scientific basis for controlling ceramic
properties, it should open opportunities to
develop new, better and cheaper ceramics
in the future. Silicon nitride ceramics are
already in use, but they would reach wider
markets if their cost could be reduced.
Understanding how cracks in ceramics
propagate after impact, and the key role the
rare earths play, will enable tougher and less
expensive materials to be developed.
Professor Cockayne believes that the EU-US
collaboration has been crucial to Nanoam’s
success. ‘It enabled us to put together a
group of the leading computer modelling
and experimental groups in the world. We’ve
come a long way to resolving the problem,
which certainly would not have been possible with any one group. It needed leading
investigators to tackle it from many different
directions to find the answer.’
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/industrial_technologies/
articles/article_2059_en.html
The project involves very demanding synthetic and physico-chemical tasks — but,
if successful, the reward is enormous as it
can provide a basis for a range of powerful nanotechnological applications. High
structural fidelity and convenient assembly rates are achieved using DNA base-pair
recognition and stacking into rigid doublehelical structures. Each node typically has
three oligonucleotide strands and a moiety
for attachment of either a functional group
or a lipid-anchoring group, so that a group
of six nodes are connected into a hexagon
(energetically favourable) providing a planar network of hexagons. Further kinetic
robustness may be achieved.
Further information is available on :
projects.htm
17
Many industrial ceramic materials are
composed of crystalline grains surrounded by an amorphous glassy film, only a few
atoms wide. The thickness of this film is
constant for each particular ceramic composition, and its atomic structure controls
the toughness of the material as a whole.
While silicon nitride ceramics are already
widely used, for example in the construction of bearings for car engines, the reasons
for variations in toughness have not previously been well understood. Fundamental
studies were needed to determine how the
microstructure of the intergranular films
controls anisotropic grain growth and the
propagation of cracks in the ceramics, so
that tougher ceramics could be developed
more cheaply than is possible at present.
The Nanoam project set out to investigate
the structure of these films and its relation
to the physical properties of ceramics.
© Nanoam project
The toughness of ceramic materials is controlled by the composition
of intergranular films. In the international project Nanoam,
leading research groups from the EU and US have used complementary
techniques to explain their properties.
The participants contributed complementary skills. The Karlsruhe group is internationally recognised for the controlled production of ceramic materials, the Oxford
group is expert in high resolution electron
microscopy and the Max Planck Institute in
microanalysis, while the French group focuses on optical measurements. The structural information obtained by these teams
was used as the basis for atomic modelling
carried out by MIT, Rutgers University and
the Oxford University materials modelling
group, with further verification performed
by the other US teams.
The natural world shows a huge diversity of colour and form.
Elucidating the mechanisms by which these colours and contrasts
are achieved through the interaction of light with an organism’s bio-structure
and how these structures have evolved over time is an extremely complex task.
However, success would significantly enhance our understanding of nature
and behaviour, as well as offering us design models for new materials
with novel properties that have been ‘tested and approved’ by nature.
The kaleidoscope of colours, shapes and
sizes that is found in the natural world is
clear evidence of the complexity of living organisms. This complexity has been driven by
evolution over millions of years and many
creatures show extraordinary adaptations
that have given their species a competitive
edge in the game of life.
electron microscopy techniques that will
give new knowledge of the micro- and
nano-morphology of specific bio-organisms which display unique and remarkable
lightscattering ability. This structural information will be related to precise measurements of the light-filtering function using
micrometer-resolved spectrophotometric
and thermal measurements.
The Biophot project aims to study
this natural complexity in the specific case of how creatures interact
with the electromagnetic spectrum,
particularly visible light but also the
neighbouring infra-red and ultraviolet regions, to enhance their survival and reproduction chances. A
vast range of optimised natural optical devices and materials have evolved
that are used by various organisms in
a wide variety of complex tasks ranging from sexual signalling to thermal
management.
‘The greater understanding
that Biophot will bring to
the hierarchical assemblies
of natural structural
elements over length-scales
of varying orders of
magnitude will provide
guidance for the design
of new synthetic structures.’
interactions and dependencies. Similarly,
the experimental and theoretical aspects of
the organism’s interaction with light will
also address complexity.
The greater understanding that Biophot will bring to the hierarchical
assemblies of natural structural elements over length-scales of varying orders of magnitude will provide guidance for the design of
new synthetic structures. The improvement
of simulation and modelling tools can significantly reduce the development costs for
man-made nanostructured materials with
novel photonic properties. The hope is that
a significant ‘technology transfer’ from natural biology to synthetic materials science
can be achieved.
2006
© Biophot project,
The project team from Belgium, France,
Hungary and the United Kingdom will
investigate these natural designs, using a
broad perspective and a number of complementary disciplines. This complex,
multidisciplinary approach will involve
high-resolution structural and physical
characterisation, evolutionary data in
terms of both time and geography, significant modelling activities and the study of
the behaviour of living organisms.
2006
The combination of techniques will give a
deep and detailed insight both of the evolutionary processes that have optimised a
certain structure for a particular task and
also the manner in which different but
related structures exhibit altered properties. The physical characterisation will focus around a combination of optical and
18
the survival of the species in its ecosystem.
The study of the bio-organism in its environment at different evolutionary epochs
requires analysis of a very large number of
Complexity is not an easy phenomenon
to explain, however one of its characteristics is the emergence of new patterns or
behaviours that transcend the individual
characteristics of component units. The
NEST Pathfinder initiative on understanding human complexity, of which
Biophot is part, looks to develop and
transfer solutions and understanding
of real-world complexity from one
area of science to another. This builds
both cross-national and cross-disciplinary links that enhance European
research ability.
© Biophot project,
Natural nano-design is a beauty to behold
Extensive measurements of the reflection,
absorption and polarisation changes as a
function of the frequency and angle of incidence of electromagnetic radiation will be
made. Extensive numerical simulation will
also be employed using the parallel computing system at the University of Namur.
As a bonus, this will provide an opportunity
to test the ‘grid-computing’ model that is
an essential issue for a number of European
initiatives.
The target organisms will also be studied
in terms of their ecological and phenological (the timing of various biological
phases) history and closely related or
competing species will be identified for
future examination. Cross-disciplinary
discussions, including the use of paleontological data where available, will help
to determine whether an organism’s
optical scattering mechanisms give an
evolutionary advantage that can explain
To turn nanoscience into useful technologies
will require the exploitation of biological principles, physical laws and chemical properties
in an integrated way. This demands a new
‘A vibrant new research
area linked to the
convergence of existing
scientific disciplines’
type of researcher with a broad, interdisciplinary view and an ability to transpose findings
between scientific disciplines. It also requires
a large number of them — by 2010‑2015,
Europe will need as many as 400 000 additional qualified research personnel.
The need for breadth of vision extends beyond
science itself to societal issues. Entrepreneurship and innovation will also be required to
bring nanotechnology to market, creating useful and safe applications that society wants.
Yet in Europe today, there are fewer than six
scientific researchers for every 1 000 active
The Marie Curie Actions under FP6 aim to
enhance the career prospects and excellence
of researchers by provid-
nity, 2006
It takes time to train researchers, and the
proportion of students opting to take technical degrees is in decline. Decisive action is
required to ensure that the potential benefits
of nanotechnology to citizens and the economy are not missed. The challenge is cultural
as well as academic. New learning paradigms are needed
to make full use
of this limited res ource, and to
maintain the enthusiasm of researchers
throughout their
careers. And while
student numbers
are boosted, science
must win greater recognition as an important cultural activity.
The EU’s framework programmes support
the integration of training activities into
nanotechnology research projects. Both
early-stage and experienced researchers
have the chance to gain first hand experience of cutting-edge research in a European
context, often crossing geographic and disciplinary borders.
© European Commu
Nanotechnology’s emergence as a vibrant
new research area is linked to the convergence of existing scientific disciplines. As
physics has enabled us to manipulate matter on a smaller and smaller scale, chemistry has given us confidence in its ability to
synthesise complex molecules, while biology has provided insights into the natural
nanotechnology that makes life possible.
citizens, compared to over eight in the US
and over nine in Japan. Efforts to increase
research spending and build a European
knowledge-based society may become constrained by a lack of research personnel.
Nanotechnology may
hold opportunities
in this respect: as a
dynamic new field, it
holds the potential to ignite young people’s
interest in science. The European Commission is taking steps to support science careers by promoting mobility and establishing new frameworks for the recognition of
researchers and their qualifications and to
ensure rewarding careers. Initiatives to tap
the underused potential of women in science
have also been put in place.
Graduate researchers must be encouraged
to gain independence and pursue their own
research as early in their careers as possible. They must also be trained to innovate
and seize the entrepreneurial opportunities
that might arise from their research. At the
same time, awareness of the impact of their
research on society is essential.
ing awards, chairs, fellowships and networks.
In 2004, EUR 15 million — around 15 % of
the total EU funding for nanotechnology
R & D — was invested in research training,
90 % of it through Marie Curie Actions.
Since the most exciting developments in
nanotechnology are taking place at the
boundaries between traditional scientific
disciplines, considerable effort is also needed to establish networks that can bring together the best European talent from the
worlds of materials science, electronic engineering, chemistry, biotechnology and
others. This section explores some of the
projects aiming to train Europe’s new generation of N & N experts.
Striving for leadership in life sciences
The Frontiers Network of Excellence was launched in September 2004
with the aim of providing Europe with a leading position in life science-related
nanotechnology within four years.
With EUR 5 million of EU funding, it focuses more particularly on
instrumentation for analysis, and manipulation of the bio-environment. The consortium brings together 12 of the best European research groups in this area to increase research efficiency
by coordinating action and improving access to infrastructures
through a ‘Virtual European Nanosciences Laboratory’. Partners
concentrate more on focused core areas and spend less effort on
R & D and facilities outside these core areas. Education and tech-
nology transfer issues are being addressed with an integrated
European joint curriculum to deliver a masters-level programme
on life science-related nanotechnology. Meanwhile, with the aim
of sharing excellence between science and industry, Frontiers is
launching special ‘master classes’ for SMEs and other companies.
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nanotechnology/src/pressroom_projects.htm
19
At the nano level, the differences between
scientific disciplines fade. Nanotechnology
requires new approaches to education and
training that cross traditional boundaries
between physics, chemistry, biology and
engineering. Support from the EU’s framework programmes is helping to train up a
new generation of creative, entrepreneurial
European scientists with interdisciplinary
vision and an awareness of the wider societal implications of their work.
indicated that they expected nanotechnology
to have an effect on their business in the
following year.
As nanosciences are a relatively new scientific discipline,
many academic institutions and public authorities are still in the process
of assessing teaching and training needs in this field. So what is already
in place, and what does the user community actually want from university
graduates in terms of new knowledge? Participants at a workshop
in Brussels on 14 April 2005 sought answers to these questions.
Addressing the training needs in N & N is
complicated by the fact that it is not a scientific discipline in its own right, but cuts
across many other disciplines. A completely
new approach is therefore required at universities. The traditional structure of universities, where, for example, a physics student
is based in the physics faculty and rarely if
ever has any contact with the biology students, has to change.
This is also the approach that industry
would like to see, according to Tim Harper,
CEO of Cientifica and Executive Director
of the European NanoBusiness Association.
‘Employers don’t really want graduates with
a first degree in nanoscience. They prefer a
solid grounding in science with a conversion course — a Master’s or a PhD — afterwards,’ he said.
A less specialised approach is also favoured
by the European Commission. While the
traditional approach to education can be
depicted as an inverted pyramid, with the
breadth of study getting narrower as the researcher progresses, head of the Commission’s unit on research training networks
Bruno Schmitz outlined the need for an
hourglass approach to nano training, with
the breadth of study widening again as the
researcher gains in experience.
Although the number of science graduates is decreasing, and ironically at a time
when, as Dr Harper highlighted, technology is playing an increasingly important
role in our lives, more and more courses
are emerging in the areas of nanoscience
and nanotechnology.
Mark Morrison from the Institute of Nanotechnology in the United Kingdom informed
participants that while most EU countries
are establishing specialised courses in these
fields, the market is dominated by Denmark,
France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
An increasing number of e-learning courses
on nanoscience and nanotechnology are also
being established, although obstacles such as
concerns about standards, a lack of financial
support, and internal resistance from some
universities are slowing their growth.
It is not just a question of producing more
graduates, but of producing better graduates, said Dr Harper. With this in mind,
the European NanoBusiness Association
carried out a survey among companies
using N & N in early 2005 in order to assess
their needs. Most claimed that it is difficult
to recruit people with the right skills,
and many thought that this represents
an urgent problem — 33 % of respondents
Dr Harper also highlighted the gap between
academia and industry as an additional
‘Employers don’t really
want graduates with a first
degree in nanoscience.
They prefer a solid grounding
in science with a conversion
course — a Master’s
or a PhD — afterwards.’
factor impacting upon businesses. ‘Europe
has no shortage of academic institutions
working on nanoscience, so why are we
still less competitive? There is still something missing. Most universities have technology transfer offices, but how many include basic entrepreneurial skills? We need
to repair the links between academia and
industry,’ he said.
It is difficult for academics to spot commercial opportunities if they are not familiar with
business, Dr Harper said, adding the warning: ‘The problem is urgent and will only get
worse if we don’t start addressing it.’
Having said this, the focus should not shift
entirely to the applied end of the science, to
nanotechnology rather than nanoscience.
The hunt for commercial opportunities
must not mean an end to basic research,
said Dr Harper.
EU support for N & N is set to continue.
Under FP6, EUR 1.429 billion was available
for NMP, and this figure is set to increase
under FP7. ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies,
materials and new production technologies’
has already been outlined as a research
priority in the Commission’s proposals for
the programme.
Support will also continue for training in
N & N under the EU’s Marie Curie programme. At the time of the workshop, the
Commission had already invested EUR
61.9 million in this area since 1994, and
funded 1 379 person-years. These figures
were guaranteed to increase before the end
of FP6 as schemes had so far only been
funded under the first call for proposals.
© Philips
Assessing education
and training needs for N & N
20
Molecular nanomagnets excite interest from several scientific disciplines.
The Molnanomag network is training the young nano-scientists
who will take today’s basic research through to tomorrows’ high speed
computing applications.
The increasing performance of microelectronic devices over the past decades was
largely achieved by advances in production
technologies that allowed a progressive
reduction in the size of the elements on a
silicon chip — a history of overcoming
technical barriers. The barriers for computer
performance in the near future are not based
on production technologies, as in the past,
but on fundamental laws of physics.
In particular, as device dimensions approach
those of individual atoms and molecules —
and they are getting close — there is a move
away from the field of classical electromagnetism and into the realm of quantum behaviour. Here the rules change, wires get
crossed and memory becomes unreliable.
So, if computing technologies based on
classical electromagnetism become unpredictable in the quantum domain, then a
new technology is needed: quantum computing. Still a very theoretical subject, this
uses quantum behaviour to store and manipulate data — just as electrical behaviour
is used in today’s computers — and promises massive increases in computing power.
Quantum behaviour however is very difficult to observe.
‘The key discovery that SMMs display quantum behaviour is the reason we and many
others are studying them intensively,’ says
‘Like much in
nanotechnology, our field
is critically dependent on a
multidisciplinary approach.’
Molnanomag network coordinator Professor Dante Gatteschi of the University of
Florence in Italy. ‘Such systems are relatively rare and to find it at the large-molecule,
mesoscopic scale has many technological
implications. It gives us a rare window into
the effects of the molecular environment on
the nature and limits of quantum behaviour.’
A further advantage is that SMMs are not
only tools to study quantum behaviour but
also happen to be strong candidates for the construction of
quantum computers. As SMMs
are synthesised chemically, they
can be made in huge volumes of
absolutely identical molecules with
well-defined quantitative properties; this gives great advantages for
any eventual industrialisation.
‘Like much in nanotechnology, our
field is critically dependent on a
multidisciplinary approach,’ points
out Professor Gatteschi. ‘SMMs were
first synthesised by chemists, but
quickly we needed physicists with their experience of single particle characterisation.
Now we work in an iterative loop: based
on the physicists’ measurements and our
structural characterisation, we try to predict improvements in line with the desired
quantum behaviour defined by the quantum
physicists — and this feedback guides the
next synthesis round.’
‘The next generation of researchers who will
take this area forward must be multidisciplinary — at home in all these fields — and our
network composition reflects this.’
At the synthesis forefront, Molnanomag
links several European chemistry research
groups, each with particular expertise:
• the University of Manchester (United
Kingdom) is synthesising ring- and
wheel-shaped SMMs with special properties;
• the University of Bielefeld (Germany) is
creating giant clusters;
• the University of Paris-Sud (France) is
synthesising copper-based molecules that
are only magnetic under irradiation; and
Molnanomag members consider the multidisciplinary approach essential for both the
research and training elements. ‘The market
relevance of nanomagnets is greater than
for semiconductors,’ insists Professor
Gatteschi. ‘So it is essential, for the future
of European technology, that we develop
the scientists and engineers with the set of
knowledge and skills to drive nanotechnology research and applications — we have to
mainstream this technology as a discipline
in its own right.’
‘Our project carries out training in fundamental research guided by industry priorities such as the nanotechnology and quantum computing initiatives,’ says Professor
Gatteschi. ‘However, we see applications in
many areas, for example: magnetic media
for next generation data storage is a much
discussed application; biocompatible magnetic contrast media that would be tissue
selective in medical imaging is another;
and magnetic varnishes for protecting
equipment and structures from electromagnetic fields.’
‘Because SMMs can be organic molecules
they can be easily incorporated into polymers for a range of applications. Our French
partners at the University of Paris VI are
working on SMMs that only become magnetic when irradiated, opening up possibilities for sensor applications.’
• the University of Valencia (Spain) is synthesising new derivatives of SMMs and
working out theory of magnetic interactions.
These varied synthesis products are supported by physicists: the Centre National de
21
Transition-metal ions when embedded in
large molecules can produce single molecule
magnets (SMMs) — just like tiny compass
needles. This recent discovery is attracting
intense multidisciplinary attention because
of the promise these tiny magnets hold
for data storage, quantum computing and
nanotechnology. Molnanomag, a Commission-funded Marie Curie research training
network, is investigating novel SMMs and
in particular those fundamental properties
that determine future applications.
la Recherche Scientifique Louis Néel Laboratory for Magnetism in Grenoble (France) is
investigating magnetic properties at cryogenic temperatures; while the University of
Bern (Switzerland) is determining structures
and evaluating the quantum behaviour with
quantum computing applications in mind.
© www.ri.ac.uk
Molecular magnets — small and attractive
4. to educate society about nanobiotechnology.
Nano2Life, one of the first Networks of Excellence (NoE) funded
under FP6, supports interdisciplinary research into nanobiotechnology
tools and techniques. It will develop a roadmap for the sector,
and intends to establish a lasting virtual European institute.
170 researchers from 12 EU and associate
countries. In addition to the full partners,
the consortium has 31 associate members,
including EU industry — mostly SMEs,
used to working with academics — as well
as research groups in Australia, Canada,
China, Japan and the United States.
Funding for the four-year term of the network
is EUR 13.04 million, to which the EU is
contributing EUR 8.8 million.
Prof. Mark Welland
The convergence of inorganic nanotechnology and biotechnology into nanobiotechnology has the potential to yield breakthrough
advances in medical diagnosis, targeted
drug delivery, chemicals screening, and
environmental monitoring for pollutants
and toxins. However, progress depends on
a multidisciplinary approach and assembly
of a critical mass of research effort over a
period long enough to achieve meaningful
results. To meet these requirements, Nano2Life brings together biologists, chemists,
physicists, medical doctors and engineers
from around the EU, and has established
links across the globe.
© Ghim Wei Ho and
Networked research explores
the nano-bio interface
Networking between the partners got
underway very quickly following the official
start-up. Brainstorming meetings were held
in February and April 2004, with a view to
determining how best to foster the incubation of joint projects. The principle of
nurturing and providing financial support
for small-scale seed projects has also been
agreed. Work has also begun on mapping
the intellectual and technical facilities available within the network, and establishing a
financial support mechanism for shared
access to resources.
To meet the education targets, the consortium will start by mapping the existing
teaching programmes in Europe. It will then
go on to prepare a nanobiotechnology curriculum and technical training course, and
to produce an e-learning programme.
In order to foster an ethical approach in
this highly sensitive area of research, the
partners have nominated a European ethics
board, and seek to educate both scientists
and society in general about ethical matters.
They will also undertake a foresight study,
leading to a roadmap for nanobiotechnology and a strategic plan towards a lasting
integration.
Economic applications of nanobiotechnology
represent the driving force for the coordination of European research projects within
Nano2Life. Accordingly, cooperation with
industry will actively be pursued, through
joint projects and the organisation of Nano2Life business days. Like the core partners,
industrial members will participate fully in
the knowledge transfer, facility sharing, personnel exchange and training programmes.
‘There is real need for new tools to analyse
genes, proteins, cells, etc.,’ explains project
coordinator Patrick Boisseau, from the
French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
‘Nothing existed in this area before, so
Nano2Life is a completely new network in
a fragmented area. It provides an interface
between nano- and biotechnology, between
public and private sectors, and between
academia, industry and hospitals. The
intention is to build an EU community that
shares research, training and tools as well as
foresight analysis.’
Launched on 1 February 2004, Nano2Life is
a joint initiative of 23 significant European
players in various nano- and biotechnology
fields, including three hospitals close to end
users. It will involve a total of more than
22
The four broad objectives of Nano2Life are:
1. to improve European scientific excellence
in nanobiotechnology through joint scientific and technical projects covering four
major technical platforms: functionalisation, handling, detection and integration of
devices;
2. to tackle the fragmentation of European
nanobiotechnology research, obtain synergies and prevent the duplication of work;
3. to translate nanobiotechnology science
into economic benefits and to improve technology transfer to industry — as a basis for
end products such as innovative biochips,
intelligent biomaterials, analytical methods,
and nanofluidic drug delivery systems; and
The eventual formation of a European Institute of Nanobiotechnology, with central
management but several local facilities,
would form the basis for a long lasting integration of the partners. As well as acting
as a recognised centre of scientific excellence, it would form a valuable source of
nanobiotechnology reference for industry
and society.
Nano2Life will thus continue to contribute
to the development of nanobiotechnology
devices, materials and services, to the lasting
benefit of European industry and in agreement with international social and ethical
standards.
Tools for tomorrow
Scanning probe microscopies (SPM) including scanning tunnelling microscopy
(STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM)
scan the surface of a sample with a very fine
probe. Images at the atomic scale are produced by monitoring the interaction be-
‘Right at the heart
of nanotechnology are
the instruments that allow
us to study and handle
matter at the nanoscale.’
tween probe tip and surface. STM measures
the ‘tunnelling’ current between the probe
tip and electrically conducting samples,
while AFM works with insulating samples
nanosims/
© presolar.wustl.edu/
Right at the heart of nanotechnology are
the instruments that allow us to study and
handle matter at the nanoscale. These instruments make progress in research and
the industrial use of nanotechnology possible. It was a new piece of equipment — the
scanning tunnelling microscope for which
Heinrich Rohrer and Gerd Binnig won the
1986 Nobel prize — that opened the door
to the nano age, and novel instrumentation
continues to push its development.
and measures the tip’s deflection by the attractive or repulsive forces as it ‘bumps’ over
the surface atoms. SPM can also move individual atoms and build new structures. More
than 20 different SPM techniques based on
various physical interactions are currently
being applied and improved.
There are two approaches to nanotechnology
(though they may be combined) — ‘top-down’
and ‘bottom-up’. The top-down approach
extends the engineering skills developed
to make microprocessors, memory chips
and other integrated circuits. Larger-scale
structures are progressively miniaturised.
Using the bottom-up approach, on the
other hand, nanostructures with tailored
properties are built by the self-assembly of
atoms or molecules.
Whatever the approach, the characterisation
of what has been made is essential. Understanding the structure and properties of new
nanomaterials requires instruments that are
precise, accurate, and respond fast to change.
The challenges, and the stakes, are considerable. In medicine, miniaturised instruments can be linked to cells or implanted
in the body to make early diagnoses. Less
Handling nanoscale objects
A robotic system that will allow an untrained operator to interact
with nanoscale objects for characterisation, sorting and assembly tasks
is the goal of Nanorac (Nano robotic for assembly characterisation),
a STREP launched in April 2005 with EUR 1.35 million of EU funding.
The objectives of this project are to develop efficient instrumentation for measurement, analysis and manufacture at the
nanoscale. This approach makes it necessary to study and resolve different problems in order to create a robust robotic
system capable of the desired functionalities. Using the manipulation of carbon
nanotubes as a case study, Nanorac will
identify the requirements for handling
nanoscale materials and use these to design adapted tools, manipulation strategies and control schemes.
First of all, precise manipulation calls for a
clear understanding of the physical specificities of the nanoscale. Secondly, based on this
knowledge, adapted manipulation tools and
grippers can be designed. Then, given precise
pick-up and release tasks, manipulation strategies and corresponding control schemes must
be established. The second important point is
to provide the human operator with an optimal means to control the operation. The
difficulty is that the classical optical methods
are not suitable because of the smaller than
lights wavelength size of the targeted objects.
invasive surgery by using miniaturised instrumentation enables faster recovery of
the patients. In electronics, new focused
ion beam instruments allow us to pattern
materials at the nanoscale to create nanoelectronic devices, for example. Novel instruments for materials processing can
modify surfaces to give them scratch-proof,
self-repairing or other properties. And
in food, water and the environment, new
tools will detect and neutralise harmful
contaminants.
Reliable and economic mass production
is a key factor for the development of
nanotechnology. Some techniques are
adapted from the world of semiconductor
fabrication. High-energy UV or X ray
radiation lithography can sketch nanoscale
designs that are chemically etched. An
alternative approach is to use nanoimprint
lithography (NIL) to ‘emboss’ the nanostructure on a surface.
Imitating nature, organic molecules and
polymers can act as moulds for nano-devices, and guide the production of three-dimensional nanostructures by self-assembly.
More advanced equipment for mass production of nano-manufactured materials,
components and products still needs to be
developed, however.
Under FP6, the field of instrumentation for
nanotechnology has gained increasing importance, becoming one of the main topics of TP3. By mid-2005 more than EUR
60 million of FP6 funding had already
been invested in ‘nano-instrumentation’
projects, some of which are presented in
this section.
Techniques such as SEM (scanning electron
microscopy) exist but the resulting 2D images
do not provide sufficient position information
for a precise manipulation. A 3D virtual reality reconstruction of the manipulation will
provide the user with complete information
on the operation being performed, while a
novel tactile interface will be used to give an
intuitive operator environment.
The project aims to generate fundamental
improvements for any future possible applications and, in the long term, to stimulate
the industrial production of the nano-based
products and their applications and the employment of the developed knowledge in
further research projects.
projects.htm
23
Tools for tomorrow
Our ability to work in the invisible nanoworld depends on specialised equipment
to characterise and manufacture matter. We
can already produce incredible images at the
nanoscale and move atoms ‘like peas on a
plate’, but to create new nano-manufactured
materials, components and products, advanced tools and instruments must be developed. The framework programmes play
a key role in bringing about the necessary
synergy between nanotechnology research
and the development of new equipment.
Tools for tomorrow
Rapid commercialisation
for a European ‘nanoscalpel’
Research is sometimes slow to move from lab to market, but the team
members behind NANO-FIB, a recently completed FP5 nanotechnology
project, have moved almost as fast as their invention’s ion beams
in getting their technology to the commercial stage.
A licence to begin production of the NanoFIB
tool has been granted to the German company Raith GmbH. To mark the EU-funded
research project’s transfer to the private sector, the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and the LPN (Laboratoire
de Photonique et de Nanostructures) held an
information event in Paris on 27 October
2005, which was attended by the press and
the European Commission.
A three-year, EUR 2.8 million EU project
completed in April 2004, NANO-FIB’s
goal was to take a gallium-based, focused
ion beam (FIB) and make it even more
focused — that is, smaller and more precise — than existing technology could offer.
The research consortium’s objective was to
produce a highly controlled FIB ‘pencil’ or
beam of energy of less than 10 nm diameter.
‘We exceeded the milestones we set for
the project, by any measure,’ says project
director Jacques Gierak of the Laboratory
of Photonics and Nanostructures (LPN) at
the French National Centre for Scientific
Research (CNRS). ‘Our target was set to
5 nm and we actually got it down to 3 nm
as our deliverable. Thus, from a scientific
point of view, NANO-FIB has been a roaring success.’
If NANO-FIB’s technology is heading quickly to market, that is largely due to the team
members’ familiarity with one another. ‘We
were all working together before NANOFIB got off the ground, and we have kept in
close contact since NANO-FIB officially finished 18 months ago,’ says Gierak.
Unofficially, the team has kept growing, too.
‘We have brought half a dozen SMEs into
our labs as sub-contractors to help construct
equipment for the new experiments we’ve
been conducting since the project ended,’
he observes.
Indeed, the NANO-FIB research team — a
consortium of eight European research institutes and universities, and two SMEs — is
now focused on making the new technology a business success as well. CNRS has
agreed to grant exclusive licensing rights
to one of the consortium’s German SMEs,
Dortmund-based Raith GmbH. The transfer took place on 27 October 2005 at a
ceremony hosted by the CNRS, where the
NANO-FIB project’s results were described
24
and a prototype of the new ion-beam machine was presented.
Working at the scale of a few molecules demands very precise instruments. The machine that NANO-FIB designed and tested
focuses its ion beam so precisely that it can
carve molecular-scale structures, etchings
and pre-defined defects on a substrate surface with nanometre accuracy. ‘It is like
sculpting with a chisel and hammer, only
at the level of a group of atoms at a time,’
says Gierak.
The EU supports research into this kind
of technology because of its potential
revolutionary impact across a broad range
of industrial applications. The most familiar
use of such small-scale fabrication technologies is for manufacturing microprocessors
and other integrated circuits. Typically, a
silicon crystal is etched and doped with
‘The key words
here are “controlled”
and “localised”.’
other elements using light-beam patterning
methods. But light beams are reaching their
limit, although extreme ultraviolet technology will extend the possibilities of optical
patterning somewhat. Future possibilities
include electron beam lithography, which
can print a pattern on a semiconductor
wafer in a single operation, but again, electron scattering limits that beam’s definition
to about 10 nm.
To overcome these limitations, NANO-FIB
has successfully improved ion-beam technology by producing a far more precise
beam and a direct-write ion beam process
that is largely free of toxic chemicals and
material waste. The active electrode is a
fine tungsten needle coated with the metal
gallium in liquid form and placed in a vacuum. A potential of several kilovolts distorts the liquid into a cone and, at a critical
voltage, its apex becomes a jet. This jet is
focused with an electrostatic device, rather
than the magnetic lens used to focus electrons, because the gallium ions are much
heavier than electrons. NANO-FIB’s patented design and architecture produce an
optically bright beam of ions that can be
very sharply focused.
NANO-FIB’s resulting 3 nm ultimate
resolution opens up a fascinating array
of applications and new market opportunities. For instance, an arrangement of
gold nano-particles on a graphite surface
has already been produced. The graphite,
which has an atomically flat surface, can
be scored with local defects by the ion
beam in order to trap other metal particles, thus building up controlled, patterned structures that may be used in
nanoelectronics and nanomagnetism research and applications.
‘The key words here are “controlled” and “localised”,’ says Gierak. ‘Carving with an ionbeam below 10 nm is a very delicate operation and, traditionally, it has been difficult
to control exactly where a defect or pattern
starts. But our machine can control precisely
where artificial defects are placed. Then you
can use them as a template for replicating
itself and thus grow high-quality semiconductor nano-wires.’
Other potential target materials sensitive
to ion irradiation include optoelectronic
crystals, such as gallium arsenide, which
can be used in low-dimensionality systems
based on wafers or as laser components.
Another enticing possibility is to exploit
NANO-FIB’s beam to create tiny patterns
on thin magnetic crystalline films for use
in ultra high-density magnetic data storage machines. Such magnetic-logic computers are based on the storage and propagation of magnetic information instead of
electronics.
‘We are currently using the technology to
prove the stability of magnetic “nano-islands” as a storage medium,’ he says, noting
that a successful conclusion of such experiments would carry the storage capacity of
magnetic recording media into the realm of
a tera-byte per square inch.
Finally, NANO-FIB’s ultra-fine beam is
also trained on the field of bio-medical
research where Gierak and partners are
toying with new ways to isolate snippets
of DNA strands. ‘The applications are unfolding in all directions, and we think this
new technology offers great potential for
job-creation, quality of life and especially
for the retention of scientific expertise in
Europe,’ he concludes.
Report provides comprehensive analysis
of Europe’s nano infrastructure
© Philips
Nanoforum defined infrastructure for this
report, which was issued in July 2005, as
‘centres which allow external users access to
fabrication or analytical facilities, and provide technical support if required’. Also included were well-equipped centres for basic
research that are open to cooperation. The
report further identified 143 networks that
offer support for collaboration and information exchange between members.
In terms of scientific discipline, facilities offering research infrastructure for nanomaterials and electronics and systems were found
to be the most common (87 and 68 centres
respectively), with fundamental research representing the major activity for 35 centres.
Analytical and diagnostic facilities are offered
in 38 centres, and engineering and fabrica-
tion in 39. In contrast, nanobiotechnology
facilities are only available in 26 centres, and
only seven encompass energy research. While
most centres have strengths in more than one
sector, 19 cover multiple or all sectors.
Naturally, different countries were found
to have different strengths. For example,
France has a strong focus on electronics
and nanobiotechnology, while Germany has
a broad spectrum of infrastructure covering
all areas. Greece is active in several areas,
while the Netherlands has a number of fabrication facilities and centres for electronics
and nanobiotechnology. Poland has a strong
nanomaterials, electronics, fabrication and
analysis base, as does the UK.
The report gives detailed information on
policy, funding and infrastructure in 28
countries. It starts with Austria, which has
launched a number of initiatives to develop,
strengthen and promote emerging technology fields for the future, including nanotechnologies. Nanoforum identified three infrastructure centres, as well as one international
and three national networks in Austria.
The Czech government has attempted to reorganise financing for applied research. A foresight
exercise led to the identification of nanotechnologies as important for medicine and health, ad-
Ef f icient software modelling of optics
in two dimensions
The design and fabrication of micro- and nano-structures for applications
in photonics or optics often requires enormous computing power.
The Impecable project has developed a calculation method
for two-dimensional (2D) structures that overcomes some of these
resource problems while producing accurate results.
The EU-funded project, which was launched
under the Growth programme, set out to
improve the performance of photon detecting cathodes by the design of micro-structures on the cathode layer of the detector.
Currently, different methods are used to calculate the optical properties, such as the effective refractive index, of such structures.
Rytov’s effective medium theory (EMT) is
well established for modelling periodic, onedimensional (1D) structures, while rigorous
coupled wave analysis (RCWA) can be used
to study electromagnetic (EM) scattering with
bipolar coordinates. The main drawback with
the RCWA method for 2D arrays is the time
involved due to complex calculations that require long computations to be carried out.
The project team has developed an extension
of the EMT method that treats 2D structures,
as the superposition of two 1D calculations. In
cases where the wavelength of the incident EM
radiation is much smaller than the periodicity
of the structures, the new theory can calculate
reflectance and transmittance properties.
Hi-tech research centres have been established in recent years near to universities
in Denmark. The Nanoscience Centre is
one example, located at the University of
Copenhagen. Ireland, on the other hand,
began investing in nanotechnology long
before many other countries. Although its
overall research investment remains below
average, Ireland has nonetheless excelled
in nanotechnology. According to the Irish
Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, 114 full-time nanotech researchers
and ten internationally recognised groups
are currently working in the country, which
is also way ahead of many other countries in
commercialising nanotechnologies.
Another key player is Germany. Since the
late 1980s the government has been funding nanotechnology research activities in the
context of its materials research and physical
technologies programmes. Between 1998 and
2004, the volume of projects funded by more
than one source in Germany quadrupled to
around EUR 120 million. The report identifies
57 centres of competence and 32 networks.
The report concludes that, while capabilities
vary according to country, ‘much could be
achieved through better publicity of existing
infrastructure and providing further financial support for access’.
The new method has been implemented
in software with a user interface for varying parameters. The model produces exact
calculations, rather than the approximations
necessary in the old EMT method based on
Rytov’s original theory.
Arbitrary profiles can be created by varying
structures, number of layers, angles of incidence and polarisation. The solutions developed by the project team would be of great
interest to optics companies addressing infra-red anti-reflection, as well as manufacturers of optoelectronic devices.
The project is looking for partners for
further research, development support
or financial support and is available for
consultancy.
For further information, please call up offer 2214
on the CORDIS technology marketplace:
25
Tools for tomorrow
Nanoforum, a thematic network funded by the EU under FP5, has produced
a report detailing Europe’s nanotechnology infrastructure and networks.
Provisions and levels of development vary from country to country,
but overall the report writers identified 240 infrastructures in 28 countries.
Of these 240, 16 were classified as major EU research infrastructures.
vanced materials, instruments and equipment
and process technologies. The report lists ten
centres that make research infrastructure available to outside users, and four networks headquartered in the Czech Republic.
Silicon-free computer circuits
Tools for tomorrow
The field of integrated circuit development has been dominated by the use of
silicon-based products for a number of years. The EU is currently searching for
alternative materials and it appears that a likely candidate has been identified.
The IST project NICE is investigating the
potential of fullerene-based technologies as
alternatives to silicon devices. Fullerenes are
large carbon-cage molecules, with the ability
to enclose other atoms within their hollow
cage structures. Such compounds are termed
endohedral fullerenes and they exhibit a
number of non-carbon-like properties.
One of these properties is the ability to superconduct at relatively high temperatures.
NICE tested the properties of the endohedral
fullerenes with the aim of combining such
materials with nano-computing technologies
to arrive at novel integrated circuits. One of
the major obstacles so far, however, has been
the difficulty associated with the isolation and
purification of endohedral fullerenes.
To address this issue, a new high-performance
liquid chromatography method was developed
at the University of Göteborg. A series of
complex chemical steps, which resulted in
the final highly purified molecules, were
shown to be highly effective for the C60 carbon fullerenes. Fullerenes of higher carbon
content proved more challenging to purify.
The production of endohedral fullerenes at
first instance can be achieved through the
Understanding single molecular motors
The recently invented fluorescence lifetime imaging nanoscopy (FLIN) provides
a groundbreaking tool for the study of single molecules (SM) and single molecular
motors (SMM) as well as a broad array of phenomena in the nano-world.
Single molecular motors are fascinating
phenomena from the interface of the biological and non-biological worlds. Biological SMMs are involved in many infectious diseases as well as conditions such
as Alzheimer’s. By using long observation
times, at 1 nm accuracy and 10 nm resolution, on living cells and SMMs, the Singlemotor-FLIN project, a STREP launched
in May 2005 with EUR 1.5 million of EU
funding, aims to establish how these motors operate and how they break down in
disease. The project’s insights will advance
our understanding of biological and artificial machines and motors, leading to better model systems and the design of new
artificial systems improving the interface of
biological and non-biological worlds.
To date, studies of SMMs have been limited
by resolution, short observation times and
photo-dynamic reactions, but these barriers
can now be overcome by minimal-invasive
FLIN (MI-FLIN). FLIN is the extension of
the extremely successful fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) into the
nano-domain, with 10 to 100 nm space resolution. FLIN results from the combination
of 4 pi-microscopy with novel ultra-sensitive, non-scanning imaging detectors, based
on time- and space-correlated single photon
counting (TSCSPC) that allows ultra-low
Heat sensors tunnelling the gap
Nanotechnologies require sensitive instrumentation to monitor internal
temperature fluxes and to allow for optimal performance.
In both cases, tunnel junctions are often used. New developments
with tunnel junctions may now offer greatly improved features.
A tunnel junction is precisely what it suggests: a bridge that is formed from two electrodes separated by a thin tunnel barrier of
magnesium oxide or aluminium oxide for
example. They are used in a multitude of
nanotechnologies, from biomedical instruments to computer circuitry.
Temperature fluxes within nanoscale structures are often too minute for standard sensors
to detect accurately. This complicates matters
when such structures are complex and require
certain temperature allowances. A Finnish
company has developed a temperature sensing technique utilising tunnel junctions.
26
Through lithographic fabrication the company is able to construct a tunnel junction
of minute proportions and operate on temperature-dependent tunnelling resistance
of metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions.
It can detect minuscule fluctuations in temperatures, with a variant scale from approximately -200 to 200 °C.
A typical junction is around 100 nm² in size
and can have a tailored impedance factor
that can be made as high as the MOhm-level
that results in extremely low excitation levels.
The only restriction to such sensors is the
limits of the lithography itself. The fabrica-
use of low-energy implantation sources.
The technique was optimised for the implantation of Li, K and Na atoms inside the
hollow spaces of fullerenes.
Overall, the project has managed to devise
optimum conditions for the production of
endohedral fullerenes and also yield highly
purified fullerene material through a series
of chromatographic steps. The knowledge
gained so far is key to the further application of fullerenes for the manufacture of integrated circuits, independent of silicon.
The project is looking for partners for further research or development support and
is available for consultancy.
excitation levels. This results in long-period
(1 hour), minimal-invasive observation of
living cells and SM/SMM, without any cell
damage or irreversible bleaching. Minimalinvasive FLIN (MI-FLIN) with global point
spread function modelling allows observation of SMM movement at 1 nm accuracy
and 10 nm resolution. In parallel, the consortium aims to improve sensitivity, timeand space-resolution as well as throughput
of the TSCSPC detectors, explore an array
of novel applications provided by MI-FLIM/
FLIN, develop a super-background-free
TIRF microscope to improve detectability
of SM/SMM, and examine the behaviour of
four different types of SMM and their dependence on energy input.
projects.htm
tion of these tunnels has been effected with
electron beam lithography and these can be
arranged in either 1D or 2D arrangements
capable of detecting temperature gradients
or distributions in a sub-micron scale.
These tunnel junction sensors have a wide
range of applications and can be further integrated with optical sensors for use in the
life sciences. The technology is promoted
by the Innovation Relay Centres network.
The company is currently looking for partners in life sciences and biotechnology for
further development and integration as
well as for partners to collaborate in several areas, including licence agreements,
information exchange and training.
Nanopatterning for all
The optical lithographic techniques that
form the basis of integrated-circuit chip
fabrication can already be used to create
sub-100 nm features. The drawback is that
a state-of-the art lithography system can
cost tens of millions of euro. As a result, the
exploitation of sub-100 nm optical lithography is restricted to industries that can afford very large investments.
‘Low-cost nanopatterning techniques that
work with a variety of different substrate
materials would open the door to a host of
new applications, the development of which
are currently hindered by the high cost of
lithographic tools,’ says Professor Jouni
Ahopelto of the VTT Technical Research
Centre of Finland. ‘Of course, the new techniques will be of interest to the big semiconductor manufacturers too.’
Professor Ahopelto is the coordinator of
Emerging Nanopatterning Methods (NaPa),
a large IP that draws together many different
strands of nanofabrication research. The EUR
31 million project aims to create a ‘library’ of
affordable processes and tools for creating and
working with nanopatterns down to 10 nm in
size, and to train people to use them.
The techniques being developed by NaPa’s 35
partner organisations fall into three groups in
different stages of progress towards commercialisation, the Professor explains. The one
nearest to market, known as nanoimprinting, resembles the process used to make vinyl records. A ‘stamp’ carrying a 3D pattern
is pressed into the surface, leaving behind a
reversed copy of the pattern. The material to
be stamped is typically a polymer.
‘The cost of a stamp, and a press to use it
with, can be less than EUR 10 000, so it won’t
be an obstacle to start-up companies,’ says
Professor Ahopelto. ‘The stamp itself, which
is a one-off, would be made by a specialist
company using an established technique [...]
Then the owner of the stamp can use it to
press as many copies as they need.’
The other two techniques, soft lithography
and MEMS-based nanopatterning, are
unlikely to be commercially available until nearer the end of the four-year project.
Soft lithography also uses a stamp, in this
case made from flexible plastic. The stamp
is dipped into a liquid and then pressed
against the substrate to create a patterned
film. The liquid can be a polymer that is
Making faster chips a reality
In the pursuit of greater computing power, the microprocessors
and other integrated circuits and chips at the heart of computers are being
driven at ever higher clock rates. The IST project Codestar has addressed some
of the issues in chip design resulting from these higher clock frequencies.
Integrated circuits, or silicon chips, for applications such as computing or information
processing are driven by a regular electronic
signal known as a clock. In order to increase
processing speeds or data transmission rates,
these clock rates are increased, producing
new side effects due to higher frequency
electromagnetic radiation.
The list of circuit elements producing significant effects is usually too large to be used
directly in a circuit simulation. Therefore
the project has developed a system, based on
reduced-order modelling, that produces a
shorter list of equivalent structures that can
be incorporated in a simulation model of a
circuit while producing the same effects.
Chip designers need to be able to simulate
these effects in a way that can be incorporated into their models of circuits in order
to produce successful circuit structures and
layouts. Codestar has developed software that
conducts an analysis of the high-frequency
effects produced by a particular circuit.
The Codestar methodology and software
thus extract models of high-frequency effects such as cross-talk that are more compact than the full description. When introduced into circuit designs in standard
simulation software, these models reduce
the time required for a particular simula-
MEMS-based nanopatterning is based
around microfabricated tools and involves
two different approaches: nanostencils and
nanodispensing. In the former, a stencil or
shadow mask is used to selectively deposit a
film, typically of metal, onto the substrate. In
nanodispensing, nanoscale ‘fountain pens’
based on scanning probes are used to ‘write’
on the substrate using liquid droplets whose
size is measured in attolitres (10-18 l).
NaPa does not target applications or products directly. Instead, the aim is to create
a library of tools and processes that companies can use to make production quantities of nano-featured devices, without the
need to invest in high-cost lithographic
tools. Supporting the research into fabrication techniques, other sub-projects deal
with the related materials, tools and simulation methods.
‘With such a wide field of research, integration of the effort is beneficial,’ Professor
Ahopelto explains adding that such coordination would have been much more difficult
without EU support. The future ubiquity of
nanopatterns makes the goal worthwhile:
the United States are aggressively marketing
nanofabrication machines but it seems
that Europe is investing more than the United
States and Japan in strategic research,
Professor Ahopelto notes.
tion by an order of thousands. The methodology and software were also tested and
benchmarked against standard structures to
ensure their accuracy.
The system is particularly useful for radiofrequency designs for wireless applications
and has potential for building libraries
of models of new elements for nanoelectronics. The project has also produced a
software toolkit for comparing and testing
simulation models.
The copyrights have been registered. The
project is looking for partners to collaborate in several areas and is available for
consultancy.
27
Tools for tomorrow
The ability to create nm-scale features on solid surfaces, known
as nanopatterning, has huge potential. As well as micro- and nanoelectronics,
applications include catalytic surfaces and microreactors for chemistry,
microfluidic devices for medical diagnostics, and components such
as diffraction gratings for optical communication systems.
The NaPa project will help to create a ‘library’ of techniques and tools
that will make nanopatterning affordable.
then hardened, a biological material, or an
etch-resist ink.
Tools for tomorrow
The incorporation of nanopowder fillers improves the performance
of adhesives for flip chip electronic circuit assembly, the FP5
project Nanojoining has found. The research results have also
led to unexpected applications in other sectors.
Flip chip electronics, in which bare integrated circuits and components are adhesively
bonded face-downwards onto conductive
bumps on printed circuit substrates, offer
advantages in terms of size, performance,
flexibility, reliability and cost over conventional wire-bonded circuitry.
To date, however, this mode of assembly
has been prone to thermally induced cracking of the solder bumps between the chip
and board, causing connection breakdown
and even damage to the devices themselves.
While commercially available underfill
‘We were concentrating on
the microelectronics market,
and had not recognised
the wider implications
of our discoveries.’
materials solve this problem, they fail to
meet manufacturing constraints with respect to reliability and packaging costs. In
addition, current filler particle sizes do not
match with fur ther miniaturisation
demands. A third problem is overheating of
the chips as a consequence of miniaturisation,
higher operating frequencies and higher
working temperatures, resulting in higher
thermal stresses which current polymer
materials cannot adequately dissipate.
A key factor limiting progress has been the
difficulty of producing adhesives that provide the appropriate electrical and thermal
conductivity characteristics suitable for
application at minimal layer thicknesses.
Based on work carried out in the FP5 thematic network ‘Adhesives in Electronics’,
the team at the Netherlands Organisation
for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)
concluded that the incorporation of nanoparticle fillers could hold the answer. It
therefore assembled a consortium, bringing materials and equipment suppliers together with industrial end users and other
research institutes to form the 42 month
Nanojoining initiative.
The objective was to develop new materials
and processing techniques for the bonding
and underfilling of flip chips and bonding of
heatsinks. The partners targeted a 40 % reduction in size, weight, material consumption
and power consumption for products such as
mobile telecommunication equipment, computers, monitors and automotive devices.
28
‘A key factor limiting progress was the difficulty in producing adhesives that provide
the appropriate electrical or thermal conductivity characteristics together with appropriate processing properties,’ explains
coordinator Nienke Bruinsma, formerly of
TNO. ‘Using nanoparticles makes it possible
to obtain combinations of properties that
would not otherwise be attainable, but their
high specific surface area causes the viscosity of dispersions to rise rapidly as filler concentrations increase.’
In this project, a particularly fruitful collaboration between Metalor Technologies
(Switzerland), Microdrop Technologies
(Germany) and the Fraunhofer IFAM Institute (Germany) realised an acrylate-methacrylate-epoxy adhesive filled with up to
70 wt% of metallic silver particles of around
5 μm diameter, together with an ink-jet process capable of delivering glue dots having a
diameter of just 130 μm. Although smaller
dot sizes have been achieved with silverfilled inks, this is a world first in the domain
of adhesives. A two-stage curing process
enabling initial dot patterning and drying
to be followed by chip placement and postpolymerisation lends itself particularly well
to industrial exploitation.
TNO headed the investigation of underfilling materials, which add mechanical
strength to chip assemblies and protect the
connections from environmental hazards. The
incorporation of filler particles of 20 nm diameter has made it possible to provide effective filling of inter-surface gaps as shallow as
20 μm, with a potential to go to much lower
values. The industrial partners Bosch and
Thales are both interested in integrating this
technology into their future manufacturing
strategies.
expected to be available commercially early
in 2006.
Subsequently, Amepox aims to introduce
nano-filled conductive adhesives within
around one year. Meanwhile, it has also received expressions of global interest from
potential customers seeking to exploit the
known bactericidal properties of silver.
‘This was something of a surprise to us,’ says
Managing Director Andrew Moscicky. ‘We
were concentrating on the microelectronics
market, and had not recognised the wider
implications of our discoveries. With their
huge surface areas, silver nanoparticles
are extremely effective bactericides, which
could be used as polymer fillers in applications as diverse as domestic appliances, air
conditioning system components and floor
cladding materials for hospitals and food
factories.’
‘Our probable approach will be to licence
the technology, which would help to provide us with the means to expand in our
own core business areas,’ Moscicky adds. ‘All
in all, participation in Nanojoining has been
highly beneficial for us, in terms of making
new contacts, gaining new knowledge and
sharing experiences.’
Thermally conductive adhesives and
moulding materials with nano-filler particles proved less interesting, but valuable
lessons were learned in all areas of the
project’s coverage. Several of the partners
will continue with individual and collaborative research efforts in what has proved to
be an extremely promising field, with major
implications for Europe’s future in the electronics sector and beyond.
Polish SME Amepox Microelectronics, a company
with just 15 employees,
developed its own proprietary method for producing silver nanoparticles
with diameters down to 3-8
nm (thought to have been
achieved by only one other
company in the world). It
chose to focus initially on the
manufacture of jet-applicable
inks. These offer an economical means of printing antennas for smart card and mobile
phones, for example, and are
© freeimages.co.uk
Sticky nano-solutions for electronic assembly
The new knowledge delivered by nanotechnology can be applied in areas from
coatings and lubrication to energy storage,
catalysis and fuel cells, as well as nanoelectronics and biomaterials. The develop-
‘Nanomaterials will have
impacts in all areas
of science, technology,
innovation and enterprise.’
ment of nanomaterials will therefore have
impacts in all areas of science, technology,
innovation and enterprise. Nanoparticles
are already used to improve materials, for
example cosmetics such as sunscreens.
Using nanostructures, surfaces can be
modified to be scratch-proof, unwettable,
clean or sterile.
One can distinguish between two different approaches to the fabrication of
nanomaterials. Working ‘from the top
down’, nanostructures are progressively
miniaturised from larger-scale structures.
Nanoelectronics is one example of successful miniaturisation.
The second approach works ‘from
t he b ottom up’.
Here, nanostructures with tailored
properties are built
moving individual
atoms and molecules.
A key concept of the
bottom-up approach
is self-assembly, in
which molecules
spontaneously form
larger-scale structures.
In t h i s w ay, n a n o technology promises to
make a significant contribution to sustainable
development through
the considerable reduc-
Tougher ceramics
Combining the high mechanical performance found in many ceramic
materials with critical functional or structural properties is often a problem.
The Nanoker project will use new nanoceramic and nanocomposite technology
to obtain top-end functional and structural performance — leading
to a step-change in materials science.
Nanoker, an Integrated Project with EU
funding of EUR 11 million, is devoted to
‘Structural ceramic nanocomposites for
top-end functional applications’. Using a
truly multi-sectoral, cross-cutting approach,
the project set out to develop materials with
multifunctional properties such as outstanding hardness, fracture-resistance and fracture-toughness up to 2-3 times higher than
the best state-of-the-art materials currently
used in chemical-physically aggressive environments. The materials developed will also
be designed for attributes such as biocompatibility, long lifetime and novel optical
properties. The 25 organisations involved
include industrial companies specialising in
materials development as well as excellent
basic science institutions.
Many new technological advances are currently limited by the impossibility of combining high mechanical performances of actually
known ceramic materials with critical functional or structural material properties. The
project, which was launched in June 2005,
aims to provide and industrialise knowledge-based nanoceramics (<100 nm) and
nanocomposites (second phases <10 nm) for
tion of both waste and energy consumption.
Biological processes have employed ‘bottom-up’ nanotechnology in living systems
for billions of years. The so-called ‘biomimetic’ approach seeks to replicate or adapt
natural processes.
The research field of nanostructured materials has gained increasing importance under FP6, becoming one of the main topics
of TP3. In the first two calls for proposals
of FP6, 38 projects dealing with nanostructured materials were selected, and will
receive a total of up to EUR 154 million of
EU funding.
© Philips
Nanotechnology means gaining full control
of how materials form, and of their properties at the scale of atoms and molecules — the
fundamental building blocks of all matter.
This new ability promises valuable benefits
for all sectors that use materials, offering
many opportunities for product development
and waste reduction.
One of the barriers to design and controlled
production of nanomaterials with predefined
properties is our lack of understanding of
fundamental processes at the nanoscale. To
create new materials by design at the nanolevel we need to be able to predict the relationship between their molecular structure
and the way they behave in the ‘real world’.
This requires an understanding of the way
that small changes affect macroscopic properties, and the ability to reproduce them in
a controlled and reliable manner.
top-end functional and structural applications that are beyond reach with incremental
materials development only.
‘Nanocomposites’ entirely made up of ceramic and metallic nanoscale particles or
nanoscale phases denote a broad, new class
of engineered materials where unique and
otherwise unattainable properties can be
revealed. The industrial applications of
nanocomposites rely on the successful consolidation of these materials into bulk-sized
components while preserving their nanostructures. Traditional consolidation techniques have strong limitations of not being
able to retain the nanoscale grain size.
For further information, please call up project number 515784
29
One of the main challenges for nanotechnology is to produce useful new materials
with customised properties. They will
form the basis of novel solutions to societal needs, and open up totally new market
opportunities. Some nanomaterials are already incorporated in consumer products,
but future developments will go much further, sustainably enhancing the quality of
our lives.
Firef ighting on the nanoscale
Flammability is a major limiting factor in the use of polymer materials.
The organic flame retardants currently added to polymers — usually halogen-based
chemicals — are highly effective, but pose environmental and health problems.
The potential contribution of polymer
materials to the development of technologies with reduced environmental impact
may thus be overlooked. Fire retardant approaches developed in the past can no longer be used owing to undesirable side effects
during fire retrace action and hindrance to
end of life recycling technologies. Worldwide research in this area has not yet provided a suitable solution in terms of simultaneous fire risk and fire hazard reduction.
However, new classes of nanocomposite
materials and inorganic-organic hybrids can
be rendered inherently fire retardant if their
decomposition behaviour is catalytically directed towards crimination and charring
with creation of a surface protection to the
polymer material. Particularly interesting in
this approach are polyhedralsilsesquioxanes,
carbon annotates, and needle-like silicates.
The success in implementing the criminationcharring mechanism requires a combination
of expertise encompassing deep knowledge
in polymer chemistry and engineering, polymer thermal degradation and combustion, inorganic and physical chemistry and catalysis
that could assist in performing a great breakthrough in an area that is of vital importance
to future technological development.
In this context, the Nanofire project, a
STREP with EU funding of EUR 2.3 million
launched in November 2004, uses an environment-driven approach to build on recent
results that combine inorganic and organic
New processes for high-sensitivity
piezoelectric ceramics
Piezoelectric devices are used as actuators and sensors in many applications,
including transducers and inkjet printers. The Piramid project, which was
part-financed under the Growth programme of FP5, has used nanotechnology to
develop new ceramic materials for advanced applications requiring high-sensitivity.
The project team has produced piezoceramics from perovskite phase nanopowders using
a one-step synthesis route based on mechanochemical activation of chemical precursors.
When compared with the two-step columbite
synthesis route, the project’s novel method
was found to produce greater homogeneity
and better-defined characteristics.
The mechanochemical process included sintering for the transformation of the powder
into ceramic material, as well as hot pressing. The researchers experimented with
varying environmental factors in order to
investigate their effects on density and granularity in the finished product.
The temperature used for the sintering process was varied from 900 to 1 250 °C. The
sintering was also carried out in a lead oxide
atmosphere and different packing materials
were investigated to achieve this.
Using nanoparticles to create
new consumer products
30
The project partners combine expertise from
the various fields required to produce the substantial progress in basic knowledge on the
flammability of polymer nanocomposites and
hybrids needed to create an environmentally
friendly, highly performing, new approach in
fire retardance. Beside fire retrace, the inorganic anaphases are suitable carriers for distributing functional molecules in the polymer
matrix that can lead to multifunctional materials with a whole range of applications such
as transport, electrical and electronic sector,
building, furniture and clothing.
projects.htm
The ceramics produced — with varying density, porosity and grain size — then underwent testing of their electrical, mechanical
and electromechanical properties. These included deformation, dielectric, ferroelectric
and piezoelectric characteristics. The new
ceramics were found to exhibit high homogeneity in their composition and high crystallographic quality.
The project is looking for partners for further research as well as for development
support.
broken down. With understanding of these
processes, it is hoped that products can be
improved and waste reduced.
An EU project is bringing science and engineering together
in an attempt to find new processes for dispersing nanoparticles in liquid
forms, such as body lotions and detergents.
Using nanoparticles in certain products can
make them more attractive to consumers, for
example by making a body lotion less visible
on the skin. But in order to be effective, the
particles must be dispersed within the liquid.
While manufacturers are already doing this,
‘there is currently no fundamental understanding of how the engineering parameters interact with the chemical parameters,’ the Proform
project coordinator, Dr Gul Ozcan-Taskin,
told CORDIS News in February 2005.
structures in polymer materials at the nanoscale to form a protective surface layer during combustion — effectively stopping fire.
The additives include modified silicates and
carbon nanotubes. Use of these additives
can also improve the mechanical and physical properties of the material.
The dispersal process can involve several
steps, depending on the particle type, for
example wetting, dispersing and dissolving.
In order to improve on current methods,
the consortium will investigate each of the
components and stages involved in nanoparticle dispersion, from the properties of the
particles, to the liquid’s physical properties
and the dispersion itself. It is important to
ensure, for example, that the particles neither float nor sink, and that aggregates are
The outcomes of Proform are expected to include a design guide for the entire process, a
databank of generic information for characterising particles, and numerical models for the
rheological properties of suspensions, kinetics
of sub-processes, fluid flow and mixing.
The project, which started in July 2004,
brings together 10 partners from industry
and academia and will run for three years
with funding from FP6.
Nano-dot materials shrink laser dimensions
The future will see even more dramatic miniaturisation and power efficiency improvements, with the emergence of new diode
laser sources made from arrays of nano-dots
so small that tens of billions can fit into a
single square centimetre.
Since the existence of defect-free selfassembled semiconductor quantum dots
was first reported in 1993, these materials
have been subject to increasingly intense
scientific study. Their properties make them
ideal as building blocks for a new range of
advanced self-assembled nanostructured
materials exhibiting useful electrical and
optical characteristics.
m
© www.nanomat.co
Droplets of around 10 nm diameter are
formed naturally by the effects of strainrelaxation when one semiconductor
material is grown on the surface of another
having slightly different crystal lattice
dimensions (lattice mismatch), as is the
case with InAs on GaAs. The self-assembly
mechanism produces dots with a high
degree of uniformity in a single growth
step. To preserve their high optical quality,
they can then be covered by a second layer
of the substrate material.
Prior to the October 2001 start-up of the
project Nanomat, major advances in the use
of self-assembled nanostructured materials
(SAN) for laser diodes had already been
made in the laboratory. The consortium
of this three-year initiative sought to bring
these developments closer to industrial reali-
sation, while also gaining deeper
insight into the underlying science and technology.
‘To meet the needs of both academic and industrial partners, we
adopted a “dual track” approach,’
says coordinator Professor Victor
Moshchalkov of the Catholic University of
Leuven, Belgium. ‘We began by testing the
suitability of existing state-of-the-art structures for “real-life” applications, and progressively fed in the improved structures emerging from our more fundamental research.
In fact, even the basic studies were focused
closely on the specific objectives of the
project. The simultaneous advance on two
fronts proved very beneficial and fostered a
‘The future will see even more
dramatic miniaturisation
and power efficiency
improvements, with the
emergence of new diode
laser sources made
from arrays of nano-dots
so small that tens of
billions can fit into a single
square centimetre.’
strong spirit of cooperation. We could
exchange structures between the participants, and derive maximum advantage from
the complementarity of our resources.’
For long distance signal transmission, over
optical fibre cable networks for example, lasers need to operate within wavelength ‘windows’ at which absorption effects are minimised. Two such wavelength windows occur
at 1 300 nm and 1 550 nm. Further considerations for a commercially viable diode
are that the threshold current for switching
must be as low as possible, and the device
must be capable of stable and reliable longterm operation.
Although the effects of a downturn in the
telecoms market during the lifetime of the
project, together with some organisational
changes, reduced the contribution of the
industrial partners, Nanomat achieved
considerable success in addressing these
issues. It was able to draw on the diverse
experience of the academic partners in
nanoscale materials processing, utilise
some of Europe’s most advanced analytical
facilities, and obtain timely reactions to
the results of trials by prominent end-users.
recorded. This has been incorporated into
a prototype diode that could soon be ready
for commercial exploitation. A new SAN
for the 1 550 nm wavelength was also produced — although, at present, this requires
a reduced operating temperature of 200 K,
rather than the ambient (around 300 K)
capability sought by industry. In addition,
academic partners from Belgium, Germany,
Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom cooperated in studying the assembly of particles
into quantum wires, which offer still more potential opportunities for the 1 550 nm lasers.
‘We have learned a great deal about the
basic nature of quantum dots, and determined how their growth can be manipulated to deliver the desired mix of properties,’ observes Professor Moshchalkov. ‘This
research is relevant to a very large future
market for Europe. In 2002, semiconductor lasers generated global business worth
EUR 5.7 billion. In 2005, the figure is approaching EUR 9 billion — and the growth
forecast is for 15 % per annum. This is
without taking into account the indirect
applications arising from other types of
device that will become possible through
quantum dot photoelectronics.’
‘Our positive results would not have been
possible without the support of the EU.
This cooperation is now set to continue in
the context of Sandie (Self-assembled semiconductor nanostructures for new devices
in photonics and electronics), a Network
of Excellence recently approved under the
Sixth RTD Framework Programme.’
31
Making an international phone call, surfing
the internet, listening to the latest hits on
a compact CD player — all depend on the
use of lasers for signal transmission or data
read-out. And, whereas generating laser
beams once required the use of bulky and
power-hungry gas-filled tubes, today’s semiconductor laser diodes are small enough to
fit easily into a pen-sized and battery-driven
hand-held pointer.
ch Center
© NASA Ames Resear
Laser devices made from arrays of semiconductor nano-dots will be at
the heart of tomorrow’s highly integrated telecom and data recording systems.
The Nanomat project shed new light on the technology.
By the end of the funded period, this combined effort had delivered and tested a structure capable of lasing at 1 300 nm, with the
lowest threshold current yet
EU project to deliver smaller and cheaper
components for laptops and mobile phones
A new EU-funded project aims to help European companies in the microwave
communication sector to mass-produce and commercialise low-cost
and environmentally friendly ferroelectric films for tuneable microwave
devices and systems.
Such films will lead to cheaper, smaller and energy-saving components for mobile communication devices such as laptops and mobile
phones, and could potentially also be useful
for optoelectronics and sensor applications.
They can also be applied in adaptable/reconfigurable microwave systems consisting of a
large number of tuneable components, such
as large-phased array antennas and tuneable
metamaterials.’
The project coordinator, Professor Spartak
Gevorgian from Chalmers University in
Sweden, explains: ‘The devices based on
these films offer a substantial reduction of
cost, sizes and power consumption, i.e. features useful for power-hungry microwave
systems, especially in portable/handheld
devices such as mobile phones, laptops, etc.
Nanostar, which stands for ‘Nano-structured
ferroelectric films for tuneable acoustic
resonators and devices’, is a specific targeted
research project (STREP) supported with
EUR 2.8 million under the IST priority of
FP6. The three-year initiative gathers six
academic, research and industrial partners
from France, the Netherlands, Russia, Swe-
Bio-based food packaging
The Biopack project extensively explored the use of bio-based materials for
food packaging purposes with primary focus on the quality and safety of food.
New types of proactive bio-based packaging
material for grated, sliced and whole cheeses
have been developed. On the basis of polyactides (PLA) and chitosan, the newly developed materials have further undergone
modification procedures with the aid of
plasma coating or nanoclay incorporation.
Provision has been made for the problem of
mould growing at the surface of the cheese
with the addition of preservatives encapsulated in cyclodextrines (CDs). This innovation of adding preservatives in CDs into a
bio-based material could also be transferred
to other packaging materials.
The new packaging concept involves PLA,
preservatives encapsulated into CD, highcapacity oxygen scavengers, chitosanbioactive natural polymer for modification of PLA packaging materials, nanoclay
and plasma coating. In comparison to
other conventional materials, the novel
bio-packaging can be offered at a very
competitive price.
Part of the project results involved production of PLA/nanoclay films that display low
permeability to oxygen and water vapour
unlike fully exfoliated films. There were two
ways of producing the nanoclay films. One
is by compounding the material with nanoclay and another is by coating the material
with multi-layers of nanoclay.
Nanoclays were added to various PLAs, both
‘flexibilised’ and ‘unflexibilised’, and extruded into a film by means of a pilot plant-scale
twin-screw extruder. It was shown that this
combination in dry form improved the thermal stability of PLA and nanoclay was compounded with acceptable appearance.
Small particles releasing greater energy
Dwindling oil reserves and the generally gloomy forecasts provided by most
specialists in the automobile industry have provided newly added fuel for the
development of electrically powered cars. Considerable development is required,
however, before battery technology can provide a viable, greener alternative.
The NanoBatt project, which was launched
under the EU’s EESD programme, sought
to develop a new battery that would prove
itself both from a performance and from a
manufacturing perspective. The development of a suitable battery to run electric
vehicles would require the production of
new techniques, new materials and new
32
synthetic routes for novel lithium (Li)
batteries.
One of the considerable problems to address
as far as Li-ion batteries are concerned is
how to increase battery power density considerably, without sacrificing the recharge
ability. Additionally, such a battery would
den and Switzerland combining expertise
and know-how in theoretical and experimental physics, materials science, manufacturing, device and system engineering.
The main milestones of the project will be the
development of industry-relevant fabrication
processes for ferroelectric films with radically
new properties, the validation of these processes via device demonstrators and, more
generally, the generation of new knowledge
in the physics of fabrication technologies.
The project will also aim to improve the properties of ferroelectric films through, for example, the reduction of temperature dependence,
addressing lag and loss effects as well as noise
and parameter drift, and aiming for increased
long-term stability and tuneability.
Analysis results showed that nanoclay compounding can reduce permeability, yet the
desired targets were not reached in the case
of nanoclays with ‘flexibilised’ PLA. Critical
factors that affect the permeability reduction
in PLA films include processing conditions,
extruder characteristics, and selection of the
most suitable type of nanoclay.
Incorporation of nanoclays into the PLA
films may positively influence properties by
facilitating release of a cyclodextrin-encapsulated antimicrobial within the films. Further investigation and confirmation of this
finding may play a significant role in future
applications of food packaging. A patent
search is in progress.
The project, which was funded by the EU
under the Life Quality programme, is looking for partners for further research, development support or financial support and is
available for consultancy.
For further information, please call up offer 2293 on the CORDIS
technology marketplace:
have to be based on low-cost manufacturing
techniques while offering an attractive solution for the electric-vehicular industry.
The NanoBatt project realised that in order
to develop a high-powered density battery,
the surface area of the electrodes would
need to be increased. The production of
such is feasible, with the use of an active
mass comprised of nanoparticles.
Li battery material is usually produced in
high-temperature synthesis that warrants an
Nano-sized thermoelectric materials
The development of nano-sized thermoelectric materials
with enhanced properties is opening the way to the development
of new terrestrial and space applications.
The electrical properties of semiconductors
change dramatically with temperature, and
each material has its own effective operating
range. A thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, is
also unique to each material, with higher ZT
indicating better thermodynamic performance.
The most commonly used semiconducting
materials are alloys of bismuth telluride, Bi-Te.
A project supported under the EU’s Growth
programme has developed a new chemical alloying method which allows such alloys to be
made on a nanoscale. From a solution containing both components, Bi and Te, a precursor to the final product is precipitated. This
consists of a solid solution of different intermediate compounds and is highly reactive.
To achieve the alloying of the precursors,
they are further treated at 350 °C to produce the pure thermoelectric material with
an excellent yield of 95-98 %. This process
has also been used for the development of
nanocrystalline skutterudites with a purity
greater than 95 %.
ERA-NET project to strengthen collaboration
in European materials science
In May 2005, the Commission launched a new ERA-NET project,
under the ‘coordination of research activities’ priority of FP6, designed
to reinforce European collaboration in the field of materials science.
The ERA-NET project, known as Matera, is
made up of 15 national funding organisations
in 13 European countries. It aims to encourage
national and regional authorities to improve the
dissemination in Europe of knowledge gained
through materials research, and will also target
the launch of joint activities in the field.
According to the project’s coordinator, Sisko
Sipilä from the Finnish National Technology Agency Tekes: ‘The project enables for
the first time a real cooperation between the
European funding organisations on materials
science and engineering. Even though the
road to joint and coordinated activities will
be rocky and challenging, the final results will
be worth it. Together we can achieve more.’
Tekes describes material sciences as ‘one of
the most important areas of research and
development in industrialised countries’,
given its contribution to the development
of fields such as energy, the environment,
health and safety.
In recent years, the discipline has evolved
beyond its foundations in metallurgy and
metals to encompass more functional
materials and polymers, while research in
areas such as nanomaterials is expanding
rapidly. It is precisely this rapid evolution,
argue the participants of Matera, that makes
closer international collaboration necessary
if Europe is to remain at the cutting edge of
materials science.
It is envisaged that this will result in the fabrication of thermoelectric devices for power
generation, cooling and sensors to be used
on land and in space. To this end, partners
are invited to help develop the technology
on an industrial scale and release end products based on the developed materials. The
project is looking for partners for further research, development support, licence agreements, venture capital/spin-off funding or
private-public partnership.
For further information, please call up offer 2094 on the CORDIS
technology marketplace:
The practical methods that the ERA-NET
partners will use to achieve greater cooperation include benchmarking regional and
national research programmes, identifying
research areas where European collaboration would be particularly beneficial, and
identifying joint policy making initiatives.
Once areas for joint collaboration have been
agreed upon and common planning and
evaluation methods for joint calls have been
tested, the way will be free for project partners to launch joint activities.
As Tekes points out, many of the activities
carried out by the Matera partners, including benchmarking and best practice activities, will be made available to actors operating outside the network, thus creating
the maximum possible impact on Europe’s
materials science community.
continued from page 32 ‘Small particles releasing greater energy’
expensive price tag. By switching from thermal to ultrasonic synthesis however, the Li
battery material should become significantly
cheaper to produce. Sonochemistry is a successful synthetic tool used in the production
of nanonic phases of transition metal oxides.
Therefore, the project turned to production
techniques using sonochemistry, as well as
investigating other less expensive methods
such as mechanosynthesis and melt spinning. Currently, a successful high-energy
ball-milling device has been developed for
the mechanosynthesis of anode and cathode
materials.
Laboratory experimentation found that this
Simoloyer mill was able to effectively modify
the FeAlSiB based anode material, reducing
the particle size whilst retaining the essential amorphous structure. Additionally, the
mechanosynthesis from ferrous and lithium phosphate to lithium iron sulphates was
enormously successful. Herein, laser measurement of particle size revealed particle
sizes ranged between 1.5 to 9 µm.
In doing so, a more suitable battery is
developed whereby a larger electrode surface
area is attained, thus providing an increase
in battery effectiveness and power. The
developers require collaboration for further
R & D, while the results of their demonstration
trials remain available.
33
Thermoelectric materials are semiconductors
that combine heating and cooling properties.
This makes them suitable for electrical energy generation and for cooling appliances.
They do not require the use of carrier gases
for heating or cooling as other systems do,
making them more widely applicable.
The chemical alloying method developed
is simpler than conventional melt processing.
The alloys can be improved to provide
nanocrystralline materials with increased
ZT and TE properties and a lower manufacturing cost than is currently available.
But if these various technologies have
created opportunities and controversy in
isolation, the increasing convergence of
these disciplines in the future is expected
to lead to new technological advances that
will pose major challenges not only for
researchers, but also for policy-makers and
society as a whole.
Recognising the potential significance of
converging technologies (CTs), the European Commission established a working
group in 2004 to consider the potential and
the risks. Their final objective was to produce a report that provides advice to the
Commission and Member States on the opportunities and challenges presented by the
convergence of key enabling technologies.
Unusually, the group was chaired by a historian, and the report edited by a philosopher. This was intended to ensure that the
language would be common to both technology and sociologists. A summary of the
report and its recommendations was presented to MEPs at a workshop in Brussels on
18 October 2005.
The definition of CTs settled on by the expert group was that of ‘enabling technologies and knowledge systems that enable each other in the pursuit of a common
goal’. The first question raised by such a
definition, therefore, is: exactly what common goal are these enabling technologies
converging towards? ‘CTs always involve
an element of agenda-setting,’ states the
expert group’s report. ‘Because of this,
CTs are particularly open to the deliberate
inclusion of public and policy concerns.
Deliberate agenda-setting for CTs can
therefore be used to advance strategic
objectives such as the Lisbon Agenda.’
As the group was charged with analysing the
issue in a specifically European context,
it thus developed an expanded vision of
convergence, captured in the concept of
‘converging technologies for the European
knowledge society’ (CTEKS). This places
the emphasis on the agenda-setting process
itself, according to the report, and envisions
various European CT programmes, each
addressing a different problem by bringing
together different technologies and technology-enabling sciences.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the levels of
public concern that surround some of the
individual disciplines central to the concept
of CTs, the report notes that: ‘Tremendous
transformative potential comes with tremendous anxieties. These anxieties need to be
taken into account. When they are, converging technologies can develop in a supportive
climate. To the extent that public concerns
are included in the process, researchers and
investors can proceed without fear of finding
their work over-regulated or rejected.’
The report identifies four likely characteristics of CT applications that each present
both opportunities and threats to society.
The embeddedness of CTs — forming an
invisible technical infrastructure for human
action — will mean that the better they
work, the less we will notice them. ‘Once
all of us are living continuously in the pervasively artificial environment of ambient
computing, smart materials and ubiquitous
sensing, society will be confronted with far
more frequent and deep transformations of
people’s and groups’ self-understanding,’
argues the report.
Furthermore, as CT applications advance,
their reach could become practically unlimited, with communications, social interactions, and even
emotional states all
being engineered.
The prospect is
both productive
and dangerous at
the same time,
according to the
exper t group,
and complacency in the face of
fix-all technologies could be
dangerous in
the extreme.
© Philips
As individual disciplines in their own right,
information and communication technologies (ICT), biotechnologies and, increasingly, nanotechnologies, are transforming
the way that many people live, presenting
both opportunities and threats to society.
While some
proponents of
CT advocate
engineering
34
‘of ’ the mind and body, through electronic
implants and physical modifications to
enhance our human capacities, the expert
group proposes a focus on engineering
‘for’ the mind and body. However, it adds:
‘Either way, humans may end up surrendering
more and more of their freedom and
responsibility to a mechanical world that
acts for them.’
Finally, CTs can be geared to address very
specific tasks, but a reliance on highly specific solutions can also have an unsettling
effect. ‘Even when they work as reliably and
successfully as one could wish, CTs may
have a socially destabilising effect as economic efficiency produces greater unemployment, as targeted medical treatments
increase longevity, as CTs exacerbate the
divide between the rich and the poor,
between technologically advanced and
traditional cultures.’
The report concludes by offering 16 recommendations to policy-makers at European and national level. Among them is
the need to integrate a CT dimension in
both FP6 and FP7. A Commission official
who worked closely with the expert group
told the workshop that a first specific call
has been launched under the NMP priority of FP6, and added that under the NEST
and IST programmes, CT projects have
already been financed, with the first results
expected soon.
The Commission and Member States are
also called upon to support the creation of a
CT research community. The report further
underlines the need to support the contribution of social sciences and the humanities
to CTs, especially that of evolutionary anthropology, the economics of technological
development, foresight methodologies and
philosophy.
Under considerations of ethics and social
empowerment, the report calls for a strict
division to be maintained between military
ambitions for CTs and their development
in Europe. The mandate for the ethical
review of European research projects should
also be extended to include the ethical and
social dimensions of CTs, it argues. Finally,
the group argues that CT modules should
be introduced in secondary and higher
education, but noted that there is currently
a lack of clear ideas as to how this should
be achieved.
It was noted by another contributor to the
workshop that debates on technology are
never easy, as society creates new technologies only for them to transform society
in unforeseen ways. But according to Jan
A research and innovation vision
for nanoelectronics
The vision paper, which aims to secure global
leadership, create competitive products, sustain high levels of innovation and maintain
world-class skills within the EU, was adopted
in June 2004. In addition to identifying the
technological, economic and societal advantages of establishing Europe as a global
leader in nanoelectronics, the report Vision
2020 – Nanoelectronics at the centre of change
clearly highlights the importance of creating
effective public-private partnerships in order
to achieve this goal. It calls for such partnerships to include all stakeholders in the value
chain, from service providers to research scientists, so that nanoelectronics research can
remain strongly application-focused.
To create an appropriate environment for
such partnerships, ‘Vision 2020’ proposed
the development of a European Technology Platform and a strategic research agenda (SRA) for nanoelectronics that would
enable all the stakeholders to interact and
provide the resources required, within a visionary programme fostering collaboration
and making best use of EU talent and infrastructures. The European Nanoelectronics
Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) was
established in May 2004 to develop this
Technology Platform and its SRA.
ENIAC defines its policy objective as that of
strengthening ‘... the competitiveness of the
European electronics industry by further developing the high-tech know-how required to
master own technology solutions in strategic
areas and to stay in the race with the United
States and Asia’. It underlines the importance
Advances in neutron detection
Neutron scattering is one of the key tools for understanding condensed matter.
Under the Techni project, neutron scattering applications have become more
efficient through the production of a more efficient neutron detector.
The term ‘neutron scattering’ encompasses
several techniques involving the interaction
of the neutron with an atom. When a neutron beam falls on a nucleus, scattering of the
wave occurs. Neutrons can penetrate deep
into matter, therefore, they are most often
used as structural probes. Thermal neutron
wavelengths and energies are well matched
to inter-atomic distances and excitation energies in condensed matter and thus can be
used to study condensed matter. Both light
and heavy elements can be studied. It is also
possible to distinguish isotopes.
Small angle neutron scattering involves directing a monochromatic beam of neutrons
onto a solid sample containing nanometresized particles. The transmitted beam shows
a broadening proportional to the average
size of the particles. A size range of about
10-1 000 Angstrom can be studied with
minimum resolution. Detection involves
the conversion of the neutrons into charged
particles that are then registered by a counter. In proportional counters for example,
the protons penetrate an X-ray transparent
window and pass into the gas inside where
interactions with the gas inside produce
ions, which are detected. Apart from size,
shape and orientation of some component
of the sample may also be studied. Models,
pore diameters and pore spacing can be
arrived at for a variety of materials.
More intense neutron scattering sources
have resulted in the need for more efficient
ENIAC presented its SRA in November 2005.
The document examines the sector’s role in European industry and its potential contribution
to the development of a sustainable economy.
It analyses the links between society needs, the
applications required to fulfil them and the
technologies driving these applications, outlines
the approach that will be used to ensure that the
research conducted under the Technology Platform is industrially, economically and societally
relevant, and provides an overview of challenges, requirements and potential obstacles linked
to the successful development of the European
nanoelectronics sector.
The vision paper, the SRA and further information
on ENIAC are available on:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/ist/eniac
neutron detectors since current detectors
are unable to process the information produced. This has resulted in the development
of the multi PSPC, a very fast 2D neutron
detector for small angle scattering devices. It
is made up of 128 neutron position sensitive
proportional counters (PSPC) mounted side
by side over a 1 m² detection area. It has a
greater count rate capability than multi wire
proportional chambers (MWPCs) without
compromising efficiency and resolution. It
can easily replace traditional MWPCs
used in small angle scattering applications,
and is cheaper and faster.
The project, which was launched under the
EU’s Human Potential programme, is looking
for partners for further research or development support, licence agreements,
or private-public partnerships.
continued from page 34
Staman, Director of the Rathenau Institute
in the Netherlands, considering CT as simply
another form of technological advance
would be to profoundly underestimate
its potential. ‘Converging technologies is
the new kind of research,’ he concluded.
‘Where we now say “converging technologies” in the future we will just say “technological research”.’
35
In June 2003, a high-level group of representatives of industry and research
organisations from the sector met with the Commissioners for Research
and Information Society to discuss the need for a major initiative
on nanoelectronics in Europe. The group later produced a vision document
presenting a far-sighted strategy for the European nanoelectronics industry.
As part of its recommendations, the group called for the establishment
of a European Technology Platform.
of reinforcing the ERA ‘as a pillar of the Lisbon
strategy for the nanoelectronics sector as
it has to face extremely rapid technological
development and strong global competition’.
In view of the considerable strategic importance of nanoelectronics as a key enabler for
several sectors of European industry, ENIAC
calls for ‘R & D and innovation efforts to be better
structured, optimised and integrated into a
larger process involving all actors crucial
to achieving a successful outcome in the
domain’, as well as for effective mechanisms
to ensure adequate coordination.
Stable isotope mass spectroscopy was originally developed by geologists
to analyse naturally occurring stable isotope ratios in a range of rocks
and minerals to learn about their origins and relationships.
A project devoted to the development of novel continuous flow isotope ratio
mass spectrometers and new methodologies for their use has succeeded
in adapting the technique to analyse the isotope ratios of elements common
in organic materials that were previously very difficult to measure.
The project has developed an instrument that measures these ratios accurately
enough to show the geographical origin of
many products. This work has successfully
brought a new technique to market and created new businesses that use stable isotope
fingerprinting as a powerful tool in many
areas of scientific and forensic research.
The successful measurement of hydrogen
isotopes by CF-IRMS has opened the door
to many other applications. Isotope analysis
is, for example, a very powerful source of
evidence for ‘scene of crime’ forensics.
Three research groups (Dundee University,
the Scottish Crop Research Institute and
the University Hospital of Leuven) set up
a small, specialised consortium to meet the
need they had identified. The inclusion of
one SME, Europa Scientific, helped to develop the knowhow and build a
prototype instrument within the
three-year project
timescale. This
led directly to a
marketable product within a year
of the end of the
project.
e
The project grew out of a market demand for
a technique for rapid isotope analysis. What
was needed was a new technique for mass
spectrometry capable of handling small
samples of organic material. These could be
gaseous products of combustion or pyrolysis, organic compounds or biological water
samples. Of particular importance was the
need to analyse the tiny proportions of the
heavy isotope of hydrogen, deuterium.
rived from them. The new technique was
based on an existing mass spectrometer. The
instrument developed makes such measurements routine, offering applications in identifying the source of agricultural and medical products as well as in forensics.
© www.uni-leipzig.d
Mass spectrometer has
the f ingerprint for success
The overall objective of the project was
therefore to develop and characterise various pre-prototype gas-chromatograph continuous flow-isotope ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS) systems and their associated
software, and to make them automatic and
easy to operate. This would lead in turn to
a prototype multi-functional CF-IRMS instrument that could analyse the ratios of the
different isotopes of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen in single biological samples at low concentrations.
These isotope ratios vary in plants from region to region, forming a fingerprint that is
sufficiently accurate to determine the geographic origin of plants and products de-
36
Partner Europa
Scientific incorporated the
project results
into a new instrument that
soon became a hit in the marketplace. The original technique is still being used today. There was no patent protection, so the technology could be used widely
without restriction. It has led to a minor
revolution in the field of isotope analysis,
with potential applications in drug testing,
forensics and crop and animal (also human)
metabolism studies.
In this regard it can be considered as an
‘enabling technology’ as it allowed other
fields of application to be developed rapidly,
even though the original market for the instrument was limited. It was then a unique
state-of-the-art instrument, but now a contract analysis laboratory, Iso-Analytical Ltd,
operates four such instruments on a routine
commercial basis. The scientific background
built has also had a strong effect in the field,
with many university research laboratories
around the world now operating similar
equipment.
The exploitation risks inherent in research
were minimised by the participation of a
specialist industrial company, with good
knowledge of the market and a commitment
to getting the technology to the end-users.
Iso-Analytical Ltd has incorporated the
project technology into its range of analytical services with a capacity of over
15 000 samples per annum. The company,
started five years ago by ex-employees of
Europa Scientific, now operates four of
the instruments and has created seven
‘What was needed was
a new technique for mass
spectrometry capable
of handling small samples
of organic material.’
highly skilled jobs. Samples for analysis
are received from all around the world,
particularly from the USA and Japan. The
new instruments are now finding applications in new fields, significant for both
economic and social reasons, including oil
exploration and archaeology.
New partners in France, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain have since collaborated
in a project with the original instrument
manufacturer to develop isotope analysis
for doping tests in humans and animals.
Although Europa Scientific no longer exists,
the technology continues to move on and is
marketed by a number of small and large
enterprises, two of them in the United Kingdom. The new technology helped to revitalise a sluggish industry that now has global
sales for isotope ratio mass spectrometers of
around EUR 35 million per annum.
Looking into the future of nanofabrication
To accommodate the needs of very small integrated circuit geometries,
the UV2Litho project developed tools and processes suitable
for the introduction of 157 nm, or vacuum ultra violet (VUV) lithography.
In 1999, the International Technology
Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) has
suggested VUV lithography (157 nm exposure wavelength) for manufacture of
the 100 nm and 70 nm technology node.
A key problem involved was the very
short time frame from the commercialisation of 157 nm step and scan systems to
the insertion of the lithography technology into production.
Urged by this, the IST project UV2Litho focused on accelerating process development
for the introduction of VUV lithography
technology in production lines. Therefore,
the manufacturability of resist processes
was extensively investigated, which allowed
demonstrations of 157 nm resist solutions
for the 70 nm node. Additionally, information on the printing performance of early
157 nm reticles for the mask making industry was also revealed.
Nevertheless, an alternative technology,
namely the 193 nm immersion lithography
with the potential to realise sub-70 nm
FP6 project to keep the EU
at the forefront of nanoelectronics
In an effort to keep Europe at the forefront of nanoelectronics, the European
Commission is providing EUR 24.17 million for a project aimed at pushing
the limits of semiconductor performance and density.
‘NanoCMOS is a broad project focusing on
the R & D activities necessary to develop the
45 nm, 32 nm and more advanced CMOS
manufacturing processes, with the exception
of lithography,’ explain the project partners,
which include Europe’s three leading commercial chipmakers: STMicroelectronics,
Philips and Infineon, as well as research
institutes and SMEs.
The partners are currently preparing for the
second phase, in which the developed technologies will be validated in an industrial
environment.
NanoCMOS has three main objectives.
The first is to demonstrate the feasibility
of front- and back-end 45 nm CMOS logic
process modules. In order to achieve this,
the partners intend to process an aggressive
SRAM chip as a demonstrator, displaying
worldwide best characteristics and an ad-
vanced two-level metallisation structure by
the end of 2005.
The second objective is to perform exploratory
research on critical aspects of the materials in
preparation for the 32 nm and 22 nm process
nodes. A demonstrator will be established for
this next node sometime in 2007.
Finally, the third objective of the project is
to take the results of the first objective and
generalise the process to produce a 45 nm
CMOS logic process resulting in the fabrication of the commercial complexity chips on
300 mm diameter wafers. This goal should
also be achieved before the end of 2007.
The project is looking for partners for further research or development support, information exchange or training.
As NanoCMOS project leader Guillermo
Bomchil explained in June 2005, ‘together,
NanoCMOS and SiNano cover the whole
domain of silicon microelectronics from the
45 nm node down to what experts believe
would be the limits of CMOS.’
‘This project is ambitious,’ he concluded.
‘European technology companies are often
behind their Japanese and American counterparts. Europe was not able to meaningfully participate in the microelectronics
boom of the 1970s and 1980s, and European
governments are determined not to miss the
boat on the next, “nano” revolution.’
Alongside
this project,
a Network of
Excellence has
been created
to bring together the best
European semiconductor research teams in
order to formulate a research
programme that
is complementary to the needs of
NanoCMOS.
© Intel Corporation
The NanoCMOS (complementary metal oxide semi-conductor) project represents an
attempt to allow scaling (arrangement in a
graduated series) to continue. It therefore
strives to pioneer the necessary and revolutionary changes in materials, process modules, device architectures and interconnections, as well as the related characterisation,
modelling and simulation work necessary to
go from a 45 nm CMOS node to a 32 nm one.
Despite that, the feasibility of the 193 nm
immersion technology has not been yet fully proven in terms of its production value.
Thereby, in case of failure, 157 nm lithography is expected to supersede as reflected
by the current ITRS roadmap. The UV2Litho project has set the base for the exploitation of the VUV lithography.
37
With the advent of the Information Age,
semiconductor devices have become faster
with larger capacities in smaller dimensions.
For further improvements, tighter packing
of integrated circuits with finer line widths
has become essential. Towards this aim, a
very promising lithography technology is
the VUV, which has not until recently been
developed to its full potential.
groundrules, was developed rapidly. Moreover,
the 157 nm infrastructure industry could
not meet the very stringent requirements for
the related technology components. For this
reason market interest shifted from 157 nm
to 193 nm immersion lithography.
Nanotechnology is likely to change our lives
in many ways, and must be developed
responsibly to ensure that it responds to the
needs and concerns of the citizens. An open
debate involving the public is indispensable.
This will allow a shared analysis of benefits
and risks — both real and perceived — and
their implications for society.
Nanotechnology makes it possible to manoeuvre matter at the atomic and molecular
level. It will bring new processes, materials,
components and systems that in turn lead
to new applications in fields such as healthcare, materials and energy. Nanotechnology
is therefore expected to impact our lives,
sometimes profoundly.
Like other technologies, nanotechnology
must address societal expectations and
goals, and should respect the values enshrined in the European Charter of fundamental rights. In this context, open dialogue
with the public during nanotechnology’s development phase is essential. This will ensure that its use is responsible and fully consistent with society’s expectations.
Constructive, science-based dialogue is
needed to investigate the benefits and risks
of nanotechnology. Providing accessible
information will allow citizens to increase
their understanding of nanotechnology, its
applications and its implications for society.
Interested citizens must be enabled to form
their own informed and independent judgements. In parallel, interdisciplinary discussions should explore the ethical, legal and social implications of nanotechnology in areas
such as medicine, which may be particularly
sensitive to the public. This dialogue will help
researchers, regulators and implementers to
be aware of the hopes and fears of society in
good time, and to respond appropriately.
able, responsible and socially acceptable
development and use of nanotechnology.
This initiative could lead to an international
‘code of conduct’.
Achieving an effective and informed dialogue is a major challenge for science communicators — but is essential for building
a competitive and democratic knowledgebased society.
Under FP6, where nanotechnology was introduced as a priority, all research projects
are subject to an ethical review process. Specific funding has also been allocated to support communication and dialogue activities,
and to encourage a proactive approach to the
promotion of awareness. This is fully in line
with the European integrated and responsible
approach to nanotechnology, as outlined in
the Commission Communication Towards
a European strategy for nanotechnology and
elaborated in the Commission’s action plan
for nanotechnology (see pages 8-9).
The need for dialogue about ethics and
governance extends well beyond the territory of the EU. Science and technology
can progress very rapidly, and nanotechnology is currently an area of intense research throughout the world. Progress in
research needs to be monitored transparently to ensure it is open, traceable, verifiable, and conducted in a way that respects
ethical principles. The European Commission has initiated an international dialogue aimed at establishing a framework
of shared principles for the safe, sustain-
Two EU-funded roadmap projects (NanoRoadMap and NanoRoadSME, see pages
12-13) are currently constructing future
scenarios for nanotechnology applications
in society and examining their consequences.
The projects cover a number of different
nanotechnology areas including materials,
health and energy. This exercise provides
opportunities for extended dialogue with
the public by involving them in the creation
of the scenarios. The projects will not only
consider benefits and risks but explore what
society actually wants from the science.
Talking it over
Nanologue, a specific support action launched in February 2005 with EUR 340 000 of EU funding,
draws on international projects, studies and expertise to identify the benefits and potential ethical,
legal and social issues of nanotechnology applications likely to be widely available by 2010.
Nanologue’s overarching goal is to facilitate dialogue between
researchers, business and the civil society about the potential
of N & N applications to improve the quality of life and create
wealth, and to assess the technologies’ potential societal impacts.
Three future scenarios were sketched using an expert panel and
a series of stakeholder interviews and workshops.
ers in business and politics, educational institutions, the media
and civil society. Materials will also be provided to educators for
nanotechnology courses at schools and universities. The project
also aims to develop an interactive Internet tool allowing swift assessment of ethical, legal and societal aspects of nanotechnology
research during early-stage development.
The results are being disseminated through a comprehensive
communication strategy targeting researchers, decision-mak-
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nanotechnology/src/pressroom_projects.htm
Looking at ethics
The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE)
is an independent, pluralist and multidisciplinary body providing advice
to the European Commission in connection with the preparation and
implementation of Community legislation or policies. The group’s members
come from different countries and are high-level experts in disciplines
such as biology and genetics, informatics, law, philosophy or theology.
The EGE was set up by the European Commission in December 1997, to succeed the
Group of Advisers on the Ethical Implications of Biotechnology. It has provided
opinions on subjects as diverse as human
38
tissue banking, human embryo research,
personal health data in the information society, human stem cell research, genetic testing in the workplace, and ICT implants in
the human body.
As part of the preparatory work for the first
opinion to be issued under its current, third
mandate (2005-2009), the group is organising a round-table debate on the ethical aspects of nanomedicine. At this event, which
is scheduled for 21 March 2006, the topic will
be discussed with scientific experts, lawyers
and philosophers, as well as representatives
from the European Parliament, international
organisations, patient organisations, industry,
religions, and other interested parties.
Further information is available from the website of the EGE:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/european_group_ethics/index_en.htm
NanoDialogue project to engage
the public in a debate on N & N
‘People have both a right
and a duty to know what
is going on in European
laboratories so they can
make informed decisions
on what work should
continue to be supported.’
and business stakeholders, is becoming
indispensable to democratic policy decisions
in this area.
The European Commission is supporting
specific actions to communicate N & N
under the NMP work programme of FP6.
The NanoDialogue project, or ‘Nanodialogue — Enhancing dialogue on nanotechnologies and nanosciences in society at
European level’, is being supported with a
budget of EUR 850 000.
As project coordinator and director of the
Naples science centre, the Città della Scienza,
Professor Luigi Amodio told CORDIS News
in June 2005, ‘Science centres are natural
places to work on such topics. The hands-on
model will be a major part of the relationship between science and society in future,
along with science centres and new activities
such as science cafés.’
Science and technology are vital to the European economy, and increased understanding tends to lead to increased support,
according to Professor Amodio. If people
don’t understand the role of science and
technology then they will not be able to support the right policies for the future. ‘People
have both a right and a duty to know what is
going on in European laboratories so they
can make informed decisions on what work
should continue to be supported,’ continues
Professor Amodio, and he says that as
the number of sources of
information increases, the
emphasis will move toward
it becoming a duty.
© Philips
While products using nanotechnologies are
already on the market, and the field already
has a growing public profile through
science fiction, public awareness of its real
economic and social potential is probably
still quite low. Dialogue on the societal
and ethical issues raised by N & N,
between researchers, citizens, civil society
As was noted at the European Commission’s
Science in Society Forum in Brussels in April
2005, there is more and more emphasis on
two-way dialogue in science communication. Prof Amodio addresses this by explaining, ‘we will also discuss how to collect data
from the public, but there are two probable
main methods: a combination of multimedia interaction and direct experience in the
museums, and involving the public in science shows and demonstrations’. These may
be complemented by the use of websites and
an experimental card game.
The project, launched in
March 2005, is currently in
the process of developing
a framework of basic channels for communication and
social debate on N & N. The
project is based on a two-fold
strategy: on the one hand, it
aims to communicate the latest
research developments in the
field to the general public; on
the other, it will try to engage
researchers, civil society and
citizens in a social dialogue on nanotechnologies and their related sciences. This
dialogue will help the project to identify
the main issues and preoccupations of
these groups concerning nanotechnologies.
The project partners include eight science
centres around Europe, as well as Ecsite,
the European Network of Science Centres
and Museums. In order to include issues of
social participation, the project consortium
also includes the Centre for Studies on Democracy at the University of Westminster in
the United Kingdom.
NanoDialogue began with a workshop, held
in June 2005, based on the ‘exhibition game’
methodology, to design the content of the
project’s communication instruments. These
include seven interactive exhibition modules, notably hands-on exhibits, multimedia
and educational products on N & N, and a
website for disseminating information and
for collecting feedback. ‘We will try to address real-life situations and applications,
such as health, new materials and the environment,’ says Professor Amodio, ‘this will
bring the technologies closer to people and
their everyday lives.’
Professor Amodio sets the initiative in the
context of the recent Italian referendum
on stem cell research and its poor level of
participation. ‘Most people can understand
cultural, political or religious arguments,
but don’t necessarily have the tools to understand scientific aspects,’ he says.
The exhibition modules will be shown in the
eight participating countries over the course
of at least six months, starting in March
2006. Simultaneously, a series of locally organised events, science demonstrations and
debates will be organised to further engage
citizens. Once the project is completed, at
The project will collect and analyse feedback
from the workshop participants, in the exhibitions and via the website. The feedback
will be used to formulate a series of recommendations to the European Commission
on the ‘governance’ agenda in the ERA. The
recommendations will be discussed in a final
European conference gathering relevant
experts, decision-makers and stakeholders.
39
The development of N & N is still at an early stage, though the market for
nanotechnology-based products is expected to rise to hundreds of billions of
euro by 2010. To foster public debate on the developments of research in this
field, the NanoDialogue project was launched under FP6.
the end of February 2007, the exhibition
modules will be shown elsewhere in the
participating countries (Belgium, Estonia,
France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and
Sweden).
Vision for the future of nanomedicine
Europe’s ageing population, high expectations for a better quality of life,
and changing lifestyles call for improved, more efficient and affordable health
care. Because artificial nanostructures such as nanoparticles and nanodevices
are of comparable size to biological entities, they can readily interact
with biomolecules inside cells and on their surfaces — and could
thus bring a revolution in diagnostic and therapeutic methods.
An expert group has produced a vision document recommending directions
for future research in this hugely promising area.
Nanomedicine is a field in which Europe is
building a position of considerable strength.
New understanding of the functioning of the
body at a molecular level opens the door to
new techniques for the detection and treatment of many life-threatening conditions.
The application of nanotechnologies holds
out great promise of solutions to the hitherto intractable problems posed by cancers,
diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular defects, and numerous
inflammatory and infectious diseases.
As in the broader domain of nano-related
research, the European Commission has
recognised that progress would be boosted
by close Europe-wide cooperation between
industry, research centres, academia, hospitals, regulatory bodies, funding agencies,
patient organisations, investors and other
stakeholders. It therefore convened a group
of experts from industry, the research community and academia to contribute their
views on how best to tackle the considerable
challenges. The results of these deliberations
have been published in the form of a vision
The document points to three interrelated
themes as the basis for a strategic research
agenda:
• Regenerative medicine, spanning from
improved implants to using the body’s
own repair mechanisms to prevent and
treat disabling chronic diseases. Thanks to
nanotechnology, a cellular and molecular
basis has been established for the development of innovative disease-modifying
therapies for in situ tissue regeneration
and repair, requiring only minimally-invasive surgery.
• Nanodiagnostics and imaging, for which
the ultimate goal is to identify disease at
the earliest possible stage, ideally at the
level of a single cell. Nanotechnology will
bring tools of higher sensitivity, specificity
and reliability for both in vivo and in vitro
diagnostics. It also offers the possibility of
taking different measurements in parallel,
or of integrating several analytical steps
from sample preparation to detection into
a single miniaturised device.
A key conclusion of the expert group was
that the EU should set up a European Technology Platform to identify the major scientific and socio-economic issues to be
addressed in providing high standards of
healthcare across the population, ensuring high quality of life, and focusing on
breakthrough therapies in a cost-effective
framework. The Technology Platform was
launched at the EuroNanoForum in Edinburgh in September 2005.
• Targeted drug delivery, permitting controlled release at selected cells or receptors
within the body. Nanoparticles exploit the
fact that an enlarged volume-to-surface
ratio results in enhanced activity. They
are also useful as drug carriers for the ef-
Research)
paper setting out their consensus view of
future research priorities in nanotechnology
for health.
Microsystems and nanotechnology
for prenatal diagnosis
Partners in the three-year SAFER project aim to develop a set of combinable
microsystem modules for purifying and analysing fetal cells from maternal
blood. Developed initially to provide a low-cost portable system for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis, the SAFER technology platform will be exploitable
in a diversity of applications requiring the isolation of rare cells. It should
contribute to the advent of a more individualised medicine where diagnostics
and treatment go hand in hand.
Current invasive procedures for prenatal diagnosis (e.g. amniocentesis, chorionic villi
sampling) entail a risk of induced abortion
or maternal injury, in addition to causing
discomfort and psychological distress. How
much better it would be to obtain the same
information non-invasively, from a sample
of the mother’s blood! The problem is that
fetal cells are rare in maternal blood. It is
hard to isolate them from their background.
This hinders the development of routine
procedures for detecting genetic defects and
chromosomal anomalies in the foetus.
A NEST project called SAFER is tackling
this obstacle, although the partners actu-
40
fective transport of poorly soluble therapeutics. In addition, new drug-delivering
microchip technology, emerging from the
convergence of controlled-release and
fabrication technologies evolved for the
electronics industry, will benefit from the
application of nanotechnology.
ally have a much broader focus. On the
one hand, they see that isolating rare cells
is a frequent challenge in medical diagnostics. On the other hand, given recent
breakthroughs in bio-, micro-, and nanotechnology, they view miniaturisation as
the way to go towards the development
of labour- and cost-effective solutions for
routine diagnosis. Given the foreseeable
health and economic benefits of improved
prenatal diagnosis, they have chosen this
field for developing and demonstrating a
low-cost, disposable, intelligent, non-invasive diagnosis system using a nanotechnology-based device to detect, isolate, and
concentrate rare cells.
To download the vision document and further information on the
European Technology Platform on NanoMedicine, please visit:
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nanotechnology/nanomedicine.htm
In SAFER, teams will work on different
aspects of fetal cell isolation and analysis,
on different components of what should
become an integrated modular microsystem, and on integrating the modules. The
final demonstration set-up should be able
to carry out the following steps, beginning
with injection of a maternal blood sample
into the system: initial enrichment in fetal
cells, target-cell isolation, one-step release of
cell content, amplification of DNA from single cells, specific binding of amplified DNA
fragments to probes on genosensor arrays,
and detection/signalling of binding by the
sensors (i.e. identification of target sequences
in the fetal DNA).
Particularly innovative is the work going
into bio-coated materials and microsystem
development. Microsystems will incorporate techniques such as magnetic cell sorting and DNA amplification, based on the
polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Partners
will design, construct, and test three types
of ultrasensitive genosensor arrays. System
integration will concern all aspects from
Optolab Card participants hope to apply
advances in MEMS to this field. Although
the last decade witnessed incredible developments in microfabrication processes, few
of these have been transferred successfully
into real biological applications because of
the difficulty of reliable mass-production.
Consequently, the availability of rapid diagnostic devices remains very scarce.
Optolab Card is a STREP supported with
EUR 3.2 million under a joint call of the
IST and NMP priorities of FP6. Led by the
Spanish Technological Research Centre
Ikerlan, the consortium spans research centres and companies from Austria, Denmark,
Germany, Poland and Sweden. The project,
launched last summer, will last for three
years, but it will take almost twice as long to
get the new device onto the market.
The instrument consists of a hand-held
base unit and a small disposable cartridge,
or labcard, which automatically carries out
a retro transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, from sample preparation to an optical detection. The labcard, made of a light
sensitive material used in processes such as
photolithography and photoengraving, contains all the disposable components, while
the base unit incorporates all the electronics
and optics.
The optical laboratory will initially be designed to detect salmonella, the pathogen
with the highest incidence rate in the EU
(40.7 people out of every 100 000 inhabitants). However, the diagnosis capability of
continued from page 40 ‘Microsystems and nanotechnology for prenatal diagnosis’
sample collection to safe disposal, such as
fluidic requirements (pumps, valves, fluid
channels...) and interfaces between modules. As PCR involves cycles of heating and
cooling, special attention will be devoted
to temperature control in the sample as it
moves through the PCR unit.
The application will rely on an effort to identify novel fetal-cell-specific markers to be
exploited in the isolation process. For this,
teams will use different approaches: proteomics, comparative gene expression studies, and in vitro selection. Suitable markers
will then serve to develop molecular tools
for cell selection. This work will extend to
novel genetic markers of disease identified
within the project. In addition, a novel assay
for recognising fetal chromosomes should
allow their rapid genotyping.
To ensure an optimal match between the
technology platform and end-user needs, the
project will incorporate input from healthcare providers, first to help define specifications, then to provide biological samples
and feedback, and finally to evaluate prototypes. The biosensor-integrated dispos-
able microsystem should be totally reliable
in the hands of untrained personnel. With
small modifications, it should be adaptable
for point-of-care or even home use.
Isolating and testing rare cells is essential in
many fields: early cancer detection, residual disease monitoring, stem cell research,
Future applications of the laboratory card
may include devices for genetic diagnosis of
degenerative or genetic disorders, paternity
tests, forensic medicine and environmental
monitoring.
2006
The impact and spread of new pathogens is
growing dramatically due to the increase in
worldwide human mobility, in combination
with trade in livestock, and food products.
By the time the conventional tests have been
completed (between 6 and 48 hours) an entire community or a large part of a population may have been exposed to the pathogen
in question.
The great advantage of the Optolab Card is
that it is the first system designed to provide,
in just 15 minutes, a reliable diagnosis of an
infectious disease. The card could also improve the quality of health care systems, as
it is expected to reduce hospital admissions,
the time spent in hospital and the costs relating to diagnosis. In addition, the application of the device will have an impact on the
reduction of infectious diseases, which will
provide governments with an approved tool
which can be used for research into the possible sources of pathogenic contamination.
gene therapy... even food safety. The SAFER
technology platform should thus find wideranging applications. In the long term, its
tools for exploiting genomic findings should
contribute to the development of a more individualised, theranostic medicine.
41
The EU-funded Optolab Card project is developing and mass-producing
a miniaturised optical laboratory on a card, allowing bacterial infectious
diseases to be diagnosed in just 15 minutes. The new device is expected to reach
the market in six years.
the new device is very varied as it will be
capable of detecting and distinguishing different DNA chains and could, therefore, be
adapted to detect other infectious diseases
such as flu, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV/
AIDS.
nity,
© European Commu
Rapid and effective diagnosis
of infectious diseases
By pushing the frontiers of two chemical analysis methods, the NanoBioMaps
project is aiming to produce 3D chemical maps of cells, tissue and other
biological samples. The techniques are expected to achieve a spatial resolution
of 50 nm or less, and to permit the identification and localisation
of a wide variety of substances. A successful outcome to the project will lead
to breakthrough discoveries and applications in many areas of research,
from fundamental biology to clinical diagnosis and treatment,
to environmental health studies.
Our knowledge of the molecular structure
of cells and tissue, how these structures differ at different locations, and their relation to
biological function, form the basis of modern
biomedicine. Increasing our knowledge in
this area is critical to the development of new
drugs and diagnostic techniques. An important limitation in this area is the lack of analytical methods that can give precise chemical structural information at very high spatial
resolution — i.e. at the sub-cellular level.
The NanoBioMaps project aims to develop
new techniques that can deliver sub-micrometre (one thousandth of a millimetre)
resolved 3D chemical maps of substances
in single cells and tissue. This constitutes a
significant step beyond current methods for
chemical analysis of such samples, which
can either provide non-local information of
chemical composition, or local information
on a few pre-selected, usually fluorescencelabelled substances.
com
To get this information means analysing
minute samples present in very small volumes, and will need a considerable improvement in detection sensitivities compared to
ccelrys.
© Accelrys, www.a
Making detailed biological maps
current conventional technologies. To meet
these challenges, the NanoBioMaps project
will bring together recent advances in sample-preparation techniques, instrumentation and data interpretation, and push them
further. The collaborators from Germany,
Sweden and the United Kingdom hope that
this wide-ranging approach will achieve the
required sensitivity, together with a spatial
resolution of less than 50 nm. In addition,
methods for 2D mapping at different sample depths will be developed, providing a 3D
chemical-analysis capability.
The techniques which will be developed
are based on time-of-flight secondary ion
mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) and laser
secondary neutral mass spectrometry (laser
SNMS), to provide simultaneous identification and localisation of a wide variety of
substances.
These two related techniques use a focused
energetic beam of ions to knock off atoms,
clusters of atoms or large molecules from
the surface of a sample, and analyse their
mass spectra — a characteristic chemical
fingerprint. Recent advances in ion-beam
and fast-laser technology have dramatically improved detection limits for biological
samples with these methods. However, considerable further improvements (by a factor
of 10) are needed to achieve the project’s targets, and will lead to a substantial increase
in the number of substances which can be
analysed and localised.
In addition, the project will explore the
possibilities of depth resolution and 3D
mapping — a virtually unexplored field of
research in mass spectrometric analysis of
biological specimens.
These ambitious targets will test the team of
instrumental, chemical and biological experts, led by the Swedish National Testing
and Research Institute. Chemical analysis of
a single cell equates to the analysis of samples
of 100 picograms (one-tenth of one billionth
of a gram) consisting of a complex mixture of
thousands of different substances.
However, the impact of the study is potentially very large, giving unique information
combining chemistry with morphology and
histology in biological samples. This type of
information will be useful in many research
sectors including cell biology, biosensors,
pharmaceutical and food safety research.
Particular applications envisaged include
the distribution of lipids within cell membranes, cell adhesion mechanisms, and the
‘Developing new
techniques that can deliver
sub-micrometre-resolved
3D chemical maps
of substances in single cells
and tissue.’
chemical composition of organelles such as
the energy source of cells: mitochondria.
The technique may also be able to detect cellular and tissue changes associated with disease,
and help in early detection of the onset of serious illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease and
other neurodegenerative conditions.
Other applications may assist in the detection of hazardous substances in the environment, such as particles emitted from
combustion processes. It is known that the
health effects of these particles are related
to their size, but not much is known about
their bulk and surface chemical composition. The technology that will be developed
by NanoBioMaps can be adapted easily to
address this sort of sample.
Submitting your information to CORDIS
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42
‘The project will contribute
substantially to the
medical technology needed
to use adult stem cells
for regenerative therapy.’
tient’s own cells are used for treatment, as
well as in cancer treatment and medical implants. The aim is to develop nanoscale techniques to develop individual cells into types
that have a therapeutic or diagnostic use.
This will allow production of programmed,
individual cells on an industrial scale for use
in medical treatments.
© Intel Corporation,
2006
The project consortium believes that the
technology will create many new options
for physicians in fighting diseases. By enabling transplants of cell cultures or tissues
produced from the patient’s own cells (autotransplants), the project will contribute
The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical
Engineering is the project coordinator; their
Dr Daniel Schmitt explains the technology:
‘In conventional cell therapy, adult stem
cells are cultured in a
nutrient solution, in
a glass vessel. What
we are trying to do
now is to develop the
cells on a stamp or
template, consisting of
biomolecules adhering to the inner surface
of a narrow tube — the
nanoscape. Bringing the
cells into contact with
this topological structure triggers them to differentiate into the particular kind of cells we
want.’ This imprinting is the reason for
the project’s name, which combines ‘cell’
with ‘EPROM’ (erasable programmable
read-only memory).
The Cellprom consortium brings together
27 academic and industrial research centres from 11 European countries and Israel.
‘The key to the project,’ says Schmitt, ‘is that
we have well-established partners in all the
different fields. For example, the industrial
partners are expert in microsystems tech-
‘The main initial impact of Cellprom,’ says
Daniel Schmitt, ‘will be on the research
community. We will be able to show huge
advantages over existing methods of cell
handling — easy repetition of experiments,
and multiple assays that can be tested much
faster and allow new medical applications
to evolve. Our technology will enable programming of individual cells on an industrial scale, which will eventually mean much
more widespread applications for the benefit
of patients.’
, 2006
6
mistry, Göttingen, 200
e for Biophysical Che
© Max Planck Institut
Cellprom, the largest nanobiotechnology
project in FP6, is developing new tools with
a potentially massive impact on diagnostics
and regenerative therapies, especially in the
area of autologous cell therapy where a pa-
The exact form and function of human cells is regulated not only by their genetic information, but also
by their environment; or
more precisely, the effects
of neighbouring molecules on their surfaces.
The Cellprom project is
based on the deliberate
use of surface interactions to manipulate the differentiation of
cells into types usable for particular purposes. For example, it should be possible, by
influencing the surfaces of undifferentiated
stem cells, to induce them to develop into
either red blood cells to replace blood cells
destroyed by cancer, or white blood cells to
support the body’s immune system. This
completely avoids the problem of rejection,
as it uses only cells taken from and injected
back into the same patient.
Cellprom began in 2004 and will run for
four years. At the end of that time it will
have developed a working demonstration model including monitoring equipment, microscopes and computers to
track the process, and individual parts
of the process will be patented. Many of
the contributing partners are evolving
their own processes to meet the needs of
the project, such as characterisation and
imaging down to the molecular level, and
these developments will have applications
in other areas as well.
43
substantially to the medical
technology needed to use
adult stem cells for regenerative therapy.
mistry, Goöttingen
A new generation of laboratory systems, developed by the Cellprom
project to handle large numbers of samples, will allow production
of individually programmed cells, imprinted on a nanoscale.
The technique will be the basis of many new therapeutic treatments.
nology, or in instrumentation for cell manipulation. Academic research focuses on
cell biology and biochemistry, and others are
developing cell models on which we can test
our systems. All the partners have a specific
role and they will all benefit from being part
of such a major advance in nanobiotechnology — such an ambitious project would not
be possible with just a few partners.’
e for Biophysical Che
© Max Planck Institut
Programming for cell therapy
The fear that nanotechnology will dissolve
civilisation into ‘grey goo’ clearly belongs
to science fiction. But nanotechnology,
like any new technology, while promising
many benefits may also pose potential risks
for health and the environment. Such risks
must be assessed quickly and rigorously, and
appropriate measures taken where necessary.
Nanotechnology is enabling new developments in fields as diverse as materials science,
electronics, healthcare and energy, and in
many consumer products. Its safety for
workers, consumers and the environment
is crucial, and attention has recently focused
in particular on the production and use of
nano-sized particles.
com
We are already surrounded by billions of
nanoparticles, including wind-borne sea
salt and oceanic plankton and the products
of combustion and other human activity. A
normal room may contain 20 000 nanoparticles per cubic centimetre. In a forest,
this figure can rise to 50 000, and in a city
street to 100 000.
ccelrys.
© Accelrys, www.a
The proportion of man-made nanoparticles
originating from industrial production is
currently very small, but greater quantities
are expected in the future, when nanoparticles are deliberately manufactured as the basis
for new products. As their use becomes more
widespread, the possibilities for human and
environmental exposure will increase.
In terms of toxicity, small can be different. The
smaller a particle of any material, the greater
its surface area relative to its mass. Frequently,
its reactivity and thus its toxicity are also increased. If, in addition, a particle’s surface has
been modified to achieve a certain behaviour,
this may have unexpected interactions with
important biological molecules.
Nanoparticles are invisible, hard to detect,
and able to move easily through biological
systems — they can be inhaled and swallowed by humans, and to a lesser extent absorbed via the skin. Their size may enable
them to elude the body’s normal defence
mechanisms.
Our world is full of natural nanoparticles that do not present particular risks to
health or the environment. But will new,
man-made nanoparticles be equally safe?
The possible risks arising from research,
production and disposal must be assessed
from the viewpoint of human and environmental toxicology, as early as possible,
and appropriate measures must be taken.
This approach is a key element of the EU’s
safe, integrated and responsible strategy
for the nanotechnology research supported
through its framework programmes.
Since 2001, the framework programmes have
launched several studies of nanotechnology’s
potential impacts on health and the environment. Indeed, the study of small
particles has featured in ‘classical’ toxicology
for some time. But there now appears to be
a particular range of particle size where
toxicology mechanisms are mainly governed by size and surface chemistry. This
interaction has come to be referred to as
‘nanotoxicology’.
Is it safe?
Increasing our understanding of the toxicological impact of nanoparticles
on human health and the environment is the main focus of the FP6 specific
support action Nanotox, with EUR 400 000 of EU funding.
Nanotox, which was launched in February
2005, is investigating the various mechanisms
by which nanoparticles disperse through the
environment, and their modes of contamination and accumulation. The project consortium brings together experts from industry and
academia to review and assess current relevant
literature, standards and advice and document
potential methods of dispersal and contamination (e.g. sorption, desorption, transport,
aggregation, deposition, bio-uptake).
The review will address the physical and
chemical properties of different types of
44
nanoparticles and agglomerated nanocrystals, manufacturing and use, human health
effects including side effects, animal toxicology, environmental impacts, mutagenicity/
genotoxicity, metabolism/pharmacokinetics, standards for safe use, and safe laboratory methods. The project intends to map
current research and development activities
in Europe and to develop an online European
database, which will be linked to existing
websites and databases of specialist groups.
International and European standards,
legislation, ethical issues, policies and codes
of practice, either existing or under develop-
It is critical that safety concerns about
nanotechnology — both real and perceived — are identified and addressed at
the earliest possible stage. The integration
into fundamental nanotechnology research
of health, environmental and risk aspects is
therefore an important feature of EU-funded
‘It is critical that safety
concerns about
nanotechnology are
identified and addressed at
the earliest possible stage.’
work. The research supported in this field
includes generating new toxicity and ecotoxicity data needed as well as evaluating
potential human and environmental exposure. In 2005, three new FP6 projects with
total EU funding of around EUR 8 million
were launched to address these important
issues.
In 2005, the Commission organised an international workshop on ‘Research needs
on nanoparticles’ to identify the knowledge
gaps and research topics to be supported
in the future. The results of the workshop
can be downloaded from http://cordis.europa.
eu.int/nanotechnology/src/pe_workshop_
reports.htm. The generation of new knowledge on interface and size-dependent phenomena, including impact on human safety,
health and the environment (as well as metrology, nomenclature and standards) has
been proposed as a key topic for FP7.
ment, as well as their implications and effectiveness will also be discussed, as will ways
in which existing legislation is applied to the
macroscale counterparts of nanoparticles.
In addition to these aspects, the project will
consider ethical issues, policies and codes
of practice. Nanotox will raise awareness
of these issues throughout Europe, and will
produce a comprehensive set of guidelines
for use by legislators, regulators and policymakers.
projects.htm
Particulate problems
of particulates which may pose new risks.
The Particle Risk project is devoted to studying the health hazards posed by new types
of particulates. The partners hope that their
work will promote the safe development of
novel materials from new and emerging science and technology. They are also looking
for ways to reduce the number of animals
used in the necessary toxicity tests.
Examples of innovations that are generating new particulates are novel combustion
processes, developments in nanotechnology
and new systems for delivery of pharmaceuticals. Nanotechnology is especially significant, since the toxicity of particulates often
increases with decreasing particle size.
Advancing understanding in this field is essential because these new materials seem
The partners will also develop methods to
detect and quantify the presence of the particulates in living tissues.
Having characterised and quantified the
new particulates, the next step is to conduct experiments using mice to assess the
uptake and transport of the particulates in
living systems. The mouse will also be used
as a model in vivo system to investigate the
toxicity of the particulates. This work will be
complemented by in vitro tests using cultured cells.
Having made their initial assessment of
risks, the partners intend to set up a panel of
stakeholders to facilitate dialogue between
the research team and key representatives of
industry and regulatory bodies. This panel
should contribute to timely cooperation that
can support the safe and measured incorporation of new materials into modern life in
a way that reacts to potential hazards before
they become big problems.
There is much concern within society at
large about scientific and technological
innovations. The Particle Risk project is
contributing towards the goal of providing information that can allow science and
technology to develop safely and in harmony
with society.
ccelrys.com
‘The key types
of particulates considered
by the project are carbon
nanotubes, fullerenes,
quantum dots, nano-sized
gold particles and
elementary carbon
particles.’
The first requirement is to gather a data
bank of novel particulates and to characterise their physical properties and chemical
composition. The key types of particulates
being considered by the project are carbon
nanotubes, the cage-like carbon molecules
known as ‘fullerenes’, tiny semi-conductor
crystals known as ‘quantum dots’, nanosized gold particles and elementary carbon
particles.
One significant hope of the partners is that
their work may reveal new in vitro procedures for toxicity testing which can reduce the number of laboratory animals that
must be used. In this way they may address
an ethical issue of major concern to a large
proportion of the European population.
The results of
these investigations will be
pulled together
to assess the
risk to humans.
In addition to
considering
respiratory and
general toxic i ty problems,
the partners will
also test their
hypothesis that
the particulates
may promote the
© Accelrys, www.a
The human body is constantly at risk from
small particles (‘particulates’) that can enter
the body by inhalation, ingestion or absorption through the skin. Dust, soot and
pollen grains are examples of well-known
particulates which can cause problems including respiratory difficulties. Some new
and emerging sciences and technologies
have the potential to generate novel kinds
likely to become increasingly exploited
in research, industry
and everyday life, and
are poised to become
a major part of the
European economy.
They are being manufactured for use in applications as diverse
as cosmetics, paints,
fabrics and computing. At present, very
little is known about
the possible risks to
human health posed
by the particulates
being studied by
this project.
The multi-disciplinary challenges of the
project are being met by a wide-ranging
consortium of seven participants, with
experience in particulate characterisation,
aerosol physics, toxicology and risk assessment. The partners come from Denmark,
Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom and
include university research departments and
national institutes of occupational medicine
and health.
45
nity,
© European Commu
2006
The NEST project Particle Risk is developing methods to assess
the dangers posed by new kinds of particulate matter being developed
by modern science and technology.
atherosclerosis that underpins much cardiovascular disease.
Scenihr opinion on risk assessment
methods for nanotechnologies — highlights
from the public consultation
As part of the implementation of the Community action plan on nanosciences
and nanotechnologies (action plan), the Commission requested the Scientific
Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (Scenihr)
for an opinion on the appropriateness of existing methodologies to assess
the potential risks associated with the products of nanotechnologies.
The Scenihr opinion (adopted in September
2005) provides stakeholders with an authoritative and wide-ranging review of the biological and chemical properties of nanoparticles and of the appropriateness of existing
risk assessment methodologies. The opinion
(Scenihr/002/05, p. 60)(1) concludes that:
‘Although the existing toxicological and
ecotoxicological methods are appropriate
to assess many of the hazards associated
with the products and processes involving
nanoparticles, they may not be sufficient to
address all the hazards. Specifically, particular
attention needs to be given to the mode
of delivery of the nanoparticle to the test
system to ensure that it reflects the relevant
exposure scenarios. The assays may need
to be supplemented by additional tests, or
replaced by modified tests, as it cannot be
assumed that current scientific knowledge
has elucidated all the potential adverse
effects of nanoparticles.’
‘For exposure, the use of mass concentration
data alone for the expression of dose is insuf-
ficient, and the number concentration and/or
surface area need to be included. Equipment
that enables routine measurements in various media for representative exposure to free
nanoparticles is not yet available. The existing
methods used for environmental exposure
assessment are not necessarily appropriate
for determining the distribution, partitioning
and persistence of nanoparticles in the various environmental compartments.’
‘Given the above uncertainties, the current
risk assessment procedures require modification for nanoparticles.’
The opinion also considers that there are
limitations of current testing methods and
identifies major gaps in knowledge and priorities for further development as well as
highlights needs for cooperation in the
development of internationally-agreed
risk assessment procedures applicable for
nanotechnology products.
Following the publication of the scientific
opinion, the European Commission widely
Assessing the safety of nanoparticles
The European Commission is providing EUR 7 million to an FP6
project aimed at developing methods for the safe use of nanoparticles.
The nanosciences are considered by many as
a key technology for the 21st century, with
an ever-increasing range of possible applications. In health for example, new drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles are said
to be on the brink of delivering major developments in drug therapy. Nanoscience is
also acting as a motor for new materials and
innovative solutions in the areas of energy
and environmental protection. However, the
recent discovery that the exposure of animals to nanoparticles can lead to neurological damage means that research into safety
is crucial to the dynamic and sustainable development of these new technologies.
Bringing together 23 partners from seven
countries, the Nanosafe 2 project, launched
in April 2005, will ‘establish processes to detect, track and characterise nanoparticles’, explains one of the commercial partners in the
project, German chemical company BASF.
46
‘Such methods are a prerequisite for determining any possible risks to man or the environment, and for further optimising the
safety of production processes and plants.
Nanosafe2 looks at the entire lifecycle of
nanoparticles, from their production and
storage through to transport and use in a
finished product. The results of the research
will subsequently be made available worldwide in the form of databases, official procedures and workshops,’ adds BASF in a
statement.
publicised an open, public internet consultation to gather the views of interested stakeholders by 16 December 2005. Contributors
to the public consultation gave strong support to the opinion. A number indicated the
desirability of addressing some additional
issues. These included:
• an assessment of the properties of aggregates of nanoparticles (NPs);
• the potential of insoluble NPs to act as carriers of other (possibly toxic) chemicals;
• the need for a better understanding of the
toxico-kinetics of NPs;
• the use of current knowledge of structure/
function relationships for test development purposes;
• further work on testing guidelines.
This work contributes to the action plan
which, in particular, calls for effective international cooperation on the safe, integrated
and responsible development of nanotechnologies. It is foreseen that Scenihr together
with other European Community risk assessment bodies, will continue to contribute
to this international effort by assessing the
potential risks of nanotechnologies.
(1) http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_risk/committees/04_
scenihr/scenihr_opinions_en.htm
allow larger compounds, such as peptides,
that could previously only be delivered by
injection, to be taken via an inhaler. Similarly, nanotechnology can also be useful
for the improved formulation of injectable
drugs, new implantable drug reservoirs for
long-term therapy, as well as increasing the
bioavailability of oral drugs, and making
transdermal delivery more efficient.
It is hoped nanoparticles will help diminish
the amount of active drugs that need to be
delivered to the patient, reduce side effects,
as well as potentially decrease the cost of
therapy.
BASF will, more specifically, study the potential health risks associated with the inhalation
of nanoparticles. There is currently a lack of
scientific data on this issue and on how certain nanoparticles behave inside the body.
Since the emphasis of the project is on the
workplace and plant safety, the project partners are also involved in developing physical measurement methods and measuring
equipment to reliably detect nanoparticles
and ensure the safe use of nanoparticulate
materials.
BASF will also investigate the way in which
drugs can be delivered. For example, the
formulation of drugs in nanoparticles can
Weather forecasting storms ahead
Get caught out in thunder and lightning and you soon appreciate the awesome
fury of a storm. They can cause floods, wreck property, and take lives.
But nature is not solely to blame. Recent research suggests that small particulate
pollutants in the air can strengthen or even trigger certain types of storms.
© Eric J. Heller, Har
vard University
Given the significant economic and societal
costs of storm damage, it is imperative that
we better understand how man-made, as
well as meteorological factors, can affect the
dynamics of convective storms. Improving
our knowledge of this recently discovered
phenomenon should enable more accurate
forecasting — and allow authorities and individuals to take precautionary measures.
The NEST project Antistorm aims to determine the extent to which European
particulate air pollution can initiate or
invigorate severe convective storms. The
four participating institutions from Germany, Israel and Italy are recognised for
their expertise in atmospheric sciences,
cloud physics, meteorology and numerical
weather prediction (NWP) and modelling.
They will combine their skills and knowledge to conduct observational and simulation studies on aerosol activity and stormcloud microstructure. The partners hope
to identify how aerosols may substantially
affect the location and intensity of thunderstorms and whether the precipitation falls
as hail or rain.
Much of the microstructure data will come
from the new Meteosat Second Generation
geostationary satellite, which will provide
information on the size of water droplets
and temperatures at different heights within
storm clouds. This data will be supplemented with radar and other ground observations. Aerosol data will come from publicly
available sources. The data and observations
will be used to develop a number of models
of differing complexity for aerosol activity
and storm-cloud microphysics.
Antistorm will provide one of the first insights into the science of ‘man-made’ weather
in Europe. But it should also have more
Assessing aerosol polymer impact
The Polysoa project will investigate the nature and effects of high-weight
polymers found in atmospheric aerosols, contributing to the understanding
of their effects both in terms of climate change and risk to health.
Atmospheric aerosols play an important role
in climate change processes and air quality.
Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) can form
from both natural and man-made emissions
and represent a significant portion of the
total. SOA serve as condensation points for
cloud droplet formation and play an important role in global climate and atmospheric
chemistry. Recently it has been shown that
SOA can also polymerise to form very high
molecular weight compounds that could
have adverse health effects and impact on
air quality and climate processes.
Currently, just how these large polymers
form and methods of identifying them are
largely unknown. The NEST project Polysoa
will work to develop sophisticated analytical
methods to measure the extent of high molecular weight compounds in typical SOA
samples and to characterise their chemical
and physical parameters. Project scientists
from Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland will identify and characterise the polymers arising from the different precursors
found in both ‘man-made’ and natural emissions.
In parallel, they will apply the SOA polymers formed to cell culture systems that are
models for the inner surface of the lungs,
and monitor the interactions between the
At present, the accuracy of storm and precipitation forecasts is relatively poor, having hardly improved over the past decade
or more. The Antistorm project aims to
improve the forecasting of such weather
events substantially. If successful, national
weather services and meteorological consultancies will be able to provide longer
lead times and more accurate warnings
for everyone, from European agencies to
emergency services, agriculture and the
general public.
In the longer term, however, Antistorm
offers much more — it could even show
how to circumvent violent storms. It may be
possible to decrease the severity of European
storms simply by reducing pollution. But
other options could also be available. Project
simulations may show that the effects of
aerosols could be reversed. By introducing
additional, large particles into clouds it may
be possible to accelerate the early onset of
rain — and thus mitigate the full fury of the
biggest storms.
cells and SOA. This will provide valuable
information on the potential health risks associated with this new category of airborne
particles. Furthermore, as the experimental
conditions are standardised and the same
set-up used to investigate other air pollutants,
the experimental results can be directly
compared. This is important for the definition of any future legislative decisions on
air-quality standards that may be required.
Polysoa should contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the occurrence, composition and chemical transformation of
multi-component aerosols in the air over
Europe and at the global scale. This understanding is a prerequisite for formulating
policies to tackle environmental problems
such as global warming and air quality.
47
Studies show that polluting aerosols can
inhibit water droplets in clouds from coalescing and falling as raindrops. This allows more water to accumulate in the cloud
for longer time and greater heights, where
it eventually freezes. This, in turn, leads
to greater build-up of energy in the cloud
which propels stronger convection currents.
The energy is released through strong local
winds, down-bursts, frequent lightning,
large hail and even tornadoes.
practical outcomes, providing forecasters
with models to predict violent storms more
accurately. Towards the end of the two-year
project the partners will begin to integrate
their models into an operational weatherprediction system. It is hoped that the consortium will be able to perform experimental ‘nowcasting’ runs of the model in order
to compare their predictions with actual
storm progression.
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nanotechnology
http://www.nanoforum.org
The European Commission’s nanotechnology website provides
an overview of nanotechnology-related activities across the EU
research programmes. This includes information on projects and
funding opportunities as well as information about the European
Research Area and the framework programmes.
The European Nanotechnology Gateway, sponsored by the European Commission, is an FP5 Thematic Network project. Nanoforum collects news, articles and reports related to nanotechnology
from all over Europe and the world on a daily basis and provides
a database of companies and other organisations active in
nanotechnology.
http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nmp
A website devoted to the thematic priority ‘Nanotechnology and
nanosciences, knowledge-based multifunctional materials and
new production processes and devices (NMP)’ of FP6 focuses
more specifically on NMP funding information, with comprehensive advice, the call documents required by proposers, details of
funding opportunities and project descriptions.
http://cordis.europa.eu.int
CORDIS, the Community Research and Development Information
Service, is a central entry point for information on EU R & D
programmes and related matters and can help you to participate
in EU-funded research programmes, find partners, and transfer
your innovative ideas.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/industrial_
technologies/index_en.html
Research under the NMP thematic priority of FP6 is coordinated
by the European Commission’s Research DG, which provides a
wide range of information as part of its industrial technologies
information service.
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