Melanie Swan at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging technology has a concise description of the present sate of nanomedicine technology.
NanoBlog
A blog about anything nanotech
The NanoMaterials 2011 conference in the UK on June 7-9, 2011 is sponsored by Lockheed Martin, Boeing, OECD, Harris & Harris, Lux Research, Kyoto Environmental Nanotechnology Cluster, Fraunhofer Institute and World Gold Council, and has an international speaker list. Conference topics include R&D commercialization, trade, innovation, applications, policy and legal frameworks, capital investment and funding, production, and synthesis of nanomaterials.
The NanoEntrepreneurs group that promotes the commercialization of nanotechnology in the UK has their East Anglia Workshop on lowering the barriers to commercialization and industrialization of emerging and nanotechnologies on Wed 11 May 2011 in Cambridge UK.
I look forward to that day when we have nanofactories on our desks, but in the mean time there as several sites that offer fabrication and 3D printing services. These sites include:
I designed a widget and had it laser cut out of flat plastic stock available on Ponoko.com. I designed my widget in 3D using Sketchup8 to make sure everything fit right. I actually redesigned it about four times. The first design was done with a 3D printing process in mind, but the cost would be too high for such a big piece. I redesigned it using flat plastic stock. After a few iteration, the design was simplified to only three piece of plastic stock with multiple parts on one sheet of plastic. I then did the design again in 2D in Adobe CS3 Illustrator using all the measurements from my Sketchup design and a template supplied by Ponoko. Layout in 2D with Illustrator and the Ponoko design rules was very easy. My only issue with Illustrator is that it only supplies measurements to 4 digits so it's hard to check your design. You can use the opensource tool Inkscape too for 2D designs, but it seems to have the same issue.
I uploaded the design to Ponoko and two weeks later the parts arrived. I still need to verify the parts match the design and build the widget, but my first impression is very good. This is cool, and inexpensive to make prototypes. Updates to follow.
- First Cut CNC machining serices
- Ponoko.com 3D printing & laser cutting
- Shapeways.com 3D printing
I designed a widget and had it laser cut out of flat plastic stock available on Ponoko.com. I designed my widget in 3D using Sketchup8 to make sure everything fit right. I actually redesigned it about four times. The first design was done with a 3D printing process in mind, but the cost would be too high for such a big piece. I redesigned it using flat plastic stock. After a few iteration, the design was simplified to only three piece of plastic stock with multiple parts on one sheet of plastic. I then did the design again in 2D in Adobe CS3 Illustrator using all the measurements from my Sketchup design and a template supplied by Ponoko. Layout in 2D with Illustrator and the Ponoko design rules was very easy. My only issue with Illustrator is that it only supplies measurements to 4 digits so it's hard to check your design. You can use the opensource tool Inkscape too for 2D designs, but it seems to have the same issue.
I uploaded the design to Ponoko and two weeks later the parts arrived. I still need to verify the parts match the design and build the widget, but my first impression is very good. This is cool, and inexpensive to make prototypes. Updates to follow.
There are a number of nanotechnology conferences that might be of interested to p-brane readers. These conferences include:
The NanoConferences.com website lists nanotechnology related conferences being held around the world. The site does not seem to show all conferences, however. Some of the nanotechnology related conferences sponsored by the APS, ACS, MRS, & IEEE, for example, are not listed.
The new GoodNanoGuide website provide information about handling nanomaterials. The website is sponsored by an international collection of organizations including NIOSH. It seems that nanotoxicity, nanotoxicology, and nanomaterials handing are hot topics in the literature now.
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The Journal of Nanotoxicology is a per review journal that publishes research on the health and environmental risks and impacts of nanoscale materials. A few articles are open source.
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The Nanodematology Society has published a report on the safety of nanoparticle TiO2 and ZnO in sunscreens. The report indicates that the nanoparticles do not penetrate the skin layers even at the hair follicle so they are considered non-toxic. The nanoparticles are the most effective way to block UVA and UVB radiation and have shown to reduce cancer rates significantly. Open issues still include the inhalation of the nanoparticles and the environmental impact of the nanoparticles in the water in soil.
MIT is offering a number of nanotechnology courses this summer which include the following:
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- Nanostructure Fabrication: 5-day professional course offered at MIT June 6-10
- Organic and Nanostructured Electronics: Physics and Applications, June 13-17
- Nanomaterials for Biological & Pharmaceutical Technologies, July 18-22
- Controlled Release Technology, July 18-22
- Advanced Mechanical Design and Manufacturing, August 1-5
