National Nanotechnology Initiative Research Articles

Evolution of nanotechnology policy initiatives in the BRICS countries: a comparative overview

The article provides a comparative review of the national nanotechnology initiatives in the largest emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - BRICS). It focuses on the influential role of state action, the evolution of the initiatives, institutional aspects, and a brief comparison of recent scientific production among the countries. Understanding the context of each country's nanotechnology STI policy is essential for comprehending the scope and the primary challenges faced in developing these programs and initiatives. The methodology involved rigorous bibliographical and documentary research, analysis of scientific production indicators, and the estimation of a nanotechnology Activity Index. The political and institutional complexity and socioeconomic adversities in emerging countries are challenging obstacles to promoting emerging technologies. Government perspectives and their role as technology inducers or fosterers significantly differ among countries, even when they are institutionally similar. Overall, the main nanotechnology initiatives in the BRICS countries have historically been led by the state, resulting in significant scientific advancements but limitations on the potential for innovation outcomes. Alongside institutional heterogeneity in the formulation and implementation strategies, geopolitics plays a crucial role in the initiatives' trajectory, especially in countries vying for international leadership against Western powers.

NNI nanoinformatics conference 2023: Movement toward a common infrastructure for federal nanoEHS data computational toxicology: Short communication

The National Nanotechnology Initiative organized a Nanoinformatics Conference in the 2023 Biden-Harris Administration’s Year of Open Science, which included interested U.S. and EU stakeholders, and preceded the U.S.-EU COR meeting on November 15th, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Progress in the development of a common nanoinformatics infrastructure in the European Union and United States were discussed. Development of contributing, individual database projects, and their strengths and weaknesses, were highlighted. Recommendations and next steps for a U.S. nanoEHS common infrastructure were discussed in light of the pending update of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)’s Environmental, Health and Safety Research Strategy, and U.S. efforts to curate and house nano Environmental Health and Safety (nanoEHS) data from U.S. federal stakeholder groups. Improved data standards, for reporting and storage have been identified as areas where concerted efforts could most benefit initially. Areas that were not addressed at the conference, but that are critical to progress of the U.S. federal consortium effort are the evaluation of data formats according to use and sustainability measures; modeler and end user, including risk-assessor and regulator perspectives; a need for a community forum or shared data location that is not hosted by any individual U.S. federal agency, and is accessible to the public; as well as emerging needs for integration with new data types such as micro and nano plastics, and interoperability with other data and meta-data, such as adverse outcome pathway information. Future progress will depend on continued interaction of the U.S. and EU CORs, stakeholders and partners in the continued development goals for shared or interoperable infrastructure for nanoEHS.

Translating nanoEHS data using EPA NaKnowBase and the resource description framework.

The U.S. Federal Government has supported the generation of extensive amounts of nanomaterials and related nano Environmental Health and Safety (nanoEHS) data, there is a need to make these data available to stakeholders. With recent efforts, a need for improved interoperability, translation, and sustainability of Federal nanoEHS data in the United States has been realized. The NaKnowBase (NKB) is a relational database containing experimental results generated by the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) regarding the actions of engineered nanomaterials on environmental and biological systems. Through the interaction of the National Nanotechnology Initiative's Nanotechnology Environmental Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group, and the Database and Informatics Interest Group (DIIG), a U.S. Federal nanoEHS Consortium has been formed. The primary goal of this consortium is to establish a "common language" for nanoEHS data that aligns with FAIR data standards. A second goal is to overcome nomenclature issues inherent to nanomaterials data, ultimately allowing data sharing and interoperability across the diverse U.S. Federal nanoEHS data compendium, but also in keeping a level of consistency that will allow interoperability with U.S. and European partners. The most recent version of the EPA NaKnowBase (NKB) has been implemented for semantic integration. Computational code has been developed to use each NKB record as input, modify and filter table data, and subsequently output each modified record to a Research Description Framework (RDF). To improve the accuracy and efficiency of this process the EPA has created the OntoSearcher tool. This tool partially automates the ontology mapping process, thereby reducing onerous manual curation. Here we describe the efforts of the US EPA in promoting FAIR data standards for Federal nanoEHS data through semantic integration, as well as in the development of NAMs (computational tools) to facilitate these improvements for nanoEHS data at the Federal partner level.

Decoding Homoeopathy: Nanoparticle Evidence and its Therapeutic Implications

Potentization subsists as a pharmacological procedure, interior to solid whacks which cast-off progressively insipid a drug. Potentization persist as a structure used by homoeopathy, which turned of practicing for 200 years, to sort its medications. The unique measureable is transformed to nanoparticles throughout the process, which might be transferal the "encrypted information" of innovative substantial and devour the organic consequence. Even at high dilutions greater than Avogadro's number, homoeopathic medications contain nanoparticles, according to recent research that used by advanced microscopy and spectroscopy. This research challenges accepted the wisdom of potency and the medicinal drugs. The National Nanotechnology Initiative claims the biological activity can be observed in nanoparticles as miniature of esoteric slew nanometres. The perception of homoeopathic remedies could be regarded as Nano medicines aligns with this endeavour. These nanoparticles have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and enhanced bioavailability characteristics. They possess the ability to influence immunological and cellular reactions. Throughout the potentization process the drug's bioactivity increases as identical result of reduction in particle size. This supports the theory, by using the principles of quantum mechanics, even highly diluted treatments demonstrate biological efficacy. Research has partaken the homoeopathic medications preserve the architectures of nanoparticles that impact the biological systems. This conclusion imparts the credence to possibility of these remedies may function as Nano carriers, conveying therapeutic information to specific localities privileged as frame. Through the application of these results, homoeopathy is positioned as a sort of Nano pharmacology, therefore bridging the gap between homoeopathic philosophy and contemporary nanoscience.

National Nanotechnology Initiative at 20 years: enabling new horizons

National Nanotechnology Initiative at 20 years: enabling new horizons

Guidelines for Nanopharmaceutical Products for Regulatory Approval

The word 'nano' refers to a Greek prefix that means 'dwarf' or very little,' and represents a thousand millionth of a meter (10-9) in length. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are the study and application of nanoscale range materials. Initially, the term Nanotechnology was used by N. Taniguchi in 1974 at an international conference on industrial production in Tokyo to characterize the super-thin processing of materials with nanometre accuracy and the fabrication of nano-sized systems (Bayda S. et al., 2020). The usage of nanomaterials has enhanced the application of nanomedicine in various therapeutics area with challenges and limitations over the last ten years. Alteration of the physiochemical, biological, mechanical & other properties of the materials made the nanomaterials and it can be utilized in different useful activities such as drug development, drug target. Nanotechnology utilized novel nanomaterials to make useful products. This technology has been used to overcome the limitations & challenges in different drug therapies. (Harea JI et al., 2017). 
 The combination of nanotechnology with pharmaceuticals and biomedicals is termed nano pharmaceutical. Nanopharmaceuticals is a new technology in current practice. As a result, there are no widely agreed nanopharmaceuticals guidelines. The general idea of regulatory requirements for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), as stated in the CDSCO's New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules 2019, was mandatory in drug development pathways. These criteria are also in line with the International Council for Harmonization (ICH) recommendations and international standards that other countries using such items follow. New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 should be followed in different drug development. (Harea JI et al., 2017). 
 Globally, there are important guidelines developed by the United States Food & Drugs Administration (USFDA), International Council for Harmonization (ICH), or Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (Harea JI et al., 2017). 
 Current regulatory approaches by US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), established the nanotechnology task force in August 2006. This regulatory approach encourages the development of nanoproducts. FDA has issued the guidelines in 2007 to the industry to address the benefits & risks of Drugs, medical devices, and other nanoproducts. FDA is also working with other U.S. government agencies to focus on the safety & efficacy of nanoproducts and U.S. initiates the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) which is a federal research & development program to coordinate the effort of all government agencies involved in nanotechnology. The main goal of the NNI is to maintain the class of research & development program, encourage inducing the new technologies in the product, developing the supporting infrastructure & tools needed for nanotechnology (Ventola et al., 2012).

Evolution of drug delivery systems: From 1950 to 2020 and beyond

Modern drug delivery technology began in 1952 with the advent of the Spansule® sustained-release capsule technology, which can deliver a drug for 12 h after oral administration through an initial immediate dose followed by the remaining released gradually. Until the 1980s, oral and transdermal formulations providing therapeutic durations up to 24 h for small molecules dominated the drug delivery field and the market. The introduction of Lupron Depot® in 1989 opened the door for long-acting injectables and implantables, extending the drug delivery duration from days to months and occasionally years. Notably, the new technologies allowed long-term delivery of peptide and protein drugs, although limited to parenteral administration. The introduction of the first PEGylated protein, Adagen®, in 1990 marked the new era of PEGylation, resulting in Doxil® (doxorubicin in PEGylated liposome) in 1995, Movantik® (PEGylated naloxone - naloxegol) in 2014, and Onpattro® (Patisiran - siRNA in PEGylated lipid nanoparticle) in 2018. Drug-polymer complexes were introduced, e.g., InFed® (iron-dextran complex injection) in 1974 and Abraxane® (paclitaxel-albumin complex) in 2005. In 2000, both Mylotarg™ (antibody-drug conjugate – gemtuzumab ozogamicin) and Rapamune® (sirolimus nanocrystal formulation) were introduced. The year 2000 also marked the launching of the National Nanotechnology Initiative by the U.S. government, which was soon followed by the rest of the world. Extensive work on nanomedicine, particularly formulations designed to escape from endosomes after being taken by tumor cells, along with PEGylation technology, ultimately resulted in the timely development of lipid nanoparticle formulations for COVID-19 vaccine delivery in 2020.While the advances in drug delivery technologies for the last seven decades are breathtaking, they are only the tip of an iceberg of technologies that have yet to be utilized in an approved formulation or even to be discovered. As life expectancy continues to increase, more people require long-term care for various diseases. Filling the current and future unmet needs requires innovative drug delivery technologies to overcome age-old familiar hurdles, e.g., improving water-solubility of poorly soluble drugs, overcoming biological barriers, and developing more efficient long-acting depot formulations. The lessons learned from the past are essential assets for developing future drug delivery technologies implemented into products. As the development of COVID-19 vaccines demonstrated, meeting the unforeseen crisis of the uncertain future requires continuous cumulation of failures (as learning experiences), knowledge, and technologies. Conscious efforts of supporting diversified research topics in the drug delivery field are urgently needed more than ever.

Looking at the Future through Nanotechnology

Looking at the Future through Nanotechnology is a dissertation on the enormous potential of nanotechnology in the future of every field, research and industry present. This article especially focusses on the fields of Health, Environment and Warfare since they are constantly a hot topic of debate among many research groups. A formal definition given by National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) states that nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between 1 and 100 nanometers where unique phenomena enable novel application. This article seeks to present the dichotomy of nanotechnology-- the promise it offers in the future, and its potential for grave destruction through ignorance and misuse.

Developing the Workforce of the Future: How the National Nanotechnology Initiative Has Supported Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education in the United States

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has supported outreach, education, and workforce development activities as part of its primary goals for the past 20 years. Efforts by NNI-participating agencies and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) have helped to create a vibrant, interdisciplinary nanotechnology research community and scores of educational resources. Highlights of some of the U.S. federal government programs that have been used to expand the research capacity, create and disseminate educational resources, and advance training and workforce development programs in the areas of nanoscale science and engineering are provided. Although some agencies have established nanotechnology-focused programs, in many cases, nanotechnology topics competed successfully in broader calls. As the scientific boundaries of nanotechnology expand and new discoveries are made, education, outreach, and workforce development activities need to reflect these advancements to prepare the workforce of the future.

(Invited) Nanomanufacturing Research and Advanced Manufacturing at the National Science Foundation

Nanomanufacturing is the fabrication of nano-scale (1-100nm) building-blocks (nanomaterials, nanostructures), their assembly into higher-order structures (components and devices), and the integration of these into larger scale systems. Nanomanufacturing Research is the study of processes to manipulate and control matter at the nanoscale in 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensions, reproducibly. The National Science Foundation has been at the forefront of nanomanufacturing research since the beginning of the National Nanotechnology Initiative was announced in 2000. This talk covers basic research activities and accomplishments in nanomanufacturing, scalable nanomanufacturing, and scalable nanomanufacturing for integrated systems. Today, the nanomanufacturing program is part of the Advanced Manufacturing (AM) Program. The AM program is an amalgam of previous manufacturing research programs that explored nano, additive and subtractive manufacturing, and materials engineering and processing. It seeks new ideas in, across and outside these domain areas and encourages interdisciplinary research that bring manufacturing to new application areas, and that incorporate challenges and approaches outside the customary manufacturing portfolio to broaden the impact of America’s advanced manufacturing research. In this presentation, the AM program’s goals and its participation in cross-divisional activities, such as NSF’s Big Ideas, are also described.

Nanosensors and particles: a technology frontier with pitfalls

As we are approaching 20 years after the US National Nanotechnology Initiative has been announced, whereby most of that funding was spend to engineer, characterize and bring nanoparticles and nanosensors to the market, it is timely to assess the progress made. Beyond revolutionizing nonmedical applications, including construction materials and the food industry, as well as in vitro medical diagnostics, the progress in bringing them into the clinic has been far slower than expected. Even though most of the advances in nanosensor and nanoparticle research and development have been paid for by disease-oriented funding agencies, much of the gained knowledge can now be applied to treat or learn more about our environment, including water, soil, microbes and plants. As the amount of engineered nanoparticles that enter our environment is currently exponentially increasing, much tighter attention needs to be paid to assessing their health risk. This is urgent as the asbestos story told us important lessons how financial interests arising from a rapid build up of a flourishing industry has blocked and is still preventing a worldwide ban on asbestos, nearly 100 years after the first health risks were reported.

Technology Management Practices and Infrastructure in Nanotechnology Industry: The Malaysian Case

The nanotechnology industry continues to grow in size and importance around the world, with many countries of both developing and developed status taking action by launching their own National Nanotechnology Initiatives. With the increasing cost of maintaining the research and development (R&D), as well as commercialisation of such a promising field in a growing country like Malaysia, industry players, such as research centres and private companies, need to find ways to improve their profit margin as well as provide quality products for their customers. One cost saving aspect is in the management of the technology, i.e., technology management practices. Even though it has been discovered through literature that technology management is a system that improves competitiveness and performance of organisations, there are still problems related to it, such as the traditional issues associated with cost, delivery, and quality, as well as surrounding influences from the environment regarding the infrastructure, specifically the R&D and industrial infrastructure, human resource, and industry readiness. This paper presents the review of literature regarding technology management and infrastructure in managing the organisational performance of companies in the nanotechnology industry, specifically in Malaysia. Through this review, the issues and challenges have been revealed and a potential research model has been formulated in order to assist in overcoming the highlighted problems.

Nanocarrier Based Advances in Drug Delivery to Tumor: An Overview.

Nanotechnology deals with the manufacturing of materials at the atomic and molecular scale. According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, nanotechnology denotes those structures which are nearly in 1-100 nm size regime in at least one dimension. Nanotechnology in drug delivery has been evidenced into nanocarriers that possess distinct properties both in vitro and in vivo, which may be used in targeting drugs to various diseases especially tumors. In the last few years, there has been a keen concern in the formulation of various new drug delivery systems employing nanotechnology. Different nanodevices or nanocarriers like liposomes, dendrimers, polymersomes, transfersomes, and nanoparticles etc. have been employed for the targeted drug delivery. This review summarizes the advances in nanocarriers in terms of their methods of preparation and potential applications especially in tumors.

Competition spawns scientific superheroes

Heliora, a superhero with a solar-powered suit, won first prize in the 2018 Generation Nano comic competition. The contest, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the National Nanotechnology Initiative, challenges high school and middle school students to come up with superheroes inspired by science themes. Heliora was created by Joy, a high school student from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Md.

Federal research, development, and demonstration priorities for carbon dioxide removal in the United States

Atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies may be critical to achieving deep decarbonization. Yet a lack of technical and commercial maturity of CDR technologies hinders potential deployment. Needs for commercialization span research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities, including development of new materials, reactors, and processes, and rigorous monitoring of a portfolio of demonstration projects. As a world leader in supporting science and engineering, the United States (US) can play an important role in reducing costs and clarifying the sustainable scale of CDR. To date, federal agencies have focused on voluntary or piecemeal CDR programs.Here, we present a synthesis of research and developement needs, relevant agency authority, barriers to coordination, and interventions to enhance RD&D across the federal government of the US. On the basis of agency authority and expertise, the Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Science Foundation are most central to conducting research, funding projects, monitoring effects, and promulgating regulations. Key enablers for successful programs include embracing technological diversity and administrative efficiency, fostering agency buy-in, and achieving commercial deployment. Based on these criteria, the executive branch could effectively coordinate RD&D strategy through two complementary pathways: (1) renewing intra-agency commitment to CDR in five primary agencies, including both research and demonstration, and (2) coordinating research prioritization and outcomes across agencies, led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy and loosely based on the National Nanotechnology Initiative. Both pathways can be stimulated by executive order or Congressional mandate. Executive branch implementation can begin at any time; future Farm and Energy Bills provide legislative vehicles for enhancing programs.

(Invited) From Discovery through to Commercialization: Federal Support

As a Program Director at the National Science Foundation (NSF) working in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, most efforts deal with supporting the discovery aspects of science – creating/revealing new materials or phenomena, improving the understanding of scientific underpinnings, and/or establishing new techniques and approaches. However, many NSF programmatic funding opportunities have an option to link to industrial partners through a mechanism called Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI). Also, there are centers across NSF that foster partnerships with industry; some include mandates to do so. The locus on going beyond discovery to applications at NSF lies within the Engineering Directorate, particularly in the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP). NSF is not alone in these undertakings; many Federal agencies have such efforts. The recently released 2016 National Academies report, Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (https://doi.org/10.17226/23603) summarizes many of these efforts to address technology transition. The Nanotechnology Innovation and Commercialization Ecosystem (NICE) Working Group chartered by the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee (https://www.nano.gov/about-nni/working-groups) is interested in further identification of activities to improve technology exchange across the 20 Federal departments and independent agencies engaged in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). This region between discovery and commercialization is often described in some circles as the Valley of Death – however, the National Institutes of Health discusses stages from basic science research through four translational phases: humans, patients, practice, and community where each occurs in conjunction with clinical trials. The assortment of programs available reflects the different agency missions, their attention to pinpointing specific hurdles in the process, and the importance of realizing economic benefits from the research. One example, the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, fosters technology transfer through cooperative R&D between research institutions and small businesses. Participating organizations include the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and NSF. Another example, Innovation Corps (I-Corps), teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training facilitated by domain experts. Both NSF and NIH participate. These and other model programs will be discussed.

Comic competition encourages students to ponder nanoscience

Imagine a superhero who uses the power of nanotechnology to fight crime. That’s what the winners of the Generation Nano competition did. The competition, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the National Nanotechnology Initiative, encourages high school students to draw comics illustrating nanoscience concepts. The winning cartoon, above, is by Hannah Kim and Daniel Kim from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Va.

Toxicity of nanomaterials found in human environment

The US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) defines nanotechnology as “the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nm, where unique phenomena enable novel applications.” Recent scientific reports available in the literature clearly demonstrate the potential benefits of nanotechnology in consumer and industrial products. More and more nanomaterials are expected to be used in consumer products. This is expected to lead to increased human exposure to nanomaterials in their daily lives. Therefore, the effect of nanomaterials present in human environment is an area of increasing scientific interest. The information presented in this review is obtained from the current literature. It indicates that nanomaterials found in human environment may have potential for toxicological effects. However, the current literature on toxicological effects of nanomaterials is diverse. The current data are presented from studies without harmonization. These studies have used different in vitro and in vivo test models, different sources of test nanomaterials, different methods for nanomaterial characterization, and different experimental conditions. Therefore, these data are hard to interpret. More research on nanomaterial characterization, biological interaction, toxicity, and health effects is needed. The test methods need to be validated. Positive and negative controls for nanotoxicity need to be identified. Toxicity data harmonization needs to be done. Therefore, general information is not currently available for risk evaluation of certain nanomaterials that might be present in consumer products or that may enter into the market in future. Standardized and validated methods are necessary for toxicity assessment of nanomaterials. Therefore, in the absence of standardized validated methods any specific regulatory testing requirements for nanomaterials are currently premature. We conclude that the benefits of nanomaterials found currently in human environment are many, but their overall adverse effects on human health are limited.

A Convergence study on the Nano Technology & Nano Art

Since the announcement of U.S National Nano technology Initiative (NNI) (2000.1), national comprehensive plans have been established in the world and governmental investment and studies on the convergence of Nano technology and Nano art have been made actively.BR At present, however, limited convergence is known in Nano technology and art, Nano technology and construction sector in Korea but there are only a few studies on active convergence with Nano technology and Nano art, that is, art, design field yet. Therefore, studies on convergence of Nano technology and Nano art should create new and creative value of the future and an opportunity that can be evolved into a newer type should be provided. The background and purpose of this study were made in this respect and method and scope of the study are as follows: First, we identify the possibility of research on convergence with science of arts, especially Nano art and ripple effect of Nano technology through theoretical review, summary of Nano art and Nano technology.BR Second, we analyze the cases of studies on a variety of convergence of Nano technology and Nano art through case studies and third we understand the art world and contents of Eduardo Kac, the master of Bio Art and Cris Orfescu, the master of Nano art 21 Project.BR The findings of this study and the contents are as follows: First, Nano technology has the feature that it can be applied to most original technology fields and plays a key role in the convergence with new technologies such as IT, BT and the effect will be even greater in the future. Second, it means that along with the convergence of science and technology, Nano technology is setting up a base to be applied and used in the cutting-edge industries in the future with solidarity with other various sectors such as architecture, humanities, science of arts, Nano art and especially recent development of 3D printing scanning technology results in the expansion of the scope of the product design and arts fields. Third, as shown in the example of Orfescu’s SEAD(Sciences, Engineering, Arts & Design) White Paper, the activation of production method of Nano art works, online international competition and festival is necessary and active industry-university-institute convergence research of related experts, scientists, artists and designers, nano companies and policy considerations of relevant authorities is needed.

Science system path-dependencies and their influences: nanotechnology research in Russia.

In this paper, we study the influence of path dependencies on the development of an emerging technology in a transitional economy. Our focus is the development of nanotechnology in Russia in the period between 1990 and 2012. By examining outputs, publication paths and collaboration patterns, we identify a series of factors that help to explain Russia’s limited success in leveraging its ambitious national nanotechnology initiative. The analysis highlights four path-dependent tendencies of Russian nanotechnology research: publication pathways and the gatekeeping role of the Russian Academy of Sciences; increasing geographical and institutional centralisation of nanotechnology research; limited institutional diffusion; and patterns associated with the internationalisation of Russian research. We discuss policy implications related to path dependence, nanotechnology research in Russia and to the broader reform of the Russian science system.