General company news
• mPhase Technologies has extended its co-operative research agreement with Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, US. The firm is pioneering a range of long-life power cells that exploit the wetting behaviour of liquids on nanostructured super-hydrophobic surfaces.
• Asylum Research, a US manufacturer of atomic force microscopes (AFMs), has teamed up with the Institute of Microelectronics of Madrid (IMM-CNM), Spain, to develop new techniques in the field of AFM cantilever dynamics. "We strongly believe that multiple-frequency techniques will provide the next wave of AFM characterization," revealed Ricardo Garcia, head of IMM-CNM's nanolithography and scanning-probe laboratory.
• Unidym, a maker of carbon nanotubes, has established a technical advisory board with expertise ranging from nanoscale materials through to printed electronics. The six-strong team (P M Ajayan, Mike McGehee, George Gruner, Jin Jang, Jie Liu and John Rogers) will advise the firm as it moves into the next growth phase.
Funding and investment
• Canada's national research and natural sciences and engineering councils are each investing $6 million over three years to fund large-scale initiatives that take advantage of the country's knowledge and resources in the field of nanotechnology. Preliminary proposals are due towards the end of August, see http://www.nserc.ca/news/2007/nanotech_e.htm for more information.
• pSivida, a developer of nanostructured silicon known as BioSilicon, plans to raise $18 million through the sale of its NASDAQ-traded depositary shares and warrants. According to the company, BioSilicon has applications in drug delivery, wound healing, orthopaedics and tissue engineering.
• Nanophase, a supplier of coated and uncoated nanoparticles and nanoparticle dispersions, has raised $10.6 million through the placement of 1,900,000 shares. The firm anticipates an increase in the demand for nanomaterials and will use the funds to expand its Romeoville, Illinois, US, facility.
Industry analysis
• Research and Markets has turned its attention to the world market for light microscopes, electron microscopes and scanning-probe microscopes (SPMs). According to the authors, nanotechnology applications in bioscience and materials science are set to drive sales of electron microscopes and SPMs at a "good pace". Taking a broader view of the sector, the Asia Pacific region remains the largest market (46.9% in 2006) followed by the US (26.7%) and Europe (22.2%).
• Research and Markets is also highlighting its series of reports focused on technical textile markets. The company says that high-performance fibres and technical textiles represent two of the faster growing sectors of the global textile industry.
• The Swiss federal offices for the environment and public health have released a report on the risks of engineered nanomaterials. The 286 page document can be downloaded for free at http://www.innovationsgesellschaft.ch/actions.htm.