News & Views
Conference Scene Nanotechnology and medicine: the next big thing is really small
12th Annual International Conference on the Industrial and Medical Applications of Nanotechnology Houston, TX, USA, 3–7 May 2009 Emerging trends from nanotechnology on a globalized scale have created the need for a platform to discuss advances and share developments in this fast growing field. A conference was held to attract a vast number of scientists, representatives from nanotechnology vendor companies, and a diverse array of investors, businessmen and industry participants. The scope of the meeting was to discuss and share developments, innovations and research in the growing, but still emerging science of nanotechnology. The thrust of nanotechnology towards the development of personalized medicine, along with the enforced partnership between the Alliance for NanoHealth (ANH) and the US FDA to solve the issues of safety and approval of nanotechnology-based products were principally recognized. The 12th Annual Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) was held in the welcoming, diverse, vibrant and multicultural city of Houston (TX, USA) from the 3rd–7th May. The NSTI meeting is considered the most comprehensive international nanotechnology convention: a ‘hot spot’ as emphasized by the smoldering heat of the Houston spring. An exceptional 4000 international participants including about 200 exhibitors were recorded this year. Several parallel and multidisciplinary sessions were organized in line with the spirit of an organization chartered with the advancement and integration of nanotechnologies through research, education and business development. Beginning in California (USA) in the late 1990s, the NSTI conference has continued to gain momentum in terms of expanding its awareness to investors, venture capitalists and business executives interested in how nanotechnology can shape the high-tech business of this century. In this regard, the ‘Business and Strategy’ symposium featured contributions discussing the commercialization of novel technologies, protection of intellectual property and venture opportunities, as well as regional initiatives for funding. Interacting with individuals from different areas of development was a great opportunity to learn about the new and bright ideas that seemed to be the highlight of this conference. Through the interaction with the cornucopia of 10.2217/NNM.09.49 © 2009 Future Medicine Ltd
participants from university laboratories, startups as well as worldwide-recognized firms I was convinced that ‘the next big thing is indeed really small’. Because the field of nanotechnology has grown so abundant, it seemed to us a rare and brilliant idea to organize a conference capable of providing appropriate attention to emerging as well as established applications. The integration of the Cleantech 2009 and TechConnect 2009 conferences into the Nanotech 2009 Conference is further evidence of the level of integration currently reached by nanotechnology. Since these fields overlap tremendously, and overcoming the boundaries no longer appears impossible but rather the rule for many of the new technologies in the 10 -9 meter scale, it was unusual but extremely relevant to have so many different fields represented at such a variety of stages of development in the same place. I found it refreshing to have representatives from the oil and gas industry attend my presentation about early diagnosis of cancer through a nanotechnology-based proteomic approach. This unusual interaction allowed for a unique exchange of perspectives. This placed us at an advantage where unexpected and fresh ideas about applications of our technology in various non-medical fields were developed, and enabled interdisciplinary conversation that can only take place at a conference where people from different backgrounds feel comfortable exploring beyond their realms. Nanomedicine (2009) 4(6), 619–621
Ennio Tasciotti1†, Jason Sakamoto2 & Mauro Ferrari1,2,3,4 Author for correspondence: Division of Nanomedicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1825 Pressler St., Suite 537B, 77030 Houston, TX, USA
[email protected] 2 Alliance for NanoHealth, 77030 Houston, TX, USA 3 Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 77030 Houston, TX, USA 4 Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 77030 Houston, TX, USA †
1
Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
ISSN 1743-5889
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News & Views
– Conference Scene The conference began with a speech by D Arvizu, the Director of the US Department of Energ y’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He talked about ‘The Nanotech Revolution in Renewable Energy’, which itself was just one of a large series of contributions towards renewable and alternative energies in the third millennia. An entire symposium was devoted to ‘Energy and Environment’, which broadened our views on the current trends in the field of renewable sources of energy. This was followed by a presentation by T Kalil. As the new associate director of the Executive Office of President Obama for Science and Technology policy, he reinforced the commitment made by the new administration towards ensuring a safe and ethical use of nanotechnology. The 2010 budget of US$1.6 billion will be used to promote the efficient and eco-friendly use of nanotechnology in renewable energies, to reduce atmospheric pollutants, to increase data-storage capabilities, to find remedies against infectious diseases, and to develop new medical devices and technologies – an economical commitment that speaks for the incredible expectations the US government has on nanotechnology. The remaining parallel symposia covered very diverse topics and made real the virtually impossible attempt to summarize the state-of-the-art research in many distinct research fields. In the ‘Fabrication, Characterization and Tools’ symposium the design, fabrication, characterization and use as diagnostics of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoinstrumentation was discussed. The ‘Advanced Materials’ session covered nanoparticles, polymers, composites and coatings, as well as soft and biocompatible materials. ‘Electronics and Microsystems’ involved presentations on MEMS, nanoEMS and nanoelectronics as well inkjet, photonics and fluidics solutions for the new generation of sensors. Last, but certainly not least, was the ‘Medical and Biotech’ symposium in which biosensors, bionanomaterials, drug-delivery systems and new solutions to the established problems of medicine were reviewed. To provide a scrupulous and all encompassing summary of the topics discussed in this symposium would require much more than 1500 words and our attempt is simply to
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bring to your attention a few of the themes and trends of the current nanotechnology research in the medical arena. For more information regarding the meeting we recommend readers refer to the frequently updated website [101] . The topics were successfully enclosed by a summary of the state-of-the-art research in ‘Biosensors and Diagnostics’, ‘Bio Nano Materials’, ‘Drug Delivery’, ‘Cancer Nanotechnology’ and ‘Nano Medicine’, to name a few we had the chance to follow more attentively. Amongst the topics discussed so far, it is worth noting a few areas of interest: the development of lab-on-chip solutions for marker identification and of particles and quantum dots for molecular imaging purposes; the ability of new materials with features in the nanoscale to have biomimetic properties that make them function as perfect scaffolds able to better integrate into tissues and organs; the study of the physicochemical determinants that affect nanoparticles’ and nanomaterials’ interactions with membrane receptors, channels and cells; and the development of novel approaches for the assembly of nanostructures, the encapsulation of drugs into nanoparticles, and the targeting, entry and intracellular release of the nano-cargos. In fact, the scientific program of two symposia particularly grabbed our attention. The program of the ‘Nano Medicine’ session comprised novel therapies, cellular and molecular dynamics, drug design, transport and targeting. The ‘Cancer Nanotechnology’ session featured presentations about the current findings on cancer biomarkers discovery and validation. The special focus of the symposium was also on cancer ligands, novel drugdelivery systems and novel approaches for the treatment of tumors through the revolutionary use of nanoparticles as killing agents (for example, the ‘Targeted thermal elimination of cancer using radio frequency heating of gold nanoparticles’ talk presented by S Curley). On the other hand, John Mendelsohn, the President of the MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX, USA), inspired all of us with his outstanding speech about the vast opportunities of nanotechnology in cancer research. In his keynote presentation ‘Cancer Grand Challenges’, he described his view on personalized medicine and chronicled the future science group
Conference Scene – revolutionary approaches undertaken over the past decade in the legendary institution he presides over. “Knowledge of the human genome and mechanisms regulating gene expression, experience from clinical trials and a greater understanding of the impact of environmental factors have led to exciting new research approaches to cancer treatment, all of which are being pursued at MD Anderson”. The goal for the future is to create new technologies that help doctors and life science researchers get their answers in a more reliable, accelerated, cost-effective and accurate way. The BATTLE program was developed in 2005 at MD Anderson to analyze biomarkers from patients affected by a tumor and to prospectively establish individualized targeted therapies. The overall goal was to capitalize on the vast amount of information on the biology of the disease and to use nanotechnology to develop more efficient diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. The BATTLE program is a proof-of-principle approach to test the benefit of molecular-based individualized targeted therapy for cancer patients and is currently one of the few successful stories in which personalized medicine has been able to make a difference to the lives of cancer patients. It was a great privilege to be left with an optimistic view at the end of his speech. This gave us the opportunity to realize that the future we envisioned of successful prevention and cures of cancer is both realistic and possible, and that it can be managed as effectively as other chronic and nonthreatening, lifelong diseases. The US FDA and the Alliance for NanoHealth (ANH) [102] jointly organized a special symposium for the first-of-its-kind strategic partnership called the FDA–ANH NanoTechnology Initiative (FANTI). The overarching goal of FANTI is to develop a framework of collaboration, which includes stakeholders from multiple industries (pharmaceutical, biotech and devices), nonprofit organizations, government and others, to work precompetitively in identifying high priority scientific and translational gaps in moving nanoengineered medical products from preclinical stages of development through clinical stages and then to commercialization. Furthermore, it is anticipated that a series of projects will be implemented to address these gaps with immediate benefit to the partners and public health. future science group
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The 2nd FANTI Workshop built upon the momentum and accomplishments achieved in the inaugural FANTI Workshop held in March 2008, which was devoted to the identification of translational gaps and challenges in nanoengineered medical product development. Since the FDA jointly sponsored both events, the discussions were informed by regulatory input from senior FDA staff – all with the ultimate goal of stimulating innovation in nanotechnology and informing medical product development. The 2nd FANTI Workshop assembled 80–100 key stakeholders from the industry, federal agency and academia into working groups to address the charge of developing the programmatic details for three distinct focus areas that were determined in the 2008 Workshop. The topics for these breakout sessions were categorized in the following areas: biodistribution of nanoparticles, characterization/ standardization of nanoparticles and in silico modeling of nanoparticles with biological systems. FANTI’s next steps will be to establish an overarching governance and administrative oversight for activities as well as the Working Groups for the various projects under the auspices of this exciting initiative. Indeed, a clear message is that nanotechnology and nanomedicine are now considered mature enough to compete with traditional pharmacological research in the fight against human diseases. As a side note, I have never attended a conference that was interrupted by a fire alarm. But I am sure that by forcing thousands of scientists, investors, CEOs and legislators to leave a convention center altogether at the same time must have been, for many, a unique opportunity to be shoulder-to-shoulder with someone with the right answer to their unsolved problems. I would not be surprised if, at some point in the future, NSTI 2009 will be remembered as the meeting in which a fake fire sparked authentic and genuine ideas!
Websites 101 NSTI Nanotech 2009.
www.nsti.org/Nanotech2009 102 Alliance for NanoHealth.
www.nanohealthalliance.org
www.futuremedicine.com
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