'There has been a great deal of research into the use of manufactured carbon nanomaterials in various products, but there are still a lot of questions about how these materials will interact with biological systems,' says Dr. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, a professor of investigative dermatology and toxicology at the Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics at NC State and lead investigator of the study. 'There is a crucial need to understand how these manufactured carbon nanomaterials will act once they are in the body – particularly where environmental or occupational exposure can occur.'

The two-year research project, which is being funded by NIH at approximately $658,000, has several specific goals. First, the researchers will determine how and whether the size and surface charge of four fullerenes – or specifically shaped carbon nanoparticles – effects how the fullerenes interact with the body. 'Our hypothesis is that the size and charge of these fullerenes will dictate how the nanoparticles are absorbed by the body, how they are distributed within the body, how the body metabolizes the nanoparticles and – ultimately – how and whether the body can eliminate the nanoparticles,' says Monteiro-Riviere.

A second goal is to determine how fullerene size and surface charge affect the distribution of the nanoparticles in the body's organs and plasma, when the fullerenes are injected intravenously. This component of the study will be performed in animal models that are well understood, and where the findings can then be extrapolated to humans. Researchers will also identify any adverse health effects resulting from acute exposure to the nanomaterials.

Finally, the researchers will assess how the body absorbs fullerenes when exposed to the nanomaterials orally or through abraded skin – two routes of exposure that are particularly relevant to real-world scenarios, such as exposure in the workplace.

'The work being done in this project will not only improve our understanding of how nanomaterials behave in the body, but will also help us identify in vitro assays, which can be performed in a laboratory, that predict how the nanomaterials will behave in the body,' says Monteiro-Riviere.

NC State's research team working on the project includes Drs. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, Jim Riviere, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and director of the Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics, Xin Xia, research assistant professor of pharmacology, and Keith Linder, assistant professor of pathology.

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SANTA CLARA, Calif., and GENEVA . – Intel Corporation and Numonyx B.V. today announced a key breakthrough in the research of phase change memory (PCM), a new non-volatile memory technology that combines many of the benefits of today's various memory types. For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a 64Mb test chip that enables the ability to stack, or place, multiple layers of PCM arrays within a single die. These findings pave the way for building memory devices with greater capacity, lower power consumption and optimal space savings for random access non-volatile memory and storage applications.

The achievements are a result of an ongoing joint research program between Numonyx and Intel that has been focusing on the exploration of multi-layered or stacked PCM cell arrays. Intel and Numonyx researchers are now able to demonstrate a vertically integrated memory cell – called PCMS (phase change memory and switch). PCMS is comprised of one PCM element layered with a newly used Ovonic Threshold Switch (OTS) in a true cross point array. The ability to layer or stack arrays of PCMS provides the scalability to higher memory densities while maintaining the performance characteristics of PCM, a challenge that is becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain with traditional memory technologies.

"We continue to develop the technology pipeline for memories in order to advance the computing platform," said Al Fazio, Intel Fellow and director, memory technology development. "We are encouraged by this research milestone and see future memory technologies, such as PCMS, as critical for extending the role of memory in computing solutions and in expanding the capabilities for performance and memory scaling."

"The results are extremely promising," said Greg Atwood, senior technology fellow at Numonyx. "The results show the potential for higher density, scalable arrays and NAND-like usage models for PCM products in the future. This is important as traditional flash memory technologies face certain physical limits and reliability issues, yet demand for memory continues to rise in everything from mobile phones to data centers."

Memory cells are built by stacking a storage element and a selector, with several cells creating memory arrays. Intel and Numonyx researchers were able to deploy a thin film, two-terminal OTS as the selector, matching the physical and electrical properties for PCM scaling. With the compatibility of thin-film PCMS, multiple layers of cross point memory arrays are now possible. Once integrated together and embedded in a true cross point array, layered arrays are combined with CMOS circuits for decoding, sensing and logic functions.

More information about the memory cell, cross point array, experiment and results will be published in a joint paper titled "A Stackable Cross Point Phase Change Memory," and will be presented at the 2009 International Electron Devices Meeting in Baltimore, Md., on Dec. 9. The paper is co-authored by Intel and Numonyx technologists and will be presented by DerChang Kau, Intel senior principal engineer.

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"The novel nanostructures will be fabricated and characterized in-situ in this unique SPM-ALD tool in order to rapidly prototype a wide variety of next-generation devices," said Fritz Prinz, professor and chairman, mechanical engineering, Stanford University. "The SPM-ALD tool will enable us to build devices which take advantage of the quantum confinement effects present at small length scales, length scales that could not be accessed with traditional lithography methods. These devices can only be built with manufacturing tools possessing extraordinary spatial resolution."

This program focuses on the integration of ALD, a thin-film technique capable of sub-nanometer precision in thickness, with the nanometer lateral resolution SPM in a drive to extend the capability of scanning probe techniques to prototyping and device fabrication. Historically, performance of electronic devices has been limited by traditional manufacturing methods, such as optical and electron beam lithography, which are not likely to deliver feature resolution significantly below 20 nm. However, the quantum mechanical effects of electron confinement in devices 10 nm or smaller result in phenomena qualitatively different than those seen in larger devices. Taking advantage of this quantum confinement is predicted to result in a new paradigm for electronic devices.

"We chose Stanford University for this grant for the recognized expertise of professor Prinz and team, and the close alignment between the proposed research and the future of Agilent's SPM business," said Jack Wenstrand, Agilent's director of university relations. The work between Agilent and Stanford University is part of Agilent's University Relations Program, which facilitates collaborations with universities around the world. Agilent supports scientific work with universities worldwide through direct grants and collaborative research.

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'Gathering accurate and reliable location data on people, assets, tools and equipment in indoor environments has been the biggest challenge for our customers, 'states Mr. Li Jun, Managing Director, Donn Technology. 'We have been testing a wide range of technology for some time. We are very pleased with the Ubisense system performance as it works reliably and is extremely accurate even in challenging environments'.
The partnership will enable tracking of assets, tools and mobile workforces in order to automate workflow processes and optimise resources, including material management particularly in large scale industrial environments where other solutions based on WiFi or RFID are not viable. The Ubisense Solution built on UWB is already proven in the field in many Industrial deployments such as at POSCO, the steel manufacturer in Korea.
Donn Technology, a spin out from Nanjing University, a research focused institution, in 2008 to commercialize location based solutions. Donn Technology's leadership position in the deployment of location technology made them an easy choice to partner within China and expand Ubisense' worldwide presence. Donn Technology's customer base includes leading customers such as BGP (www.bgp.com.cn) and the PLA.
iLocate™ is a location based application software developed by Donn Technology and available in Chinese and English, specifically developed on the Ubisense location platform for Industrial customers to satisfy the need for prevention and reduction of accident and safety-related incidents.

Janice Kok, Sales Director, Ubisense Asia Pacific states 'We are delighted to be working with Donn Tech, whose many years of experience in the location tracking market will offer our customers excellent local support'.

About Donn Technology

Donn Technology is a leading high-tech company specialising in the research, development and deployment of location technologies and auto-control systems for Manufacturers, Port Authorities and Process industries. Donn Technology is a pioneer in application development of positioning systems domestically and is nationally certified as a high-tech enterprise. Visit: www.donntech.com.cn

About Ubisense
Ubisense is the world leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems and Consulting Services, tracking people and assets with unmatched accuracy, and giving enterprises the power to bring visibility and control to previously intractable business processes. With over 400 customers worldwide, Ubisense is revolutionising industries today. Visit www.ubisense.net

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