The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.

Tuesday, 12th May 2009 (1337 views)

A new framework aimed at developing improved methods of assessing risks within the nanotechnology sector has been established.

The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) has launched the Engineered NanoParticle Risk Assessment (Enpra) initiative, which will last three-and-a-half years and is worth €3.7 million (£3.31 million).

It will use the knowledge and abilities of 15 European partners and six US-based bodies to develop a new approach to risk management within the sector, which often involves the use of gold.

Dr Lang Tran, director of computational technology at the IOM, noted that three UK research organisations - including Edinburgh University - are taking part in the scheme.

"The in vitro and in silico approaches to be developed within Enpra will also help to reduce the need for animal experimentation in nanotoxicology," he remarked.

Nanotechnology is currently being used by a number of researchers around the world in a bid to develop cancer treatment methods, with scientists at the University of Missouri recently discovering that nanoparticles can be used to deliver drugs to cancer cells.

 

« Back to Gold News stories