The International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation conference, to be hosted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will be held from July 10-13 in Rockville, Maryland. Topics to be discussed include: ways to characterize nanoparticles in cosmetics; alternatives to animal testing; and, principles for handling trace contaminants in cosmetics. According to Linda Katz, director of the FDA’s cosmetics and colors office, cosmetics regulators from Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States attend these annual meetings. This year, however, government officials from Australia, Brazil, China, South Korea and Saudi Arabia will participate in this conference as “new regulators,” who are interested parties. In light of the growing interest in nanoparticles in cosmetics, working groups will present draft reports on methods to characterize nanoparticle ingredients in cosmetics, as well as strategies to evaluate the safety of such materials. Carl Geffken, the technical, regulatory and legislative chairman for the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors Association, speaking at a briefing on the upcoming conference, said, “The current interest in nanomaterial characterization and the resolution of potential product safety concerns has captivated public confidence and must be resolved to assure continued use of sunscreen products with the greatest efficacy. Joint collaboration between regulatory jurisdictions can help to bring consensus and allow consumers to confidently use products that help reduce the increasing incidence of skin cancer.”

Malaysian research universities this week signed five memoranda of understanding with their counterparts in the United States in areas ranging from nanotechnology to human capital development. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who chaired the second Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council, was on hand for the exchanging of documents at the New York Academy of Sciences. Malaysian nanotechnology development efforts received a boost via a research and development partnership between Nano Malaysia Corporation and the Advanced Energy Research Technology Center of Stony Brook University.

The agencies participating in the United States Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) this week announced their fourth Nanotechnology Signature Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to stimulate the development of models, simulation tools, and databases to further enable the prediction of specific properties and characteristics of nanoscale materials. The goal is to accelerate commercialization of nanotechnology innovations that maximize benefits to humans and the environment, while minimizing risks. The initiative, “Nanotechnology Knowledge Infrastructure: Enabling National Leadership in Sustainable Design,” identifies four areas that will benefit from focused attention: “A diverse collaborative community of scientists, engineers, and technical staff to support research, development, and applications of nanotechnology to meet national challenges; An agile modeling network for multidisciplinary intellectual collaboration that effectively couples experimental basic research, modeling, and applications development; A sustainable cyber-toolbox to enable effective application of models and knowledge to nanomaterials design; and, A robust digital nanotechnology data and information infrastructure to support effective data sharing, collaboration, and innovation across disciplines and applications.” The initiative will also engage with, and connect to, the Materials Genome Initiative, which is a multi-stakeholder effort to accelerate domestic advanced materials discovery and deployment.

Researchers from the Georgia Health Sciences University, United States, have found that DNA nanoparticles – used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat diseases – may help arthritis just by showing up. The team injected empty-handed DNA nanoparticles into animals and found they increased expression of an enzyme that calms the immune response. Enhancing the expression of indoleomine 2,3 dioxygenase, or IDO, results in reduction of limb joint swelling and inflammation related to rheumatoid arthritis. According to Dr. Andrew L. Mellor, the Director of the GHSU’s Medical College of Georgia Immunotherapy Center and the study’s corresponding author, “It’s like pouring water on a fire. The fire is burning down the house, which in this case is the tissue normally required for your joints to work smoothly. When IDO levels are high, there is more water to control the fire.” The team is not sure why or how the reaction occurs, but speculates that the immune cells start making more IDO in response to the arrival of the DNA nanoparticles. The team next plans to document all cells that respond by producing more IDO, and plan to find a polymer nanoparticle that can biodegrade in the body.

The European Commission (EC)’s recommended definition of nanomaterials, published in October 2011, alarmed many in industry, who argued that the guidance is too narrow and will force companies into costly compliance procedures. “Implementing the proposed definition will add unnecessary burden for companies, leading to added costs and less efficient use of resources,” said Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, adding that the definition was “too broad in scope and therefore difficult to integrate into existing legislation in a meaningful way.” Steffi Friedrichs, the director general of the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA), agreed, saying, “Instead of a business development possibility, it is much more a threat of costly product compliance. And that means, obviously, you have some companies that are only making a very small margin on moving from regular materials to nanomaterials that cannot afford now to market product. What we estimate, as a rule of thumb, is half of the companies that are now affected by this would not have been thinking of their material as a nanomaterial before.” Industry analysts say key future decisions will affect the cost of the EC’s definition, such as: will member states implement nanoparticle policies, or will the EC implement a Europe-wide policy; and, will nanomaterials need to be authorized and registered separately from their larger chemical counterparts. Jeremy Warren, CEO of NanoSight, argues that the definition would actually have a long-term positive effect on corporations, as it reduces risk. “Because it comes from the European government and because the number of scientists and the scientific committees working on this have consulted so widely and are so eminent and have thought this through, its provenance gives it a lot of weight,” he said. Still, for nanotechnology to thrive in Europe, the commission and member nations need to come to a consensus on nanomaterial standards, with the ideal result being a single pan-European standard, according to the article’s author, Alex Philippidis, the senior news editor at Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, United States, made cerium dioxide nanorods of various lengths and diameters in an effort to test how size and shape influences the ability of such particles to damage cells. The team made a library of eight cerium dioxide nanoparticles, then tested the toxicity of the nanoparticles in human leukemia cells, a line commonly used in inflammation studies. The scientists found that cells treated with short rods died at the same rate as untreated cells, indicating that the small particles were not toxic. Bigger particles, however, triggered cells to activate an inflammatory protein, and killed 35 percent of the cells. The team says the test is the first to examine the role of aspect ratio in cell toxicity, and the results, along with other data the group is gathering, could help researchers predict toxicology and risk for nanomaterials.

This article, by Dr. Steve Suppan, Senior Policy Analyst at the United States-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), explores the sector of agri-nanotechnology products, many of which are available to consumers in some countries already, with additional ones likely to reach the market soon. Suppan says the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) call the availability of such products “progress,” but Suppan wonders if it is progress to have agri-nanotechnology products in the marketplace without any regulation. WHO and FAO are the parent organizations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which is the international food standards setting body. Codex, says Suppan, has yet to agree on any agri-nanotechnology standards, or even to begin work on standards to protect consumer health. The article examines the current and potential use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in food and food packaging, while also looking at regulators and the pressure to commercialize ENMs. Suppan notes that the IATP, along with five other organizations, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to respond to a 2006 petition to regulate ENMs. The article further explores the trade policy context of food safety standards. It next goes into a detailed analysis of how Codex could set standards for ENMs, concluding that Codex is the appropriate venue to begin the development of multilateral standards for this emerging technology. Suppan argues for the creation of a Task Force on Agri-Nanotechnology, and says the Commission should commit to including agri-nanotechnology standards work in its Strategic Plan, and request that the Codex Executive Committee propose a work plan, schedule and budget for developing standards and guidance tests. The Codex process should not, Suppan says, wait for other entities to complete their work on regulating nanotechnology, as it could hold up the Codex process for years. Otherwise, he writes, “we could be facing a very long wait, during which time agri-nanotechnology products commercialized without regulation could expose consumers to unnecessary and unjustifiable risks.”

The Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC) has launched a website that monitors and analyzes scientific achievements and improvements of world countries in the field of nanotechnology. The information is based on continually updated statistical data extracted from reputable technical databases. The new website is intended to track regional – mainly Iran – and global technological changes in the field. It has indices of over 105 countries, and allows the user to draw comparisons easily. The website also provides a great deal of information regarding the current status of nanotechnology in Iran. A link to the website is available on the INIC website.

Scientists at the United States Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a way to generate power by using viruses to convert mechanical energy into electricity. The team demonstrated their approach by creating a generator that can produce enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display. The operator taps a finger on an electrode coated with specially engineered, but harmless, viruses. The viruses then convert the force of the tap into an electric charge. It is the first generator to harness the piezoelectric properties of a biological material to produce electricity. The discovery could eventually lead to tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from the vibrations of everyday tasks such as shutting a door or climbing stairs. Seung-Wuk Lee, a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division and a University of California Berkeley associate professor of bioengineering, said, “More research is needed, but our work is a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators, actuators for use in nano-devices, and other devices based on viral electronics…We’re now working on ways to improve on this proof-of-principle demonstration. Because the tools of biotechnology enable large-scale production of genetically modified viruses, piezoelectric materials based on viruses could offer a simple route to novel microelectronics in the future.” The team’s work was described in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

A compromise substitute for a stalled critical materials bill has been reached between United States Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The legislation is to create government policy for the development of rare earth elements and other critical minerals by securing the U.S. supply of certain minerals and to rebuild the domestic industry. The legislation has been held up due to concerns over streamlining mine permit reviews. The compromise relies on reforms similar to President Barack Obama’s executive order on the issue, while also calling on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to reduce red tape. The proposal also includes a provision to offset the cost of the bill, and includes grants for the production of lithium used in advanced batteries. According to Republican spokesman Robert Dillon, "Sen. Murkowski now expects it [the legislation] to move forward under regular order. When that will happen is up to Sen. Bingaman." Senator Bingaman’s spokesman, Bill Wicker, said a markup has yet to be scheduled, but confirmed that the new language represented a compromise on the issue.