Prague to host nano forum

The timely theme of economic sustainability will be the main talking point at this year's EuroNanoForum (ENF) 2009, a biennial event hosted since 2003 by the sitting EU president that focuses on cooperation in the field of nanotechnology.

The four-day conference, to be held June 2-5 at the Congress Center, is being organized in cooperation with the Education, Youth and Sports Ministry and the European Commission (EC). Tomáš Bouška, a spokesman for the Czech EU presidency, said this year's theme is particularly well-suited for the Czech Republic, which has a significant research presence in the field.

"This area is a mainstream focus where Czech research feels particularly strong," he said. "Therefore, the Czech EU presidency wishes to stress the importance of a best-practices exchange and further harmonization of European cooperation in this field."

As part of the Czech presidency's focus on the energy sector, the "sustainable economy" bent will also address how the technology can be used for reducing carbon emissions and fossil fuel dependence.

The Education Ministry has the freedom to spend its state funds as it sees fit, Bouška said, but "the resources for nanotechnology are mostly funded under broader programs and grants."

According to the ministry, government spending on nanotechnology research and development (R&D) was 0.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, and public and private spending totaled 1.5 percent of the GDP.

State-owned business development agency CzechInvest is starting to focus on attracting foreign investment in the R&D field, including nanotechnology. The conference will provide a natural way to further this goal, said Eva Tomanová, head of the strategic project section at CzechInvest. The project section is in communication with the forum's organizers in order to meet with "key players" in the nanotech field, she added.

"The main purpose is to invite new foreign investors into the nanotechnology field," Tomanová said.

Part of CzechInvest's strategy has been to build the R&D opportunities to attract international companies, as industry and manufacturing reach a saturation point in the country. The shift means an emphasis on switching investments into low-cost plants, and building more sophisticated means of production.

Existing concerns

The field of nanotechnology is not without its controversies, however, as the scientific community is still grappling with unanswered concerns about the toxicity and environmental impacts of nanoparticles; such research is currently being conducted by the EC's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks. The committee has so far found existing methodologies used to test nanotechnology inadequate, according to a report they published in 2006: "[Current methodologies] may not be sufficient to address all the hazards; also, the existing methods used for environmental exposure assessment are not necessarily appropriate."

Zdeněk Bittnar, dean of Faculty of Civil Engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague and member of the national advisory board of ENF 2009, said the nanoparticles pose more of a risk to the workers who produce them, rather than the users of the final products.

Nanotechnology is present in nearly every industry, including food, agriculture and medicine, but the technology still lacks any major independent regulatory body. As high-tech as it may sound, nanotechnology is, in fact, used in common products such as sun lotion and computer hard drives. The umbrella term "nanotechnology" is most often used to describe the ability to alter and manipulate matter on the scale of 1-100 nanometers, allowing the possibility to develop materials with unique functions and properties.

ENF 2009 is the latest conference in a series to further R&D in nanotechnology. The first conference, ENF 2003, allowed the EC to map out a common European strategy for nanotechnology research. ENF 2005 launched the European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine, and ENF 2007 provided an overview of nanotechnology in industrial applications.

Shariffa Abdulrehman can be reached at
features@praguepost.com