The participants of 3rd international conference NANOCON'11 had the opportunity to be acquainted with the results of the research and development of nanomaterials in the country and abroad and as well with specific applications and personally to know the world's leading scientists working on nanotechnologies.
This event has been organized by the company TANGER Ltd. in cooperation with the Czech Society for New Materials and Technologies and for the first time the Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials on Sep 21st - 23rd 2011 in Brno .
For 355 participants from 28 countries, there were presented during three days at the conference 94 lectures concerning 5 different thematic areas of research and applications of nanomaterials.
Compared to the previous year, the number of participants increased by 30% and the number of participating countries has almost doubled. So NANOCON becomes the important event of its kind in Central Europe at least.
The opening presentation entitled Nanoparticles in materials has been performed by the world's leading chemist, Professor Dr. Horst Weller from the University of Hamburg. Another scientific papers have related to nanomaterials, their characterization and preparation, as well as issues of nanostructured metallic materials, nano-silver, nano-composites, carbonaceous nanostructures, materials for electronics and optics, nanoceramic materials or nanofibers. The attention of the participants has been raised by a lecture by Professor Emmanuel Giannelise from Cornell University in USA, one of the 25 most quoted experts in the world of nanotechnology, on new materials with extraordinary properties so-called nanohybrids, usable in power industry and environment. The research team from the Research Institute of Jaroslav Heyrovsky AV CR in Prague led by Professor Ladislav Kavan have presented the results of his ten year research in the field of carbon nanostructures spectroelectrochemistry.
152 posters in total has been presented in the poster section. Their professional and graphic level has been judged by a special committee. Jury has been most captured by the poster of Filip Novotný from ČVUT by its factual content and graphic design, showing the study of self-arranged grid of gold nano sticks. The paper from the field of nanomedicine of the young scientist Che Azurahanim Che Abdullah of University of Surray of British Guildford has been among the five winners .
"The conference indicates the current direction of research in nanomaterials in ČR in comparison with foreign countries and represents their possible applications in industry, medicine or, for example in the environment," said Professor Radek Zboril, the chairman of the conference. Although aside attention does not stay the impact of nanomaterials on nature and human health, as well the standardization of various procedures related to the characterization and use of nanoparticles.
The largest representation at the conference NANOCON'11 had the researchers from the CR. Results of research and development of nanomaterials in Brno have been presented with 15 universities and colleges, 13 research institutes of the Academy of Sciences, some other research organizations such as the National Institute for Nuclear Safety, the State Health Department or the Czech Metrology Institute, and forty private sector entities, private research organizations (e.g. COMTES FHT, SYNPO, SVUM) or manufacturing companies with strong research backgrounds (e.g. CPN, SPUR, Starmans electronics, TESCAN). NANOCON has confirmed that it has become the largest event of its kind in the country, where Czech "nanocommunity" meets and that nanotechnologies already are not even in the CR just a matter of laboratories, but proceed into the practice.
More than a quarter of the participants came to Brno from abroad. The largest foreign representation at the conference was presented by Germany and Slovakia, as well as Greece, Poland and Austria. In Brno, the results of their research have been also presented by the scientists from more distant countries, including USA, Japan, India or South Korea. For example, professor Juergen Pauluhn from the company Bayer Healthcare in Wuppertal, Germany introduced new methods for the toxicity of nanoparticles testing. Professor Etienne Duguet from the University of Bordeaux outlined the possibility of using magnetic nanoparticles for cancer diagnostics and its therapy. Dr. Kevin Sivula from the prestigious Institute of Technology in Lausanne informed about the potential applications of nanostructured photo-electrode for solar energy.
In the accompanying program at the conference , 19 companies have presented their products and demonstrated the laboratory and measuring equipment , which confirms the interest in the corporate sphere for the nanomaterials . Among the presented exhibits, there were the new electron microscope of Brno company Delong Instruments or apparatus for the characterization of nanomaterials of the company Malvern Instruments , which were represented in Brno by the company ANAMET.
Jirina Shrbena
President of Conference Program Committee NANOCON and Head of Nanosection CSNMT