A new online, searchable database for materials used in nanotechnology is now available, and its information could provide a boost to the use of such material in a variety of uses, says RTI Inernational.
The Nanomaterial Registry was developed by RTI at a cost of $2.9 million in federal funding.
“The registry facilitates data validation and data quality improvement and has the potential to accelerate the translation of new nanomaterials for biomedical and environmental applications,” said Dr. William Heetderks, associate director of Extramural Programs at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering,the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and he Department of Health and Human Services supported the effort.
Researchers can search and compare data. It is available at no cost.
“The quantity of publicly available literature on nanotechnology is staggering, but until now there has not been a centralized authoritative resource dedicated to nanotechnology research and its implications to biological and environmental systems,” said Dr. Michele Ostraat, the senior director of the Center for Aerosol and Nanomaterials Engineering at RTI who was the project’s principal investigator. “This registry will provide a valuable resource for nanotechnology stakeholders to find and investigate nanomaterials across diverse test methods, protocols and data sources in this field.”
Data was gathered from a number of existing databases, and it will be updated as more information becomes available, RTI said.
