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nanotimes News in Brief

months. It also served as the basis for the authors‘ selection to the list of “10 Trendsetters of 2010” by Public Works magazine.

Jaesang Lee, Shaily Mahendra and Pedro J. J. Alvarez: Nanomaterials in the Construction Industry: A Review of Their Applications and Environmental Health and Sa- fety Considerations, In: ACS NANO, Volume 4(2010), Issue 7, July 27, 2010, Pages 3580-3590, DOI: 10.1021/ nn100866w:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn100866w

MIT engineers have designed a new type of nano- particle that could safely and effectively deliver vaccines for diseases such as HIV and malaria.

The new particles consist of concentric fatty spheres that can carry synthetic versions of proteins nor- mally produced by viruses. These synthetic particles elicit a strong immune response – comparable to that produced by live virus vaccines – but should be much safer, says Darrell Irvine, corresponding author of the paper and an associate professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering.

James J. Moon, Heikyung Suh, Anna Bershteyn, Matthi- as T. Stephan, Haipeng Liu, Bonnie Huang, Mashaal So- hail, Samantha Luo, Soong Ho Um, Htet Khant, Jessica T. Goodwin, Jenelyn Ramos, Wah Chiu, Darrell J. Irvine: Interbilayer-crosslinked multilamellar vesicles as synthe- tic vaccines for potent humoral and cellular immune re- sponses, In: Nature Materials, Vol. 10(2011), No. 3, Pages 243-251, DOI:10.1038/nmat2960: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat2960

11-02/03 :: February / March 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $5.5 million to three consortia to sup- port innovative research on nanotechnology. EPA, in collaboration with the United Kingdom‘s Na- tural Environment Research Council, are leading this scientific research effort to better understand the potential risks to people‘s heath and the envi- ronment. The scientific information developed from the research can help guide EPA and other agen- cies in decisions about the safety of new materials and products that are made using nanotechnology. The grants EPA has awarded will help researchers determine whether certain nanomaterials can leach out of products such as paints, plastics, and fabrics when they are used or disposed of and whether they could become toxic to people and the envi- ronment. Many U.S. industries can benefit from the positive applications of nanotechnology, including