CNT Workshop
Wednesday 17th August, Centre for NSQI, University of Bristol
Many thanks to those who attended the workshop and especially to those who agreed to speak; we hope you found it an interesting and thought-provoking day. We also hope that the seeds of many new connections, collaborations and funding opportunities have been sown. As promised, please find below a summary of the day, split into the following sections: some of the talks, a summary of the key issues and potential actions identified during the afternoon discussions, attendees and emails, and some photos from the event. We will be looking to run a continuation event again next year and hope you will all be willing and able to participate.
The workshop was jointly organised by Dr Stuart Bellamy, Dr Sameer Rahatekar, Dr Margaret Saunders and Mr Fred Hale. Workshop facilitation was provided by Ms Patty Holley from RED.
Talks:
Rachel Smith, HPA ‘Inhalation studies using carbon nanotubes’
Martin Williams, Haydale Limited ‘Practical use of nanocarbons’
Sameer Rahatekar, University of Bristol ‘Overview of the nanomaterials and nanotoxicology studies at Bristol’
Krzysztof Koziol, University of Cambridge ‘Toxicological studies of chemically modified carbon nanotubes’
Fiona Murphy, University of Edinburgh ‘The length-dependent pathogenicity of carbon nanotubes in the lung and pleura’
Key points:
- A standardisation of samples and testing protocols is required (with the involvement of a legislative body/standards agency e.g. DEFRA or the HSE).
- A recommendation to journal editors that a standard set of details is published for CNT’s and other nanomaterials, including impurities, size (esp. length), type functionalisation etc.
- Re-focusing CNT research to include other high aspect ration nanomaterials, eg ZnO nanowires.
- Determining the ‘safety window’ in terms of aspect ratio – what length is dangerous?
- A greater understanding of ‘real-life’ toxicology – how do current experiments relate to long term effects?
Possible next steps:
- Set-up a working group to talk to editors of major journals regards publishing standard details for nanomaterials.
- Explore potential for PhD studentships in partnership with the HPA.
- Explore funding opportunities from Research, Enterprise & Development agencies.
- Collaborations with a view to applying for current FP7 funding calls in this area.
List of attendees & email addresses:
| Sameer Rahatekar | University of Bristol | Sameer.Rahatekar@bristol.ac.uk |
| Rachel Smith | HPA | Rachel.Smith@HPA.org.uk |
| Alison Buckley | HPA | Alison.Buckley@HPA.org.uk |
| Chang Guo | HPA | Chang.Guo@HPA.org.uk |
| Martin Williams | Haydale Limited | martin@haydale.com |
| Alexandra Porter | Imperial College | a.porter@imperial.ac.uk |
| Krzysztof Koziol | University of Cambridge | kk292@cam.ac.uk |
| Fiona Murphy | University of Edinburgh | s0788980@sms.ed.ac.uk |
| Annela Seddon | University of Bristol | Annela.Seddon@bristol.ac.uk |
| Avinash Patil | University of Bristol | Avinash.Patil@bristol.ac.uk |
| Paul Verkade | University of Bristol | P.Verkade@bristol.ac.uk |
| John Williams | University of Bristol | John.David.Williams@bristol.ac.uk |
| Wael Kafienah | University of Bristol | w.z.kafienah@bristol.ac.uk |
| Stuart Bellamy | University of Bristol | stuart.bellamy@bristol.ac.uk |
| Fred Hale | University of Bristol | fred.hale@bristol.ac.uk |
Photos:
Note: some of the documents on this page are in PDF format. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader