Nanoweek is organised by the Nanoscience Network and runs from 30 November to 4 December. It includes a wide range of national events designed to raise awareness of the contribution that nanoscience makes to the Irish economy and to society, and to highlight the central role it can play in driving the Smart Economy.

The new discovery announced by Minister O'Keeffe was developed at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. Toxichip is a nanobiotechnology solution which acts as a sensing system that monitors the effects that toxicants have on human and animal cells.

The solution is capable of monitoring how cells behave and interact with drugs, chemical pollutants in the environment, and toxic substances in food and beverages.

Cell-based biosensors, developed and fabricated at Tyndall, integrated in the Toxichip platform could also have the potential to replace animal testing currently used in toxicity screening.

“The Toxichip is a wonderful example of the 'smart' economy in action,” Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe said. 

“The development demonstrates our capacity to create highly innovative new products when the supports are put in place to allow academia and industry to collaborate,” he added.

The funding for the project was from the FP6 European programme and included several European academic and industry partners.

“Through Government and industry funding we now have a world leading infrastructure in place with the Competence Centre for Applied Nanotechnology (CCAN), the Tyndall National Institute, and Crann based in TCD where over 600 researchers are now working in nanoscience,” said Professor Roger Whatmore, CEO, Tyndall National Institute.

“This infrastructure gives us the means to continue building on the expertise we have developed over the past number of years in nano, and to develop and produce ground breaking solutions like Toxichip.” (Source: InsideIreland.ie)