NEWSLETTER

022014

June 2014

page 2 of 39

NEWS 022014

Editorial BioNanoNet members ndash presentation

Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-lism

BioNanoNet project presentation

SmartColourTextiles NanoDiode ndash user committees NANoREG ndash industry participation call DYNAMITE NanoPUZZLES

BioNanoNet success stories

COST MP1106 - Smart and green interfaces

BioNanoNet retrospect

Industrial Technologies NANoREG Workshop Annual MP1106 Workshop

NANoREG Consortium Meeting NanoTOX 2014

BioNanoNet announcements

Conference calendar ndash BioNanoNet on-site General conference calendar

Finally

Our next BioNanoNet newsletter will be published in September 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page 3 of 39

NEWS 022014

Editorial Contemporary issues from the network

Dear Readers

the past couple of months have been very busy for all of us Proposals to answer the

first call of Horizon 2020 were submitted in spring Together with our members we

were preparing proposals applying for more than 30 million Euro funding We would

like to thank our members for making use of our member-service to have supported

their proposals The innovative ideas have been supported by adding BioNanoNetrsquos

nanosafety and proposal writing expertise Good luck to our partners we hope you

receive positive evaluation results and your work will be funded within HORIZON

2020

BioNanoNet itself has been going through a reflection phase with the result to carry

further the organisation by forming an association as new owner The foundation

meeting will be held on 8th of July The new structure will increase the already exist-

ing visibility on the national and international level enhance the interaction within and

in between BioNanoNet and partners can benefit from the participation in a strongly

recognized network of expertise

We would like to thank you as our members for your loyalty and your support on our

way forward

To shape the common future direction of BioNanoNet we invite all our members to a

combined strategy workshop and BioNanoNet networking event on 3rd ndash 4th of Sep-

tember 2014 at Hotel Liebmann Laszlignitzhoumlhe This annual event will provide all our

members the opportunity to create the strategy of BioNanoNet identify goals and

bring forward the Austrian community in the focus areas or even initiate additional

important working groups

We are looking forward seeing you in September at the BioNanoNet-strategy work-

shop and networking event

Your BioNanoNet-team

page 4 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet members ndash presentation

Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Low concentration of hormones regulates most essential organ functions Any hor-

monal dysfunction can have multiple effects on the whole organism All areas of

modern medicine heavily rely on endocrinological and metabolic data The Division of

Endocrinology and Diabetology plays an important role in the Department of Internal

Medicine at the Medical University of Graz by providing qualitative patient care inno-

vative education and excellent research

The Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology has a focus on endocrinological

metabolic and bone diseases With excellent sustainable research projects the team

primarily aims to further improve patient care The Division of Endocrinology consists

of two outpatients clinics (including four specialized centers) a medical ward a day

clinic and a laboratory

The Diabetology outpatient clinic treats patients with all types of diabetes mellitus

(type 1 type 2 gestational etc) glucose metabolism disorders diabetic foot syn-

drome (at the diabetic foot center) adipositas lipid metabolism disorders patients

page 5 of 39

NEWS 022014

with diabetes mellitus who wish to conceive or who are pregnant The Endocrinology

outpatient clinic treats patients suffering from hyper- or hypothyroidism lumps and

cysts and parathyroid disorders at the thyroid center Hormonal assessment and

special function tests are performed at the hormone center for various endocrinologi-

cal disorders Furthermore patients with primary and secondary osteoporosis sus-

pected treatment failure or special problems in bone metabolism are seen at the os-

teoporosis center

The ward has 21 beds to treat patients with endocrinopathies and general internal

medicine problems The day clinic performs comprehensive function tests and pro-

vides special therapies for patients with endocrinological or metabolic problems

The clinical research center primarily performs phase 1 and phase 2 clinical studies

Cardiovascular Endocrionology

A correlation between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk is well known since

many decades

Patients with insufficiently adjusted blood sugar control have an evidenced higher risk

of experiencing slightly creeping heart and vessel disorders as arterial hypertension

or arterial occlusion disease and are in a significantly higher risk of suffering acute

vessel events as stroke or myocardial infarction

The other way around recent studies documented that heart attacks in non- diabetic

patients could have a big effect on the risk of developing a disordered glucose me-

tabolism The diabetic risk is estimated 18 times higher for patients who suffered an

acute coronary event

Hereby we emphasise the importance of practising the best possible procedure con-

cerning primary and secondary prophylaxis and the optimal utilization of risk factor

management

On the one hand investigations concerning better glycemic control are a fundamental

aim we want to improve and upgrade to reach the highest standards Operation pro-

cedures contain

To bring patients closer to their glycemic disorder We have to impart

knowledge to our patients and integrate them in their therapy and their behav-

iour They should understand why they have to save carbo hydrates why they

have to administer insulin and why they have to see their ophtalmologist every

year Therefore we are continously improving our training strategy in conduct-

ing internal education and skill enhancement organising patient instruction

courses and making the patient feel that he himself is the main part of his dis-

ease and not us as medical staff

page 6 of 39

NEWS 022014

We want to be part of making diabetes therapy easier we want to make

the patient feel as less affected of his disease as possible In this connection

we are working constantly on medication related improvement insulin delivery

simplification and consequent patient training

In order to have standardized procedures in the daily hospital routine we are

working on systems which facilitate and improve diabetic therapy during

hospital stay Those systems which are based on algorithmic programming

are already part of daily routine in several departments of our hospital

On the other hand we operate fundamental research to make improvement possible

Biomarker Research in Diabesity

Obesity and diabetes certainly represent one of the most challenging threats to public

health in the 21st century ldquoDiabesityrdquo raises the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and

mortality as well as eye problems nerve damage and kidney diseases Despite the

fact that patients with obesity and diabetes display a heterogenic population current

clinical treatment guidelines are surprisingly uniform Biomarkers can help to achieve

personalised therapies that allow prediction of treatment response and thus would

help tailor obesity and diabetes treatment The Division of Endocrinology and Metab-

olism has established a research area focusing on biomarkers predictive for cardio-

vascular disease progression and identification of treatment responder and non-

responder to either drug treatment or bariatric surgery In addition since gut flora

might play an important linking factor between obesity and metabolic disease by in-

fluencing gut permeability and subsequently low grade inflammation also the micro-

biome is being investigated as a potential biomarker for treatment response and as a

treatment target

The techniques used for this research effort include mass-spectrometry and targeted

metabolome aspects luminex technology and candidate gene search including mi-

croRNA profiling next generation sequencing and microbiome sequencing

Hormonal disturbances are significant challenges in modern medicine treating com-

mon diseases like thyroid disorders and osteoporosis which affect millions of pa-

tients but also complex pituitary problems adrenal malfunction and hypertension

infertility and associated diseases with metabolic complications as well as pregnan-

cies and mother-child-health Autoimmune phenomena and hormonal analyses asso-

ciated with diagnostic function tests are investigated and specific treatments evaluat-

ed

The Endocrinology Lab Platform with 40 technicians and researchers and the Endo-

crinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz (10000 patients per year)

include routine and research diagnostics and analyses of all current hormonal and

page 7 of 39

NEWS 022014

metabolic parameters in endocrine diseases including biochemical and genetic bi-

omarkers of endocrine disorders In addition to clinical studies such as randomized

controlled trials of candidate therapeutics new research techniques such as next

generation sequencing microRNA detection microbiome phenotyping endocrine

primary cell lines including gonadal ovarian and adrenal cells as potential diagnostic

and individual therapy targets are investigated in thoroughly characterized large pa-

tient cohorts

Biomarkers in Osteology

Bone is not only a static medium but a huge endocrine organ influencing both ener-

gy metabolism via insulin signalling but also fertility via bone hormones Osteoporosis

has been considered as a common metabolic disorder affecting about half of the el-

derly population worldwide with more than 6000 clinical presentations per year in the

Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz as well as patients

with bone and vascular disturbances in chronic kidney disease and hyperparathyroid-

ism

Based on existing cohort samples (~25000 DNA and serum samples) biobanking

samples out of the ongoing K-project BioPersMed (~1300 probands) EU projects

and prospective clinical data and recruitment the Endocrinology Lab Platform vali-

dates bone and cartilage candidate biomarkers based on GWAS and functional data

Using molecular biology mass spectrometry and alternative immunological and radi-

oactive assay techniques as well as cell culture we define a new view on endocrine

bone regulation and its potential therapeutic manipulation as well as companion di-

agnostic biomarkers to select drug treatment for osteoporosis and other metabolic

disorders and to evaluate drug efficacy highly warranted in therapy development

Pharmacokinetics ndash Pharmacodynamics

The application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic techniques has emerged

as a major tool in clinical pharmacology to characterize new drugs andor optimize

drug use by designing rational dosage forms and dosage regimes Based on long-

year experience the Clinical Research Center provides expertise for pharmacokinetic

and pharmaco-dynamics investigations using the following techniques

Conventional glucose clamp technique The glucose clamp technique is regarded as

the gold standard for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic metabolic profiles of

anti-diabetic compounds and insulin sensitivity Since 2002 its use is considered

mandatory by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the development of new

anti-diabetes drugs Glucose clamp studies are technically challenging and labour-

intensive and are therefore offered by only a few specialised centres The technique

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 2 of 39

NEWS 022014

Editorial BioNanoNet members ndash presentation

Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-lism

BioNanoNet project presentation

SmartColourTextiles NanoDiode ndash user committees NANoREG ndash industry participation call DYNAMITE NanoPUZZLES

BioNanoNet success stories

COST MP1106 - Smart and green interfaces

BioNanoNet retrospect

Industrial Technologies NANoREG Workshop Annual MP1106 Workshop

NANoREG Consortium Meeting NanoTOX 2014

BioNanoNet announcements

Conference calendar ndash BioNanoNet on-site General conference calendar

Finally

Our next BioNanoNet newsletter will be published in September 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page 3 of 39

NEWS 022014

Editorial Contemporary issues from the network

Dear Readers

the past couple of months have been very busy for all of us Proposals to answer the

first call of Horizon 2020 were submitted in spring Together with our members we

were preparing proposals applying for more than 30 million Euro funding We would

like to thank our members for making use of our member-service to have supported

their proposals The innovative ideas have been supported by adding BioNanoNetrsquos

nanosafety and proposal writing expertise Good luck to our partners we hope you

receive positive evaluation results and your work will be funded within HORIZON

2020

BioNanoNet itself has been going through a reflection phase with the result to carry

further the organisation by forming an association as new owner The foundation

meeting will be held on 8th of July The new structure will increase the already exist-

ing visibility on the national and international level enhance the interaction within and

in between BioNanoNet and partners can benefit from the participation in a strongly

recognized network of expertise

We would like to thank you as our members for your loyalty and your support on our

way forward

To shape the common future direction of BioNanoNet we invite all our members to a

combined strategy workshop and BioNanoNet networking event on 3rd ndash 4th of Sep-

tember 2014 at Hotel Liebmann Laszlignitzhoumlhe This annual event will provide all our

members the opportunity to create the strategy of BioNanoNet identify goals and

bring forward the Austrian community in the focus areas or even initiate additional

important working groups

We are looking forward seeing you in September at the BioNanoNet-strategy work-

shop and networking event

Your BioNanoNet-team

page 4 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet members ndash presentation

Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Low concentration of hormones regulates most essential organ functions Any hor-

monal dysfunction can have multiple effects on the whole organism All areas of

modern medicine heavily rely on endocrinological and metabolic data The Division of

Endocrinology and Diabetology plays an important role in the Department of Internal

Medicine at the Medical University of Graz by providing qualitative patient care inno-

vative education and excellent research

The Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology has a focus on endocrinological

metabolic and bone diseases With excellent sustainable research projects the team

primarily aims to further improve patient care The Division of Endocrinology consists

of two outpatients clinics (including four specialized centers) a medical ward a day

clinic and a laboratory

The Diabetology outpatient clinic treats patients with all types of diabetes mellitus

(type 1 type 2 gestational etc) glucose metabolism disorders diabetic foot syn-

drome (at the diabetic foot center) adipositas lipid metabolism disorders patients

page 5 of 39

NEWS 022014

with diabetes mellitus who wish to conceive or who are pregnant The Endocrinology

outpatient clinic treats patients suffering from hyper- or hypothyroidism lumps and

cysts and parathyroid disorders at the thyroid center Hormonal assessment and

special function tests are performed at the hormone center for various endocrinologi-

cal disorders Furthermore patients with primary and secondary osteoporosis sus-

pected treatment failure or special problems in bone metabolism are seen at the os-

teoporosis center

The ward has 21 beds to treat patients with endocrinopathies and general internal

medicine problems The day clinic performs comprehensive function tests and pro-

vides special therapies for patients with endocrinological or metabolic problems

The clinical research center primarily performs phase 1 and phase 2 clinical studies

Cardiovascular Endocrionology

A correlation between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk is well known since

many decades

Patients with insufficiently adjusted blood sugar control have an evidenced higher risk

of experiencing slightly creeping heart and vessel disorders as arterial hypertension

or arterial occlusion disease and are in a significantly higher risk of suffering acute

vessel events as stroke or myocardial infarction

The other way around recent studies documented that heart attacks in non- diabetic

patients could have a big effect on the risk of developing a disordered glucose me-

tabolism The diabetic risk is estimated 18 times higher for patients who suffered an

acute coronary event

Hereby we emphasise the importance of practising the best possible procedure con-

cerning primary and secondary prophylaxis and the optimal utilization of risk factor

management

On the one hand investigations concerning better glycemic control are a fundamental

aim we want to improve and upgrade to reach the highest standards Operation pro-

cedures contain

To bring patients closer to their glycemic disorder We have to impart

knowledge to our patients and integrate them in their therapy and their behav-

iour They should understand why they have to save carbo hydrates why they

have to administer insulin and why they have to see their ophtalmologist every

year Therefore we are continously improving our training strategy in conduct-

ing internal education and skill enhancement organising patient instruction

courses and making the patient feel that he himself is the main part of his dis-

ease and not us as medical staff

page 6 of 39

NEWS 022014

We want to be part of making diabetes therapy easier we want to make

the patient feel as less affected of his disease as possible In this connection

we are working constantly on medication related improvement insulin delivery

simplification and consequent patient training

In order to have standardized procedures in the daily hospital routine we are

working on systems which facilitate and improve diabetic therapy during

hospital stay Those systems which are based on algorithmic programming

are already part of daily routine in several departments of our hospital

On the other hand we operate fundamental research to make improvement possible

Biomarker Research in Diabesity

Obesity and diabetes certainly represent one of the most challenging threats to public

health in the 21st century ldquoDiabesityrdquo raises the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and

mortality as well as eye problems nerve damage and kidney diseases Despite the

fact that patients with obesity and diabetes display a heterogenic population current

clinical treatment guidelines are surprisingly uniform Biomarkers can help to achieve

personalised therapies that allow prediction of treatment response and thus would

help tailor obesity and diabetes treatment The Division of Endocrinology and Metab-

olism has established a research area focusing on biomarkers predictive for cardio-

vascular disease progression and identification of treatment responder and non-

responder to either drug treatment or bariatric surgery In addition since gut flora

might play an important linking factor between obesity and metabolic disease by in-

fluencing gut permeability and subsequently low grade inflammation also the micro-

biome is being investigated as a potential biomarker for treatment response and as a

treatment target

The techniques used for this research effort include mass-spectrometry and targeted

metabolome aspects luminex technology and candidate gene search including mi-

croRNA profiling next generation sequencing and microbiome sequencing

Hormonal disturbances are significant challenges in modern medicine treating com-

mon diseases like thyroid disorders and osteoporosis which affect millions of pa-

tients but also complex pituitary problems adrenal malfunction and hypertension

infertility and associated diseases with metabolic complications as well as pregnan-

cies and mother-child-health Autoimmune phenomena and hormonal analyses asso-

ciated with diagnostic function tests are investigated and specific treatments evaluat-

ed

The Endocrinology Lab Platform with 40 technicians and researchers and the Endo-

crinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz (10000 patients per year)

include routine and research diagnostics and analyses of all current hormonal and

page 7 of 39

NEWS 022014

metabolic parameters in endocrine diseases including biochemical and genetic bi-

omarkers of endocrine disorders In addition to clinical studies such as randomized

controlled trials of candidate therapeutics new research techniques such as next

generation sequencing microRNA detection microbiome phenotyping endocrine

primary cell lines including gonadal ovarian and adrenal cells as potential diagnostic

and individual therapy targets are investigated in thoroughly characterized large pa-

tient cohorts

Biomarkers in Osteology

Bone is not only a static medium but a huge endocrine organ influencing both ener-

gy metabolism via insulin signalling but also fertility via bone hormones Osteoporosis

has been considered as a common metabolic disorder affecting about half of the el-

derly population worldwide with more than 6000 clinical presentations per year in the

Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz as well as patients

with bone and vascular disturbances in chronic kidney disease and hyperparathyroid-

ism

Based on existing cohort samples (~25000 DNA and serum samples) biobanking

samples out of the ongoing K-project BioPersMed (~1300 probands) EU projects

and prospective clinical data and recruitment the Endocrinology Lab Platform vali-

dates bone and cartilage candidate biomarkers based on GWAS and functional data

Using molecular biology mass spectrometry and alternative immunological and radi-

oactive assay techniques as well as cell culture we define a new view on endocrine

bone regulation and its potential therapeutic manipulation as well as companion di-

agnostic biomarkers to select drug treatment for osteoporosis and other metabolic

disorders and to evaluate drug efficacy highly warranted in therapy development

Pharmacokinetics ndash Pharmacodynamics

The application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic techniques has emerged

as a major tool in clinical pharmacology to characterize new drugs andor optimize

drug use by designing rational dosage forms and dosage regimes Based on long-

year experience the Clinical Research Center provides expertise for pharmacokinetic

and pharmaco-dynamics investigations using the following techniques

Conventional glucose clamp technique The glucose clamp technique is regarded as

the gold standard for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic metabolic profiles of

anti-diabetic compounds and insulin sensitivity Since 2002 its use is considered

mandatory by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the development of new

anti-diabetes drugs Glucose clamp studies are technically challenging and labour-

intensive and are therefore offered by only a few specialised centres The technique

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 3 of 39

NEWS 022014

Editorial Contemporary issues from the network

Dear Readers

the past couple of months have been very busy for all of us Proposals to answer the

first call of Horizon 2020 were submitted in spring Together with our members we

were preparing proposals applying for more than 30 million Euro funding We would

like to thank our members for making use of our member-service to have supported

their proposals The innovative ideas have been supported by adding BioNanoNetrsquos

nanosafety and proposal writing expertise Good luck to our partners we hope you

receive positive evaluation results and your work will be funded within HORIZON

2020

BioNanoNet itself has been going through a reflection phase with the result to carry

further the organisation by forming an association as new owner The foundation

meeting will be held on 8th of July The new structure will increase the already exist-

ing visibility on the national and international level enhance the interaction within and

in between BioNanoNet and partners can benefit from the participation in a strongly

recognized network of expertise

We would like to thank you as our members for your loyalty and your support on our

way forward

To shape the common future direction of BioNanoNet we invite all our members to a

combined strategy workshop and BioNanoNet networking event on 3rd ndash 4th of Sep-

tember 2014 at Hotel Liebmann Laszlignitzhoumlhe This annual event will provide all our

members the opportunity to create the strategy of BioNanoNet identify goals and

bring forward the Austrian community in the focus areas or even initiate additional

important working groups

We are looking forward seeing you in September at the BioNanoNet-strategy work-

shop and networking event

Your BioNanoNet-team

page 4 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet members ndash presentation

Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Low concentration of hormones regulates most essential organ functions Any hor-

monal dysfunction can have multiple effects on the whole organism All areas of

modern medicine heavily rely on endocrinological and metabolic data The Division of

Endocrinology and Diabetology plays an important role in the Department of Internal

Medicine at the Medical University of Graz by providing qualitative patient care inno-

vative education and excellent research

The Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology has a focus on endocrinological

metabolic and bone diseases With excellent sustainable research projects the team

primarily aims to further improve patient care The Division of Endocrinology consists

of two outpatients clinics (including four specialized centers) a medical ward a day

clinic and a laboratory

The Diabetology outpatient clinic treats patients with all types of diabetes mellitus

(type 1 type 2 gestational etc) glucose metabolism disorders diabetic foot syn-

drome (at the diabetic foot center) adipositas lipid metabolism disorders patients

page 5 of 39

NEWS 022014

with diabetes mellitus who wish to conceive or who are pregnant The Endocrinology

outpatient clinic treats patients suffering from hyper- or hypothyroidism lumps and

cysts and parathyroid disorders at the thyroid center Hormonal assessment and

special function tests are performed at the hormone center for various endocrinologi-

cal disorders Furthermore patients with primary and secondary osteoporosis sus-

pected treatment failure or special problems in bone metabolism are seen at the os-

teoporosis center

The ward has 21 beds to treat patients with endocrinopathies and general internal

medicine problems The day clinic performs comprehensive function tests and pro-

vides special therapies for patients with endocrinological or metabolic problems

The clinical research center primarily performs phase 1 and phase 2 clinical studies

Cardiovascular Endocrionology

A correlation between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk is well known since

many decades

Patients with insufficiently adjusted blood sugar control have an evidenced higher risk

of experiencing slightly creeping heart and vessel disorders as arterial hypertension

or arterial occlusion disease and are in a significantly higher risk of suffering acute

vessel events as stroke or myocardial infarction

The other way around recent studies documented that heart attacks in non- diabetic

patients could have a big effect on the risk of developing a disordered glucose me-

tabolism The diabetic risk is estimated 18 times higher for patients who suffered an

acute coronary event

Hereby we emphasise the importance of practising the best possible procedure con-

cerning primary and secondary prophylaxis and the optimal utilization of risk factor

management

On the one hand investigations concerning better glycemic control are a fundamental

aim we want to improve and upgrade to reach the highest standards Operation pro-

cedures contain

To bring patients closer to their glycemic disorder We have to impart

knowledge to our patients and integrate them in their therapy and their behav-

iour They should understand why they have to save carbo hydrates why they

have to administer insulin and why they have to see their ophtalmologist every

year Therefore we are continously improving our training strategy in conduct-

ing internal education and skill enhancement organising patient instruction

courses and making the patient feel that he himself is the main part of his dis-

ease and not us as medical staff

page 6 of 39

NEWS 022014

We want to be part of making diabetes therapy easier we want to make

the patient feel as less affected of his disease as possible In this connection

we are working constantly on medication related improvement insulin delivery

simplification and consequent patient training

In order to have standardized procedures in the daily hospital routine we are

working on systems which facilitate and improve diabetic therapy during

hospital stay Those systems which are based on algorithmic programming

are already part of daily routine in several departments of our hospital

On the other hand we operate fundamental research to make improvement possible

Biomarker Research in Diabesity

Obesity and diabetes certainly represent one of the most challenging threats to public

health in the 21st century ldquoDiabesityrdquo raises the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and

mortality as well as eye problems nerve damage and kidney diseases Despite the

fact that patients with obesity and diabetes display a heterogenic population current

clinical treatment guidelines are surprisingly uniform Biomarkers can help to achieve

personalised therapies that allow prediction of treatment response and thus would

help tailor obesity and diabetes treatment The Division of Endocrinology and Metab-

olism has established a research area focusing on biomarkers predictive for cardio-

vascular disease progression and identification of treatment responder and non-

responder to either drug treatment or bariatric surgery In addition since gut flora

might play an important linking factor between obesity and metabolic disease by in-

fluencing gut permeability and subsequently low grade inflammation also the micro-

biome is being investigated as a potential biomarker for treatment response and as a

treatment target

The techniques used for this research effort include mass-spectrometry and targeted

metabolome aspects luminex technology and candidate gene search including mi-

croRNA profiling next generation sequencing and microbiome sequencing

Hormonal disturbances are significant challenges in modern medicine treating com-

mon diseases like thyroid disorders and osteoporosis which affect millions of pa-

tients but also complex pituitary problems adrenal malfunction and hypertension

infertility and associated diseases with metabolic complications as well as pregnan-

cies and mother-child-health Autoimmune phenomena and hormonal analyses asso-

ciated with diagnostic function tests are investigated and specific treatments evaluat-

ed

The Endocrinology Lab Platform with 40 technicians and researchers and the Endo-

crinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz (10000 patients per year)

include routine and research diagnostics and analyses of all current hormonal and

page 7 of 39

NEWS 022014

metabolic parameters in endocrine diseases including biochemical and genetic bi-

omarkers of endocrine disorders In addition to clinical studies such as randomized

controlled trials of candidate therapeutics new research techniques such as next

generation sequencing microRNA detection microbiome phenotyping endocrine

primary cell lines including gonadal ovarian and adrenal cells as potential diagnostic

and individual therapy targets are investigated in thoroughly characterized large pa-

tient cohorts

Biomarkers in Osteology

Bone is not only a static medium but a huge endocrine organ influencing both ener-

gy metabolism via insulin signalling but also fertility via bone hormones Osteoporosis

has been considered as a common metabolic disorder affecting about half of the el-

derly population worldwide with more than 6000 clinical presentations per year in the

Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz as well as patients

with bone and vascular disturbances in chronic kidney disease and hyperparathyroid-

ism

Based on existing cohort samples (~25000 DNA and serum samples) biobanking

samples out of the ongoing K-project BioPersMed (~1300 probands) EU projects

and prospective clinical data and recruitment the Endocrinology Lab Platform vali-

dates bone and cartilage candidate biomarkers based on GWAS and functional data

Using molecular biology mass spectrometry and alternative immunological and radi-

oactive assay techniques as well as cell culture we define a new view on endocrine

bone regulation and its potential therapeutic manipulation as well as companion di-

agnostic biomarkers to select drug treatment for osteoporosis and other metabolic

disorders and to evaluate drug efficacy highly warranted in therapy development

Pharmacokinetics ndash Pharmacodynamics

The application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic techniques has emerged

as a major tool in clinical pharmacology to characterize new drugs andor optimize

drug use by designing rational dosage forms and dosage regimes Based on long-

year experience the Clinical Research Center provides expertise for pharmacokinetic

and pharmaco-dynamics investigations using the following techniques

Conventional glucose clamp technique The glucose clamp technique is regarded as

the gold standard for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic metabolic profiles of

anti-diabetic compounds and insulin sensitivity Since 2002 its use is considered

mandatory by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the development of new

anti-diabetes drugs Glucose clamp studies are technically challenging and labour-

intensive and are therefore offered by only a few specialised centres The technique

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 4 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet members ndash presentation

Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Low concentration of hormones regulates most essential organ functions Any hor-

monal dysfunction can have multiple effects on the whole organism All areas of

modern medicine heavily rely on endocrinological and metabolic data The Division of

Endocrinology and Diabetology plays an important role in the Department of Internal

Medicine at the Medical University of Graz by providing qualitative patient care inno-

vative education and excellent research

The Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology has a focus on endocrinological

metabolic and bone diseases With excellent sustainable research projects the team

primarily aims to further improve patient care The Division of Endocrinology consists

of two outpatients clinics (including four specialized centers) a medical ward a day

clinic and a laboratory

The Diabetology outpatient clinic treats patients with all types of diabetes mellitus

(type 1 type 2 gestational etc) glucose metabolism disorders diabetic foot syn-

drome (at the diabetic foot center) adipositas lipid metabolism disorders patients

page 5 of 39

NEWS 022014

with diabetes mellitus who wish to conceive or who are pregnant The Endocrinology

outpatient clinic treats patients suffering from hyper- or hypothyroidism lumps and

cysts and parathyroid disorders at the thyroid center Hormonal assessment and

special function tests are performed at the hormone center for various endocrinologi-

cal disorders Furthermore patients with primary and secondary osteoporosis sus-

pected treatment failure or special problems in bone metabolism are seen at the os-

teoporosis center

The ward has 21 beds to treat patients with endocrinopathies and general internal

medicine problems The day clinic performs comprehensive function tests and pro-

vides special therapies for patients with endocrinological or metabolic problems

The clinical research center primarily performs phase 1 and phase 2 clinical studies

Cardiovascular Endocrionology

A correlation between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk is well known since

many decades

Patients with insufficiently adjusted blood sugar control have an evidenced higher risk

of experiencing slightly creeping heart and vessel disorders as arterial hypertension

or arterial occlusion disease and are in a significantly higher risk of suffering acute

vessel events as stroke or myocardial infarction

The other way around recent studies documented that heart attacks in non- diabetic

patients could have a big effect on the risk of developing a disordered glucose me-

tabolism The diabetic risk is estimated 18 times higher for patients who suffered an

acute coronary event

Hereby we emphasise the importance of practising the best possible procedure con-

cerning primary and secondary prophylaxis and the optimal utilization of risk factor

management

On the one hand investigations concerning better glycemic control are a fundamental

aim we want to improve and upgrade to reach the highest standards Operation pro-

cedures contain

To bring patients closer to their glycemic disorder We have to impart

knowledge to our patients and integrate them in their therapy and their behav-

iour They should understand why they have to save carbo hydrates why they

have to administer insulin and why they have to see their ophtalmologist every

year Therefore we are continously improving our training strategy in conduct-

ing internal education and skill enhancement organising patient instruction

courses and making the patient feel that he himself is the main part of his dis-

ease and not us as medical staff

page 6 of 39

NEWS 022014

We want to be part of making diabetes therapy easier we want to make

the patient feel as less affected of his disease as possible In this connection

we are working constantly on medication related improvement insulin delivery

simplification and consequent patient training

In order to have standardized procedures in the daily hospital routine we are

working on systems which facilitate and improve diabetic therapy during

hospital stay Those systems which are based on algorithmic programming

are already part of daily routine in several departments of our hospital

On the other hand we operate fundamental research to make improvement possible

Biomarker Research in Diabesity

Obesity and diabetes certainly represent one of the most challenging threats to public

health in the 21st century ldquoDiabesityrdquo raises the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and

mortality as well as eye problems nerve damage and kidney diseases Despite the

fact that patients with obesity and diabetes display a heterogenic population current

clinical treatment guidelines are surprisingly uniform Biomarkers can help to achieve

personalised therapies that allow prediction of treatment response and thus would

help tailor obesity and diabetes treatment The Division of Endocrinology and Metab-

olism has established a research area focusing on biomarkers predictive for cardio-

vascular disease progression and identification of treatment responder and non-

responder to either drug treatment or bariatric surgery In addition since gut flora

might play an important linking factor between obesity and metabolic disease by in-

fluencing gut permeability and subsequently low grade inflammation also the micro-

biome is being investigated as a potential biomarker for treatment response and as a

treatment target

The techniques used for this research effort include mass-spectrometry and targeted

metabolome aspects luminex technology and candidate gene search including mi-

croRNA profiling next generation sequencing and microbiome sequencing

Hormonal disturbances are significant challenges in modern medicine treating com-

mon diseases like thyroid disorders and osteoporosis which affect millions of pa-

tients but also complex pituitary problems adrenal malfunction and hypertension

infertility and associated diseases with metabolic complications as well as pregnan-

cies and mother-child-health Autoimmune phenomena and hormonal analyses asso-

ciated with diagnostic function tests are investigated and specific treatments evaluat-

ed

The Endocrinology Lab Platform with 40 technicians and researchers and the Endo-

crinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz (10000 patients per year)

include routine and research diagnostics and analyses of all current hormonal and

page 7 of 39

NEWS 022014

metabolic parameters in endocrine diseases including biochemical and genetic bi-

omarkers of endocrine disorders In addition to clinical studies such as randomized

controlled trials of candidate therapeutics new research techniques such as next

generation sequencing microRNA detection microbiome phenotyping endocrine

primary cell lines including gonadal ovarian and adrenal cells as potential diagnostic

and individual therapy targets are investigated in thoroughly characterized large pa-

tient cohorts

Biomarkers in Osteology

Bone is not only a static medium but a huge endocrine organ influencing both ener-

gy metabolism via insulin signalling but also fertility via bone hormones Osteoporosis

has been considered as a common metabolic disorder affecting about half of the el-

derly population worldwide with more than 6000 clinical presentations per year in the

Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz as well as patients

with bone and vascular disturbances in chronic kidney disease and hyperparathyroid-

ism

Based on existing cohort samples (~25000 DNA and serum samples) biobanking

samples out of the ongoing K-project BioPersMed (~1300 probands) EU projects

and prospective clinical data and recruitment the Endocrinology Lab Platform vali-

dates bone and cartilage candidate biomarkers based on GWAS and functional data

Using molecular biology mass spectrometry and alternative immunological and radi-

oactive assay techniques as well as cell culture we define a new view on endocrine

bone regulation and its potential therapeutic manipulation as well as companion di-

agnostic biomarkers to select drug treatment for osteoporosis and other metabolic

disorders and to evaluate drug efficacy highly warranted in therapy development

Pharmacokinetics ndash Pharmacodynamics

The application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic techniques has emerged

as a major tool in clinical pharmacology to characterize new drugs andor optimize

drug use by designing rational dosage forms and dosage regimes Based on long-

year experience the Clinical Research Center provides expertise for pharmacokinetic

and pharmaco-dynamics investigations using the following techniques

Conventional glucose clamp technique The glucose clamp technique is regarded as

the gold standard for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic metabolic profiles of

anti-diabetic compounds and insulin sensitivity Since 2002 its use is considered

mandatory by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the development of new

anti-diabetes drugs Glucose clamp studies are technically challenging and labour-

intensive and are therefore offered by only a few specialised centres The technique

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 5 of 39

NEWS 022014

with diabetes mellitus who wish to conceive or who are pregnant The Endocrinology

outpatient clinic treats patients suffering from hyper- or hypothyroidism lumps and

cysts and parathyroid disorders at the thyroid center Hormonal assessment and

special function tests are performed at the hormone center for various endocrinologi-

cal disorders Furthermore patients with primary and secondary osteoporosis sus-

pected treatment failure or special problems in bone metabolism are seen at the os-

teoporosis center

The ward has 21 beds to treat patients with endocrinopathies and general internal

medicine problems The day clinic performs comprehensive function tests and pro-

vides special therapies for patients with endocrinological or metabolic problems

The clinical research center primarily performs phase 1 and phase 2 clinical studies

Cardiovascular Endocrionology

A correlation between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk is well known since

many decades

Patients with insufficiently adjusted blood sugar control have an evidenced higher risk

of experiencing slightly creeping heart and vessel disorders as arterial hypertension

or arterial occlusion disease and are in a significantly higher risk of suffering acute

vessel events as stroke or myocardial infarction

The other way around recent studies documented that heart attacks in non- diabetic

patients could have a big effect on the risk of developing a disordered glucose me-

tabolism The diabetic risk is estimated 18 times higher for patients who suffered an

acute coronary event

Hereby we emphasise the importance of practising the best possible procedure con-

cerning primary and secondary prophylaxis and the optimal utilization of risk factor

management

On the one hand investigations concerning better glycemic control are a fundamental

aim we want to improve and upgrade to reach the highest standards Operation pro-

cedures contain

To bring patients closer to their glycemic disorder We have to impart

knowledge to our patients and integrate them in their therapy and their behav-

iour They should understand why they have to save carbo hydrates why they

have to administer insulin and why they have to see their ophtalmologist every

year Therefore we are continously improving our training strategy in conduct-

ing internal education and skill enhancement organising patient instruction

courses and making the patient feel that he himself is the main part of his dis-

ease and not us as medical staff

page 6 of 39

NEWS 022014

We want to be part of making diabetes therapy easier we want to make

the patient feel as less affected of his disease as possible In this connection

we are working constantly on medication related improvement insulin delivery

simplification and consequent patient training

In order to have standardized procedures in the daily hospital routine we are

working on systems which facilitate and improve diabetic therapy during

hospital stay Those systems which are based on algorithmic programming

are already part of daily routine in several departments of our hospital

On the other hand we operate fundamental research to make improvement possible

Biomarker Research in Diabesity

Obesity and diabetes certainly represent one of the most challenging threats to public

health in the 21st century ldquoDiabesityrdquo raises the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and

mortality as well as eye problems nerve damage and kidney diseases Despite the

fact that patients with obesity and diabetes display a heterogenic population current

clinical treatment guidelines are surprisingly uniform Biomarkers can help to achieve

personalised therapies that allow prediction of treatment response and thus would

help tailor obesity and diabetes treatment The Division of Endocrinology and Metab-

olism has established a research area focusing on biomarkers predictive for cardio-

vascular disease progression and identification of treatment responder and non-

responder to either drug treatment or bariatric surgery In addition since gut flora

might play an important linking factor between obesity and metabolic disease by in-

fluencing gut permeability and subsequently low grade inflammation also the micro-

biome is being investigated as a potential biomarker for treatment response and as a

treatment target

The techniques used for this research effort include mass-spectrometry and targeted

metabolome aspects luminex technology and candidate gene search including mi-

croRNA profiling next generation sequencing and microbiome sequencing

Hormonal disturbances are significant challenges in modern medicine treating com-

mon diseases like thyroid disorders and osteoporosis which affect millions of pa-

tients but also complex pituitary problems adrenal malfunction and hypertension

infertility and associated diseases with metabolic complications as well as pregnan-

cies and mother-child-health Autoimmune phenomena and hormonal analyses asso-

ciated with diagnostic function tests are investigated and specific treatments evaluat-

ed

The Endocrinology Lab Platform with 40 technicians and researchers and the Endo-

crinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz (10000 patients per year)

include routine and research diagnostics and analyses of all current hormonal and

page 7 of 39

NEWS 022014

metabolic parameters in endocrine diseases including biochemical and genetic bi-

omarkers of endocrine disorders In addition to clinical studies such as randomized

controlled trials of candidate therapeutics new research techniques such as next

generation sequencing microRNA detection microbiome phenotyping endocrine

primary cell lines including gonadal ovarian and adrenal cells as potential diagnostic

and individual therapy targets are investigated in thoroughly characterized large pa-

tient cohorts

Biomarkers in Osteology

Bone is not only a static medium but a huge endocrine organ influencing both ener-

gy metabolism via insulin signalling but also fertility via bone hormones Osteoporosis

has been considered as a common metabolic disorder affecting about half of the el-

derly population worldwide with more than 6000 clinical presentations per year in the

Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz as well as patients

with bone and vascular disturbances in chronic kidney disease and hyperparathyroid-

ism

Based on existing cohort samples (~25000 DNA and serum samples) biobanking

samples out of the ongoing K-project BioPersMed (~1300 probands) EU projects

and prospective clinical data and recruitment the Endocrinology Lab Platform vali-

dates bone and cartilage candidate biomarkers based on GWAS and functional data

Using molecular biology mass spectrometry and alternative immunological and radi-

oactive assay techniques as well as cell culture we define a new view on endocrine

bone regulation and its potential therapeutic manipulation as well as companion di-

agnostic biomarkers to select drug treatment for osteoporosis and other metabolic

disorders and to evaluate drug efficacy highly warranted in therapy development

Pharmacokinetics ndash Pharmacodynamics

The application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic techniques has emerged

as a major tool in clinical pharmacology to characterize new drugs andor optimize

drug use by designing rational dosage forms and dosage regimes Based on long-

year experience the Clinical Research Center provides expertise for pharmacokinetic

and pharmaco-dynamics investigations using the following techniques

Conventional glucose clamp technique The glucose clamp technique is regarded as

the gold standard for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic metabolic profiles of

anti-diabetic compounds and insulin sensitivity Since 2002 its use is considered

mandatory by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the development of new

anti-diabetes drugs Glucose clamp studies are technically challenging and labour-

intensive and are therefore offered by only a few specialised centres The technique

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 6 of 39

NEWS 022014

We want to be part of making diabetes therapy easier we want to make

the patient feel as less affected of his disease as possible In this connection

we are working constantly on medication related improvement insulin delivery

simplification and consequent patient training

In order to have standardized procedures in the daily hospital routine we are

working on systems which facilitate and improve diabetic therapy during

hospital stay Those systems which are based on algorithmic programming

are already part of daily routine in several departments of our hospital

On the other hand we operate fundamental research to make improvement possible

Biomarker Research in Diabesity

Obesity and diabetes certainly represent one of the most challenging threats to public

health in the 21st century ldquoDiabesityrdquo raises the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and

mortality as well as eye problems nerve damage and kidney diseases Despite the

fact that patients with obesity and diabetes display a heterogenic population current

clinical treatment guidelines are surprisingly uniform Biomarkers can help to achieve

personalised therapies that allow prediction of treatment response and thus would

help tailor obesity and diabetes treatment The Division of Endocrinology and Metab-

olism has established a research area focusing on biomarkers predictive for cardio-

vascular disease progression and identification of treatment responder and non-

responder to either drug treatment or bariatric surgery In addition since gut flora

might play an important linking factor between obesity and metabolic disease by in-

fluencing gut permeability and subsequently low grade inflammation also the micro-

biome is being investigated as a potential biomarker for treatment response and as a

treatment target

The techniques used for this research effort include mass-spectrometry and targeted

metabolome aspects luminex technology and candidate gene search including mi-

croRNA profiling next generation sequencing and microbiome sequencing

Hormonal disturbances are significant challenges in modern medicine treating com-

mon diseases like thyroid disorders and osteoporosis which affect millions of pa-

tients but also complex pituitary problems adrenal malfunction and hypertension

infertility and associated diseases with metabolic complications as well as pregnan-

cies and mother-child-health Autoimmune phenomena and hormonal analyses asso-

ciated with diagnostic function tests are investigated and specific treatments evaluat-

ed

The Endocrinology Lab Platform with 40 technicians and researchers and the Endo-

crinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz (10000 patients per year)

include routine and research diagnostics and analyses of all current hormonal and

page 7 of 39

NEWS 022014

metabolic parameters in endocrine diseases including biochemical and genetic bi-

omarkers of endocrine disorders In addition to clinical studies such as randomized

controlled trials of candidate therapeutics new research techniques such as next

generation sequencing microRNA detection microbiome phenotyping endocrine

primary cell lines including gonadal ovarian and adrenal cells as potential diagnostic

and individual therapy targets are investigated in thoroughly characterized large pa-

tient cohorts

Biomarkers in Osteology

Bone is not only a static medium but a huge endocrine organ influencing both ener-

gy metabolism via insulin signalling but also fertility via bone hormones Osteoporosis

has been considered as a common metabolic disorder affecting about half of the el-

derly population worldwide with more than 6000 clinical presentations per year in the

Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz as well as patients

with bone and vascular disturbances in chronic kidney disease and hyperparathyroid-

ism

Based on existing cohort samples (~25000 DNA and serum samples) biobanking

samples out of the ongoing K-project BioPersMed (~1300 probands) EU projects

and prospective clinical data and recruitment the Endocrinology Lab Platform vali-

dates bone and cartilage candidate biomarkers based on GWAS and functional data

Using molecular biology mass spectrometry and alternative immunological and radi-

oactive assay techniques as well as cell culture we define a new view on endocrine

bone regulation and its potential therapeutic manipulation as well as companion di-

agnostic biomarkers to select drug treatment for osteoporosis and other metabolic

disorders and to evaluate drug efficacy highly warranted in therapy development

Pharmacokinetics ndash Pharmacodynamics

The application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic techniques has emerged

as a major tool in clinical pharmacology to characterize new drugs andor optimize

drug use by designing rational dosage forms and dosage regimes Based on long-

year experience the Clinical Research Center provides expertise for pharmacokinetic

and pharmaco-dynamics investigations using the following techniques

Conventional glucose clamp technique The glucose clamp technique is regarded as

the gold standard for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic metabolic profiles of

anti-diabetic compounds and insulin sensitivity Since 2002 its use is considered

mandatory by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the development of new

anti-diabetes drugs Glucose clamp studies are technically challenging and labour-

intensive and are therefore offered by only a few specialised centres The technique

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 7 of 39

NEWS 022014

metabolic parameters in endocrine diseases including biochemical and genetic bi-

omarkers of endocrine disorders In addition to clinical studies such as randomized

controlled trials of candidate therapeutics new research techniques such as next

generation sequencing microRNA detection microbiome phenotyping endocrine

primary cell lines including gonadal ovarian and adrenal cells as potential diagnostic

and individual therapy targets are investigated in thoroughly characterized large pa-

tient cohorts

Biomarkers in Osteology

Bone is not only a static medium but a huge endocrine organ influencing both ener-

gy metabolism via insulin signalling but also fertility via bone hormones Osteoporosis

has been considered as a common metabolic disorder affecting about half of the el-

derly population worldwide with more than 6000 clinical presentations per year in the

Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Graz as well as patients

with bone and vascular disturbances in chronic kidney disease and hyperparathyroid-

ism

Based on existing cohort samples (~25000 DNA and serum samples) biobanking

samples out of the ongoing K-project BioPersMed (~1300 probands) EU projects

and prospective clinical data and recruitment the Endocrinology Lab Platform vali-

dates bone and cartilage candidate biomarkers based on GWAS and functional data

Using molecular biology mass spectrometry and alternative immunological and radi-

oactive assay techniques as well as cell culture we define a new view on endocrine

bone regulation and its potential therapeutic manipulation as well as companion di-

agnostic biomarkers to select drug treatment for osteoporosis and other metabolic

disorders and to evaluate drug efficacy highly warranted in therapy development

Pharmacokinetics ndash Pharmacodynamics

The application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic techniques has emerged

as a major tool in clinical pharmacology to characterize new drugs andor optimize

drug use by designing rational dosage forms and dosage regimes Based on long-

year experience the Clinical Research Center provides expertise for pharmacokinetic

and pharmaco-dynamics investigations using the following techniques

Conventional glucose clamp technique The glucose clamp technique is regarded as

the gold standard for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic metabolic profiles of

anti-diabetic compounds and insulin sensitivity Since 2002 its use is considered

mandatory by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the development of new

anti-diabetes drugs Glucose clamp studies are technically challenging and labour-

intensive and are therefore offered by only a few specialised centres The technique

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 8 of 39

NEWS 022014

provides direct pharmacodynamic assessments of a diabetes compound while

pharmacokintic plasmaurine assessments can be performed during any time of the

experiment

Other more specialised glucose clamp techniques for specific scientific questions like

insulin sensi-tivity counter regulatory hormone response or suppression of endoge-

nous glucose production comprise the hyperinsulinemic hyperglycaemic or hypogly-

caemic glucose clamps as well as glucose clamps using tracer glucose infusion

Clinical pharmacokinetic investi-

gations Clinical pharmacokinetic

studies are a gold standard in

phase 1 and 2 to determine

blood time-concentration levels

either in single dose or stead-

ystate situa-tions Besides clini-

cally relevant PK interactions

can be observed during specifi-

cally designed drug interaction

andor longterm investigations

for any drug and for any route of administration At the CRC longterm PK in house

studies to up to 10 consecutive days are performed

Artificial Pancreas

One of the most promising approaches to improve the treatment of diabetes patients

is the use of an artificial pancreas system Such a system typically consists of a glu-

cose monitor an insulin infusion pump and a control algorithm The Medical Universi-

ty of Graz Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabo-

lism has a long history in research and development of artificial pancreas systems

ADICOL (Advanced Insulin Infusion

using a Control Loop

wwwadicolorg) was an EU-funded

project with the aim to develop a

treatment system that continuously

measures and controls the glucose

concentration in subjects with type

1 diabetes In the CLINICIP project

(Closed Loop Insulin Infusion for

Critically Ill Patients -

wwwcliniciporg) metabolic control in critically ill patients was improved by an artificial

pancreas system in order to enhance survival chances in intensive care and to in-

page 9 of 39

NEWS 022014

crease efficiency in clinical practice Currently the Medical University of Graz is

strongly involved in several EU-funded projects related to the development of artificial

pancreas systems In the APHome (Bringing the Artificial Pancreas Home

wwwapathomeeu) project the main focus of the Medical University of Graz is the

development of an artificial pancreas system in which glucose sensing and insulin

delivery are combined at the same tissue site using only one access point through

the skin In the PCDIAB (A Portable bihormonal Closed Loop for Diabetes

wwwpcdiabeu) project an artificial pancreas system is developed in which the infu-

sion pump of the system also delivers glucagon to mimic more closely the functioning

of a healthy pancreas (bi-hormonal artificial pancreas) In this project the main focus

of Medical University of Graz is to integrate the glucagon delivering unit into a single-

port artificial pancreas system and use its subcutaneous cannula also for glucagon

delivery In the SPIDIMAN project (Single‐Port Insulin infusion for improved Diabetes

Management wwwspidimaneu) a single-port artificial pancreas system based on a

novel glucose‐sensing technology invented by JOANNEUM RESEARCH and the

Technical University of Graz is developed First clinical studies on sensor perfor-

mance and closed-loop control will be performed at Medical University of Graz

Contact Univ-Prof Dr Thomas Pieber thomaspiebermedunigrazat

httpinneremedizinuniklinikumgrazatendokrinologie

page 10 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet project presentation

SmartColourTextiles

Research Studios Austria project ldquoSmartColourTextilesrdquo covering the devel-

opment of sensor textiles and sensor non-wovens for diagnostic applications

in medicine

Intelligent textiles represent a future technology for life sciences medical technology

and ambient assisted living In current developments the integration of electronics

into textiles is dominating albeit at present electronics neither are washable sterilis-

able sufficiently flexible nor can be ironed

The task of the present project ldquoSmartColourTextilesrdquo is the creation of a technology

for the highly stable immobilisation of indicator dyes and sensor pigments on fibres

yarns and fabrics Thus it becomes possible to introduce sensor properties into tex-

tiles and wound dressing materials which may find application in medical diagnos-

tics These materials are washable and stable at elevated temperatures have a high

wearing comfort and can be used reversibly JOANNEUM RESEARCH has estab-

lished an internationally renowned expertise in the development of optical sensor de-

vices also including the preparation of indicator dyes and their stable binding to pol-

ymer materials The functional modification of textiles and nonwovens represents a

possibility to realize high-value products in collaboration with the Austrian diagnostics

and wound dressing industry as well as with the fibre and textile industry

In the project new indicator dyes will be developed that for instance can detect me-

tabolites of a bacterial infection (biogenic amines hydrogen sulphide) A clearly visi-

ble colour change of wound dressing materials from green to red will then indicate

when a therapy of the wound is required For a textile application a facecloth can

indicate via colour changes that the washing agent for babies is too alkaline and will

cause skin irritations Essential for the use of smart coloured textiles is the fact that

the indicator dyes are covalently linked to the textiles and non-wovens respectively

Only then a contamination by the dyes can be excluded For a quantitative evalua-

page 11 of 39

NEWS 022014

tion the sensor textiles will be combined with optoelectronic read-out modules (eg

fibre-optics smartphones)

Apart from the synthesis of new functional dyes the production process of smart tex-

tiles will also be investigated Yarns and textiles will be coloured directly and sensor

pigments will be introduced into polymer solutions before the spinning process of the

fibres For textiles where the indicator dyes cannot be covalently attached to (eg

polyester) sensor pigments are embedded into binder polymers and processed via

screen-printing Furthermore nanofibres will be prepared via electro-spinning result-

ing in extraordinary rapid colour changes and sensitivity Cellulose and yarn manu-

facturers textile refiners as well as producers of textiles for hygiene and wound

dressings will be invited to participate in the project

Contact

Dr Gerhard Mohr JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH ndash MATERIALS Franz-Pichler-Strasse 30 A-8160 Weiz Austria E-Mail gerhardmohrjoanneumat web wwwjoanneumatenmaterialshtml

The BioNanoNet member JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH ndash MATERIALS is project leader of the project ldquoSmartColourTextilesrdquo

sensor cotton swab indicator cotton swab

Colour change of a sensor shirt (from red to green) when exposed to acidic sweat on the skin

Colour change of a sensor swab from green to red upon exposure to wound

exudate indicating poor healing

page 11 of 39

NEWS 022014

tion the sensor textiles will be combined with optoelectronic read-out modules (eg

fibre-optics smartphones)

Apart from the synthesis of new functional dyes the production process of smart tex-

tiles will also be investigated Yarns and textiles will be coloured directly and sensor

pigments will be introduced into polymer solutions before the spinning process of the

fibres For textiles where the indicator dyes cannot be covalently attached to (eg

polyester) sensor pigments are embedded into binder polymers and processed via

screen-printing Furthermore nanofibres will be prepared via electro-spinning result-

ing in extraordinary rapid colour changes and sensitivity Cellulose and yarn manu-

facturers textile refiners as well as producers of textiles for hygiene and wound

dressings will be invited to participate in the project

Contact

Dr Gerhard Mohr JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH ndash MATERIALS Franz-Pichler-Strasse 30 A-8160 Weiz Austria E-Mail gerhardmohrjoanneumat web wwwjoanneumatenmaterialshtml

The BioNanoNet member JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH ndash MATERIALS is project leader of the project ldquoSmartColourTextilesrdquo

sensor cotton swab indicator cotton swab

Colour change of a sensor shirt (from red to green) when exposed to acidic sweat on the skin

Colour change of a sensor swab from green to red upon exposure to wound

exudate indicating poor healing

page 12 of 39

NEWS 022014

NanoDiode ndash User Committees

The EU FP 7 project NanoDiode (Developing Innovative Outreach and Dialogue on

responsible nanotechnologies in EU civil society) establishes an innovative coordi-

nated programme for outreach and dialogue throughout Europe to support the effec-

tive governance of nanotechnologies

Within NanoDiode an user committee (UC) will be established which is a platform

enabling the transfer of knowledge exchange of information about new scientific de-

velopments that are expected to enter the market in the form of innovative products

or processes

The aim of UCs is not only to give a voice

to stakeholders and citizens but to also

give them an opportunity to participate in

the innovation process This means they

are involved in Research and Innovation

(RampI) projects where they can provide

their input (ie their preferences wishes

(dis-)approval fears presumptions etc)

on the envisaged products or processes

and to discuss these with the researchers

NanoDiode project aims to operationalize the concept of Responsible Research and

Innovation (RRI) to make the concept understandable and useable for policy and for

researchers innovators and stakeholders for their practical activities User commit-

tees present an opportunity to operationalize the concept of RRI by involving re-

searchers stakeholders and CSOs in the early stages of technology development

and enable constructive dialogue on the diverging interests and visions regarding the

direction of RampD

This project is funded by the EU Framework 7 Programme Grant Agreement Nr 608891

page 13 of 39

NEWS 022014

The focus of the Austrian UC will be on Nanomedicine ndashthe connection of funda-

mental research with industrial application (eg cancer treatment) identification of

building blocks for a precautionary approach for 2nd and 3rd generation nanostruc-

tures pharmaceutical development to solve the question ldquoHow can society benefit

from nanotechnologyrdquo

Timing

The practical activities of the UCs will start towards the end of 2014 The first UC

meetings will preferably take place before the end of 2014 Follow-up sessions will

take place in 2015

Costs

NanoDiode will cover organizational costs and reimburse travel and subsistence

costs for the participants to the UC Personnel costs cannot be reimbursed

Contact

If you are interested in joining the Austrian UC please write a short note to

officebionanonetat

BioNanoNet is project partner of the project NanoDiode

page 13 of 39

NEWS 022014

The focus of the Austrian UC will be on Nanomedicine ndashthe connection of funda-

mental research with industrial application (eg cancer treatment) identification of

building blocks for a precautionary approach for 2nd and 3rd generation nanostruc-

tures pharmaceutical development to solve the question ldquoHow can society benefit

from nanotechnologyrdquo

Timing

The practical activities of the UCs will start towards the end of 2014 The first UC

meetings will preferably take place before the end of 2014 Follow-up sessions will

take place in 2015

Costs

NanoDiode will cover organizational costs and reimburse travel and subsistence

costs for the participants to the UC Personnel costs cannot be reimbursed

Contact

If you are interested in joining the Austrian UC please write a short note to

officebionanonetat

BioNanoNet is project partner of the project NanoDiode

page 14 of 39

NEWS 022014

This project is funded by the EU Framework 7 Programme contract no 310584

NANoREG ndashindustry participation call

The NANoREG FP7 project is a common European approach to the regulatory test-

ing of manufactured nanomaterials More than 60 consortium partners from 15 coun-

tries and a number of non-consortium stakeholders cooperate to identify the most

relevant environmental health and safety (EHS) aspects of nanomaterials in terms of

regulations (wwwnanoregeu)

The main objective of NANoREG is to deliver answers to questions from regulators

and legislators as well as from industry regarding environment health and safety

(EHS) of manufactured nanomaterials NANoREG will

1 Provide legislators with a set of tools for risk assessment and decision making in-

struments for the short to medium term by gathering data and performing pilot risk

assessments including exposure monitoring and control for a selected number of

nanomaterials used in products

2 Develop for the long term new testing strategies adapted to a high number of na-

nomaterials where many factors can affect their environmental and health impact

3 Establish a close collaboration among authorities and industry with regards to the

knowledge required for appropriate risk management and create the basis for

common approaches mutually acceptable datasets and risk management practic-

es

4 Develop safe-by-design approaches to be integrated as parallel process in new

and ongoing innovation projects of industry

page 15 of 39

NEWS 022014

NANoREG furthermore collaborates with industry as an important stakeholder

NANoREGrsquos interest is to learn about the needs of industry as they have to abide by

future regulations and to get confidential access to real EHS data Before publishing

final results and conclusions as a recommendation to regulators the members of the

NANoREG Industry Consultation Committee (NICC) will be asked for their advice

remarks and opinions

Within the first year of NANoREG the structure and procedural documents for indus-

try participation - not partner of the consortium - have been developed NANoREG

offers to industry three levels of participation They differ in the degree of industry

involvement and the degree to which confidential information provided by NANoREG

and from industry will be handled

1 For interested industry and Industry Associations (Isup3A)

Members can provide their questions and needs to reduce risks applying na-

nomaterials in products and processes NANoREG will provide a) the periodic

NANoREG News Letter and b) respective information as soon as publicly

available Isup3A is an informal entity only registration is required

2 Member of the NANoREG Industry Consultation Committee (NICC)

The NICC is the active gateway for the industry to provide their specific needs

and NANoREG will provide specific answers and project results on bidirec-

tional confidentiality The NICC members will have dedicated access to the

NANoREG data platform and the NANoREG toolbox The NICC membership

requires a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a non-disclosure

Agreement (NDA) of both parties

3 Industry as active partner in Value Chain Projects (VCPs) and Working

Groups (WGs)

VCPs and WGs are the most active way to collaborate with the NANoREG

consortium Within an enterprise-specific VCP a) the value chain of a product

will be examined nano specific EHS risks and risk reduction measures will be

provided or b) safe-by-design approaches will be integrated in an ongoing

productprocess innovation project Within a WG the NANoREG experts are

looking at selected spots in a value chain The VCPWG partners will have

dedicated access to the NANoREG data platform and the NANoREG toolbox

Each VCPWG needs as specific project contract to be signed by both parties

page 16 of 39

NEWS 022014

Participation in NANoREG will be beneficial for industry regarding support for their

needs and support on safety aspects of manufactured nanomaterials NANoREG will

give support that only safe products containing nanomaterials will enter the market

For further information please consult wwwnanregeu Interested enterprises or in-

dustry associations can contact their national coordinator (to locate please go to

httpnanoregeuindexphpcontact) or the NANoREG industry coordinator Dr

Volker Bachmann (bachmannvolkerbauabundde)

National coordinator in Austria

Andreas Falk BioNanoNet Contact nanoregbionanonetat

BioNanoNet is project partner of the project NANoREG

page 16 of 39

NEWS 022014

Participation in NANoREG will be beneficial for industry regarding support for their

needs and support on safety aspects of manufactured nanomaterials NANoREG will

give support that only safe products containing nanomaterials will enter the market

For further information please consult wwwnanregeu Interested enterprises or in-

dustry associations can contact their national coordinator (to locate please go to

httpnanoregeuindexphpcontact) or the NANoREG industry coordinator Dr

Volker Bachmann (bachmannvolkerbauabundde)

National coordinator in Austria

Andreas Falk BioNanoNet Contact nanoregbionanonetat

BioNanoNet is project partner of the project NANoREG

page 17 of 39

NEWS 022014

DYNAMITE

DYnamic Network Arranged for Medical Device Innovation

Transfer amp Exploitation

Medical device industry is a very diversified interdisciplinary highly regulated and

cost intensive sector where no successful standard business strategies are available

yet On the contrary every idea or task on the way to a certified product requires cus-

tomized and hand tailored solutions Often SMEs and company founders experience

great difficulties when they get started when they expand their product portfolio or

while exploring new avenues Even good ideas often fail because of missing infor-

mation a lack of resources or knowledge and no experience

A survey done within the project DYNAMITE shows that many ideas for medical de-

vices in Austria remain unrealized because of these hurdles missing know-how

missing information or missing resources

DYNAMITE is an interdisciplinary project initiative which is building up a network that

enables medical device companies and start-ups in Austria to increase their innova-

tion output

The mission of DYNAMITE is to identify specific demands of existing companies and

start-ups and to provide them with the missing key resources by providing a network

that acts as a One-Stop-Shop DYNAMITE shall reactivate all unrealized ideas but

also inspire current developments

The first step within DYNAMITE was to assess critical support demands in the medi-

cal device industry especially for SMEs start-ups and founders One of the key suc-

cess factors is to identify all specific requirements and challenges on the way from

the idea to a medical device at the very first stage Because of the complexity of the

medical device sector it is nearly impossible for branch-unexperienced founders and

page 18 of 39

NEWS 022014

entrepreneurs to overcome this stage by themselves It is not even feasible for them

to adequately acquire all necessary resources and competencies

Most Austrian clusters and networks are not dedicated to the medical device sector

but have their focus on life science in general or other topics and core themes DY-

NAMITE is specifically dedicated to medical devices and is thus going to be the most

focused hands-on network in Austria The planned service portfolio in DYNAMITE

includes the following items fund raising very early interdisciplinary technology as-

sessment and business planning investigation of medical needs reimbursement

regulatory affairs quality- and risk management IPR development technology

scouting clinical investigations manufacturing etc To put the finishing touches to the

network the service portfolio should enable companies to implement and run contin-

uous innovation management for their sustainable success

The project DYNAMITE itself has started in September 2013 and will end in August

2015 - but the network initiative DYNAMITE will subsequently be developed and ex-

tended to increase the innovation output of Austriarsquos medical device industry

For more details please visit the project website wwwdynamite-projectat

The BioNanoNet member JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH ndash HEALTH is leader of the project ldquoDYNAMITErdquo

page 19 of 39

NEWS 022014

The NanoPUZZLES project

In Silico Solutions for NanoParticle Toxicity

At Industrial Technologies 2014 in Athens BioNanoNet met Innobaltica (Poland)

and could initiate cooperation for future research and collaboration projects to foster

business innovative projects Furthermore it was possible to exchange experience

in communication and outreach with Stakeholders between the EU projects Nano-

PUZZLES and NanoDiode to identify needs in nanotechnologies (regarding re-

search priorities etc) Here you find a short introduction to the NanoPUZZLES pro-

ject

NanoPUZZLES project aims to provide a set of resources enabling the modelling

of relationships between

the structure

properties

molecular interactions and

toxicity of engineered nanoparticles (NPs)

that can be applied within industry to design safe and environmentally friendly

nanomaterials

PURPOSE

to significantly reduce the time and cost of risk assessment for novel engi-

neered nanoparticles

to contribute to reduction of extensive animal testing

OBJECTIVE

To develop and deliver the following resourcestools

quality assessed data sets of experimental values (physico-chemical

properties and toxicity of NPs) for modelling

tools for calculating descriptors of nanoparticles structures

page 20 of 39

NEWS 022014

computational protocols for studying the interactions of NPs with biological

systems

new grouping schemes for nanoparticles based on their structure physic-

chemical properties and toxicity

a basis for quantitative modelling of the relationships between the structure

and physico-chemical properties and toxicity of NPs as well as preliminary

nano-QSAR models for selected endpoints

Application of these methods and consideration of the developed data collection will

provide information on the intrinsic properties of the NPs that will lead to an under-

standing of their behaviour in physical processes in the environment and to the de-

velopment of relationships between physicochemical properties and biological activi-

tytoxicity

The project is focussing on two groups of compounds

(i) inorganic engineered nanoparticles (eg metal nanooxides) and

(ii) carbon nanoparticles (carbon nanotubes (single-walled and multiwalled) full-

erenes and fullerene derivatives)

The compounds (i) will illustrate how the hazard of NPs can be comprehensively as-

sessed with the use of computational techniques and (ii) will define a basis for devel-

opment of further modelling techniques for a large variety of nanoparticles

More information on wwwnanopuzzleseu

page 20 of 39

NEWS 022014

computational protocols for studying the interactions of NPs with biological

systems

new grouping schemes for nanoparticles based on their structure physic-

chemical properties and toxicity

a basis for quantitative modelling of the relationships between the structure

and physico-chemical properties and toxicity of NPs as well as preliminary

nano-QSAR models for selected endpoints

Application of these methods and consideration of the developed data collection will

provide information on the intrinsic properties of the NPs that will lead to an under-

standing of their behaviour in physical processes in the environment and to the de-

velopment of relationships between physicochemical properties and biological activi-

tytoxicity

The project is focussing on two groups of compounds

(i) inorganic engineered nanoparticles (eg metal nanooxides) and

(ii) carbon nanoparticles (carbon nanotubes (single-walled and multiwalled) full-

erenes and fullerene derivatives)

The compounds (i) will illustrate how the hazard of NPs can be comprehensively as-

sessed with the use of computational techniques and (ii) will define a basis for devel-

opment of further modelling techniques for a large variety of nanoparticles

More information on wwwnanopuzzleseu

page 21 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet success stories

COST MP1106 -Smart and green interfaces - from single bubbles and drops to industrial environmen-tal and biomedical applications (SGI)

BioNanoNet has been invited to join the COST Action on

smart and green interfaces and will take part as participant in the Working Groups on

Materials Diagnostics and Technology Here you can find a short introduction to

this COST Action

Bubbles and drops are entities of enormous practical interest since their interfaces

are met in numerous industrial processes and applications of everyday life In order

to enhance efficiency the creation of revolutionary Smart interfaces is demanded

interfaces that are easily manipulated with well-controlled size and properties The

acute modern environmental problems require attributing eco-friendly features to

Smart interfaces by incorporating innovative materials or processes The outcome is

Smart and Green (SampG) interfaces

The objective of this Action is to organize a network of groups from academia and

industry in order to identify best strategies and means to produce SampG interfaces

Furthermore state-of-the-art experimental theoretical and numerical work will be

combined to acquire insight into the underlying phenomena through the scales and

across the disciplines for the implementation of SampG interfaces in industrial environ-

mental and biomedical applications

The Actionrsquos main deliverables are the networking between groups working on differ-

ent aspects of SampG interfaces through organization of scientific events training

schools and STSMs and the industrial interface to market new technologies The

professional perspectives of ESRs will be boosted through an extensive mobility pro-

gram The Actionrsquos main benefit is the endorsement of the European scientific and

industrial leadership in this field

page 22 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet retrospect

Industrial Technologies 2014

Smart growth through Research and Innovation 9 - 11 April Athens

Industrial Technologies 2014 was held in the beautiful city of Athens The Industrial

Technologies is Europersquos largest congress for industry researchers and policy mak-

ers in the field of nano materials and production technologies (NMP) and highlighted

this time

Key Enabling Technologies

Demo amp pilot lines

Launch of the new Horizon 2020 work programme for Industrial Technologies and

Smart specialisation and regional development

For more details please visit wwwindustrialtechnologies2014eu

The event was attended by over 1300 dele-

gates among which 150 high-level speakers

presenting nanotechnology biotechnology

advanced materials and new production

technologies In parallel with the conference

the IndustryTech exhibition and a brokerage

day were organized

Conference presentations are now available online at httpowlywu0EF

page 22 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet retrospect

Industrial Technologies 2014

Smart growth through Research and Innovation 9 - 11 April Athens

Industrial Technologies 2014 was held in the beautiful city of Athens The Industrial

Technologies is Europersquos largest congress for industry researchers and policy mak-

ers in the field of nano materials and production technologies (NMP) and highlighted

this time

Key Enabling Technologies

Demo amp pilot lines

Launch of the new Horizon 2020 work programme for Industrial Technologies and

Smart specialisation and regional development

For more details please visit wwwindustrialtechnologies2014eu

The event was attended by over 1300 dele-

gates among which 150 high-level speakers

presenting nanotechnology biotechnology

advanced materials and new production

technologies In parallel with the conference

the IndustryTech exhibition and a brokerage

day were organized

Conference presentations are now available online at httpowlywu0EF

page 23 of 39

NEWS 022014

This project is funded by the EU Framework 7 Programme contract no 310584

NANoREG Workshop

11 April 2014 Athens

Next to Industrial Technologies 2014 we organized the first NANoREG Workshop on

ldquoInnovation and regulatory testing of nanomaterialsrdquo

NANoREG will identify EHS aspects that are most relevant from a regulatory point of

view It will provide tools for testing the EHS aspects and the assessment and man-

agement of the risks to the regulators and other stakeholders To assure that the final

results of the project can be implemented in an efficient and effective way Industry

and Regulators are strongly involved in the project

Key messages of NANoREG

Reducing uncertainty regarding Environmental Health and Safety aspect is es-

sential to capitalize innovative and economic potential of Nanomaterials

Questions and needs of Industry and regulatory community must be leading

Reduce costs for industry by enabling and promoting Safe by Design

We could appreciate the great interest of the par-

ticipants of the workshop in the project proceed-

ings who shared their opinion on the regulatory

testing of nanomaterials as a valuable contribu-

tion to future economic success of nanotechnolo-

gy

Karl Houmlhener presenting at

NANoREG Workshop in Athens

page 24 of 39

NEWS 022014

Annual MP1106 Workshop in Marseille Joint session with COST Action TD1204 Modelling Nano-material Toxicity (MODENA) April 22 - 24 2014

The Smart and Green Interfaces conference

was an interdisciplinary meeting aimed to

promote exchanges between chemists

physicists biologists and engineers on the

most recent achievements in interface

science It focused on both fundamental

science and applied research and offered a

wide forum for new ideas and contributions to challenging topics in the fields of

dispersed systems complex fluids biomedicine pharmaceutics cosmetics

engineered interfaces nanostructured materials food and petroleum industries

BioNanoNet was invited to join the Marseille meeting in order to bring together the

two COST Actions TD1204 and MP1106 Within a poster presentation of MODENA

and participation in the working group meetings valuable contacts have been

established in order to exchange ideas and fiews on the next Horizon 2020 Calls

starting in autumn 2014 Furthermore

Sonja Hartl presented the FP7 project

NanoDiode within an oral contribution and

the poster sessions

Sonja Hartl presenting at SGI meeting in Marseille

page 25 of 39

NEWS 022014

NANoREG ndash 3rd

Consortium Meeting

20 - 21 May 2014 Paris

The 3rd NANoREG Consortium Meeting took place in the city of love ndash Paris More

than 150 representatives of Consortium Partners and representatives of countries

and organisations that collaborate with NANoREG attended the event to discuss the

success stories and forthcoming approaches within the project The meeting was

subdivided into plenary sessions thematic sessions work package meetings task

meetings and workshops

Tom van Teunenbroek

opened the event with a mo-

tivational speech highlighting

the progress of the project

and its next steps He also

welcomed all external partic-

ipants as well as new part-

ners of the project (University of Leeds Envicat Consulting Comet BioTech Institut

Pasteur de Lille and Herriot Watt University)

A new approach within the consortium meeting was the conduction of ldquoElevator

Pitchesrdquo which are opportunities to present the results of a scientific project done un-

der the umbrella of NANoREG in less than 10 Minutes The pitches are meant as an

bdquoappetizerldquo to stimulate further discussion and exchange of information on the pre-

sented topic between partners

Tom van Teunenbroek - opening speech

This project is funded by the EU Framework 7 Programme contract no 310584

page 26 of 39

NEWS 022014

Additionally more than 7 working group meetings and workshops have been orga-

nized in order to foster a targeted discussion amongst the project participants on past

and future tasks

One workshop organized within

the consortium meeting was the

ldquoNANoREG Coordinatorsrsquos

strategy workshop on policy

and regulationrdquo were we invited

regulatory bodies from member

states to discuss regulatory is-

sues on needs expectations

results risk assessment policy making hazard assessment and many more Within

small working groups people had time to discuss pending matters on waste han-

dling environmental impacts novel risk how to address them in existing regulation

how to get regulation to be a co-driving force of innovation New approaches have

been defined and next steps in the project have been set

page 27 of 39

NEWS 022014

7th

International Nanotoxicology Congress nanoTOX 2014 April 23 ndash 26 2014 Antalya ndash Turkey

The nanoTOX 2014 congress created opportunities for participants to present and

share experiences explore new directions and debate topics with experts from

across the globe in the field of nanotoxicology The congress was highly internation-

al More than 500 participants from 42 different countries joined this event to refresh

their knowledge and catch up with the latest developments in this field A series of

lectures on Methods in Nanosafety Research directed to young investigators was

also organized during the Congress

In addition to a dozen project meetings the EU Nanosafety Cluster also organized a

meeting About 500 abstracts were submitted Poster awards were awarded by the

journal Nanotoxicology and prizes for the best short oral presentations were awarded

by ACS-Nano Furthermore NIEHS provided several fellowships to young investiga-

tors from all over the world

Congress Participants - nanoTOX 2014 (c) 7th International Nanotoxicology Congress

page 28 of 39

NEWS 022014

Save the date The 8th International Nanotoxicology Congress ndash nanoTOX 2016 -

will take place in Boston in 2016

awardees

page 29 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet ndash announcements of events

Conference Calendar ndash BioNanoNet on site

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11th Int Conference on Nanosciences amp Nanotechnologies - NN14

When 8 - 11 July 2014

Where Thessaloniki Greece

The NN is the internationally established world-class event in Nanosciences and Nanotech-

nologies (NampN) that focuses on the latest advances on NampN and promotes profound scien-

tific discussions between scientists and researchers from different disciplines

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the NN 14 conference and will represent its members and

promote their expertise to the conference Furthermore BioNanoNet supports NN14 with

the ldquospecial poster award nanotoxicologyrdquo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BioNanoNet strategy meeting amp networking event for BioNanoNet mem-bers

Save the date

When 3 ndash 4 September 2014

Where Laszlignitzhoumlhe Hotel Liebmann

Auditorium

page 24 of 39

NEWS 022014

Annual MP1106 Workshop in Marseille Joint session with COST Action TD1204 Modelling Nano-material Toxicity (MODENA) April 22 - 24 2014

The Smart and Green Interfaces conference

was an interdisciplinary meeting aimed to

promote exchanges between chemists

physicists biologists and engineers on the

most recent achievements in interface

science It focused on both fundamental

science and applied research and offered a

wide forum for new ideas and contributions to challenging topics in the fields of

dispersed systems complex fluids biomedicine pharmaceutics cosmetics

engineered interfaces nanostructured materials food and petroleum industries

BioNanoNet was invited to join the Marseille meeting in order to bring together the

two COST Actions TD1204 and MP1106 Within a poster presentation of MODENA

and participation in the working group meetings valuable contacts have been

established in order to exchange ideas and fiews on the next Horizon 2020 Calls

starting in autumn 2014 Furthermore

Sonja Hartl presented the FP7 project

NanoDiode within an oral contribution and

the poster sessions

Sonja Hartl presenting at SGI meeting in Marseille

page 25 of 39

NEWS 022014

NANoREG ndash 3rd

Consortium Meeting

20 - 21 May 2014 Paris

The 3rd NANoREG Consortium Meeting took place in the city of love ndash Paris More

than 150 representatives of Consortium Partners and representatives of countries

and organisations that collaborate with NANoREG attended the event to discuss the

success stories and forthcoming approaches within the project The meeting was

subdivided into plenary sessions thematic sessions work package meetings task

meetings and workshops

Tom van Teunenbroek

opened the event with a mo-

tivational speech highlighting

the progress of the project

and its next steps He also

welcomed all external partic-

ipants as well as new part-

ners of the project (University of Leeds Envicat Consulting Comet BioTech Institut

Pasteur de Lille and Herriot Watt University)

A new approach within the consortium meeting was the conduction of ldquoElevator

Pitchesrdquo which are opportunities to present the results of a scientific project done un-

der the umbrella of NANoREG in less than 10 Minutes The pitches are meant as an

bdquoappetizerldquo to stimulate further discussion and exchange of information on the pre-

sented topic between partners

Tom van Teunenbroek - opening speech

This project is funded by the EU Framework 7 Programme contract no 310584

page 26 of 39

NEWS 022014

Additionally more than 7 working group meetings and workshops have been orga-

nized in order to foster a targeted discussion amongst the project participants on past

and future tasks

One workshop organized within

the consortium meeting was the

ldquoNANoREG Coordinatorsrsquos

strategy workshop on policy

and regulationrdquo were we invited

regulatory bodies from member

states to discuss regulatory is-

sues on needs expectations

results risk assessment policy making hazard assessment and many more Within

small working groups people had time to discuss pending matters on waste han-

dling environmental impacts novel risk how to address them in existing regulation

how to get regulation to be a co-driving force of innovation New approaches have

been defined and next steps in the project have been set

page 27 of 39

NEWS 022014

7th

International Nanotoxicology Congress nanoTOX 2014 April 23 ndash 26 2014 Antalya ndash Turkey

The nanoTOX 2014 congress created opportunities for participants to present and

share experiences explore new directions and debate topics with experts from

across the globe in the field of nanotoxicology The congress was highly internation-

al More than 500 participants from 42 different countries joined this event to refresh

their knowledge and catch up with the latest developments in this field A series of

lectures on Methods in Nanosafety Research directed to young investigators was

also organized during the Congress

In addition to a dozen project meetings the EU Nanosafety Cluster also organized a

meeting About 500 abstracts were submitted Poster awards were awarded by the

journal Nanotoxicology and prizes for the best short oral presentations were awarded

by ACS-Nano Furthermore NIEHS provided several fellowships to young investiga-

tors from all over the world

Congress Participants - nanoTOX 2014 (c) 7th International Nanotoxicology Congress

page 28 of 39

NEWS 022014

Save the date The 8th International Nanotoxicology Congress ndash nanoTOX 2016 -

will take place in Boston in 2016

awardees

page 29 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet ndash announcements of events

Conference Calendar ndash BioNanoNet on site

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11th Int Conference on Nanosciences amp Nanotechnologies - NN14

When 8 - 11 July 2014

Where Thessaloniki Greece

The NN is the internationally established world-class event in Nanosciences and Nanotech-

nologies (NampN) that focuses on the latest advances on NampN and promotes profound scien-

tific discussions between scientists and researchers from different disciplines

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the NN 14 conference and will represent its members and

promote their expertise to the conference Furthermore BioNanoNet supports NN14 with

the ldquospecial poster award nanotoxicologyrdquo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BioNanoNet strategy meeting amp networking event for BioNanoNet mem-bers

Save the date

When 3 ndash 4 September 2014

Where Laszlignitzhoumlhe Hotel Liebmann

Auditorium

page 25 of 39

NEWS 022014

NANoREG ndash 3rd

Consortium Meeting

20 - 21 May 2014 Paris

The 3rd NANoREG Consortium Meeting took place in the city of love ndash Paris More

than 150 representatives of Consortium Partners and representatives of countries

and organisations that collaborate with NANoREG attended the event to discuss the

success stories and forthcoming approaches within the project The meeting was

subdivided into plenary sessions thematic sessions work package meetings task

meetings and workshops

Tom van Teunenbroek

opened the event with a mo-

tivational speech highlighting

the progress of the project

and its next steps He also

welcomed all external partic-

ipants as well as new part-

ners of the project (University of Leeds Envicat Consulting Comet BioTech Institut

Pasteur de Lille and Herriot Watt University)

A new approach within the consortium meeting was the conduction of ldquoElevator

Pitchesrdquo which are opportunities to present the results of a scientific project done un-

der the umbrella of NANoREG in less than 10 Minutes The pitches are meant as an

bdquoappetizerldquo to stimulate further discussion and exchange of information on the pre-

sented topic between partners

Tom van Teunenbroek - opening speech

This project is funded by the EU Framework 7 Programme contract no 310584

page 26 of 39

NEWS 022014

Additionally more than 7 working group meetings and workshops have been orga-

nized in order to foster a targeted discussion amongst the project participants on past

and future tasks

One workshop organized within

the consortium meeting was the

ldquoNANoREG Coordinatorsrsquos

strategy workshop on policy

and regulationrdquo were we invited

regulatory bodies from member

states to discuss regulatory is-

sues on needs expectations

results risk assessment policy making hazard assessment and many more Within

small working groups people had time to discuss pending matters on waste han-

dling environmental impacts novel risk how to address them in existing regulation

how to get regulation to be a co-driving force of innovation New approaches have

been defined and next steps in the project have been set

page 27 of 39

NEWS 022014

7th

International Nanotoxicology Congress nanoTOX 2014 April 23 ndash 26 2014 Antalya ndash Turkey

The nanoTOX 2014 congress created opportunities for participants to present and

share experiences explore new directions and debate topics with experts from

across the globe in the field of nanotoxicology The congress was highly internation-

al More than 500 participants from 42 different countries joined this event to refresh

their knowledge and catch up with the latest developments in this field A series of

lectures on Methods in Nanosafety Research directed to young investigators was

also organized during the Congress

In addition to a dozen project meetings the EU Nanosafety Cluster also organized a

meeting About 500 abstracts were submitted Poster awards were awarded by the

journal Nanotoxicology and prizes for the best short oral presentations were awarded

by ACS-Nano Furthermore NIEHS provided several fellowships to young investiga-

tors from all over the world

Congress Participants - nanoTOX 2014 (c) 7th International Nanotoxicology Congress

page 28 of 39

NEWS 022014

Save the date The 8th International Nanotoxicology Congress ndash nanoTOX 2016 -

will take place in Boston in 2016

awardees

page 29 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet ndash announcements of events

Conference Calendar ndash BioNanoNet on site

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11th Int Conference on Nanosciences amp Nanotechnologies - NN14

When 8 - 11 July 2014

Where Thessaloniki Greece

The NN is the internationally established world-class event in Nanosciences and Nanotech-

nologies (NampN) that focuses on the latest advances on NampN and promotes profound scien-

tific discussions between scientists and researchers from different disciplines

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the NN 14 conference and will represent its members and

promote their expertise to the conference Furthermore BioNanoNet supports NN14 with

the ldquospecial poster award nanotoxicologyrdquo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BioNanoNet strategy meeting amp networking event for BioNanoNet mem-bers

Save the date

When 3 ndash 4 September 2014

Where Laszlignitzhoumlhe Hotel Liebmann

Auditorium

page 26 of 39

NEWS 022014

Additionally more than 7 working group meetings and workshops have been orga-

nized in order to foster a targeted discussion amongst the project participants on past

and future tasks

One workshop organized within

the consortium meeting was the

ldquoNANoREG Coordinatorsrsquos

strategy workshop on policy

and regulationrdquo were we invited

regulatory bodies from member

states to discuss regulatory is-

sues on needs expectations

results risk assessment policy making hazard assessment and many more Within

small working groups people had time to discuss pending matters on waste han-

dling environmental impacts novel risk how to address them in existing regulation

how to get regulation to be a co-driving force of innovation New approaches have

been defined and next steps in the project have been set

page 27 of 39

NEWS 022014

7th

International Nanotoxicology Congress nanoTOX 2014 April 23 ndash 26 2014 Antalya ndash Turkey

The nanoTOX 2014 congress created opportunities for participants to present and

share experiences explore new directions and debate topics with experts from

across the globe in the field of nanotoxicology The congress was highly internation-

al More than 500 participants from 42 different countries joined this event to refresh

their knowledge and catch up with the latest developments in this field A series of

lectures on Methods in Nanosafety Research directed to young investigators was

also organized during the Congress

In addition to a dozen project meetings the EU Nanosafety Cluster also organized a

meeting About 500 abstracts were submitted Poster awards were awarded by the

journal Nanotoxicology and prizes for the best short oral presentations were awarded

by ACS-Nano Furthermore NIEHS provided several fellowships to young investiga-

tors from all over the world

Congress Participants - nanoTOX 2014 (c) 7th International Nanotoxicology Congress

page 28 of 39

NEWS 022014

Save the date The 8th International Nanotoxicology Congress ndash nanoTOX 2016 -

will take place in Boston in 2016

awardees

page 29 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet ndash announcements of events

Conference Calendar ndash BioNanoNet on site

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11th Int Conference on Nanosciences amp Nanotechnologies - NN14

When 8 - 11 July 2014

Where Thessaloniki Greece

The NN is the internationally established world-class event in Nanosciences and Nanotech-

nologies (NampN) that focuses on the latest advances on NampN and promotes profound scien-

tific discussions between scientists and researchers from different disciplines

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the NN 14 conference and will represent its members and

promote their expertise to the conference Furthermore BioNanoNet supports NN14 with

the ldquospecial poster award nanotoxicologyrdquo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BioNanoNet strategy meeting amp networking event for BioNanoNet mem-bers

Save the date

When 3 ndash 4 September 2014

Where Laszlignitzhoumlhe Hotel Liebmann

Auditorium

page 27 of 39

NEWS 022014

7th

International Nanotoxicology Congress nanoTOX 2014 April 23 ndash 26 2014 Antalya ndash Turkey

The nanoTOX 2014 congress created opportunities for participants to present and

share experiences explore new directions and debate topics with experts from

across the globe in the field of nanotoxicology The congress was highly internation-

al More than 500 participants from 42 different countries joined this event to refresh

their knowledge and catch up with the latest developments in this field A series of

lectures on Methods in Nanosafety Research directed to young investigators was

also organized during the Congress

In addition to a dozen project meetings the EU Nanosafety Cluster also organized a

meeting About 500 abstracts were submitted Poster awards were awarded by the

journal Nanotoxicology and prizes for the best short oral presentations were awarded

by ACS-Nano Furthermore NIEHS provided several fellowships to young investiga-

tors from all over the world

Congress Participants - nanoTOX 2014 (c) 7th International Nanotoxicology Congress

page 28 of 39

NEWS 022014

Save the date The 8th International Nanotoxicology Congress ndash nanoTOX 2016 -

will take place in Boston in 2016

awardees

page 29 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet ndash announcements of events

Conference Calendar ndash BioNanoNet on site

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11th Int Conference on Nanosciences amp Nanotechnologies - NN14

When 8 - 11 July 2014

Where Thessaloniki Greece

The NN is the internationally established world-class event in Nanosciences and Nanotech-

nologies (NampN) that focuses on the latest advances on NampN and promotes profound scien-

tific discussions between scientists and researchers from different disciplines

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the NN 14 conference and will represent its members and

promote their expertise to the conference Furthermore BioNanoNet supports NN14 with

the ldquospecial poster award nanotoxicologyrdquo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BioNanoNet strategy meeting amp networking event for BioNanoNet mem-bers

Save the date

When 3 ndash 4 September 2014

Where Laszlignitzhoumlhe Hotel Liebmann

Auditorium

page 28 of 39

NEWS 022014

Save the date The 8th International Nanotoxicology Congress ndash nanoTOX 2016 -

will take place in Boston in 2016

awardees

page 29 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet ndash announcements of events

Conference Calendar ndash BioNanoNet on site

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11th Int Conference on Nanosciences amp Nanotechnologies - NN14

When 8 - 11 July 2014

Where Thessaloniki Greece

The NN is the internationally established world-class event in Nanosciences and Nanotech-

nologies (NampN) that focuses on the latest advances on NampN and promotes profound scien-

tific discussions between scientists and researchers from different disciplines

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the NN 14 conference and will represent its members and

promote their expertise to the conference Furthermore BioNanoNet supports NN14 with

the ldquospecial poster award nanotoxicologyrdquo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BioNanoNet strategy meeting amp networking event for BioNanoNet mem-bers

Save the date

When 3 ndash 4 September 2014

Where Laszlignitzhoumlhe Hotel Liebmann

Auditorium

page 29 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoNet ndash announcements of events

Conference Calendar ndash BioNanoNet on site

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11th Int Conference on Nanosciences amp Nanotechnologies - NN14

When 8 - 11 July 2014

Where Thessaloniki Greece

The NN is the internationally established world-class event in Nanosciences and Nanotech-

nologies (NampN) that focuses on the latest advances on NampN and promotes profound scien-

tific discussions between scientists and researchers from different disciplines

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the NN 14 conference and will represent its members and

promote their expertise to the conference Furthermore BioNanoNet supports NN14 with

the ldquospecial poster award nanotoxicologyrdquo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BioNanoNet strategy meeting amp networking event for BioNanoNet mem-bers

Save the date

When 3 ndash 4 September 2014

Where Laszlignitzhoumlhe Hotel Liebmann

Auditorium

page 30 of 39

NEWS 022014

In order to stir the future direction of BioNanoNet BioNanoNet invites all partners to a com-bined strategy workshop and BioNanoNet networking event This annual event will present the opportunity to work out the strategic focus of our cooperation identify goals to be reached and to bring forward the Austrian community in the focus areas or even to initiate additional important working groups

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ETP Nanomedicine Annual Event 2014

Save the date

When 15 - 16 October 2014

Where San Sebastian Spain

Further information on this event location and preliminary programme will be released soon For more information please visit wwwetp-nanomedicineeu

For more details please visit httpnnconfphysicsauthgr

BioNanoNet will be on site at the ETP Nanomedicine Annual Event 2014 and will repre-sent its members and promote their expertise to this event

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 31 of 39

NEWS 022014

Conference Calendar ndash general announcements -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5th International NANOMEDICINE Conference

When 30 June ndash 2 July 2014

Where Coogee Beach Crowne Plaza Hotel Sydney Australia

As with previous years the great Australian hospitality will make this a conference to re-

member including social and networking activities that are aimed at forging collaboration

and exploring ideas though multidisciplinary approaches But it will be the presentation of

research that will again be the star of this conference

All researchers be they from medicine chemistry or science that work in the nanomedicine

field are acutely aware of the great need to prevent and cure diseases which have emo-

tional social and economic ramifications

This year we will again have special programs to encourage Early Career Researches in to

present their work Added to this if you are interested in submitting an abstract for either

oral or poster please visit wwwoznanomedorg

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nanofair 2014

When 1 ndash 3 July 2014

Where International Congress Center Dresden Germany

The Nanofair 2014 is one of the most established conferences on nanotechnology in Eu-

rope Plenary lectures by internationally renowned speakers and contributed oral presenta-

tions as well as an exhibition running concurrently to the conference will offer delegates

excellent opportunities to become acquainted with the latest developments or research re-

sults A poster session will complement the comprehensive technical program

The conference will focus on highly topical trends in the field of nanotechnology Special

emphasis will be given to the topics functional nanocomposites nanostructured surfaces

nanomaterials for life sciences nanomaterials for energy applications nanoelectronics amp

photonics processing aspects of nanomaterials nanoanalytical methods carbon nano-

tubes amp grapheme

Contact Birgit Schaub (phone +49 351 83391-3323 e-mail nanofairiwsfraunhoferde in

case of any questions For further information please visit wwwnanofaircom

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 32 of 39

NEWS 022014

2nd Dresden Nanoanalysis Symposium

When 2 ndash 3 July 2014

Where Congress Center Dresden

The second Dresden Nanoanalysis Symposium will be jointly organized with the 10th

Nanofair by the Dresden Center for Nanoanalysis at Technical University Dresden and the

Dresden Fraunhofer Cluster Nanoanalyis

The workshop will provide a forum for presenting current research and for discussions on

issues related to nanoanalysis and its applications in materials science and engineering

advanced electronics energy research and other fields Following the spirit of previous

workshops new research results and advances in basic understanding will be emphasized

Participants of the 2nd DNS are also invited to visit the Nanofair 2014 event

For more details please click here

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

H2020 Health European Brokerage Event

When July 4 2014

Where Lyon France

The National Contact Points for Health Lyonbiopole the Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry of Lyon member of Enterprise Europe Network with the support of the Rhocircne-Alpes Region organize a European Brokerage Event for the H2020 ldquoHealth demographic change and wellbeingrdquo 2015 calls

The purpose of the event is

to have the opportunity to meet companies and laboratories to discuss about project ideas This will take place during pre-arranged bilateral meetings aiming at paving the way for future coop-eration and H2020 project proposals

to help you understand what is behind and what is expected from Health calls 2015 to be launched in July 2014 (pre-announced deadline for project submission in October 2014)

For more details please visit wwwb2matcheuh2020-health-lyon2014

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 33 of 39

NEWS 022014

NANO 2014

When 13 ndash 18 July 2014

Where Moscow Russia

The XII international conference on Nanostructured Materials (NANO 2014) is one of the largest top-rated international congresses bringing together a World community of scientists and engineers interested in recent developments on nanostructured materials in various renowned areas NANO 2014 is organized by Lomonosov Moscow State University For more details please visit the event website

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HTFF14

International Conference on Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow

When 11 - 12 August 2014

Where Prague Czech Republic

HTTF14 is aimed to become one of the leading international annual conferences in the fields of Heat Transfer and Fluid Mechanics This conference will provide excellent oppor-tunities to the scientists researchers industrial engineers and university students to pre-sent their research achievements and to develop new collaborations and partnerships with experts in the field For more details please visist httpHTFFconferencecom

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MMME14

International Conference on Mining Material and Metallurgical Engineering

When 11 - 12 August 2014

Where Prague Czech Republic

MMME14 is a comprehensive conference for sharing information experiences and ad-vances in various theoretical and applied aspects of mining material and metallurgical engineering We believe that the wide-ranging conferences such as MMME can have sig-nificant impacts by bringing together experts from the related different and often separated fields which help create unique opportunities for collaborations and shaping new ideas for experts and researchers For more details please visit httpMMMEconferencecom

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 34 of 39

NEWS 022014

ICPER14

4th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation

When 11 ndash 13 August 2014

Where Prague Czech Republik

The aim of ICEPR14 is to bring together the Canadian and international community work-ing in the field of environmental sciences engineering and technology and to foster an environment conducive to present advances in this field This conference will also provide a golden opportunity to develop new collaborations and gather world experts on the different topics including pollution detection environmental remediation and pollution prevention Through the third conference a great opportunity to share knowledge and expertise will be created by taking advantage of the synergy that was formed in preceding conferences ICEPR14 will include invited keynote talks oral presentation sessions and poster sessions who will demonstrate new and exciting research in the fields

For more details please visit httpiceprorg

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ICNFA14

5th International Conference on Nanotechnology Fundamentals and Applications

When 11 ndash 13 August 2014

Where Prague Czech Republic

The aim of ICNFA14 is to bring together the Canadian and International community work-ing in the field of nanotechnology to foster an environment conducive to present advance-ments in Nanotechnology This conference will also provide an ideal opportunity to develop new collaborations and partnerships with experts in the field This years conference guar-antees to be a great occasion to share knowledge and contribute to the ever-growing scien-tific world on Nanotechnology ICNFA14 will take advantage of the synergy of previous years conferences and will continue to move forward in the field of Nanotechnology IC-NFA14 will provide keynote talks oral presentations sessions and poster sessions that will demonstrate new information and research in regards to Nanotechnology

For more details please visit httpicnfacom

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 35 of 39

NEWS 022014

Nanoforum

When 22 ndash 25 September 2014

Where Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering Sapienza University of Rome

At the link wwwnanoforumiten you can find further information about the last edition of the event that is still growing as confirmed by its positive trend and by some feedbacks re-ceived from participants and exhibitors

Nanoforum 2013 has involved more than 100 high-qualified Speakers coming from the ac-ademic and industrial world In the expo-area the participants got in touch with more than 30 exhibitors and sponsor The three days conference registered 813 total presences among them 173 companies and institutions from Italy and foreign countries Furthermore we remember to those who are interested in publishing their own research (in English lan-guage) as scientific article on AIP Conference Proceedings of American Institute of Physics that the deadline for the submission of the material is fixed on the 30th December 2013

The proceedings must be sent by email to Prof Marco Rossi Department of Basic and ap-plied sciences for Engineering Sapienza University of Rome email marcoros-siuniroma1it An economic contribution for a partial cover of the editorial and printing expenses for the publication is required The fee also includes one copy of the book

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LET`S 2014

Leading Enabling Technolgies for Societal Challenges

When 29 Sept - 1 Oct 2014

Where Bologna

The LETS 2014 Conference will bring together 1000 delegates from private and public research SMEs industry and policy in the fields of nanotechnology biotechnology ad-vanced materials manufacturing and processing The event will provide valuable opportu-nities to network find new partners and collaborations and keep up-to-date with the cut-ting-edge research industrial news and innovation in Europe and beyond

The main focus of the event is exploring the role of the Key Enabling Technologies in fac-ing the Societal Challenges pinpointed by Horizon 2020

For more information please visit wwwlets2014eu

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 36 of 39

NEWS 022014

ic-cmtp3 amp is-icm1 amp is-icbm1

When 6 - 10 October 2014

Where Hunguest Hotel Palota Lillafured Miskolc at Lillafured Hungary

You are invited to submit an abstract to the following conferences

The 3rd International Conference on Competitive Materials and Technology Pro-cesses (ic-cmtp3) The 1st International Symposium on Innovative Construction Materials (is-icm1) The 1st International Symposium on Innovative Carbon Based Materials (is-icbm1)

Early registration fees are applicable only if your payment has been realized not later than April 30th 2014 Registration and abstract submission to the above three scientific events are available in the website wwwic-cmtp3eu

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NANOPL 2014 amp International InnoTech Fair

Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials for Innovative Industry

When 16 - 17 October 2014

Where Kielce

The conference will foster industrial applications of nanotechnology and advanced materi-als as well as help researchers from academia to select topics important for industry For more information please visit httplabnanoplNanoPL

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NanoCON 2014

When 5 ndash 7 November 2014

Where Brno Czech Republic

Session A ndash preparation and properties of nanostructures Session B ndash industrial and environmental applications of nanomaterials Session C ndash bionanotechnology nanomaterials in medicine Session D ndash health safety and environment challenges Session E ndash standardization metrology and characterization of nanomaterials

Poster session Posters applications focused on nanotechnologies and nanomaterials with-out limitation will be accepted For more details please visit the event webpage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 37 of 39

NEWS 022014

NANOSAFE 2014 Conference

When 18 ndash 20 November 2014

Where Minatec Grenoble

4th International Conference on Safe Producation and Use of Nanomaterials

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS The deadline for Abstract Submission is July 15 2014 Notification of acceptance September 8 2014 Full manuscript submission November 14 2014 Abstracts have to be submitted online at wwwnanosafeorg

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st International Conference nanoFIS 2014

When 3 ndash 5 December 2014

Where Graz Austria

You are invited to submit your scientific work for the 1st International Conference nanoFIS 2014 ndash Functional Integrated nanoSystems CALL FOR PAPERS IS OPEN All scientists wishing to present recent novel RampD results related to the topics of the conference are invited to submit an abstract for oral or poster presentation

TOPICS ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS NANOSENSORS SYSTEM INTE-GRATION amp PACKAGING RELIABILITY INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

CALL FOR EXHIBITORS nanoFIS 2014 serves as an excellent platform to present your companyinstitution to promote your product portfolio and to establish direct links to a broad audience of experts By becoming an exhibitor or sponsor you will make a great con-tribution to support the nanoFIS 2014 conference

IMPORTANT DATES Deadline for oral abstracts 2 Sept 2014 Deadline for poster abstracts 12 Nov 2014 End of early registration 22 Sept 2014 End of online registration 26 Nov 2014

Please turn to wwwnanofisnet for all information regarding the nanoFIS 2014

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 38 of 39

NEWS 022014

BioNanoMed Conference 2015

Save the date

When 8 ndash 10 April 2015

BioNanoMed 2014 in Krems was a real success

The 5th International BioNanoMed 2014 Congress organized by Techkonnex ndash High-Tech Promotion in collaboration with the Danube University Krems BioTec Area Krems and Uni-versity of Applied Sciences (26-28 March 2014) was again a remarkable success

The BioNanoMed has finally established as an internationally recognized congress for the NanoBioMedicine-Community

Consequently the next BioNanoMed Congress 2015 is scheduled for April 2015

More information will soon be available on wwwbionanomedat

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7th International Symposium on Nanotechnology Occupational Safety and Environmental Health

Save the date

When 18 ndash 22 October 2015

Where Legend Safari Resort Waterberg Region South Africa

Pre-congress workshops will be held on October 18 The aim of the congress is to discuss health and safety issues surrounding nanoparticles and nanotechnologies To provide insight into the research and actions for assuring the safety and therefore future success of nanotechnologies For more information please contact Londocor Event Management leighlondocorcoza ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ JEP 2015

4th edition of the European Symposium on Photocatalysis

Save the date

When December 2015

Where Paris France

More information will soon be available on wwwphotocatalysis-federationeujep2015

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

page 39 of 39

NEWS 022014

Finally

We would like to thank the following persons for their contributions for this BioNanoNet

newsletter

Univ Prof Dr Thomas Pieber (MEDICAL UNIVERSITY GRAZ) Dr Gerhard Mohr

(JOANNEUM RESEARCH) Ing Joachim Priedl BSc MA (JOANNEUM RESEARCH)

and Prof Bengt Fadeel (KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET)

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to give us any suggestions or feed-

back

Contact Andreas Falk andreasfalkbionanonetat phone +43 664 602 876 4030

BioNanoNet Forschungsgesellschaft mbH

in the Center for Knowledge- and Technology-Transfer in Medicine Stiftingtalstraszlige 2 A-8010 Graz

phone +43 316 876 4011 website wwwbionanonetat e-mail officebionanonetat

YOUR BIONANONET TEAM

(from the left) Simone Jagersbacher - Nikolaus Ladenhauf ndash

Gabriele Katz - Birgit Krassnitzer ndash Patricia Junk - Andreas Falk ndash Sonja Hartl