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Saturday, 12/27/2003 8:08:49 AM

Saturday, December 27, 2003 8:08:49 AM

Post# of 312765
Here's a sample NANO article..
and a few some symbols so far..

NVEC
NANX
NANO
NGEN

As Nanotechnology Gains Visibility, Venture Capital Begins Coming In
By BARNABY J. FEDER

Published: December 22, 2003



Peter Thompson for The New York Times
Stephen S. Nazarian made a presentation for Integrated Nano-Technologies at NanoCommerce, a trade show in Chicago.

it may take sophisticated microscopes to see nanotechnology's products, but the money pouring into the field is hard to miss.

The industry gained new visibility on Dec. 3 when President Bush signed a law authorizing federal research and development subsidies of $3.7 billion over the four years, beginning next October. The Oval Office photo opportunity for nanotechnology, coincidentally, came the same day that Nanogen, one of a handful of publicly traded start-ups, disclosed that it had received a patent for a nanoscale manufacturing method that it said could be used to make advanced microchips and flat-panel displays. Nanogen's stock more than doubled that day, leading the sector higher.

Entrepreneurs say that the nanotechnology investment climate is warming up just in time to meet their growing capacity to put investors' money to work expanding research and bringing innovations to market.

"We are really close to the takeoff point where the industry could absorb a lot of money," said David Ludvigson, chief financial officer of Nanogen, a 10-year-old developer of tools for genetic testing that is one of the few nanotech start-ups to go public before the bursting Internet bubble soured investors on technology stocks.

Nanotechnology draws its name from the nanometer, which is a billionth of a meter, or 100,000 times as thin as a human hair. Individual molecules, tiny organisms like viruses and the smallest features of products like microchips operate in a nanoscale landscape.

Many industries used nanoscale products and processes decades before the term nanotechnolgy became a recognized concept on Wall Street. In the 1930's, for example, Kodak figured out how to insert a layer of nanoscale silver particles in its film to filter light. But nanotechnology did not catch the fancy of investors until the 1990's, when ingenious new software and computer-controlled tools expanded the possibilities for manipulating small-scale processes, designing new materials and accurately measuring their performance.

The new generation of nanomaterials is already taking commercial root. Nanoscale clay particles strengthen car bodies. Coatings made with aluminum-titanium nanoparticles add to the durability of boiler components and submarine periscopes for the Navy. Carbon nanotubes add stiffness to Babolat tennis rackets. And pants are being made with techniques that alter the structure of cotton to create nanoscale whiskers that make the fabric more stain resistant.

Analysts say that such developments are simply a hint of what is to come in nanotechnology, which the National Science Foundation predicts will contribute $1 trillion a year to the United States economy by 2015.

Such forecasts matter to policymakers, but pioneers with products to sell are focusing on the immediate challenges of building their businesses.

"The timing is good for taking our company to the next level," said Dr. David Reisner, chief executive of Inframat, a privately held company in Farmington, Conn., that uses nanomaterials in producing specialty coatings. After six years of existing primarily on research grants from the Defense Department, Inframat expects to raise $6 million to $8 million next year from venture capitalists or large private-sector customers to expand operations.

Dr. Reisner was one of numerous executives at NanoCommerce, a trade show in Chicago earlier this month, who said they planned to seek new investments in the coming months, in some cases tens of millions of dollars.

Integrated Nano-Technologies, based in Henrietta, N.Y., might pursue as much as $30 million from venture capitalists next year, said Stephen S. Nazarian, the company's spokesman. Integrated has developed prototypes of a portable system that quickly identifies biological agents like anthrax when they bind to fragments of DNA it mounts on a microchip. But Mr. Nazarian said that the company, which has relied so far on individual investors, thinks that potential business partners might be a better bet than venture capitalists to finance the next stage of its expansion.

"We have had a lot of unsolicited interest from Asian governments and potential distributors of products using the technology," Mr. Nazarian said.





My posts my opinion only, make your own financial decisions.

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