1. GOOD-FOOD Workshop: "Ambient Intelligence for Food Quality and Safety"
Firenze (Italy), November 15^th and 16^th, 2005

Event Description
GoodFood, in collaboration with the University of Florence and the European Commission, announces the celebration of a 2-day open event devoted to the application of wireless sensor networks and micro&nano technologies to the Agrofood field. The event will feature specific talks for fruit and wine sectors including the GoodFood vineyard pilot site Demo.
Details on the Workshop are available on the GoodFood web-site:www.goodfood-project.org
(...more details)

2. 4M NoE Workshop "Micro/nano engineering: technology and applications" in conjuction with the "7th Workshop on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology"
24-26, November, 2005, Sofia, Bulgaria

TOPICS

- Micro/nano engineering: technology and applications

• Sensors and Actuators
• Assembly and Packaging 
• Macro and Nano Manipulations 
• Metrology and Optics 
• Micro-fluidics
• Micro-Manufacture and CAD/CAM 

- 7th Workshop on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

• Theory, Modelling and Simulations : Nanoscale Materials, Processes
• Clusters, Nanoparticles, Composites
• Thin Films,Superlayers, Quantum Dots, Nanowires
• Nanophases in bulk materials. Nanocomposites.
• Bioinspired concepts and medical applications
• Micro and nano engineering (4M Workshop)

(...more details)

3. Announcement from NANO2LIFE Network: At this moment we have an open position for a PhD student.  Within the Netherlands PhD students are employees and are paid as such: E 1877,- a month in the first year till E 2407 in the final year (gross income).

Single protein visualization using a fluorescent nanocomponent
Description of the project:
Current state-of-the-art visualization of proteins in living cells makes use of labeling with small organic dyes, quantum dots, etc. In recent years, methods have become available to target organic dyes to proteins, but visualization of single proteins in living cells is not practical in these systems due to low signal of individual dye molecules and bleaching for example. Quantum dots show high intensity and decreased photobleaching, but problems occur in targeting and stoichiometry. This project is expected to combine the stoichiometry and selectivity of organic systems with the brightness of Quantum Dots for the first time.

The project will be aimed to develop an organic fluorescent nanocomponent (label) containing several fluorescent molecules and a reactive group for conjugation to a protein. The fluorecent nanocomponent will be studied down to the single molecular level for its (photo)physical properties. Attention in these studies will be focused on fluorescent properties and biocompatibility of this system with living cells. The next stage in this project will be the in vitro study of proteins at a single molecule level. Finally, the knowledge from all above experiments can be combined to rationally design an organic nanocomponent that can be employed to monitor single proteins in living cells.

This project will carried out in close collaboration between the Supramolecular Chemistry and Technology (SMCT) and the Biophysical Engineering (BPE) groups.

For more information on this position, please go to: http://www.mesaplus.utwente.nl/bionano/Projects/bionanosensors/
Martin Bennink; Program director Bionanotechnology; MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology; Univ of Twente; Enschede, NL