A state-of-the-art high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) has been purchased by the Department of Science and Technology, South Africa. This instrument will boost nanotechnology research in Africa.
The HRTEM will also enable researchers to perform material analysis at the atomic level. It is ideal for applications in a wide range of fields, including metallurgy, geology, chemistry, and materials engineering.
While speaking at the International Workshop on Nanomedicine for Infectious Diseases of Poverty that was held in Magaliesberg, Naledi Pandor, Science and Technology Minister, said that the HRTEM instrument will be commissioned during the second half of 2011 and will be installed in the new microscopy center at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
The department has established two nanotechnology innovation centers. One center is located at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria and the other in Johannesburg.
Among the list of possibilities presented by nanotechnology, it is credited with the potential to dramatically improve the condition of the world's poorest people. Nanotechnological innovations can help fight disease, provide cleaner water and clean energy sources, improve food production, and make the transport of goods easier and cheaper to people in remote regions.
Pandor also congratulated the CSIR at the International Workshop for the significant progress made in encapsulating four first-line TB drugs in nano-polymer by using a recently patented technology. He said that competence has been developed in the area of nano-encapsulated drug delivery systems.
Source: http://www.dst.gov.za/