Our Mission

The goals of the Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Initiative [SNNI] are to develop new nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing approaches that offer a high level of performance, yet pose minimal harm to human health or the environment.

Green Nanotechnology

Research under the Initiative merges the principles of green chemistry and nanoscience to produce safer nanomaterials and more efficient nanomanufacturing processes in the context of producing nanoparticles and nanostructured materials for applications in fields such as in photovoltaics, nanoelectronics and sensing.

Working Together

The Initiative brings together chemists, biologists, materials scientists and engineers from the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute [ONAMI] to pioneer new approaches to the design, production and use of nanomaterials. SNNI has been developed in partnership with and funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Research to Innovation Enterprises and Facilities

We offer highly collaborative opportunities and services for industry, government laboratories and academia through affiliated services, conference series, research to innovation enterprises, research centers and the Nanomaterials Interactions Knowledgebase (NBI). For more infomation visit our Research or Services links.

Nanomaterials-Biological Interactions Knowledgebase (NBI)

Researchers within SNNI are developing a collaborative knowledgebase of Nanomaterial-Biological Interactions (NBI).  The NBI knowledgebase will serve as a repository for annotated data on nanomaterial characterization (e.g. purity, electronic and photonic properties, size, shape, charge, composition, functionalization, agglomeration state, etc.), synthesis methods, and nanomaterial-biological interactions (i.e. beneficial, benign or deleterious) defined at multiple levels of biological organization (e.g. molecular, cellular, or organismal); thus providing the framework to conduct species, route, dose and scenario extrapolations and identify key data required to predict the biological interactions of nanomaterials.