National Institute for Nanotechnology

 The National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) is a Canadian research institution located on the University of Alberta main campus, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Its primary purpose is nanotechnological research.

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The institute was established in 2001 as a partnership between the National Research Council of Canada and the University of Alberta, and is funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta and the university. In June 2006, the institute moved into their present 20,000 square metre facility, designed to be one of the world's largest buildings for nanotechnological research.^[1] There are at most two or three other facilities worldwide matching the new building in scale and capacity.^[2]

According to NINT's research plan,^[3] the institute's research focus is in the following areas:

• Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystals and nanowires
• Synthesis of supramolecular-based nanomaterials
• Fabrication and characterization of molecular-scale devices and nanosensors
• Development of nano-scaled materials for catalysis and directed chemical reactions at semiconductor surfaces
• Development of nano-electronic and nano-fluidic systems to interface devices to the outside world
• Theory, modelling, and simulation of nanosystems on multiple length scales
• Development of quantitative imaging and characterization techniques that support nanotechnology research

The work is focused around four interdisciplinary research groups:

• Molecular scale development
• Supramolecular nanoscale assembly
• Materials and interfacial chemistry
• Theory and modelling

References