Merck KGaA enters nanotech R&D accord

Germany's Merck KGaA has entered an alliance with privately-held US nanotechnology firm Nano Terra to bring to market innovative, nanotechnology-based products and solutions.

Under the terms of the deal, Nano Terra will develop solutions with Merck to create new physical properties in specialty chemicals, currently manufactured and sold by the latter. These new properties are made possible through nano-scale, molecular fabrication methods. The new solutions will allow Merck's proprietary materials to be used with significantly greater precision and control, and allow for new applications at reduced economic levels never before possible.

The development work will be done primarily at Nano Terra's laboratory facilities in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, with close cooperation of a Merck scientific team. Local support for the alliance will be provided by EMD Chemicals, Merck's North American affiliate.