Overview of caNanoLab

The cancer Nanotechnology Laboratory portal (caNanoLab) is a portal designed to facilitate data sharing in the research community to expedite and validate the use of nanoparticles in biomedicine. caNanoLab provides support for the annotation of nanoparticles with characterizations resulting from physical and in vitro nanoparticle assays and the sharing of these characterizations and associated nanotechnology protocols in a secure fashion.

Project Collaboration

caNanoLab is a collaboration between the NCI Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT), the NCI Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL), and the NCI Cancer Centers of Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNEs).

caNanoLab Users Group

caNanoLab is currently deployed at the NCL, Washington University, Stanford, and George Tech. Future caNanoLab feature requests are obtained by working with the nanotechnology community through the caNanoLab Users Group and the caBIG Integrative Cancer Research (ICR) Nanotechnology (Nano) Working Group. The caBIG ICR Nano Working group is aimed at developing a vision for nanoinformatics and is composed of members from the NCL, CCNEs, and other members of the nanoinformatics community.

To subscribe to the caNanoLab Users Group, subscribe through the NIH Listserv to the caNanoLab Users discussion forum: CANANOLAB-USERS-L@list.nih.gov. Users Group meetings occur the 3rd Friday of every month from 1:30PM-2:30PM EST. caNanoLab Users Group presentations are available on the caNanoLab project site. To join the caNanoLab Users Group, please contact Sharon Gaheen (gaheens@mail.nih.gov).

Common Data Element (CDE) and Terminology Development

caNanoLab is engineered for caBIG compliance in support of semantic interoperability across centers performing nanoparticle characterization studies. caNanoLab is based on an initial information model representing nanoparticles and their physical and in vitro characterization. All classes and attributes within the model are maintained in the NCI's cancer Data Standards Repository (caDSR) and Enterprise Vocabulary Services (EVS). The NCI's EVS team provides assistance in curating concept definitions with the community. These concept definitions are available in the NCI Thesaurus and a glossary of these terms is provided within caNanoLab application. EVS also provides the Biomedical Grid Terminology (BiomedGT) Collaborative Ontology Development Wiki, a tool enabling open collaborative terminology development. The BiomedGT Wiki includes terminology in the nanotechnology domain.

The caNanoLab information model also leverages concepts from the Nanoparticle Ontology (NPO) developed by Washington University which is made available via the National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO) BioPortal.

CDE and terminology development is an ongoing process within caNanoLab as standards supporting nanotechnology in biomedicine are emerging. CDE and terminology development that is currently ongoing in discussion with the community includes:

• In Vivo Characterizations - Characterizations performed on nanoparticles to determine the safety, efficacy, and toxicokinetic properties of nanoparticles in animal models so that these particles can be transitioned for use in clinical applications.
• Instruments and Techniques - Instruments and techniques leveraged in performing nanoparticle characterizations.

The focus of CDE and terminology development is re-use of existing biomedical standards maintained in the NCI's EVS and the creation of new concepts, when needed, via interaction with the community and other standards organizations.

If you would like to participate in discussions regarding the identification and development of biomedical nanotechnology concepts, please contact Sharon Gaheen (gaheens@mail.nih.gov).

Using the caNanoLab Wiki

This is the wiki home page of caNanoLab. Collaborators may edit this page and add more pages. If you can see the link at the bottom of the page, you may add comments.