Jul 3 2008
Manhattan Scientifics announced today that it has acquired Metallicum, Inc. and its licensed patented technology. The announcement came from MHTX's affiliate Albuquerque factory, where New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman said, "I believe the merger of Manhattan Scientifics with Metallicum will have a very positive effect on New Mexico and the country. The lightweight nano metals the company will produce will have the potential to revolutionize a whole range of industries, from transportation to health care. This merger is another great example of how our national laboratories can partner with the private sector and create vital jobs while meeting some of our nation's most pressing needs."
The transaction includes all of Metallicum's licensed intellectual property related to the design and high-volume nano-fabrication of nano-structuring metals for medical components as well as for transportation applications. The Company intends to establish manufacturing partner relationships with major Fortune 500 metals companies. "Our business plan includes strategic partnering with significant customers in the medical device & prosthetics industries as well as in auto, truck, & aircraft manufacturing industries," said Marvin Maslow, founder & chairman emeritus of Manhattan Scientifics. "We are working towards regaining our full-reporting SEC status and trading on the OTC board."
Company CEO Manny Tsoupanarias commented, "With the acquisition of Metallicum, Manhattan Scientifics is re-inventing itself as a 'green company.' This move is intended to enable us to accomplish our goal of profitability for our shareholders."
The Metallicum division will produce and license the super strong metals using nano-technology developed by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in conjunction with their colleagues in Russia. "The advantages are easy to understand because a stronger metal means using less material for the same purpose. Less material translates to lighter weight and reduced environmental impact. For example, a lighter weight car uses less gas," said Terry Lowe, Ph.D., co-inventor of the nano-structured metals process, president and chief scientist of the Metallicum division. Lowe continued, "A lightweight industrial metal, like aluminum, can be manufactured to have the strength of steel. The technology is expected to trim thousands of pounds from airplanes and hundreds of pounds from cars without sacrificing structural strength or adding significant cost. The fuel savings to the American public will be significant as will the number of jobs created for Americans, particularly in New Mexico."
Dr. Lowe added, "A big airplane like a B747 has about 100,000 pounds of titanium in its construction. We believe our nano metals could reduce that weight by about 5% or 5,000 pounds."(1)
The nanostructured metals have wide implications for use in the medical device and prosthetics industries including dental implants, replacements for hips, shoulders, knees and cardio vascular stents. Clinical studies have already shown that bone integrates with these new metals up to 20 times faster. This means faster healing after surgery and ultimately longer lifetimes for nano-structured metals implants. Maslow added, "People are living longer and we need new parts. The biological acceptance of Nano Titanium by the human body is stunning."
Donald J. Sandstrom, a member of the MHTX science team and former senior leader of Materials Science and Technology Division at the Los Alamos Laboratory added, "New technologies are the life blood of the American society. During the most recent decades the technological achievements in electronics, beginning with the transistor, and the computer have all been driven by some new material, or understanding of materials behavior that has allowed these advances to be made. We are now poised on the edge of another exceptional materials breakthrough. Nanomaterials promise to lead the way in the improvement in structural materials, materials for wear resistance, and most recently, biomaterials and nano-structured titanium will lead the way!"
The nano-structuring process was developed through a U.S. Department of Energy program that brings together its national laboratories, U.S. companies, and FSU institutes to redirect the efforts of scientists who formerly worked on nuclear weapons and related military technologies.