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GREENSBORO — A $2.5 million grant to explore commercial uses of nanotechnology research could mean more support for UNCG and N.C. A&T’s Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering.

The four-year grant to the Center of Innovation in Nanobiotechnology (COIN) comes from the Raleigh-based North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

The center wants to link work in university labs across the state with businesses that can use the new science. The grant money will be paid as certain goals are reached.

Nanotechnology involves structures between one and 100 nanometers in size — about 10,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. North Carolina companies are working on nanoparticles to treat disease by carrying new genes to certain cells, and sunlight-powered nanoscale coatings that kill microbes on hard surfaces and fabrics.

“Nano is an enabling science across a very broad range, from biology to electronics,” said Jim Ryan, dean of the joint school. “We’re seeing applications now in various types of cancer therapies.”

UNCG Chancellor Linda Brady said those changes are putting emphasis on the science being done at the state’s universities as more industries see its commercial value. Brady predicts more grants as the school grows.

“It’s extremely important for us to concentrate on commercialization,” Brady said. “If we can bring science from the lab into the economy, creating new businesses, that’s good for the universities and it’s good for the communities who benefit from these new industries.”

As the state budget crisis continues to unfold and cuts at the state’s 16 public universities become deeper, Ryan said there is concern about effects on the burgeoning joint school. But Ryan said the school’s initial funding helped get it rolling and they’re continuing to work toward their goals.

“Even though JSNN, like all parts of the university system, is affected by the state budget discussion, the JSNN program is on schedule and is expecting to continue to meet its milestones through the ’09-’10 fiscal year,” Ryan said.

All of the state’s research institutions are working toward more and larger grants as state funding becomes more scarce.

According to the biotechnology center, key partners in the grant effort included N.C. A&T, UNCG and Wake Forest.

Gwyn Riddick, director of the center’s Piedmont Triad office, said this is the first major grant developed jointly by these three research schools. Their cooperation could help the region get a jump-start in nanotech.

“In developing nanobiotechnology, we aim to create a strong, region-specific science brand for the Piedmont Triad and the state,” Riddick said.

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com