The Symposium on Nanostructured Materials and Systems was held during the 8th Pacific Rim Conference on Ceramic and Glass Technology (PACRIM 8) from May 31-June 5, 2009 in Vancouver, Canada. This symposium aimed to review the progress in the state-of-the-art of nanoscience and nanotechnology including synthesis, processing, modeling, applications and assessment of toxicological potential of nanomatter. More than 55 contributions (invited talks, oral presentations, and posters), were presented by participants, from all over the world, representing universities, research institutions, and industry which made this symposium an attractive forum for interdisciplinary presentations and discussions and to elaborate their functional diversity.
This issue contains 16 peer-reviewed papers (invited and contributed) incorporating the latest developments related to synthesis, processing and manufacturing technologies of nanoscaled materials and systems including one-dimensional nanostructures, nanoparticle-based composites, electrospinning of nanofibers, functional thin films, ceramic membranes, bioactive materials and self-assembled functional nanostructures and nanodevices. These papers discuss several important aspects related to fabrication and engineering issues necessary for understanding and further development of processing and manufacturing of nanostructured materials and systems.

Preface.
Introduction.

Hydrogen Permeable Membranes from Palladium Coated Anodic Alumina (Ian Brown, Jeremy Wu, Melanie Nelson, Mark Bowden, and Tim Kemmitt).

Softening of Rare Earth Orthophosphates by Transformation Plasticity: Possible Applications to Fiber-Matrix Interphases in Ceramic Composites (R. S. Hay, G. Fair, E. E. Boakye, P. Mogilevsky, T. A. Parthasarathy, and J. Davis).

Solvothermal Synthesis of Gadolinium Hydroxide and Oxide Powders and Their Potential for Biomedical Applications (Eva Hemmer, Yvonne Kohl, Sanjay Mathur, Hagen Thielecke, and Kohei Soga).

CVD Grown Semiconductor Nanowires: Synthesis, Properties and Challenges (J. Pan, H. Shen, and S. Mathur).

Nanowires as Building Blocks of New Devices: Present State and Prospects (F. Hernandez-Ramirez, J. D. Prades, R. Jimenez-Diaz, S. Barth, A. Cirera, A. Romano-Rodriguez, S. Mathur, and J. R. Morante).

Preparation of TiO2-Nanoparticles-Thin Films by Electrophoresis Deposition Method (Kazuatsu Ito, Yuuki Sato, Motonari Adachi, and Shinzo Yoshikado).

Effect of Nano-Silica on Acid Resistance Properties of Enamel and Its Connection to Energy Saving (Majid Jafari and Javad Sarraf).

Immobilization of Myoglobin with Regenerated Silk Fibroin/MWCNTs on Screen-Printed Electrode: Direct Electrochemistry and Electrocatalysis of H2O2 (Lei Zhang, Lei Shi, Wei Song, and Yi-Tao Long).

Liquid Phase Patterning and Morphology Control of Metal Oxides (Yoshitake Masuda).

Role of Nano-Structured Domain Derived from Organically Modified Silicate in Electrocatalysis (P. C. Pandey, D. S. Chauhan, and V. Singh).

Individual Metal Oxide Nanowires in Chemical Sensing: Breakthroughs, Challenges and Prospects (J. D. Prades, R. Jimenez-Diaz, F. Hernandez-Ramirez, A. Cirera, A. Romano-Rodriguez, S. Mathur, and J. R. Morante).

Preparation and Their Mechanical Properties of Al2O3/Ti Composite Materials (Enrique Rocha-Rangel, Elizabeth Refugio-García, José G. Miranda-Hernández, Eduardo Térres-Rojas, and Sebastián Díaz de la Torre).

Biphasic Nano-Materials and Applications in Life Sciences: 1D Al/Al2O3 Nanostructures for Improved Neuron Cell Culturing (M. Veith, O. C. Aktas, J. Lee, M. M. Miró, C. K. Akkan).

Bioactive Glass-Ceramic/Mesoporous Silica Composite Scaffolds for Bone Grafting and Drug Release (Enrica Verné, Francesco Baino, Marta Miola, Giorgia Novajra, Renato Mortera, Barbara Onida, Chiara Vitale-Brovarone).

Comparison of Oxide and Nitride Thin Films—Electrochemical Impedance Measurements and Materials Properties (Y. Liu, C. Qu, R.E. Miller, D.D. Edwards, J.H. Fan, P .Li, E. Pierce, A. Geleil, G. Wynick, and X. W. Wang).

Synthesis of PbTe Nanowires with Enhanced Seebeck Coefficient (Wenwen Zhou, Hao Cheng, Aidong Li, Huey Hoon Hng, Jan Ma, and Qingyu Yan).

Author Index.