Nanotechnology >>

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Nanoparticle research is huge.  That is, the study of nanoparticles, very miniscule objects that act as a unit with specific properties, is a very popular area of study.  With implications in many avenues of science, from biomedicine to laser research, the study of how to create nanoparticles with desirable properties is becoming increasingly important.  Scientists have now made a breakthrough in synthesizing...

It has long been known that, in the form of free ions, silver particles can be highly toxic to aquatic organisms. Yet to this day, there is a lack of detailed knowledge about the doses required to trigger a response and how the organisms deal with this kind of stress. In the past, silver mostly found its way into the environment in the vicinity of silver mines or via wastewater emanating from the photo...

A new technique produces highly selective filter materials that could lead to more efficient desalination. Scientists succeeded in creating subnanoscale pores in a sheet of the one-atom-thick material, which is one of the strongest materials known. ...

Using tiny particles designed to target cancer-fighting immune cells, researchers have trained the immune systems of mice to fight melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. The experiments represent a significant step toward using nanoparticles and magnetism to treat a variety of conditions, the researchers say. They also note that in addition to its potential medical applications, combining nanoparticles and...

We live surrounded by polymers and today, rather than come up with new polymers, there is a tendency to modify them in order to obtain new applications. Carbon nanotubes have excellent mechanical properties, are very tough, very rigid, and what is more, they conduct electricity. “The problem with them is that they get dispersed, in other words, it’s very difficult to get them to blend with polymers,”...

living rotating crystals' that could serve as a nanopump. They may also, incidentally, shed light on the origin of life itself. The researchers refer to the crystals as 'living...

A new strategy to tackle an aggressive subtype of ovarian cancer using a new nanoscale drug-delivery system designed to target specific cancer cells has been developed. A research team has devised a cluster of nanoparticles called gagomers, made of fats and coated with a kind of polysugar. When filled with chemotherapy drugs, these clusters accumulate in tumors, producing dramatically therapeutic benefits....

Engineered tissues like the ones used to create artificial skin need a scaffold for cells to grow on. Now a team of researchers has coaxed cells called fibroblasts into creating a scaffold that mimics the body’s own internal matrix, and in early tests, cells seem happy to set up residence, and had the added advantage of provoking a very low immune response. ...

Physicists have found that platinum nanoparticles limit their size and organize into specific patterns when bonded to freestanding graphene. While displaying this behavior, the bonded platinum nanoparticles maintain an effective surface area functioning as a catalyst for chemical reactions, a discovery that could lower the production costs of platinum-catalyzed fuel cells. ...

re small. They're also complicated. The technique, 'microscale thermogravimetric analysis,' holds promise for studying nanomaterials in biology and the environment, where sample sizes often are quite small and larger-scale analysis won...

A tabletop device recently invented can tell how efficiently a nanoparticle would travel through a well and may provide a wealth of information for oil and gas producers. The device gathers data on how tracers -- microscopic particles that can be pumped into and recovered from wells -- move through deep rock formations that have been opened by hydraulic fracturing. Drilling companies use fracturing...

A system for precisely delivering anti-inflammatory drugs to immune cells gone out of control, has been developed that spares the well-behaved counterpart cells in the body. The system uses nanoparticles made of tiny bits of protein designed to bind to unique receptors found only on neutrophils, a type of immune cell engaged in detrimental acute and chronic inflammatory responses. In chronic inflammation,...

Scientists have developed the world's first liquid metal enabled pump, a revolutionary new micro-scale device with no mechanical parts. The unique design will enable micro-fluidics and lab-on-a-chip technology to finally realize their potential, with applications ranging from biomedicine to biofuels. ...

Scientists have found a creative way to radically improve thermoelectric materials, a finding that could one day lead to the development of improved solar panels, more energy-efficient cooling equipment, and even the creation of new devices that could turn the vast amounts of heat wasted at power plants into more electricity. ...

An innovative technique that can carry chemotherapy safely and release it inside cancer cells when triggered by two-photon laser in the infrared red wave length has been developed. A light-activated drug delivery system is particularly promising, because it can accomplish spatial and temporal control of drug release. Finding ways to deliver and release anticancer drugs in a controlled manner that only...

The debut of cyborgs who are part human and part machine may be a long way off, but researchers say they now may be getting closer. Scientists have now developed a coating that makes nanoelectronics much more stable in conditions mimicking those in the human body. The advance could also aid in the development of very small implanted medical devices for monitoring health and disease. ...

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Glaucoma is a pervasive disorder that occurs when there is a buildup of pressure in the eye. If left untreated, this can damage the optic nerve, resulting in vision loss. Bioengineers have developed a nanodiamond-embedded contact lens that may improve glaucoma treatment by localizing and sustaining drug release that can be triggered using tears. The researchers showed that the nanodiamonds even improved...

With the introduction of curved smartphones, flexible electronic goods are gradually moving to the center stages of various markets. Flexible display technology is the culmination of the latest, cutting-edge electric cell device technology. Developing such products, however, requires not only a curved display, but also operational precision of other parts, including the memory, in a flexible state....