Nanoparticles
Gold-filled silicon wafer helps target, burn breast cancer cells
January 18, 2012 5:26 am | News | CommentsHollow gold nanoparticles generate heat when hit with near-infrared laser light, and researchers have been trying to use this phenomenon to burn cancerous tumors. But the efficiency of this method has been poor, leading researchers at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute to create a much more effective solution.
Nanoears: Gold nanoparticles detect tiny acoustic vibrations
January 16, 2012 12:11 pm | News | CommentsHow noisy is a walking flea? What sorts of sound waves are caused by motile bacteria? Researchers have built a device, just a single gold nanoparticle levitated by a laser beam, that can operate on such tiny wavelength scales.
Tiny quantum dots hold promise for future source of lighting
January 12, 2012 3:25 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Texas at Dallas researchers are making strides in understanding the workings of quantum dots. These nanosized particles could be used in a variety of ways ranging from illuminating the human body in high-tech medical imaging to increasing the efficiency of energy sources.
ORMOSIL nanoparticles hold promise as potential drug delivery vehicle
January 9, 2012 8:11 am | News | CommentsIn the images of fruit flies, clusters of neurons are all lit up, forming a brightly glowing network of highways within the brain. It's exactly what a University at Buffalo researcher was hoping to see: It meant that ORMOSIL, a novel class of nanoparticles, had successfully penetrated the insects' brains. And even after long-term exposure, the cells and the flies themselves remained unharmed.
Scientists solve mystery of colorful armchair nanotubes
January 9, 2012 7:49 am | News | CommentsRice University researchers have figured out what gives armchair nanotubes their unique bright colors: hydrogen-like objects called excitons. The researchers show armchair nanotubes absorb light like semiconductors, where an electron is promoted from an immobile state to a conducting state by absorbing photons and leaving behind a positively charged hole.
Solar paint uses nanoparticles to produce energy
December 21, 2011 12:26 pm | by Arnie Phifer | News | CommentsMaterials innovators at Notre Dame University have built a special type of nanoparticle from commonly used photovoltaic materials that converts sunlight to electricity. The particles, when dispersed in a paste, can be painted onto a surface to act as a large-area solar cell.
A new way to reduce the production costs of fuel cells
December 20, 2011 4:22 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Aalto University in Finland have developed a new and significantly cheaper method of manufacturing fuel cells. A noble metal nanoparticle catalyst for fuel cells is prepared using atomic layer deposition (ALD). This ALD method for manufacturing fuel cells requires 60% less of the costly catalyst than current methods.
Researchers demonstrate new DNA detection technique
December 19, 2011 3:18 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame have demonstrated a novel DNA detection method that could prove suitable for many real-world applications. The technique, called laser transmission spectroscopy (LTS), is capable of rapidly determining the size, shape, and number of nanoparticles in suspension.
Cotton fabric cleans itself when exposed to ordinary sunlight
December 14, 2011 8:49 am | News | CommentsScientists in China are reporting development of a new cotton fabric that does clean itself of stains and bacteria when exposed to ordinary sunlight. Unlike a material reported earlier this year by University of California, Davis scientists that used carboxylic acid to bind with cotton, the latest fabric relies on a coating made from a compound of titanium dioxide.
Carving method produces complex hollow nanomaterials
December 9, 2011 6:07 am | News | CommentsThe application on nanostructures of old processes and procedures used in the production of bulk materials, such as corrosion, has allowed researchers in Spain to build hollow nanoparticles and cage-like nanostructures.
Tweaking atoms internally, lasers influence particle interactions
December 9, 2011 6:01 am | News | CommentsPhysicists at NIST have found a way to manipulate atoms' internal states with lasers that dramatically influences their interactions in specific ways. The method allows them to simulate complicated particle systems and observe how they work in slow motion.
NMR technique discovers ‘handedness’ of gold nanoparticles
December 8, 2011 7:03 pm | News | CommentsResearchers at Carnegie Mellon University have successfully used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to analyze the structure of gold nanoparticles and determine whether or not they exist in a right-handed or left-handed configuration. Determining chirality is of major importance in pharmaceutical development, an area that has seen experimentation with gold nanoparticles.
Nanoparticle electrodes for large-scale power storage
November 28, 2011 3:06 am | by Louis Bergeron, Stanford University | News | CommentsStanford University researchers have used nanoparticles of a copper compound to develop a high-power battery electrode that is inexpensive to make, efficient, and durable. It could be used to build batteries big enough for economical large-scale energy storage on the electrical grid.
Scientists invent long-lasting, near-infrared-emitting material
November 21, 2011 4:40 am | News | CommentsMaterials that emit visible light after being exposed to sunlight are commonplace and can be found in everything from emergency signage to glow-in-the-dark stickers. But until now, scientists have had little success creating materials that emit light in the near-infrared range.
Gelatin-based nanoparticle treatment may be a more effective clot buster
November 15, 2011 10:32 am | News | CommentsAccording to a recent study presented at an American Heart Association conference, a targeted, nanoparticle gelatin-based clot-busting treatment dissolved significantly more blood clots than a currently used drug. The treatment could potentially aid patients en route to a hospital.
Explosive DNA composite could be embedded system energy source
November 3, 2011 11:32 am | News | CommentsResearchers in France have produced an unusual solid nanocomposite made of nanoparticles and DNA that they report has an energy density equivalent to that of nitroglycerine. The explosion occurs when the substance is heated to 410 C, offering the possibility of using it as at a fuel source for microsystems.
Midas’ touch coating method puts shine on textiles
November 1, 2011 11:27 am | News | CommentsAfter a decade of research into finding ways to coat fibers with silver nanoparticles, materials researchers in Switzerland have, for the first time, created a textile material permanently coated with a durable, nanometer-thin layer of gold. The layer is applied with an argon-ion plasma process.
Quantum dots get much-needed solubility
October 28, 2011 7:54 am | News | CommentsFluorescent markers are handily outperformed by quantum dots, which produce more intense, longer-lasting light. But because they do not dissolve in water, they haven’t been used that much for biological purposes. A new coating recipe, however, has allowed them to be used even inside living cells.
Nanoparticles and their size may not be big issues
October 24, 2011 9:16 am | News | CommentsSince the emergence of nanotechnology, researchers, regulators, and the public have been concerned that the potential toxicity of nano-sized products might threaten human health by way of environmental exposure. Now, with the help of high-powered transmission electron microscopes, chemists captured never-before-seen views of miniscule metal nanoparticles naturally being created by silver articles, showing nanoparticle have been in contact with humans for a long time.
Bristly particles could be boon for powerplants
October 17, 2011 5:21 am | News | CommentsSometimes, a simple decision to try something unconventional can lead to a significant discovery. A well-known method of making heat sinks for electronic devices is a process called sintering, in which powdered metal is formed into a desired shape and then heated in a vacuum to bind the particles together. But in a recent experiment, some students tried sintering copper particles in air and got a big surprise.
How to count nanoparticles
October 10, 2011 6:24 am | News | CommentsBy dispersing nanoparticles into a gas, they can be counted and the size distribution can be determined. But some nanoparticles tend to aggregate when the surrounding conditions change. Scientists in Sweden have shown that it is possible to sort and count the particles, even when difficult aggregates have formed.
Twisted crystals point way toward active optical materials
September 29, 2011 2:16 pm | News | CommentsA Rice University laboratory led by chemist Stephan Link has discovered a way to use liquid crystals to control light scattered from gold nanorods. The technique took two years to refine to the point where light from the nanoparticles could be completely controlled.
New technique maps twin faces of smallest Janus nanoparticles
September 27, 2011 9:15 am | News | CommentsNew drug delivery systems, solar cells, industrial catalysts, and video displays are among the potential applications of special particles that possess two chemically distinct sides. These particles are named after the two-faced Roman god Janus and their twin chemical faces allow them to form novel structures and new materials. However, as scientists reduced the size of Janus particles their efforts have been hampered because they lacked an accurate way to map the particles surfaces. Until now.
Answered: Exactly how diamonds emerge from graphite
September 21, 2011 6:04 am | News | CommentsDiamonds can be produced artificially only under difficult conditions, and past predictions of the phase transitions involved have been theoretical because of simulation complexity. Advances in computing have allowed researchers in Switzerland to now show exactly how graphite is converted into diamond.
A new way to go from nanoparticles to supraparticles
September 19, 2011 5:40 am | News | CommentsControlling the behavior of nanoparticles can be just as difficult trying to wrangle a group of teenagers. However, a new study involving Argonne National Laboratory has given scientists insight into how tweaking a nanoparticle’s attractive electronic qualities can lead to the creation of ordered uniform "supraparticles."
