Nanotechnology News - April 2010 Archives

Team studies T cell activation with nanoparticles (4/30/2010)

A University of Alberta-led research team has taken a major step forward in understanding how T cells are activated in the course of an immune response by combining nanotechnology and cell biology. T cells are the all important trigger that starts the human body's response to infection. ...> Full Article

Novel nanoparticles prevent radiation damage (4/29/2010)

Tiny, melanin-covered nanoparticles may protect bone marrow from the harmful effects of radiation therapy, according to scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University who successfully tested the strategy in mouse models. Infusing these particles into human patients may hold promise in the future. The research is described in the current issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics. ...> Full Article

Crystal defect shown to be key to making hollow nanotubes (4/28/2010)

Scientists have no problem making a menagerie of nanometer-sized objects -- wires, tubes, belts and even tree-like structures. What they sometimes have been unable to do is explain precisely how those objects form in the vapor and liquid cauldrons in which they are made. ...> Full Article

Under new leadership, Kavli Institute at Cornell evolves from a think tank to a proving ground (4/27/2010)

Looking to push the boundaries of nanoscience, the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science is no longer a think tank for new ideas, but a proving ground to aggressively push the limits of nanotechnology. And to that end, Cornell has named Paul McEuen, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics, as the director. David A. Muller, associate professor of applied and engineering physics, will serve as co-director. ...> Full Article

Magnetic fields drive drug-loaded nanoparticles to reduce blood vessel blockages in an animal study (4/23/2010)

Scientists and engineers have used uniform magnetic fields to drive iron-bearing nanoparticles to metal stents in injured blood vessels, where the particles deliver a drug payload that successfully prevents blockages in those vessels. In this animal study, the novel technique achieved better results at a lower dose than conventional nonmagnetic stent therapy. The research is the latest in a series of studies demonstrating the feasibility of magnetically guided nanoparticles as a new delivery platform for a variety of possible therapeutic cargo. ...> Full Article

Carbon nanotubes boost cancer-fighting cells (4/22/2010)

Yale University engineers have found that the defects in carbon nanotubes cause T cell antigens to cluster in the blood and stimulate the body's natural immune response. Their findings, which appear as the cover article of the April 20 issue of the journal Langmuir, could improve current adoptive immunotherapy, a treatment used to boost the body's ability to fight cancer. ...> Full Article

Bionanotechnology has new face, world-class future at Florida State (4/21/2010)

Imagine the marriage of hard metals or semiconductors to soft organic or biological products. Picture the strange, wonderful offspring -- hybrid materials never conceived by Mother Nature. ...> Full Article

Graphene: What projections and humps can be good for (4/20/2010)

Scientists of Leibniz University Hanover and of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt have now investigated in which way a rough base affects the electronic properties of graphene. Their results suggest that it will soon be possible to control plasmons, i.e. collective oscillations of electrons, purposefully in the graphene, by virtually establishing a lane composed of projections and humps for them. The results were published in the current edition of the New Journal of Physics. ...> Full Article

New method for recovering pricey nanoparticles (4/17/2010)

Scientists are reporting first use of a new method that may make it easier for manufacturers to recover, recycle, and reuse nanoparticles, some of which ounce for ounce can be more precious than gold. The method, which offers a solution to a nagging problem, could speed application of nanotechnology in new generations of solar cells, flexible electronic displays, and other products, the scientists suggest. ...> Full Article

New nano-tool synthesized (4/16/2010)

Two chemists at the Scripps Research Institute have synthesized a new nano-scale scientific tool -- a tiny molecular switch that turns itself on or off as it detects metallic ions in its immediate surroundings. ...> Full Article

Ultrasensitive imaging method uses gold-silver 'nanocages' (4/15/2010)

New research findings suggest that an experimental ultrasensitive medical imaging technique that uses a pulsed laser and tiny metallic "nanocages" might enable both the early detection and treatment of disease. The system works by shining near-infrared laser pulses through the skin to detect hollow nanocages and solid nanoparticles - made of an alloy of gold and silver - that are injected into the bloodstream. ...> Full Article

Study shows that size affects structure of hollow nanoparticles (4/14/2010)

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that size plays a key role in determining the structure of certain hollow nanoparticles. The researchers focused on nickel nanoparticles, which have interesting magnetic and catalytic properties that may have applications in fields as diverse as energy production and nanoelectronics. ...> Full Article

Wireless nano sensors could save bridges, buildings (4/13/2010)

Could inexpensive wireless sensors based on nanotechnology be used to alert engineers to problematic cracks and damage to buildings, bridges, and other structures before they become critical? A feasibility study published in the International Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity would suggest so. ...> Full Article

Scientists develop environmentally friendly way to produce propylene oxide using silver nanoclusters (4/12/2010)

Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have identified a new class of silver-based catalysts for the production of the industrially useful chemical propylene oxide that is both environmentally friendly and less expensive. ...> Full Article

With support, graphene still a superior thermal conductor (4/11/2010)

Graphene maintains its superior thermal conductivity even when supported by a substrate, according to new research in the journal Science. The findings by a team of researchers underscore graphene's potential role in the next generation of nano-electric devices. ...> Full Article

Graphene films clear major fabrication hurdle (4/10/2010)

Researchers at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry have successfully used direct chemical vapor deposition to synthesize single-layer graphene films on dielectric substrates. This represents a major step towards future applications of graphene in both the electronics and the photonics industries, starting with superfast transistors and computer memory chips. ...> Full Article

'Nanovaccine' reverses autoimmunity without general immunosuppression (4/9/2010)

A new study, published online April 8 by Cell Press in the journal Immunity, describes a unique therapeutic "nanovaccine" that successfully reverses diabetes in a mouse model of the disease. In addition to providing new insight into diabetes, the research also reveals an aspect of the pathogenesis of the autoimmune response that may provide a therapeutic strategy for multiple autoimmune disorders. ...> Full Article

Evidence that nanoparticles in sunscreens could be toxic if accidentally eaten (4/8/2010)

Scientists are reporting that particle size affects the toxicity of zinc oxide, a material widely used in sunscreens. Particles smaller than 100 nanometers are slightly more toxic to colon cells than conventional zinc oxide. Solid zinc oxide was more toxic than equivalent amounts of soluble zinc, and direct particle to cell contact was required to cause cell death. ...> Full Article

Cold atoms and nanotubes come together in an atomic 'black hole' (4/7/2010)

Carbon nanotubes, long touted for applications in materials and electronics, may also be the stuff of atomic-scale black holes. Physicists at Harvard University have found that a high-voltage nanotube can cause cold atoms to spiral inward under dramatic acceleration before disintegrating violently. Their experiments, the first to demonstrate something akin to a black hole at atomic scale, are described in the current issue of the journal Physical Review Letters. ...> Full Article

New study on carbon nanotubes gives hope for medical applications (4/6/2010)

A team of Swedish and American scientists has shown for the first time that carbon nanotubes can be broken down by an enzyme -- myeloperoxidase (MPO) -- found in white blood cells. Their discoveries are presented in Nature Nanotechnology and contradict what was previously believed, that carbon nanotubes are not broken down in the body or in nature. The scientists hope that this new understanding of how MPO converts carbon nanotubes into water and carbon dioxide can be of significance to medicine. ...> Full Article

Discovering new tools for nanoscience (4/3/2010)

Directors of the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science discuss their new "high-risk, high-payoff" mission to push the technology of observation, measurement and control to ever-smaller dimensions. ...> Full Article

Scientists address 'wrinkles' in transparent film development (4/2/2010)

A closer look at a promising nanotube coating that might one day improve solar cells has turned up a few unexpected wrinkles, according to new research at NIST and North Dakota State University. ...> Full Article

Carbon nanostructures -- elixir or poison? (4/2/2010)

A Los Alamos National Laboratory toxicologist and a multidisciplinary team of researchers have documented potential cellular damage from "fullerenes" -- soccer-ball-shaped, cage-like molecules composed of 60 carbon atoms. The team also noted that this particular type of damage might hold hope for treatment of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease or even cancer. ...> Full Article