Nanotechnology News - February 2010 Archives

The toxicity of antimicrobial silver in products can be reduced (2/27/2010)

Chemists at the University of Helsinki have managed to manufacture new polymer-stabilized silver nanoparticles. The result is significant because the antimicrobial characteristics of silver are used in textiles, floor coatings and paints even though the impact on health of silver nanoparticles are not entirely known. Finnish researchers now think that exposure to silver can be reduced by chemically binding the nanoparticles to polymers. The research results will soon be published in a leading journal in the field, Colloid and Polymer Science. ...> Full Article

Stressed nanomaterials display unexpected movement (2/26/2010)

Researchers have discovered that, under the right conditions, newly developed nanocrystalline materials exhibit surprising activity in the tiny spaces between the geometric clusters of atoms called nanocrystals from which they are made. ...> Full Article

Nanotechnology sparks energy storage on paper and cloth (2/25/2010)

Stanford engineer Yi Cui and his team have manufactured new energy storage devices out of paper and cloth, with a range of potential applications. Their research also has shown that using silicon nanowires to replace carbon anodes in lithium ion batteries can significantly improve their performance. ...> Full Article

Nanotechnology could help Arab region (2/24/2010)

"Nanotechnology could aid the future of development of the Arab region," says Mohamed H.A. Hassan, executive director of TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, and president of the African Academy of Sciences. Hassan made his remarks at a panel session, "Re-emergence of Science, Technology and Education as Priorities in the Arab World," taking place at the AAAS's annual meeting in San Diego. ...> Full Article

Attacking cancer cells with hydrogel nanoparticles (2/23/2010)

Researchers at Georgia Tech are using hydrogels -- less than 100 nanometers in size -- to sneak a particular type of small interfering RNA into cancer cells. Once in the cell the siRNA turns on the programmed cell death the body uses to kill mutated cells and help traditional chemotherapy do it's job. ...> Full Article

Using gold nanoparticles to hit cancer where it hurts (2/22/2010)

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that by directing gold nanoparticles into the nuclei of cancer cells, they can not only prevent them from multiplying, but can kill them where they lurk. ...> Full Article

Lou's clues lead to nano revelation (2/21/2010)

Jun Lou, an assistant professor in mechanical engineering and materials science, and his group have discovered that gold wires between three-billionths and 10-billionths of a meter wide weld themselves together quite nicely -- without heat. ...> Full Article

Silicon-coated nanonets could build a better lithium-ion battery (2/20/2010)

The surface area and conductivity of a lattice-like Nanonet coated with silicon particles proves to be a high-performing anode material for Lithium-ion batteries, Boston College researchers report. ...> Full Article

For nanowires, nothing sparkles quite like diamond (2/19/2010)

Diamonds are renowned for their seemingly flawless physical beauty and their interplay with light. Now researchers are taking advantage of the mineral's imperfections to control that light at the atomic scale, generating one photon at a time. ...> Full Article

New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing (2/18/2010)

In research that gives literal meaning to the term "power suit," UC Berkeley engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles. The technology could eventually lead to wearable "smart clothes" that can power hand-held electronics through ordinary body movements. ...> Full Article

New sensor exploits traditional weakness of nano devices (2/17/2010)

By taking advantage of a phenomenon that until now has been a virtual showstopper for electronics designers, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Panos Datskos is developing a chemical and biological sensor with unprecedented sensitivity. ...> Full Article

Material scientists turn light into electrical current using a golden nanoscale system (2/16/2010)

Material scientists at Penn's Nano/Bio Interface Center have created a system, using nano-sized molecules of gold, that induces and projects electrical current across molecules, similar to that of photovoltaic solar cells. ...> Full Article

Single-step technique produces both p-type and n-type doping for future graphene devices (2/16/2010)

A simple one-step process that produces both n-type and p-type doping of large-area graphene surfaces could facilitate use of the promising material for future electronic devices. The doping technique can also be used to increase conductivity in graphene nanoribbons used for interconnects. ...> Full Article

Research may lead to new ways to transport and manipulate molecules (2/15/2010)

Dr. Eric Blough, an associate professor in Marshall University's Department of Biological Sciences, said he and his colleagues have shown how bionanomotors can be used some day to move and manipulate molecules at the nanoscale.Their research will be published in the Feb. 5 issue of the research journal Small. ...> Full Article

Digging deep into diamonds, applied physicists advance quantum science and technology (2/15/2010)

By creating diamond-based nanowire devices, a team at Harvard has taken another step towards making applications based on quantum science and technology possible. The new device offers a bright, stable source of single photons at room temperature, an essential element in making fast and secure computing with light practical. ...> Full Article

Silver nanoparticles may one day be key to devices that keep hearts beating strong and steady (2/12/2010)

Diamonds and gold may make some hearts flutter on Valentine's Day, but in a University at Buffalo laboratory, silver nanoparticles are being designed to do just the opposite. ...> Full Article

Researchers develop nanoscale structures with superior mechanical properties (2/11/2010)

Researchers at Caltech have developed a way to make some notoriously brittle materials ductile -- yet stronger than ever -- simply by reducing their size. The work could eventually lead to the development of innovative, superstrong, yet light and damage-tolerant materials. These new materials could be used as components in structural applications, such as in lightweight aerospace vehicles that last longer under extreme environmental conditions and in naval vessels that are resistant to corrosion and wear. ...> Full Article

Big book explores a small world: Stuart Lindsay's guide to nanoscience (2/10/2010)

Stuart Lindsay, Arizona State University Regents' professor and director of the Biodesign Institute's Center for Single Molecule Biophysics, has just released the first comprehensive guide to a tiny world a million times smaller than a single grain of sand. ...> Full Article

Physicists kill cancer with 'nanobubbles' (2/9/2010)

Scientists at Rice University have discovered a way to use lasers and nanoparticles to identify and treat individual diseased cells with tiny vapor "nanobubbles." In research published in the journal Nanotechnology, the scientists described how to use the method to explode nanobubbles and kill cancer cells. In laboratory tests, they showed they could tune these nanobubbles for "theranostics," a combined approach that melds diagnosis and treatment into a single procedure. ...> Full Article

Nano imagining takes turn for the better (2/6/2010)

Stephan Link wants to understand how nanomaterials align, and his lab's latest work is a step in the right direction. Link's Rice University group has found a way to use gold nanorods as orientation sensors by combining their plasmonic properties with polarization imaging techniques. ...> Full Article

Nano for the senses (2/5/2010)

Pin-sharp projections, light that's whiter than white, varnishes that make sounds if the temperature changes: at nano tech 2010 in Tokyo, Fraunhofer researchers present nanotechnology that is a veritable feast for the senses. ...> Full Article

Magnetic nanoparticles show promise for combating human cancer (2/4/2010)

Scientists at Georgia Tech and the Ovarian Cancer Institute have further developed a potential new treatment against cancer that uses magnetic nanoparticles to attach to cancer cells, removing them from the body. The treatment, tested in mice in 2008, has now been tested using samples from human cancer patients. ...> Full Article

Summit examines vast applications of nanomedicine (2/3/2010)

SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit brings together academic, government and industry experts from across a spectrum of disciplines to explore a topic that may have great application for diagnosing and treating disease in the future. ...> Full Article

Engineers explore environmental concerns of nanotechnology (2/2/2010)

As researchers around the world hasten to employ nanotechnology to improve production methods for applications that range from manufacturing materials to creating new pharmaceutical drugs, the national Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology looks at potential environmental exposure, biological effects, and ecological consequences. ...> Full Article