Nanotechnology News - March 2010 Archives

Researchers use improved nanogenerators to power sensors based on zinc oxide nanowires (3/31/2010)

By combining a new generation of piezoelectric nanogenerators with two types of nanowire sensors, researchers have created what are believed to be the first self-powered nanometer-scale sensing devices that draw power from the conversion of mechanical energy. ...> Full Article

A more sensitive sensor (3/30/2010)

Tel Aviv University's Prof. Yael Hanein, Dr. Slava Krylov and Assaf Ya'akobovitz have set out to make sensors for microelectromechanical systems significantly more sensitive and reliable than they are today, shrinking their work to nano size to do it. ...> Full Article

From pollutant to profit -- nanoscience turns carbon on its head (3/29/2010)

Three new complementary research projects will turn carbon from a pollutant into useful products that could help both industry and the environment. ...> Full Article

Chemist monitors nanotechnology's environmental impact (3/28/2010)

Interest in "green" innovation means not just thinking big but also very, very, very small. At least that's the way Omowunmi Sadik, director of Binghamton University's Center for Advanced Sensors and Environmental Systems, sees it. She's working to develop sensors that would detect and identify engineered nanoparticles. Her research will advance our understanding of the risks associated with the environmental release and transformation of these particles. ...> Full Article

Incorporating biofunctionality into nanomaterials for medical, health devices (3/24/2010)

A team led by researchers from North Carolina State University has published a paper explaining how to use atomic layer deposition to incorporate "biological functionality" into complex nanomaterials, which could lead to a new generation of medical and environmental health applications. For example, the researchers show how the technology can be used to develop effective, low-cost water purification devices that could be used in developing countries. ...> Full Article

Designer nanomaterials on-demand (3/23/2010)

Berkeley Lab researchers at the Molecular Foundry have developed a universal method by which designer nanomaterials can be created on-demand. This scheme can be used to create materials for battery electrodes, photovoltaics and electronic data storage among a great many other possible applications. ...> Full Article

Silver proves its mettle for nanotech applications (3/22/2010)

Hao Yan and Yan Liu, professors at the Biodesign Institute's Center for Single Molecule Biophysics and their collaborators have introduced a new method to deterministically and precisely position silver nanoparticles onto self-assembling DNA scaffolds. ...> Full Article

Engineers: Weak laser can ignite nanoparticles, with exciting possibilities (3/21/2010)

University of Florida engineering researchers have found they can ignite certain nanoparticles using a low-power laser, a development they say opens the door to a wave of new technologies in health care, computing and automotive design. ...> Full Article

Nano-based RFID tags could replace bar codes (3/20/2010)

Rice researchers, in collaboration with a team led by Gyou-jin Cho at Sunchon National University in Korea, have come up with an inexpensive, printable transmitter that can be invisibly embedded in packaging. It would allow a customer to walk a cart full of groceries or other goods past a scanner on the way to the car. ...> Full Article

Layered graphene sheets could solve hydrogen storage issues (3/19/2010)

Stacked sheets of graphene may be a promising material for capturing and storing hydrogen for future fuel-cell systems according to recent research at NIST and the University of Pennsylvania. ...> Full Article

Light twists rigid structures in unexpected nanotech finding (3/18/2010)

In findings that took the experimenters three years to believe, University of Michigan engineers and their collaborators have demonstrated that light itself can twist ribbons of nanoparticles. ...> Full Article

Lithium-ion anode uses self-assembled nanocomposite materials to increase capacity (3/16/2010)

A new high-performance anode structure based on silicon-carbon nanocomposite materials could significantly improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries used in a wide range of applications from hybrid vehicles to portable electronics. ...> Full Article

Look at Mie! (3/15/2010)

Rice students put calculations by German physicist Gustav Mie, made in 1908, to the test when they decided to look at the optical properties of single nanoparticles. ...> Full Article

Designer nano luggage to carry drugs to diseased cells (3/13/2010)

UK scientists have succeeded in growing empty particles derived from a plant virus and have made them carry useful chemicals. The external surface of these nano containers could be decorated with molecules that guide them to where they are needed in the body, before the chemical load is discharged to exert its effect on diseased cells. The containers are particles of the Cowpea mosaic virus, which is ideally suited for designing biomaterial at the nanoscale. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover new way of producing electricity (3/12/2010)

A team of scientists at MIT have discovered a previously unknown phenomenon that can cause powerful waves of energy to shoot through minuscule wires known as carbon nanotubes. The discovery could lead to a new way of producing electricity, the researchers say. ...> Full Article

Trapping sunlight with silicon nanowires (3/11/2010)

Berkeley Lab researchers have found a better way to trap light in photovoltaic cells through the use of vertical arrays of silicon nanowires. This could substantially cut the costs of solar electric power by reducing the quantity and quality of silicon needed for efficient solar panels. ...> Full Article

Popular nanoparticle causes toxicity in fish, study shows (3/10/2010)

A nanoparticle growing in popularity as a bactericidal agent has been shown to be toxic to fish, according to a Purdue University study. ...> Full Article

Atmospheric nanoparticles impact health, weather professor says (3/9/2010)

Nanoparticles are atmospheric materials so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye, but they can very visibly affect both weather patterns and human health all over the world -- and not in a good way, according to a study by a team of researchers at Texas A&M University. ...> Full Article

Researchers make graphene hybrid (3/8/2010)

Rice University researchers have found a way to stitch graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) into a two-dimensional quilt that offers new paths of exploration for materials scientists. ...> Full Article

A number of European companies working together to create innovative facades with nanomaterials (3/7/2010)

Tecnalia-Construccion is taking part, together with other European companies and technological centres, in the FACOMP project, the main goal of which is to develop lighter structural materials and with better performances, particularly thermal and durability, for the construction sector. ...> Full Article

New graphene 'nanomesh' could change the future of electronics (3/6/2010)

In a new study to be published in Nature Nanotechnology, UCLA Engineering professor Yu Huang reveals the creation of a new graphene nanostructure called the graphene nanomesh (GNM). The new structure is able to open up a band gap in a large sheet of graphene to create a highly uniform continuous semiconducting thin film. The concept of the GNM therefore points to a clear pathway towards practical application of graphene as a semiconductor material for future electronics. ...> Full Article

Researchers gain detailed insight into failing heart cells using new nano technique (3/5/2010)

Researchers have been able to see how heart failure affects the surface of an individual heart muscle cell in minute detail, using a new nanoscale scanning technique developed at Imperial College London. The findings may lead to better design of beta-blockers, the drugs that can slow the development of heart failure, and to improvements in current therapeutic approaches to treating heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms. ...> Full Article

Scientists glimpse nanobubbles on super non-stick surfaces (3/4/2010)

Scientists at Brookhaven Lab have obtained the first glimpse of minuscule air bubbles that keep water from wetting a super non-stick surface. The research could lead to a new class of non-stick materials for a range of applications, including improved-efficiency power plants, speedier boats and surfaces that are resistant to contamination by germs. ...> Full Article

Vigilance needed in nanotechnology (3/4/2010)

University of Calgary researchers have developed a methodology to measure various aspects of nanoparticles in the blood stream of chicken embryos. Their discovery is published in the March online edition of Chemical Physics Letters. ...> Full Article

A new way forward for nanocomposite nanostructures (3/3/2010)

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory and the University of Illinois -- Urbana Champaign recently reported a new technique for directly writing composites of nanoparticles and polymers. Recent years have seen significant advances in the properties achieved by both these materials, and so researchers have begun to blend these materials into nanocomposites that access the properties of both materials. ...> Full Article

New developments in nanotechnology tackle the 2 biggest problems associated with chemotherapy (3/2/2010)

Huixin He, associate professor, nanoscale chemistry at Rutgers University, Newark, and Tamara Minko, professor at the Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, have developed a nanotechnology approach that potentially could eliminate the problems of side effects and drug resistance in the treatment of cancer. Under traditional chemotherapy, cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy, leading to a relapse of the disease. ...> Full Article

Nanotechnologists collaborate to form near-frictionless diamond material (3/1/2010)

Mechanical engineers have fabricated an ultra sharp, diamond-like carbon tip possessing such high strength that it is 3,000 times more wear-resistant at the nanoscale than silicon. The end result is a diamond-like carbon material mass-produced at the nanoscale that doesn't wear. ...> Full Article