Nanotechnology News - September 2010 Archives

A shot to the heart: Nanoneedle delivers quantum dots to cell nucleus (9/30/2010)

University of Illinois researchers have developed a tiny needle to deliver a shot of quantum dots right to a cell's nucleus. This is the first technique that allows delivery to a pinpointed location within the nucleus. The researchers can then learn a lot about the physical conditions inside the nucleus by monitoring the quantum dots with a standard fluorescent microscope. ...> Full Article

Scientists receive grant to develop nanotechnology for pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment (9/30/2010)

A team of UNC scientists has received a five-year $2,308,800 grant from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships to address the critical need for early diagnosis of and more effective treatments for pancreatic cancer. ...> Full Article

Nanobiotechnology experts join forces to improve TB testing (9/29/2010)

Two UK companies have been awarded joint funding for a research project that could see significant advances in the quest to aid detection and eradication of tuberculosis, across the world. ...> Full Article

Nature Nanotechnology paper shows enzyme-controlled movement of DNA polymer through a nanopore (9/28/2010)

Research published in Nature Nanotechnology shows a new method of enzyme-controlled movement of a single strand of DNA through a protein nanopore. The paper, by researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz, represents a key step towards nanopore sequencing of DNA strands. Nanopore single-molecule analysis is a new generation of technology currently being developed for label-free, electronic DNA sequencing and protein analysis. This has potential performance and cost advantages over existing technologies. ...> Full Article

Researchers design a new nanomesh material (9/27/2010)

Computers, light bulbs and even people generate heat -- energy that ends up being wasted. Thermoelectric devices, which convert heat to electricity and vice versa, harness that energy. But they're not efficient enough for widespread commercial use or are made from expensive or environmentally harmful rare materials. Caltech researchers have developed a new type of material -- a nanomesh, composed of a thin film with a grid-like arrangement of tiny holes -- that could lead to efficient thermoelectric devices. ...> Full Article

Rice University's award-winning NanoJapan program wins $4M grant (9/24/2010)

Rice University's award-winning undergraduate summer research program NanoJapan will soon expand, thanks to a new five-year, $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation. NanoJapan, which is open to students from all US universities, combines a traditional study-abroad experience in Japan with a targeted undergraduate research internship in nanotechnology. ...> Full Article

Nano antenna concentrates light (9/23/2010)

Rice researchers have made a nanoscale optical antenna that amplifies light a thousand-fold. Getting an accurate measurement of the plasmonic effect is a first. ...> Full Article

Nanocatalyst is a gas (9/22/2010)

A nanoparticle-based, tungsten oxide catalyst developed at Rice University should help oil refineries make higher-octane gasoline through a production process that is more efficient and better for the environment. ...> Full Article

New nanomaterial, shaped like Stars of David, discovered at Hebrew University (9/21/2010)

A new type of nanoparticle, resembling the six-pointed Star of David that is the symbol on the flag of Israel, has been discovered by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (one nanometer is a billionth of a meter). The discovery, the researchers say, may lead to new ways for sensing of glucose in diagnosing diabetes or provide a catalyst to capture the sun's energy and turn it into clean fuel. ...> Full Article

Magical BEANs: New nano-sized particles could provide mega-sized data storage (9/20/2010)

Berkeley Lab researchers have discovered an entire new class of phase-change materials that could be applied to PCM and optical data storage technologies. The new materials, alloys of a metal and semiconductor, are called "BEANs," for binary eutectic-alloy nanostructures. ...> Full Article

'Nanosprings' offer improved performance in biomedicine, electronics (9/17/2010)

Researchers at Oregon State University have reported the successful loading of biological molecules onto "nanosprings" -- a type of nanostructure that has gained significant interest in recent years for its ability to maximize surface area in microreactors. ...> Full Article

Carbon nanotubes twice as strong as once thought (9/16/2010)

Carbon nanotubes -- those tiny particles poised to revolutionize electronics, medicine, and other areas -- are much bigger in the strength department than anyone ever thought, scientists are reporting. New studies on the strength of these submicroscopic cylinders of carbon indicate that on an ounce-for-ounce basis they are at least 117 times stronger than steel and 30 times stronger than Kevlar, the material used in bulletproof vests and other products. The findings appear in the monthly journal ACS Nano. ...> Full Article

Researchers develop a way to funnel solar energy (9/15/2010)

Using carbon nanotubes (hollow tubes of carbon atoms), MIT chemical engineers have found a way to concentrate solar energy 100 times more than a regular photovoltaic cell. Such nanotubes could form antennas that capture and focus light energy, potentially allowing much smaller and more powerful solar arrays. ...> Full Article

Graphene may hold key to speeding up DNA sequencing (9/14/2010)

Researchers from Harvard University and MIT have demonstrated that graphene can act as an artificial membrane separating two liquid reservoirs. By drilling a tiny pore just a few-nanometers in diameter, called a nanopore, in the graphene membrane, they were able to measure exchange of ions through the pore and demonstrated that a long DNA molecule can be pulled through the graphene nanopore just as a thread is pulled through the eye of a needle. ...> Full Article

Scientists observe single ions moving through tiny carbon-nanotube channel (9/13/2010)

For the first time, a team of MIT chemical engineers has observed single ions marching through a tiny carbon-nanotube channel. Such channels could be used as extremely sensitive detectors or as part of a new water-desalination system. They could also allow scientists to study chemical reactions at the single-molecule level. ...> Full Article

Engineers make artificial skin out of nanowires (9/13/2010)

UC Berkeley engineers have developed a pressure-sensitive electronic material from semiconductor nanowires that could one day be used as an artificial skin for robots and prosthetic limbs. ...> Full Article

Scientists gather for symposium on epitaxial graphene (9/11/2010)

Scientists from around the world will gather next week to discuss the latest research findings at the 2nd International Symposium on the Science and Technology of Epitaxial Graphene. The conference is sponsored by the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It will take place Sept. 14-17, 2010, at the Hampton Inn & Suites Amelia Island Historic Harbor Front Hotel in Amelia Island, Fla. ...> Full Article

UCLA, Japanese company to collaborate on specialized nano-imaging instrumentation (9/10/2010)

Hamamatsu will work with CNSI researchers on efforts to apply nanoscience and nanotechnology to projects having global importance in health, medicine, energy, and the environment. Together they will work on new instruments that advance the field of nanolevel optical imaging. ...> Full Article

Study shows nano-architectured aluminum has steely strength (9/9/2010)

A North Carolina State University researcher and colleagues have figured out a way to make an aluminum alloy, or a mixture of aluminum and other elements, just as strong as steel. ...> Full Article

Chemists, engineers achieve world record with high-speed graphene transistors (9/8/2010)

A UCLA team led by Xiangfeng Duan has developed a new fabrication process for high-speed graphene transistors using a nanowire as the self-aligned gate. This new technique does not produce any appreciable defects in the graphene during fabrication, so the carrier mobility is retained. Also, by using a self-aligned approach with a nanowire as the gate, the group was able to overcome alignment difficulties previously encountered and fabricate short channel devices with unprecedented performance. ...> Full Article

Edible nanostructures (9/7/2010)

Sugar, salt, alcohol and a little serendipity led Northwestern University researchers to discover a new class of nanostructures that could be used for gas storage and food and medical technologies. And the compounds are edible. The porous crystals are the first known all-natural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that are simple to make. Most other MOFs are made from petroleum-based ingredients, but the Northwestern MOFs you can pop into your mouth and eat, and the researchers have. ...> Full Article

A model system for group behavior of nanomachines (9/6/2010)

As reported in the journal Nature, a team of physicists from Technische Universitaet Muenchen and LMU Muenchen has developed a versatile biophysical model system that opens the door to studying phenomena such as the seemingly choreographed motion of hundreds or thousands of fish, birds or insects, and probing their underlying principles. Using a combination of an experimental platform and theoretical models, more complex systems can now be described and their properties investigated. ...> Full Article

Developments in nanobiotechnology point to medical applications (9/5/2010)

Two new groundbreaking scientific papers by researchers at UC Santa Barbara demonstrate the synthesis of nanosize biological particles with the potential to fight cancer and other illnesses. The studies introduce new approaches that are considered "green" nanobiotechnology because they use no artificial compounds. ...> Full Article

The perfect nanocube: Precise control of size, shape and composition (9/4/2010)

Researchers at NIST have developed a simple process for producing near-perfect nanocrystals that will enable studies of physical and chemical properties that affect how nanoparticles interact with the world around them. ...> Full Article

Tiny rulers to measure nanoscale structures (9/2/2010)

Physicists at China's Wuhan University discovered that nanospheres combined with a nanorod dimer could be used to solve the problem of measurement sensitivity at the nanoscale -- work reported in the Journal of Applied Physics. ...> Full Article

High-speed filter uses electrified nanostructures to purify water at low cost (9/1/2010)

Stanford researchers have developed a water-purifying filter that makes the process more than 80,000 times faster than existing filters. The key is coating the filter fabric -- ordinary cotton -- with nanotubes and silver nanowires, then electrifying it. The filter uses very little power, has no moving parts and could be used throughout the developing world. ...> Full Article