All Articles Tagged As: polymers

An exquisite container (11/6/2009)

A tiny cage of gold covered with a smart polymer responds to light, opening to empty its contents and resealing when the light is turned off. The smart nanocages could be used to deliver drugs directly to target sites, thus avoiding systemic side effects. ...> Full Article

Researchers find new route to nano self-assembly (10/27/2009)

By adding select small molecules to mixtures of nanoparticles and polymers, Berkeley Lab researchers can direct the self-assembly of the nanoparticles into arrays of one, two and even three dimensions with no chemical modifications. ...> Full Article

Team uses self-assembly to make molecule-sized particles with patches of charge (10/23/2009)

Physicists, chemists and engineers have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules that may one day serve as drug-delivery vehicles to combat disease and perhaps be used in small batteries that store and release charge. ...> Full Article

New molecules with many branches will help unleash potential of nanotechnology (10/26/2008)

Materials science and the pharmaceutical industry could soon be revolutionized by emerging nanotechnologies based on designer molecules with long complex tree-and branch structures ...> Full Article

Researchers Use Nanowires to Develop Neural Probe That Will Limit Damage to Cells and Biological Tissue (10/16/2008)

Engineering researchers have developed a neural probe that demonstrates significantly greater electrical charge storage capacity than all other neural prosthetic devices. More charge storage capacity means the device can stimulate nerves and tissues with less damage and sense neural signals with better sensitivity. ...> Full Article

Under pressure at the nanoscale, polymers play by different rules (10/3/2008)

Scientists putting the squeeze on thin films of polystyrene have discovered that at very short length scales the polymer doesn't play by the rules. ...> Full Article

Engineers Discover Nanoparticles Can Break On Through (9/18/2008)

In a finding that could speed the use of sensors or barcodes at the nanoscale, engineers have shown that certain types of tiny organic particles, when heated to the proper temperature, bob to the surface of a layer of a thin polymer film and then can reversibly recede below the surface when heated a second time. ...> Full Article

Researchers Demonstrate a Flexible, One-Step Assembly of Nanoscale Structures: University of Pennsylvania (7/28/2008)

Scientists have created a one-step, repeatable method for the production of functional nanoscale patterns or motifs with adjustable features, size and shape using a single master "plate." ...> Full Article

Metals Shape Up with a Little Help from Friends (7/2/2008)

New method 'self-assembles' metal atoms into porous nanostructures ...> Full Article

Researchers Target Tumors with Tiny 'Nanoworms' (5/9/2008)

Researchers have developed nanometer-sized "nanoworms" that can cruise through the bloodstream without significant interference from the body's immune defense system and-like tiny anti-cancer missiles-home in on tumors. ...> Full Article

New advances in 3D micro-fabrication of polymer nanocomposites (3/11/2008)

A group of researchers headed by Prof. Duan Xuanming with the CAS Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry in Beijing has achieved new advances in in-situ synthesis and fabrication of the 3D-microstrucutres in multi-colored polymer nanocomposites. ...> Full Article

Researchers create invisibiity cloak (3/8/2008)

New technique to control nanoparticles ...> Full Article

Nanosieves Save Energy In Biofuel Production (2/14/2008)

A new type of membrane, developed by scientists of the University of Twente in The Netherlands, can stand high temperatures for a long period of time. This 'molecular sieve' is capable of removing water out of e.g. solvents and biofuels. It is a very energy efficient alternative to existing techniques like distillation. ...> Full Article

Shear Ingenuity: Tweaking the Conductivity of Nanotube Composites (2/6/2008)

One of the immediate applications of carbon nanotubes (CNT) is as an additive to polymers to create electrically conducting plastics-a relatively low CNT concentration can dramatically change the polymer's electrical conductivity by orders of magnitude, from an insulator to a conductor. New measurements by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have uncovered an intriguing wrinkle. For a given CNT concentration, the electrical properties of the composite can be tuned from being a conductor to a non-conductor simply by changing processing conditions-basically how fast the polymer flows. ...> Full Article