Nanotechnologies News

The wood-based hierarchical solar steam generator: CNT - carbon nanotubes, BC - bacterial cellulose, GB - glass bubbles. Image credit: Guan et al, doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01088.

New Device Harnesses Solar Energy to Purify Water

Jul 8, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China has developed an efficient and sustainable hierarchical steam generator that,...

With wall thicknesses of about 160 nm, a closed-cell, plate-based nanolattice structure is the first experimental verification that such arrangements reach the theorized limits of strength and stiffness in porous materials. Image credit: Cameron Crook & Jens Bauer, University of California, Irvine.

Newly-Developed Carbon Nanolattices are Stronger than Diamonds

Apr 14, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has created carbon nanolattices — constructed from closed-cell plate-architectures — that are stronger...

Walker et al developed a solid-state ultrasound contrast agent for monitoring pH fluctuations. Image credit: Walker et al, doi: 10.1021/acssensors.0c00245.

Researchers Create First Ultrasound Biosensor

Mar 30, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Monash University and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute has developed a new biosensor that can be used inside a body and...

The new flat lens could drastically reduce the weight, complexity and cost of cameras and other imaging systems, while increasing their functionality. Image credit: Rajesh Menon, University of Utah.

Scientists Develop Focus-Free Camera with Flat Lens

Mar 18, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and Oblate Optics, Inc. has created a camera that does not require focusing. The new...

Left: a tiny bead struck by a laser produces optical modes that circulate around the interior of the bead. Right: a simulation of how the optical field inside a 5-micron bead is distributed. Image credit: Berkeley Lab.

Researchers Create Nanoparticle-Based Microlasers

Jan 3, 2020 by News Staff

Researchers from the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found a way to convert nanoparticle-coated microscopic plastic beads...

Ogle et al modified BODIPY molecules to serve as nano-thermometers inside cells. The chart on the left is a compilation of fluorescent lifetime micrographs showing the molecules’ response to temperature, in Celsius. At right, the structure of the molecule shows the rotor, at bottom, which is modified to restrict 360-degree rotation. Image credit: Meredith Ogle / Rice University.

Fluorescent Nano-Thermometer Can Measure Temperature inside Cells

Aug 30, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine has used a modified version of the boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) molecular rotor...

The nanoscale heat engine. Image credit: John Goold, Trinity College Dublin.

World’s Tiniest Engine Created

Aug 23, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Trinity College Dublin and the Universität Mainz has developed the world’s smallest engine. The nanoscale heat engine. Image...

Hindley et al created artificial cells that sense calcium ions and respond by fluorescing. Image credit: Zehua Hu / Imperial College London.

Scientists Create Artificial Cells Capable of Sensing and Responding to Changes in Their Environment

Aug 5, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers at Imperial College London, UK, has created micromachines that sense and respond to external chemical signals through activation...

NO-Scv gel-mediated anti-inflammation therapy. Image credit: Pohang University of Science and Technology.

Nitric Oxide-Scavenging Nanogel Could Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis

Jun 12, 2019 by News Staff

Nitric oxide (NO), a radical gas molecule produced by nitric oxide synthase, prevents high blood pressure and artery plaque build-up in the human body....

eNPoMs (electrochromic nanoparticle-on-mirror constructs) formed from gold nanoparticles encapsulated in a conductive polymer shell. Image credit: Hyeon-Ho Jeong & Jialong Peng / NanoPhotonics Cambridge.

Gold Nanoparticles Used to Create Smallest Ever Pixels

May 13, 2019 by News Staff

Nanopixels created by University of Cambridge researchers are a million times smaller than those in smartphone screens. The team’s work was published...

Injectable photoreceptor-binding nanoparticles with the ability to convert photons from low-energy to high-energy forms allow mice to develop infrared vision without compromising their normal vision and associated behavioral responses. Image credit: Ma et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.038.

Injectable Nanoparticles Give Mice Infrared Vision

Mar 4, 2019 by News Staff

Humans and other mammals are limited to seeing a range of wavelengths of light called visible light, which includes the wavelengths of the rainbow. But...

This is the first textile to automatically change properties to trap or release heat depending on conditions. Image credit: Faye Levine, University of Maryland.

‘Cool’ Textile Automatically Regulates Amount of Heat that Passes through It

Feb 11, 2019 by News Staff

Made from specially engineered infrared-sensitive yarn, which responds to changes in the temperature and humidity of a person’s skin by dynamically collapsing...

Wei et al developed a biomimetic self-propelling micromotor formulation for use as an oral antivirulence vaccine; the propulsion is provided by a magnesium-based core, and a biomimetic cell membrane coating is used to detain and neutralize a toxic antigenic payload; the resulting motor toxoids leverage their propulsion properties in order to more effectively elicit mucosal immune responses. Image credit: Wei et al, doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b05051.

Self-Propelling Micromotors Deliver Oral Vaccines

Feb 11, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the University of California San Diego has developed oral antivirulence vaccines powered by self-propelling micromotors that target...

Han et al created an epoxy-graphene foam compound that is tough and conductive without adding significant weight. Image credit: Rice University.

Researchers Create Tough, Conductive Epoxy-Graphene Foam Compound

Nov 16, 2018 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Rice University has combined epoxy with an ultra-stiff graphene foam and carbon nanotube scaffold to build a resilient composite...

An electrode network and cyanobacteria were 3D printed on a mushroom to generate bio-electricity. Image credit: Joshi et al, doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02642.

Bionic Mushrooms Covered in Cyanobacteria Produce Bio-Electricity

Nov 7, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology has developed bionic mushrooms patterned with energy-producing cyanobacterial colonies and...

Karshalev et al created a micromotor pill and demonstrated its attractive use as a platform for oral delivery of active micromotors: (A) left: schematic of in vivo administration of a micromotor pill for actuation in the stomach; right: schematic of the micromotor pill composition consisting of a lactose/maltose pill matrix and the encapsulated a magnesium/titanium dioxide/polylactic-co-glycolic acid (Mg/TiO2/PLGA) micromotors; a zoom-in view illustrates the micromotor structure consisting of a Mg microsphere core with a TiO2 shell layer and a cargo-loaded PLGA film coating; (B) schematic of micromotor pill dissolution in gastric fluid and subsequent micromotor release; (C) left: image showing different sizes of disk-shaped micromotor pills; center: microscope image showing the dissolution of a micromotor pill in gastric fluid simulant; right: propulsion of the released Mg-based micromotors in gastric fluid simulant. Image credit: Karshalev et al, doi: 10.1021/acsnano.8b03760.

Researchers Create Micromotor Pill

Sep 14, 2018 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego has found a way to encapsulate micromotors into pills. The pill’s coating protects the...

Workers in hospitals and nuclear facilities can wear disposable yeast badges to check their daily radiation exposure instantly. Image credit: Kayla Wiles, Purdue University.

Researchers Create Wearable Yeast-Based Radiation Sensor

Aug 30, 2018 by News Staff

A new radiation sensor developed by Purdue University researchers is a wearable, disposable, film-type device fabricated on a paper substrate with cells...

Assembly of nanostructured CNF fibers. Upper image: schematic of double flow-focusing channel used for CNF assembly; the CNF suspension is injected in the core flow (light brown color), deionized water (blue color) in the first sheath, and acid at low pH (light green color) in the second sheath flows; arrows show the flow direction; hydrodynamic and electrostatic interactions at different positions along the channel are illustrated schematically on the right. Bottom images: SEM image (left) of the fiber surface, where the dense fibrillar network with well-preserved anisotropic arrangement can be seen; SEM image (right) of the cross section of the fiber, showing the aligned nanofibrils. Scale bars are 3 μm; in insets are 400 nm. Image credit: Mittal et al, doi: 10.1021/acsnano.8b01084.

Newly-Developed Biomaterial is Stronger than Steel and Spider Silk

May 22, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has developed a new biodegradable material which is stronger than steel and even than dragline spider silk. The results...

Shivaji et al demonstrated a green, biogenic synthesis route for making quantum dots with 2-5 nm particle size using tea leaf extract as a toxic-free particle stabilizing agent. Image credit: Mushayev Masrur.

Nanoparticles Derived from Tea Leaves Kill Lung Cancer Cells

May 22, 2018 by News Staff

According to new research led Swansea University, UK, nanoparticles derived from leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) inhibit the growth of lung...