Electronic devices of the future could be smaller, faster, more powerful and consume less energy because of a discovery by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed an "electronic glue" that could accelerate advances in semiconductor-based technologies, including solar cells and thermoelectric devices that convert sun light and waste heat, respectively, into useful electrical energy.
By combining the art of origami with nanotechnology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have folded sheets of DNA into multilayered objects with dimensions thousands of times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. These tiny structures could be forerunners of custom-made biomedical nanodevices that would deliver drugs directly into patients' cells.
Collaboration between scientists at medical school and nearby metropolitan campus in Arkansas detected, tracked and killed cancer cells in real time in living system with carbon nanotubes.
The U.S. military can now calibrate high-power laser systems, such as those intended to defuse unexploded mines, more quickly and easily thanks to a novel nanotube-coated power measurement device developed at NIST.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a membrane-penetrating nanoneedle for the targeted delivery of one or more molecules into the cytoplasm or the nucleus of living cells. In addition to ferrying tiny amounts of cargo, the nanoneedle can also be used as an electrochemical probe and as an optical biosensor.
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created the first carbon nanotube device that can detect the entire visible spectrum of light, a feat that could soon allow scientists to probe single molecule transformations, study how those molecules respond to light, observe how the molecules change shapes, and understand other fundamental interactions between molecules and nanotubes.
Three years after breaking ground, Georgia Tech is set to dedicate the Marcus Nanotechnology Building, one of the most ambitious and expensive projects in the Institute's history. The ceremony will be held on Friday, April 24, at 3 p.m.
The 190,000-square-foot complex poises Georgia Tech to be a global hub for nanotechnology research and development while igniting an environment that could potentially transform both local and state economies.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have found a new way to make transistors smaller and faster. The technique uses self-assembled, self-aligned, and defect-free nanowire channels made of gallium arsenide.
A group of Clarkson University researchers has discovered a previously unknown feature that distinguishes cancer from normal cells. They have identified a critical difference between the surface properties of normal and cancer cells: variation in brushes or tiny "hairs" that cover the cell surface.
New research described in AIP's the Journal of Chemical Physics may lead to better molecular electronics, ultra-thin materials, and understanding of proteins in the human body.
The speed at which heat moves between two materials touching each other is a potent indicator of how strongly they are bonded to each other, according to a new study by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Additionally, the study shows that this flow of heat from one material to another, in this case one solid and one liquid, can be dramatically altered by "painting" a thin atomic layer between materials.
Vikas Berry, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Kansas State University, is leading research combining biological materials with graphene, a recently developed carbon material that is only a single atom thick.
University of Maryland chemistry Professor John Fourkas and his research group have developed a new laser technique called RAPID (Resolution Augmentation through Photo-Induced Deactivation) lithography that creates ever smaller computer chip features without the use of expensive ultraviolet light.
By combining the results of a number of powerful techniques for studying material structure at the nanoscale, a team of researchers from NIST, working with colleagues in other federal labs and abroad, believe they have settled a long-standing debate over the source of the unique electronic properties of a material with potentially great importance for wireless communications.
A multidisciplinary team of investigators from Case Western Reserve University, Duke University and University of Massachusetts, Amherst, created an environment where magnetic particles suspended within a specialized liquid solution acted like molecular sheep dogs by nudging free-floating human cells to form chains in response to external magnetic fields.
NIST and Cornell University researchers have used a manufacturing process for integrated circuits at the nanometer level to engineer the first-ever nanofluidic device with complex 3-D surfaces. The Lilliputian chamber is a prototype for future tools with custom-designed surfaces to manipulate and measure different nanoparticles in solution.
University of Arkansas engineering researchers have created stable superhydrophilic surfaces on a glass substrate. The surfaces, made of randomly placed and densely distributed micron-sized silicon islands with nano-sized spikes, allow water to quickly penetrate textures and spread over the surface.
Professor Nikhil Koratkar of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has demonstrated that incorporating chemically treated carbon nanotubes into an epoxy composite can significantly improve the overall toughness, fatigue resistance, and durability of a composite frame. The discovery could lead to tougher, more durable composite frames for aircraft, watercraft, and automobiles.
A research team from NIST and the University of Colorado has shown how to detect and monitor the tiny amount of light reflected directly off the needle point of an atomic force microscope probe, and in so doing has demonstrated a 100-fold improvement in the stability of the instrument's measurements under ambient conditions, work that potentially affects a broad range of research from nanomanufacturing to biology.
Researchers have developed the first hollow gold nanospheres "” smaller than the finest flecks of dust "” that search out and "cook" cancer cells. The cancer-destroying nanospheres show particular promise as a minimally invasive future treatment for malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for presentation in March at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Researchers at the Maryland NanoCenter at the University of Maryland have developed new systems for storing electrical energy derived from alternative sources that are, in some cases, 10 times more efficient than what is commercially available.
A new study answers a key question at the very heart of nanotechnology: Why are nanorods so small? Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered the origins of nanorod diameter, demonstrating that the competition and collaboration among various mechanisms of atomic transport hold the key to nanorod size. The researchers say it is the first study to identify the fundamental reasons why nearly all nanorods have a diameter on the order of 100 nanometers.
The latest developments in nanotechnology and its potential for use in the food industry is the subject of a seminar on April 30 in London. "Does size really matter?" will be the issue addressed at the seminar, sponsored by the British section of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in cooperation with the Society of Chemic Industry (SCI) and the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST). The seminar will be held at the SCI Lecture Theatre, London.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new technique for growing slimmer copper nanorods, a key step for advancing integrated 3-D chip technology. These thinner copper nanorods fuse together at about 300 degrees Celsius. This relatively low annealing temperature could make the nanorods ideal for use in heat-sensitive nanoelectronics, particularly for "gluing" together the stacked components of 3-D computer chips.
Friction is a force that affects any application where moving parts come into contact; the more surface contact there is, the stronger the force. At the nanoscale "” mere billionths of a meter "” friction can wreak havoc on tiny devices made from only a small number of atoms or molecules. With their high surface-to-volume ratio, nanomaterials are especially susceptible to the forces of friction.
Researchers at Canada's National Institute for Nanotechnology and the University of Alberta have engineered an approach that is leading to improved performance of plastic solar cells (hybrid organic solar cells). After two years of research, these U of A and NINT scientists have seen improvements of about 30 per cent in the efficiency of their working model.
The NIST NanoFab (nanoscale fabrication facility) is expanding its capabilities to serve researchers, academic institutions and businesses that specialize in developing and bringing to market nanotechnology-related products and processes.
Researchers at NIST and The Johns Hopkins University have constructed a unique tool for exploring the properties of promising new materials with unprecedented sensitivity and speed, potentially allowing them to identify quickly those most useful for nanotechnology and industrial applications.
European food companies use nanotechnology, but few tell consumers, said Dutch food scientist Frans Kampers Feb. 14 at the AAAS symposium "From Donuts to Drugs: Nano-Biotechnology Evolution or Revolution." Nano-bioscience its many issues now affect most scientists, said Rod Hill, a University of Idaho professor and symposium organizer.
Fibers in the mucus coatings of the eyes, lungs, stomach or reproductive system naturally bundle together and allow the tiniest disease-causing bugs, allergens or pollutants to slip by. But researchers have discovered a way to chemically shrink the holes in the "netting" so that it will keep out more unwanted particles.
University of Utah scientists developed a new method that uses a mirror of tiny silver "nanoparticles" so microscopes can reveal the internal structure of nearly opaque biological materials like bone, tumor cells and the iridescent green scales of the "photonic beetle." The method also might be used for detecting fatigue in materials used to build the new generation of aircraft fuselages, tails and wings.
Researchers in West Virginia and Japan are reporting an advance toward a blood test that could help protect consumers from new products containing potentially harmful kinds of nanotubes. These ultra small wisps of carbon "” 1/5,000th the width a single human hair "” may become the basis for multibillion-dollar medical, consumer electronics, and other industries in the future.
University of Michigan scientists report early evidence that a super-fine oil-and-water emulsion, already shown to kill many other microbes, may be able to quell the ravaging, often drug-resistant infections that cause nearly all cystic fibrosis deaths.
NIST researchers have discovered that a carefully built magnetic sandwich has dramatically enhanced sensitivity to magnetic fields and could lead to greatly improved magnetic sensors for a wide range of applications from weapons detection and non-destructive testing to medical devices and high-performance data storage.
What if you could change the color of your car to black and gold (or red and white) in seconds? Scientists have developed a paramagnetic paint that can change color like a football fan changes a T-shirt. It's all part of the amazing world of materials that's covered in three-minute podcasts on "Materials Radio," a new service of ASM International, the materials information society.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a new method for controlling the nature of graphene, bringing academia and industry potentially one step closer to realizing the mass production of graphene-based nanoelectronics. The chemistry of the surface on which graphene is deposited plays a key role in shaping the material's conductive properties.
Engineering smart bridges that can thoroughly discuss their health with inspectors is the goal of a new $19-million project led by the University of Michigan.
Using nanoscale 'test tubes' NIST researchers have demonstrated how terahertz spectroscopy can reveal the dynamic behavior of biomolecules like amino acids and proteins in water, important data for understanding their complex molecular behavior.
Researchers from NIST and Rice University have demonstrated a simple, inexpensive way to induce carbon nanotubes to 'self-assemble' in long, regular strands, a useful technique for studying nanotube properties and potentially a new way to assemble nanotube-based devices
NIST researchers have devised a new method to cast arrays of metal oxide nanotubes to create novel gas sensors that are a hundred to 1,000 times more sensitive than current devices based on thin films.
Electrical engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have demonstrated that magnetic nanotubes combined with nerve growth factor can enable specific cells to differentiate into neurons. The results from in vitro studies show that magnetic nanotubes may be exploited to treat neurodegenerative disorders.
Using a simple chemical process, scientists at Cornell and DuPont have invented a method of preparing carbon nanotubes for suspension in a semiconducting "ink," which can then be printed into such thin, flexible electronics as transistors and photovoltaic materials.
Research conducted at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Northeastern University led to the development of rapid template-assisted assembly of polymer blends in the nanoscale. The research team created a highly effective process that takes only 30 seconds to complete and does not require annealing.
Researchers have developed a new generation of microscopic particles for molecular imaging, constituting one of the first promising nanoparticle platforms that may be readily adapted for tumor targeting and treatment in the clinic.
A carbon nanotube-coated "smart yarn" that conducts electricity could be woven into soft fabrics that detect blood and monitor health, engineers at the University of Michigan have demonstrated.
Carbon, the active ingredient in charcoal, is normally not considered a fire retardant, but researchers at NIST have determined that adding a small amount of carbon nanofibers to the polyurethane foams used in some upholstered furniture can reduce flammability by about 35 percent when compared to foam infused with conventional fire retardants.