Feature Channels: Nanotechnology

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NanoEngineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing new types of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that could be used in a variety of NASA space exploration projects – and in a wide range of transportation and consumer applications. NEI Corporation and UC San Diego recently won a Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer contract from NASA to develop and implement high energy density cathode materials for lithium batteries.

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In a step toward more efficient, smaller and higher-definition display screens, a University of Michigan professor has developed a new type of color filter made of nano-thin sheets of metal with precisely spaced gratings.

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Future flash memory could be faster and store more data without changing its basic design by using a clever nanocrystal material proposed by scientists at Taiwan's Chang Gung University, who describe a new logical element made with the rare earth material gadolinium in the journal Applied Physics Letters.

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Nanoscale simulations and theoretical research performed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are bringing scientists closer to realizing graphene’s potential in electronic applications.

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Breakthrough discovery enables nanoscale manipulation of the piezoelectric effect.

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Harnessing darkness for practical use, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a laser power detector coated with the world's darkest material—a forest of carbon nanotubes that reflects almost no light across the visible and part of the infrared spectrum.

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Researchers from the U.S. and France report the development of a mirco-supercapacitor with remarkable properties in a paper published on August 15 in Nature Nanotechnology online. These micro-supercapacitors have the potential to power wireless sensor networks, biomedical implants, RFID tags and embedded microsensors, among other devices.

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Building on an enzyme found in nature, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created a nanoscale coating for surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces which safely eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections.

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In one of only two studies of its kind, a study from researchers at Tufts University demonstrates that non-viral gene therapy can delay the onset of some forms of eye disease and preserve vision. The team developed nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic genes to the retina and found that treated mice temporarily retained more eyesight than controls. The study brings researchers closer to a non-viral gene therapy treatment for degenerative eye disorders.

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Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a method for predicting the ways nanoparticles will interact with biological systems – including the human body.

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A little wax and soap can help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries, according to a study in August 11 issue of Nano Letters. The one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to the lithium ion-metal oxide batteries currently on the market.

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Researchers at the University of Cincinnati Nanoelectronics Laboratory are actively pursuing an alternative approach for low-power displays and hope to provide details about what's ahead for display technology. Their assessment appears in the American Institute of Physics' Applied Physics Letters.

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Thin layers of oxide materials and their interfaces have been observed in atomic resolution during growth for the first time by researchers at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, providing new insight into the complicated link between their structure and properties.

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Following this guiding principle, NIST researchers have engineered a nanoscale fluidic device that functions as a miniature 'multi-tool' for working with nanoparticles-objects whose dimensions are measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter.

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Researchers in Canada have combined DNA microarrays with microfluidic devices, which are used for the precise control of liquids at the nanoscale. An article in an upcoming issue of the journal Biomicrofluidics, describes how the first combined device can be used for sorting DNA.

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In the quest for efficient, cost-effective and commercially viable fuel cells, scientists at Cornell University’s Energy Materials Center have discovered a catalyst and catalyst-support combination that could make fuel cells more stable, conk-out free, inexpensive and more resistant to carbon monoxide poisoning.

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NIST researchers have cultivated many thousands of nanocrystals in what looks like a pinscreen or "pin art" on silicon, a step toward reliable mass production of semiconductor nanowires for millionths-of-a-meter-scale devices such as sensors and lasers.

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Kinked nanopores and atomic-layer deposition enable fivefold slowdown in DNA studies, and also enable separation of single- and double-stranded DNA.

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Using chemical “nanoblasts” that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells.

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A normally benign protein found in the human body appears to be able – when paired with nanoparticles – to zero in on and kill certain cancer cells, without having to also load those particles with chemotherapy drugs. The finding could lead to a new strategy for targeted cancer therapies, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists who made the discovery.

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By combining a nanoparticle's magnetic and thermal properties, researchers have created a new technique that virtually eliminates the background noise from non-radioactive medical imaging.

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A group of researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is developing a way to treat cancer by using lasers to light up tiny nanoparticles and destroy tumors with the ensuing heat.

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A group of researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) is developing a way to treat cancer by using lasers to light up tiny nanoparticles and destroy tumors with the ensuing heat.

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Northeastern’s nanomanufacturing center receives Massachusetts Technology Collaborative grant to commercialize the products of its research.

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Tomorrow’s television and computer screens could be brighter, clearer and more energy-efficient as a result of a process developed by a team of researchers from Canada and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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K-State research team using gene-silencing nanoparticles to deliver dsRNA into mosquito larvae to make developing insects more susceptible to pesticides.

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New research accepted by the Journal of Molecular Recognition confirms that a revolutionary technology developed at Wake Forest University will slash years off the time it takes to develop drugs – bringing vital new treatments to patients much more quickly.

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Researchers use precise electrical “tweezers” to place nanowires on predetermined spots on single cells. The technique eventually could produce new ways to deliver medication.

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Scientists have designed a nanoparticle that appears to effectively deliver genetic material into cells with minimal toxic effects.

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A team of Kansas State University researchers is exploring nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia in the battle against cancer.

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NIST researchers have developed an AFM method that does more than skim the surface: It can probe subsurface conditions, including the distribution of carbon nanotubes in nanocomposite materials.

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Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, NIST scientists report progress toward developing the means for a rapid diagnostic blood test that scans for thousands of disease markers and other chemical indicators of health.

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Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a simple new method for producing large quantities of the promising nanomaterial graphene. The new technique works at room temperature, needs little processing, and paves the way for cost-effective mass production of graphene.

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Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new, ultra-simple method for making layers of gold that measure only billionths of a meter thick. The process, which requires no sophisticated equipment and works on nearly any surface including silicon wafers, could have important implications for nanoelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing.

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An international team of researchers led by McGill’s Dr. Dmitrii Perepichka and the Institut national de la recherche scientifique’s has effectively discovered a way to order the molecules in the PEDOT, the single most industrially important conducting polymer.

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Scientists have made a breakthrough toward creating nanocircuitry on graphene. They have devised a simple, one-step process for creating nanowires, tuning the electronic properties of reduced graphene oxide and thereby allowing it to switch from being an insulating material to a conducting material.

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Using a chemical trick that allows them to change the acidity of a solution almost instantly, a team at NIST has demonstrated a simple and effective technique for quantifying how the stability of nanoparticle solutions change when the acidity of their environment suddenly changes.

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Researchers have found that flaws in the structure of magnetic nanoscale wires play an important role in determining the operating speed of novel devices using such nanowires to store and process information.

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Researchers at NIST, the University of Maryland (UM) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have developed a method to combine liposomes and particles of hydrogel in a hybrid nanoscale particle that may one day travel directly to specific cells such as tumors, pass easily though the target's cell membrane, and then slowly release a drug payload.

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Moore’s law marches on: In the quest for faster and cheaper computers, scientists have imaged pore structures in insulation material at sub-nanometer scale for the first time. Understanding these structures could substantially enhance computer performance and power usage of integrated circuits, say Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) and Cornell University scientists.

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Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new nanotechnology-based “microlens” that uses gold to boost the strength of infrared imaging and could lead to a new generation of ultra-powerful satellite cameras and night-vision devices.

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At the scale of the very small, physics can get peculiar. A University of Michigan biomedical engineering professor has discovered a new instance of such a nanoscale phenomenon---one that could lead to faster, less expensive portable diagnostic devices and push back frontiers in building micro-mechanical and "lab on a chip" devices.

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A team of Clarkson University scientists are using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to record sounds emanating from inside living insects like flies, mosquitoes and ladybugs. The research may help in finding solutions to the problems caused by insect pests.

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A team of scientists from Columbia University, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have programmed an autonomous molecular "robot" made out of DNA to start, move, turn, and stop while following a DNA track.

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Researchers have developed a way to enhance how brain tumors appear in MRI scans and during surgery, making the tumors easier for surgeons to identify and remove.

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Tiny, melanin-covered nanoparticles may protect bone marrow from the harmful effects of radiation therapy, according to scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University who successfully tested the strategy in mouse models. Infusing these particles into human patients may hold promise in the future. The research is described in the current issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics.

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Pokeberries – the weeds that children smash to stain their cheeks purple-red and that Civil War soldiers used to write letters home – could be the key to spreading solar power across the globe, according to researchers at Wake Forest University’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials.

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Scientists have no problem making a menagerie of nanometer-sized objects -- wires, tubes, belts, and even tree-like structures. What they sometimes have been unable to do is explain precisely how those objects form in the vapor and liquid cauldrons in which they are made.

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Mimicking the human nervous system for bionic applications could become a reality with the help of a method developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to process carbon nanotubes.

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Scientists and engineers have used uniform magnetic fields to drive iron-bearing nanoparticles to metal stents in injured blood vessels, where the particles deliver a drug payload that successfully prevents blockages in those vessels. In this animal study, the novel technique achieved better results at a lower dose than conventional non-magnetic stent therapy.