#Sixteen nanometres in 3d Tomography enables the interior of a vast range of objects to be depicted in 3d from cellular structures to technical appliances.
Until now, the relevant details on a scale of a few nanometres were only visible with methods that required very thin samples.
With the aid of a special prototype setup at the PSI's Swiss Light source (SLS) the researchers have achieved now a 3d resolution of sixteen nanometres on a nanoporous glass test sample
It is specialized for studies where researchers are interested in details that are a few nanometres in size, such as the fine structures of cell components or modern catalysts and batteries.
For thick samples, hard X-ray tomography was limited to a resolution of around 150 nanometres. For many years, X-ray tomography has been conducted at various synchrotron light sources, such as The swiss Light source at the PSI.
During the measurement, they were able to achieve a spatial resolution of sixteen nanometres and achieve a world record."
So we had to know the position of the sample to within a few nanometres throughout the entire measurement,
#DNA-linked nanoparticles form switchable'thin films'on a liquid surface Scientists seeking ways to engineer the assembly of tiny particles measuring just billionths of a meter have achieved a new firsthe
formation of a single layer of nanoparticles on a liquid surface where the properties of the layer can be switched easily.
In addition, because the scientists used tiny synthetic strands of DNA to hold the nanoparticles together
the study also offers insight into the mechanism of interactions of nanoparticles and DNA molecules near a lipid membrane.
This understanding could inform the emerging use of nanoparticles as vehicles for delivering genes across cellular membranes."
"Our work reveals how DNA-coated nanoparticles interact and reorganize at a lipid interface, and how that process affects the properties of a"thin film"made of DNA-linked nanoparticles,
"said physicist Oleg Gang who led the study at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) at the U s. Department of energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory.
The results will be published in the June 11, 2014 print edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
the synthetic DNA strands used as"glue"to bind nanoparticles in this study have a natural tendency to pair up
Scientists at Brookhaven have made great use of the specificity of this attractive force to get nanoparticles coated with single synthetic DNA strands to pair up
"Many of the applications we envision for nanoparticles, such as optical coatings and photovoltaic and magnetic storage devices, require planar geometry,
Other groups of scientists have assembled such planes of nanoparticles, essentially floating them on a liquid surface,
"Using DNA linker molecules gives us a way to control the interactions between the nanoparticles."
the scientists demonstrated their ability to achieve differently structured monolayers, from a viscous fluid-like array to a more tightly woven cross-linked elastic meshnd switch between those different statesy varying the strength of the pairing between COMPLEMENTARY DNA strands
a lipid, has a strong positive charge it attracts the negatively charged DNA strands that coat the nanoparticles.
That electrostatic attraction and the repulsion between the negatively charged DNA molecules surrounding adjacent nanoparticles overpower the attractive force between COMPLEMENTARY DNA bases.
the particles form a rather loosely arrayed free-floating viscous monolayer. Adding salt changes the interactions
and link the nanoparticles together more closely, first forming string-like arrays, and with more salt, a more solid yet elastic mesh-like layer."
when the particle sizes and the DNA chain sizes are comparablen the order of 20-50 nanometers,
As part of the study, the scientists examined the different configurations of the nanoparticles on top of the liquid layer using x-ray scattering at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light source (NSLS.
They also transferred the monolayer produced at each salt concentration to a solid surface so they could visualize it using electron microscopy at the CFN."
"Creating these particle monolayers at a liquid interface is very convenient and effective because the particles'two-dimensional structure is very'fluid
and electron microscopy imaging we could confirm that the transfer can be done with minimal disruption to the monolayer."
"The switchable nature of the monolayers might be particularly attractive for applications such as membranes used for purification and separations,
or nanoscale objects through liquid interfaces. For example, said Gang, when particles are linked but move freely at the interface,
Because of the nanoscale size-regime, we might envision using such membranes for filtering proteins or other nanoparticles,
Understanding how synthetic DNA-coated nanoparticles interact with a lipid surface may also offer insight into how such particles coated with actual genes might interact with cell membraneshich are composed largely of lipidsnd with one another in a lipid environment."
"Other groups have considered using DNA-coated nanoparticles to detect genes within cells, or even for delivering genes to cells for gene therapy
I believe this approach has significant value as a platform for more detailed investigations of realistic systems important for these new biomedical applications of DNA NANOPARTICLE pairings,
#Charging portable electronics in 10 minutes Researchers at the University of California Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have developed a three-dimensional silicon-decorated cone-shaped carbon nanotube cluster architecture for lithium ion battery anodes that could enable charging of portable
In a paper Silicon Decorated Cone Shaped Carbon nanotube Clusters for Lithium ion battery Anode recently published in the journal Small UC Riverside researchers developed a novel structure of three-dimensional silicon decorated cone-shaped
carbon nanotube clusters architecture via chemical vapor deposition and inductively coupled plasma treatment. Lithium ion batteries based on this novel architecture demonstrate a high reversible capacity and excellent cycling stability.
#Technology using microwave heating may impact electronics manufacture Engineers at Oregon State university have shown successfully that a continuous flow reactor can produce high-quality nanoparticles by using microwave-assisted heating essentially the same forces
are essentially a"proof of concept"that a new type of nanoparticle production system should actually work at a commercial level."
"Nanoparticles are extraordinarily small particles at the forefront of advances in many biomedical, optical and electronic fields,
researchers worked with lead selenide nanoparticles, which are particularly good for the taggant technologies. Other materials can be synthesized using this reactor for different applications,
Shoei Electronic Materials, one of the collaborators, is pursuing"quantum dot"systems based on this approach, and recently opened new manufacturing facilities in Eugene, Ore.,
to use this synthetic approach for quantum dot enabled televisions, smartphones and other devices d
#Antimicrobial coatings with a long-term effect for surfaces Researchers at the INM Leibniz Institute for New Materials have produced now antimicrobial abrasion-resistant coatings with both silver
"The metal colloids are only a few nanometers in size, but their particular ratio of size to surface area produces a distinctive long-term effect.
#New class of nanoparticle brings cheaper lighter solar cells outdoors Think those flat glassy solar panels on your neighbour's roof are the pinnacle of solar technology?
and tested a new class of solar-sensitive nanoparticle that outshines the current state of the art employing this new class of technology.
This new form of solid stable light-sensitive nanoparticles called colloidal quantum dots could lead to cheaper and more flexible solar cells as well as better gas sensors infrared lasers infrared light emitting diodes and more.
and demonstrated a new colloidal quantum dot n-type material that does not bind oxygen when exposed to air.
But improved performance is just a start for this new quantum dot-based solar cell architecture. The powerful little dots could be mixed into inks
The field of colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics requires continued improvement in absolute performance or power conversion efficiency said Sargent.
Quantum dot photovoltaics set new record for efficiency in such devices More information: Air-stable n-type colloidal quantum dot solids DOI:
10.1038/nmat400 a
#Shatterproof screens that save smartphones University of Akron polymer scientists have developed a transparent electrode that could change the face of smartphones, literally,
As the team describes in their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports the new system is based on adding certain types of nanoparticles to materials as part of the manufacturing process that can be read later using a special device.
The idea revolves around several types of metal nanoparticles each of which has a unique melting point. Mixing the nanoparticles together allows for creating unique thermal signatures.
To use the nanoparticles manufacturers would simply add them into the mix when creating metals papers and even fluids.
The researchers say the addition of the nanoparticles doesn't change how a material looks doesn't react with anything in it
or impact how a finished product performs. Reading the new type of bar code requires a device capable of performing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) a technique based on assessing the difference in the amount of heat required to heat different parts of a sample material.
For criminals to circumvent the process they would have to somehow find out which nanomaterials were added to a product to create its unique thermal signature then add the right mix of nanoparticles to their own counterfeit product to recreate it no easy feat.
The researchers claim their nanoparticle bar codes could be used with paper metals fluids and even drugs.
Taox-capped Pt nanoparticles as efficient catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells More information: Covert thermal barcodes based on phase change nanoparticles Scientific Reports 4 Article number:
5170 DOI: 10.1038/srep05170abstractan unmet need is to develop covert barcodes that can be used to track-trace objects
This paper describes a new nanoparticle-based covert barcode system in which a selected panel of solid-to-liquid phase change nanoparticles with discrete and sharp melting peaks is added in a variety of objects such as
This method has high labeling capacity owing to the small sizes of nanoparticles sharp melting peaks
New nanotech may provide power storage in electric cables clothes Imagine being able to carry all the juice you needed to power your MP3 PLAYER, smartphone and electric car in the fabric of your jacket?
However, nanotechnology scientist and professor Jayan Thomas and his Ph d. student Zenan Yu have developed a way to both transmit and store electricity in a single lightweight copper wire.
special fibers could also be developed with nanostructures to conduct and store energy. More immediate applications could be seen in the design
#Nanotechnology takes on diabetes A sensor which can be used to screen for diabetes in resource-poor settings has been developed by researchers
A low-cost, reusable sensor which uses nanotechnology to screen for and monitor diabetes and other conditions, has been developed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, for use both in clinics and home settings.
The sensors use nanotechnology to monitor levels of glucose, lactate and fructose in individuals with diabetes or urinary tract infections
which organises metal nanoparticles into alternating layers in thin gel films to produce the sensors in a matter of seconds.
what was needed for this solar fuel generator application Deposited as a film ranging in thickness between 4 and 143 nanometers the Tio2 remained optically transparent on the semiconductor crystalsllowing them to absorb lightnd protected them from corrosion
On top of the Tio2 the researchers deposited 100-nanometer-thick islands of an abundant inexpensive nickel oxide material that successfully catalyzed the oxidation of water to form molecular oxygen.
#Using gold nanoprobes to unlock your genetic profile A fast and cost-effective genetic test to determine the correct dosage of blood thinning drugs for the treatment of stroke,
heart problems and deep vein thrombosis has been developed by researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN).
Using gold nanoprobes, this new technology offers personalized healthcare based on the genetic profile of the patients.
By combining our expertise in molecular diagnostics and nanotechnology, we have developed a new genetic test that can determine the appropriate drug dosage to be administered for each patient."
By using gold nanoprobes, IBN's test kit can recognize three of the most common genetic variations,
it is added then to a pink solution of gold nanoparticles. If any of the three genetic variations is present
Prof Ying added,"This nanoprobe technology is highly flexible and can be extended to detect other genetic variations.
Quantum dot photovoltaics set new record for efficiency in such devices Solar-cell technology has advanced rapidly as hundreds of groups around the world pursue more than two dozen approaches using different materials technologies
Now a team at MIT has set a new record for the most efficient quantum dot cells a type of solar cell that is seen as especially promising because of its inherently low cost versatility and light weight.
The new work brings together developments from several fields to push the technology to unprecedented efficiency for a quantum dot based system:
Arthur Nozik a research professor in chemistry at the University of Colorado who was involved not in this research says This result represents a significant advance for the applications of quantum dot films and the technology of low-temperature solution-processed quantum dot photovoltaic cells.#
#There is still a long way to go before quantum dot solar cells are commercially viable but this latest development is a nice step toward this ultimate goal.
Received 06 december 2013 Accepted 15 april 2014 Published online 25 may 2014energy Level Modification in Lead Sulfide Quantum dot Thin Films Through Ligand Exchange.
nearly invisible screen,"said Andreas Roelofs, a coauthor on the paper and interim director of Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials."
#Atomic force microscope systems take a tip from nanowires (Phys. org) In response to requests from the semiconductor industry a team of PML researchers has demonstrated that atomic force microscope (AFM) probe
tips made from its near-perfect gallium nitride nanowires are superior in many respects to standard silicon
or platinum tips in measurements of critical importance to microchip fabrication nanobiotechnology and other endeavors.
In addition the scientists have invented a means of simultaneously using the nanowire tips as LEDS to illuminate a tiny sample region with optical radiation
while it is scanning adding an entirely new dimension to the characterization of nanoelectronics materials and devices.
By itself an AFM provides topographical information at nanometer resolution as its probe tip in the range of 100 nm wide
and receive a microwave signal the system becomes capable of revealing charge-carrier concentrations or defect locations in specific regions of nanoscale materials and devices.
That technique called near-field scanning microwave microscopy (NSMM) had never before been attempted using a nanowire probe.
But as the team showed in a recent paper in Applied Physics Letters nanowire probe tips substantially outperformed commercial Pt tips in both resolution and durability.
and Synthesis of 3d Nanostructures in the Quantum Electronics and Photonics Division is that if you deform them even a little bit
By contrast our nanowire probe tips have a calibration lifetime about 10 times longer than any commercial tip.
The nanowire however retained its original dimensions. Moreover the Gan tips exhibited improved sensitivity and reduced uncertainty compared to a commercial Pt tip.
and negative charge carriers inside a nanostructure#information of great practical significance to microdevice fabricators#and scientists from PML's Electromagnetics Division have made notable progress in the technique.
They believe that the use of nanowire probes in conjunction with the recent arrival of a brand-new custom-built four-probe NSMM instrument will reveal new aspects of nanostructure composition and performance.
Deploying a nanowire as a probe tip sounds deceptively simple. The researchers obtain a conventional AFM cantilever
Then using a minuscule manipulator they break off a single nanowire from a forest of them grown by molecular beam epitaxy insert the wire into the hole and weld it in place.
The researchers tested their tip against a silicon tip a platinum tip and an uncoated Gan nanowire each
The coated nanowire proved about twice as sensitive as the Pt probe and four times as sensitive as the others with superior mechanical performance.
Using the nanowire tip as a light source by doping it so that it functions as an LED.
and scientists are already using lasers to illuminate nanoscale samples during AFM scans. The problem with that approach says veteran NSMM researcher Pavel Kabos of the Advanced High-frequency Devices Program in PML's Electromagnetics Division is that the laser has to shine in from the side.
and the nanoscale light source enables you to inject some carriers very locally in a way you can't do with other methods.
Reaching that goal will require more research into how to dope the Gan nanowires so as to increase efficiency of light output
But we really weren't able to test nanowires as probe tips until a few months ago
and nanometer scale is crucial from semiconductor electronics to biochemistry and medicine. Explore further: High-resolution microscopy technique resolves individual carbon nanotubes under ambient condition c
#DNA NANOTECHNOLOGY places enzyme catalysis within an arm's length Using molecules of DNA like an architectural scaffold, Arizona State university scientists,
in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Michigan, have developed a 3-D artificial enzyme cascade that mimics an important biochemical pathway that could prove important for future biomedical and energy applications.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Led by ASU Professor Hao Yan, the research team included ASU Biodesign Institute researchers Jinglin Fu, Yuhe Yang, Minghui Liu, Professor Yan Liu
Researchers in the field of DNA NANOTECHNOLOGY taking advantage of the binding properties of the chemical building blocks of DNA, twist and self-assemble DNA into evermore imaginative 2-and 3-dimensional structures for medical, electronic and energy applications.
"We look to Nature for inspiration to build man-made molecular systems that mimic the sophisticated nanoscale machineries developed in living biological systems,
and having it work outside the cell is a big challenge for DNA NANOTECHNOLOGY. To meet the challenge,
which can see down to the nanoscale, 1, 000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
"An even loftier and more valuable goal is to engineer highly programmed cascading enzyme pathways on DNA NANOSTRUCTURE platforms with control of input and output sequences.
#Bending helps to control nanomaterials A new remedy has been found to tackle the difficulty of controlling layered nanomaterials.
The mechanism was observed by Academy Research Fellow Pekka Koskinen from the Nanoscience Center of the University of Jyväskylä together with his colleagues from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the US.
The group investigated the Van der waals nanomaterials which consist of stacked and loosely bound two-dimensional atomic layers.
According to Koskinen the observation advances research in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics because it markedly simplifies the interpretation and understanding of the electronic and optical properties of layered materials.
In nanoscience experimental and theoretical research advance side by side. This time the prediction came first and now we eagerly await for an experimental confirmation Koskinen says.
#Nanoparticles on track to distinguish tumour tissue Gold nanoparticles could be used to help detect the margins between tumours and normal tissue,
whether the nanoparticles would work as effective optical contrast agents to provide an estimate of the size and shape of tumour margins during surgery.
"Most research has been done with straight gold nanoparticles as contrast agents but the problem with them is they absorb light very strongly.
"Silica-gold nanoparticles provide greater contrast, visibility To get around this, Mr Duczynski used silica nanoparticles coated with a gold shell (silica-gold core-shell nanoparticles) in his research."
"There are some theoretical and experimental papers where it was observed that by varying the dimensions of either the silica core
because the test requires a high scattering of light at about 850 nanometres for good image contrast."
"Ultraviolet spectroscopy was used on the silica-gold core-shell nanoparticles made by Mr Duczynski to better understand their optical properties, such as extinction, scattering and absorption.
The research also involved the development of iron oxide-gold core shell nanoparticles.""This particle system was attempted because
"I was able to see some scattering of the iron oxide-gold core-shell nanoparticles,
Recently biomedical researchers have found ways to increase the effectiveness of certain contrast agents by associating them with nanoparticles.
Researchers are now exploring the multipurpose use of nanoparticles. If particles could be loaded with several types of contrast agents
though compounds packaged together into a nanoparticle cannot always play well together. For example contrast agents may bind to other chemicals reducing their effectiveness.
In addition when contrast agents are enclosed inside a nanoparticle they may not work as well. Attempts to attach agents to the outer surface of nanoparticles via covalent formation are also problematic as they can negatively affect the activity of the nanoparticles or the compounds that they carry.
Kong Smith and colleagues tackled these challenges by using interactions between naturally occurring biomolecules as a guide.
The group hypothesized that the same types of forces could be used to attach a contrast agent to the surface of a type of nanoparticle called a liposome
Gadolinium stably associated with the modified nanoparticles in solution and experiments in animal models showed that these nanoparticles produced clear diagnostic images.
The strategy works like Velcro on a molecular level to adhere functional units to the outer leaflet of a liposome said Smith who was first author on the study.
10.1021/la500412r) Kong and Smith developed a process for chemically cross-linking the components of the nanoparticle that prolonged the life of the nanoparticles in biological conditions.
Nanoparticle pinpoints blood vessel plaque e
#Liberating devices from their power cords: New structural'supercaps'take a lickin'keep on workin'Imagine a future in which our electrical gadgets are limited no longer by plugs and external power sources.
dull grey wafers that graduate student Andrew Westover and Assistant professor of Mechanical engineering Cary Pint have made in Vanderbilt's Nanomaterials
"Westover's wafers consist of electrodes made from silicon that have been treated chemically so they have nanoscale pores on their inner surfaces
"Combining nanoporous material with the polymer electrolyte bonds the layers together tighter than superglue.""The use of silicon in structural supercapacitors is suited best for consumer electronics and solar cells,
An international team of researchers led by ICFO-Institute of Photonic Sciences in Castelldefels announce the successful development of a lab-on-a-chip platform capable of detecting protein cancer markers in the blood using the very latest advances
in plasmonics nanofabrication microfluids and surface chemistry. The device is able to detect very low concentrations of protein cancer markers in blood enabling diagnoses of the disease in its earliest stages.
This cancer-tracking nanodevice shows great promise as a tool for future cancer treatments not only because of its reliability sensitivity and potential low cost but also because of its easy carry on portable properties which is foreseen to facilitate effective diagnosis and suitable
Although very compact (only a few square centimeters) the lab-on-a-chip hosts various sensing sites distributed across a network of fluidic micro-channels that enables it to conduct multiple analyses.
Gold nanoparticles lie on the surface of the chip and are programed chemically with an antibody receptor in such a way that they are capable of specifically attracting the protein markers circulating in blood.
and if cancer markers are present in the blood they will stick to the nanoparticles located on the micro-channels as they pass by setting off changes in
"When researching nanoparticles, you normally use samples. For us, we set the challenge to coat 2 meters long stainless steel tubes,
#Using light to identify chiral molecules for pharmaceuticals A combination of nanotechnology and a unique twisting property of light could lead to new methods for ensuring the purity and safety of pharmaceuticals.
A direct relationship between the way in which light is twisted by nanoscale structures and the nonlinear way in
The researchers also used tiny gold structures, known as plasmonic nanostructures, to focus the beams of light.
Just as a glass lens can be used to focus sunlight to a certain spot, these plasmonic nanostructures concentrate incoming light into hotspots on their surface,
"By using nanostructures, lasers and this unique twisting property of light, we could selectively destroy the unwanted form of the molecule,
The team created silicon dioxide (Sio2) nanotube anodes for lithium-ion batteries and found they had over three times as much energy storage capacity as the carbon-based anodes currently being used.
The paper,"Stable Cycling of Sio2 Nanotubes as High-performance Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries,"was published online in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
but the ability to synthesize the material into highly uniform exotic nanostructures with high energy density
There key finding was that the silicon dioxide nanotubes are extremely stable in batteries, which is important
Specifically, Sio2 nanotube anodes were cycled 100 times without any loss in energy storage capability and the authors are highly confident that they could be cycled hundreds more times.
The researchers are focused now on developed methods to scale up production of the Sio2 nanotubes in hopes they could become a commercially viable product t
#Researchers find definitive evidence of how zeolites grow Researchers have found the first definitive evidence of how silicalite-1 (MFI type) zeolites grow showing that growth is concerted a process involving both the attachment of nanoparticles and the addition of molecules.
For more than two decades researchers have theorized that nanoparticles which are known to be present in zeolite growth solutions played a role in the growth
or molecules to the crystal the presence and gradual consumption of nanoparticles suggested a nonclassical pathway for zeolite crystallization.
#DNA double helix measurements Researchers at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) have determined the structure of DNA from measurements on a single molecule using atomic force microscopy (AFM),
The structure of these nanometre scale machines is at the heart of our understanding of health and disease,
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