Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Nanoscale approaches to designing contrast agents for cancer detection

The effectiveness of optical imaging processes can be significantly improved with suitable dyes used as contrast agents. Now, researchers have introduced a novel contrast agent that marks tumor cells in vitro. The dye is a phosphorescent ruthenium complex incorporated into nanoparticles of a metal-organic coordination polymer, which allows an extraordinarily high level of dye loading.

Apr 20th, 2011

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Detecting single cancer cells with carbon nanotubes

A multidisciplinary team of investigators at Harvard and MIT have created a new device that can detect single cancer cells in a blood sample, potentially allowing doctors to quickly determine whether cancer has spread from its original site. The microfluidic device is about the size of a dime, and could also detect cancer-causing viruses such as hepatitis B and C and the human papilloma virus.

Apr 20th, 2011

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Researchers now one step closer to controlled engineering of nanocatalysts

Yu Huang, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and her research team have proposed and demonstrated a new approach to producing nanocrystals with predictable shapes by utilizing surfactants, biomolecules that can bind selectively to certain facets of the crystals' exposed surfaces.

Apr 20th, 2011

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LED efficiency puzzle solved by theorists using quantum-mechanical calculations

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, say they've figured out the cause of a problem that's made light-emitting diodes (LEDs) impractical for general lighting purposes. Their work will help engineers develop a new generation of high-performance, energy-efficient lighting that could replace incandescent and fluorescent bulbs.

Apr 19th, 2011

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New biosensor microchip holding more than 100,000 nanosensors could speed up drug development

A new biosensor microchip that could hold more than 100,000 magnetically sensitive nanosensors could speed up drug development markedly, Stanford researchers say. The nanosensors analyze how proteins bond - a critical step in drug development. The ultrasensitive sensors can simultaneously monitor thousands of times more proteins than existing technology, deliver results faster and assess the strength of the bonds.

Apr 19th, 2011

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Atomic electrical field sensor using single diamond spins

Electrical fields play a pivotal role in numerous cases in both nature and technical areas: by changing the electrical field, impulses of nerves are transmitted and modern data storage operates by saving electrical charges the so-called Flash Memories. An ultra-precise reading of electrical fields, however, is still a challenge for physical measurement techniques. Researchers from the University of Stuttgart succeeded in measuring electrical fields with the aid of one single defect center in diamond.

Apr 19th, 2011

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