Nanotechnology Spotlight – Latest Articles

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Nanolens makes color imaging of nano objects possible

nanolensOptical imaging of materials is full with rich physical, chemical and biological information about the sample, because the optical energies in the visible range coincide with the atomic and molecular transition energies of many materials. Apart from the topographical information, the optical image therefore contains information about intrinsic properties of a material. However, the wave nature of light prevents the light to focus in a volume smaller than half of the wavelength, which is about 200-300 nm for visible light. Therefore, it is almost impossible to image nanomaterials, which could be a few nanometers in size, using optical imaging process. A typical lens made of, for example glass, will not be sufficient to image a nanomaterial. In work that gives rise to a new concept of a lens for optical imaging, scientists in Japan have proposed a lens made of silver nanorods, rather than a curved glass surface. This metallic nanolens is capable of manipulating light in such a way that an optical image of nanoscale objects can be obtained in the visible range.

Jun 17th, 2008

NASA nanotechnology research into shape-shifting airplanes

NASA_morphing_planeYou might have seen our news item from a few days ago about BMW's shape shifting concept car. NASA has worked on something much more revolutionary, called the 'Morphing' program, for a few years already. The idea is that aircraft of the future will not be built of traditional, multiple, mechanically connected parts and systems. Instead, aircraft wing construction will employ fully-integrated, nanotechnology enabled embedded 'smart' materials and actuators that will enable aircraft wings with unprecedented levels of aerodynamic efficiencies and aircraft control. Able to respond to the constantly varying conditions of flight, sensors will act like the nerves in a bird's wing and will measure the pressure over the entire surface of the wing. The response to these measurements will direct actuators, which will function like the bird's wing muscles. Just as a bird instinctively uses different feathers on its wings to control its flight, the actuators will change the shape of the aircraft's wings to continually optimize flying conditions. Active flow control effectors will help mitigate adverse aircraft motions when turbulent air conditions are encountered.

Jun 16th, 2008

Olive oil inspires novel nanotechnology wastewater cleanup material

olivesOlive oil is good for your health. Unfortunately, the production of olive oil is not. During the olive oil production process, olive oil mills produce a liquid waste called olive black water or olive-oil-mill wastewater (OMW). This waste water has significant polluting properties due to its high levels of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and phenols. In Mediterranean countries, which account for approximately 95% of the worldwide olive oil production, the annual amount of OMW is estimated to be over 30 million cubic meters. Disposal of OMV has therefore always been an important issue in this region especially since conventional wastewater treatment methods are relatively ineffective for removing the kind of pollutants found in OMW. On the other hand, OMW may also be regarded as an inexpensive biomass source of inorganic and organic compounds. Using suitable separation processes, these compounds can be recovered and transformed into products for use in agriculture, environmental biotechnology processes, and industry. New research has now investigated the interaction of complexing dissolved organic matter with aluminum oxide nanoparticles.

Jun 13th, 2008

Converting plastic into light-emitting nanostructures

luminescent_nanowiresLight-emitting nanostructures are widely used for optical, photonic, chemical, and biological devices. For example, fluorescent nanoparticles are useful for biological assays and as tumor markers, chemical sensors, and organic lasers, whereas one-dimensional luminescent nanowires are exploited for novel nanoscale photonic devices such as nano-lasers and nanowire scanning microscopy. While several methods to prepare organic, inorganic, and polymeric light-emitting nanostructures have been developed, the fabrication of luminescent nanoarchitectures with a tailored morphology and pattern is still challenging. Researchers in Korea have discovered that non-luminescent polystyrene can be converted into a luminescent organic material whose emitting color can be tuned from deep blue to white by electron irradiation. They demonstrated that luminescent nanopatterns are readily fabricated only by irradiating an electron beam to the selected regions of polystyrene. In addition, the top-down irradiation approach in conjunction with self-assembled polystyrene nanostructures allows fabrication of diverse and complex luminescent nanoarchitectures.

Jun 12th, 2008

Nanotechnology research is outpacing an outdated peer-review publishing process

journalsConsider this: in fields like nanosciences and nanotechnology the knowledge doubles in as little as five years, making a student's education obsolete even before graduation. But while the knowledge is growing exponentially, the established mechanism of getting this knowledge into the public domain has not changed much. This begs the question if the traditional scientific paper publishing model is still adequate and able to cope with the fast pace of how things develop in the scientific world. It can take up to two years from the time a scientific study is conducted to the actual publication of its findings in a paper in a peer-reviewed journal. By then, the underlying research might already be out of date.

Jun 11th, 2008

Novel antimicrobial coating combines carbon nanotubes and natural materials

microbeThe demand for antimicrobial coatings is growing at a fast pace. In the U.S. alone, the market for these products is expected to grow from $175 million in 2005 to over $550 million in 2012. This market is not only driven by the urgent need of hospitals to reduce infections, although it would appear that they need it most: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the infections acquired in hospitals alone affect approximately 2 million persons annually. In the U.S., between 44,000 and 98,000 people die every year from infections they picked up in hospitals. With a growing concern about the role of contaminated surfaces in the spread of infections such as SARS and MRSA, antimicrobial surfaces have become popular in such areas as consumer products, public spaces such as schools and offices, and public transportation. While many conventional antibacterial coatings release their antimicrobials over time (either controlled or uncontrolled) and thereby lose their antimicrobial efficiency, researchers have now developed a unique multifunctional biomimetic material comprised of carbon nanotubes, DNA, and lysozyme that has robust mechanical properties and exhibits excellent long-term antimicrobial activity.

Jun 10th, 2008

Sea anemones inspire nanotechnology fabrication of tough nano-containers

heteractis_magnificaThe addition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), both single-walled and multi-walled, to various polymer matrices has produced significant improvements in strength and stiffness. Reinforcing materials based on CNTs could be used to fabricate more complex nanostructures by making them tougher and stronger. As is the case so often, and covered quite extensively here at Nanowerk nature has served as an inspiring source of various morphologies and composite materials for nanotechnology techniques. New work by Spanish scientists demonstrates the fabrication of novel nanostructures that resemble magnificent sea anemones (heteractis magnifica), aiming at increasing the rigidity and the available surface of magnetic and reinforced CNTs-based hollow capsules.

Jun 9th, 2008

Problematic new findings regarding toxicity of silver nanoparticles

zebrafish_embryosEngineered nanoparticles are rapidly becoming a part of our daily life in the form of cosmetics, food packaging, drug delivery systems, therapeutics, biosensors, etc. A number of commercial products such as wound dressing, detergents or antimicrobial coatings are already in the market. Although little is known about their bio distribution and bio activity, especially silver nanoparticles are extensively used for all kinds of antimicrobial applications. Ultimately, these nanoparticles end up in the environment during waste disposal. Largely due to a scarcity of data on the toxicity, intracellular distribution and fate of silver ions and nanoparticles inside an organism, regulatory bodies so far have not felt the need to regulate the use of such materials in commercial products or disposal of such products. In order to improve the scientific data and to enhance our insight on the health and environmental impact of silver nanoparticles, scientists in Singapore have initiated an in vivo toxicology study to examine nanosilver in a zebrafish model. They conclude that silver nanoparticles have the potential to cause health and ecotoxicity issues in a concentration-dependent manner.

Jun 6th, 2008