Nanotechnology Spotlight – Latest Articles

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Blowing balloons - a novel fabrication technique for atomically thin nanosheets

Along with graphene, atomically thin sheets and ribbons of boron nitride (often called "white graphene") have increasingly attracted fundamental research interest. While researchers make good progress on developing techniques for mass-producing graphene, it is still a challenge to reliably chemically delaminate and/or exfoliate boron nitride and to realize mass production of atomically thin sheets made of this material. Researchers in Japan have now reported a new approach for synthesizing boron nitride monolayers which pretty much works like blowing a balloon; although these balloons are sized in a range of tens of micrometers. The new technique solves the problem of low-throughput fabrication of 2D crystals.

September 19, 2011

First demonstration of a memristive nanodevice based on protein

Memristors - the fourth fundamental two-terminal circuit element following the resistor, the capacitor, and the inductor - have attracted intensive attention owing to their potential applications for instance in nanoelectronic memories, computer logic, or neuromorphic computer architectures. Scientists have been able to show that various materials such as metal oxides, chalcogenides, amorphous silicon, carbon, and polymer-nanoparticle composite materials exhibit memristive phenomena. One unanswered question so far has been whether natural biomaterials like proteins can be used for the fabrication of solid-state devices with transport junctions. Researchers in Singapore have now demonstrated that proteins indeed can be used to fabricate bipolar memristive nanodevices.

September 16, 2011

Gold nuggets for biotechnology: Introducing laser-generated nanoparticle conjugates

Bio-conjugated nanoparticles are important analytical tools with emerging biological and medical applications. Especially gold nanoparticles are of increasing interest for nanobiotechnology research and applications because of their high acceptance level in living systems and the fact that they are fairly easily conjugated with functional molecules. Ultrashort pulsed laser ablation represents a powerful tool for the generation of pure gold nanoparticles avoiding chemical precursors, reducing agents, and stabilizing ligands. The bare surface of the charged nanoparticles makes them highly available for functionalization and as a result especially interesting for biomedical applications. Starting today, such conjugates are available commercially for the first time.

September 15, 2011

Nanogenerator harvests waste energy from a rotating tire

Harvesting unexploited energy in the living environment to power small electronic devices and systems is increasingly attracting the attention of research groups around the world. As device sizes shrink to the micro- and even nanoscale, power consumption also decreases to ever lower levels, i.e. microwatts to milliwatts range. And as research findings have shown over the past few years, it is entirely possible to drive such minuscule devices by directly scavenging energy from their working environment. A recent example is the integration of nanogenerators into the inner surface of tires, demonstrating the possibility of energy harvesting from the motion of automobiles.

September 14, 2011

Abundant inorganic material could replace platinum in dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are among the most promising photovoltaic devices for low-cost light-to-energy conversion with relatively high efficiency. While the DSSC is a fairly mature design, researchers are still trying to improve its efficiency with various techniques. To date, the most commonly used counter electrode in DSSC is fluorine doped tin oxide glass coated with a thin layer of platinum. However, as a noble metal, the low abundance and high cost hinder platinum from being used for large-scale manufacturing. In the quest to seek alternative counter electrode materials for expensive and scarce platinum, a group of scientists has now explored the use of abundant ternary or quaternary materials as potential substitutes for platinum.

September 13, 2011

Novel motor system powered by polymerization

Self-propelled motion of engineered nanomaterials can be useful in applications such as bottom-up assembly of structures, pattern formation, microfluidic diagnostic systems, or drug delivery at specific locations. While nature has perfected nano- and microscale motor systems, movement at the nanoscale is still a massively challenging problem for nanotechnology researchers. There are various approaches to creating self-powered micro- and nanosized motors and many researchers have focused on catalytic conversion of chemical to mechanical energy. Whereas the catalytic reactions of small molecules have been the focus of recent nanomotor research efforts, polymerization has not attracted any interest; until now. Researchers describe a new type of micromotor that is powered by a polymerization reaction and deposits tiny threads along its trail like a microspider.

September 12, 2011

High content screening of zebrafish greatly speeds up nanoparticle hazard assessment

With the mass production of engineered nanoparticles, risk assessment efforts are in need of platforms that offer predictive value to human health and environment, and also possess high throughput screening capacity. Scientists, when turning to a model-organism to help answer genetic questions that cannot be easily addressed in humans, often chose the zebrafish. However, the current screening process in zebrafish involves mostly counting the survival rate, hatching and developmental abnormalities etc. through visual examination of each embryo and/or larvae under a dissecting microscope. Such process is time-consuming, labor-intensive and has limitations on data acquisition as well as statistics analysis. Researchers have now successfully demonstrated two high content imaging platforms to enhance the ability to screen the toxicological effects of nanoparticles in zebrafish embryos.

September 9, 2011

Nanotechnology-enhanced curcumin: Symbiosis of ancient wisdom with modern medical science

We are experiencing an unprecedented resurgence of interest in herbal healing, and 'herbal renaissance' is happening all over the globe. The Western world has begun to acknowledge the importance of traditional medicines as they symbolize safety in contrast to the allopathic medicines, which tend to produce undesirable side effects and are lacking in curative value. In the realm of medicine, nanotechnology holds enormous promise for benefitting society by potentially reducing the miseries of people suffering from grave illnesses and save a great number of lives. Traditional Oriental medicine would greatly benefit by integrating with the scientific advancements in medical science and diagnostics in concert with nanotechnology. This trinity may usher in a new era of affordable, safe and effective medicinal system.

September 8, 2011