Nanotechnology Spotlight – Latest Articles

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Single-molecule nanoelectronics is getting closer to reality

Using single molecules as electronic components like diodes, switches or transistors is the ultimate goal for future electronic nanotechnology devices. In order to explore the electronic properties of a single molecule, researchers have to make electrical contact between electrodes and molecules - and this has proven to be a big challenge. Though many efforts have been made to realize single-molecule electronics, it is still impossible to fabricate a practical single-molecule integrated circuit. One of the problems is the lack of viable methods for wiring each functional molecule. Researchers have now demonstrated a novel method for controlling single molecule chemical reactions - a kind of 'chemical soldering'.

July 28, 2011

Single-molecule magnets encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes

Single-molecule magnets (SMM) are fascinating nanoscale structures with unique functional properties showing promise for high-density electronic data storage devices, solid state quantum computers, spintronic devices such as spin valves, and other advanced technological applications. Despite a flurry of research in this area - since an individual magnetic molecule represents the ultimate size limit to storing and processing information - the main challenge related to harnessing properties of SMM remained unsolved. A new study by a group of European researchers reports the successful encapsulation of single-molecule magnets in carbon nanotubes, yielding a new type of hybrid nanostructure that combines all the key single-molecule magnet properties of the guest molecules with the functional properties of the host CNT.

July 27, 2011

Integrating DNA nanotechnology with traditional silicon processing for sub-20nm resolution

To build microprocessors with more than one billion transistors, manufacturers still use the same technique - photolithography, the high-tech, nanoscale version of printing technology - that they have been using for the past 50 years. State-of-the-art photolithography processes use 193 nm light to produce diffraction-limited features as small as 32 nm. Going beyond 32 nm, the cost and complexity rises significantly, posing massive technological and economic challenges for chip manufacturers. This provides plenty of incentives for researchers to explore alternative manufacturing technologies for chipmakers. One novel approach is based on the use of DNA nanostructures to pattern a silicon wafer.

July 26, 2011

Graphene 'smart skin' serves as nanofluidic power generator

Surface energy is ubiquitous in nature and it plays an important role in many scientific areas such as for instance surface physics, biophysics, surface chemistry, or catalysis. Prior to the area of nanotechnology it has been impractical to consider utilizing surface energy as an energy source because there are few molecules or atoms involved in the surface interaction and the density of surface energy is low. Now, however, due to the lower power consumption requirements of nanoscale devices and the higher specific surface area for nanomaterials it appears attractive to use surface energy at the nanoscale. In new work, researchers have investigated how the flow of water over surfaces coated with graphene could generate small amounts of electricity.

July 25, 2011

A carbon nanotube transistor that can smell

Integrating biological molecules or even complex molecular machines with man-made nanoelectronic devices is one of the ultimate goals of bionanotechnology. Already there is a growing community of researchers interested in this area of bio/nano integration where biological components are interfaced with inorganic nanomaterials to create new devices and systems that combine the desirable properties of each system. One particular nanomaterial used in this kind of research are carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Scientists now report the integration of a CNT transistor with olfactory receptor proteins. The ultimate goal of this type of research is to transfer the sensing properties of biological molecular systems to artificial electronic devices.

July 21, 2011

Nanopatterned surface maintains stem cells' long-term viability and phenotype

Currently, when adult stem cells are harvested from a patient, they are cultured in the laboratory to increase the initial yield of cells and create a batch of sufficient volume to kick-start the process of cellular regeneration when they are re-introduced back into the patient. The process of culturing is made more difficult by spontaneous stem cell differentiation, where stem cells grown on standard plastic tissue culture surfaces do not expand to create new stem cells but instead create other cells which are of no use in therapy. New findings show that nanoscale patterning is a powerful tool for the non-invasive manipulation of stem cells. Their facile fabrication process employed, a range of thermoplastics that can be processed with exquisite reproducibility down to 5 nm fidelity using injection moulding approaches, offers unique potential for the generation of cell culture platforms for the up-scale of autologous cells for clinical use.

July 20, 2011

Squishy electronics

There is a physical and electrical disconnect between the world of electronics and the world of biology. Electronics tend to be rigid, operate using electrons, and are inherently two-dimensional. The brain, as a basis for comparison, is soft, operates using ions, and is three-dimensional. Researchers have therefore been looking to find different routes to create biocompatible devices that work well in wet environments like biological systems. In an exiting new development, researchers from North Carolina State University have fabricated a memory device that is soft, entirely based on liquid-based matter, and functions well in wet environments - opening the door to a new generation of biocompatible electronic devices.

July 19, 2011

Sensing the niche - cells carrying sensors monitor the cellular nano-environment in real-time

Monitoring cell functions and cell-to-cell communication has enormous implications for cell biology, regenerative medicine and tracking the fate of transplanted cells in cell therapy. Unfortunately, probing what cells 'see' and how they respond in real time to surrounding signals (i.e. cytokines) has been a major challenge. Now, a simple cell-surface sensor platform that permits signalling to be monitored within the cellular environment, in real time, in vitro and most likely also in vivo, can potentially address this problem. Researchers have developed a platform technology where cell-surface immobilized nanosensors allow them to monitor the cellular nano environment and cell-cell communication in real-time, at a single cell level and with potential unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution.

July 18, 2011