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A novel instrument for analyzing porous nanostructures will aid the improvement of photocatalysis, which is an important application in industry, for example for water or air purification.
With an increased focus on alternative sources of cheap, abundant, clean energy, solar cells are receiving lots of attention. The dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is one of the most important developments in photovoltaics in the last two decades. Researchers are now on the brink of improving the efficiency of DSSC through nanowires.
The application of phase and polarization control may lead to guidance of light in the nanoscale via metal nanoparticle arrays.
Researchers have turned to carbon nanotubes to create a new class of large area, high resolution, low cost flat panel displays. Some believe field emission display (FED) technology, utilizing carbon nanotubes (CNT) as electron emitter, will be the biggest threat to LCD's dominance in the panel display arena.
A new review highlights the recent advances and progress in bionanotechnology by providing examples of current state-of-the-art research and then takes a look at the future perspective for the field.
Liposomes, man-made cells used as drug delivery vehicles, would be more useful if only they could be stabilized against fusion with one another. Researchers at the University of Illinois told Nanowerk that they succeeded in doing exactly that - they stabilized phospholipid liposomes with charged nanoparticles, thereby opening up interesting functional perspectives.
The responses of cells exposed to nanoparticles have been studied with regard to toxicity, but very little attention has been paid to the possibility that some types of particles can protect cells from various forms of lethal stress.
Spanish researchers developed a simple and inexpensive way to produce well-coated iron nanoparticles. The particles thus obtained present a much stronger magnetic response than any composite material produced up to now involving magnetic nanoparticles encapsulated in inorganic matrices, and the rich chemistry and easy functionalization of the silica outer surface make them promising materials for their application as magnetic carriers.