Nanotechnology Spotlight – Latest Articles

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Meet ELI - a nanotechnology neuroprosthetic that may one day integrate with neurons

endomycorrhizaScientists have designed a nanobot neuroprosthetic that it has been inspired from nature by way of endomyccorhizae - a type of plant/fungus symbiosis, which is over four hundred million years old. During endomyccorhizae, fungi use numerous threadlike projections called mycelium that penetrate plant roots, forming colossal underground networks with nearby root systems. During this process fungi take up vital nutrients while protecting plant roots from infections - a win-win relationship. Consequently, the nano-neuroprosthetic has been named 'endomyccorhizae ligand interface', or 'ELI' for short.

Feb 21st, 2022

Using DNA to make nanoelectronics

square-patternTo realize the full potential of DNA nanotechnology in nanoelectronics applications requires addressing a number of scientific and engineering challenges: how to create and manipulate DNA nanostructures? How to use them for surface patterning and integrating heterogeneous materials at the nanoscale? And how to use these processes to produce electronic devices at lower cost and with better performance? These topics are the focus of a recent reviewarticle.

Feb 17th, 2022

Fabrication of perovskite solar cells with just a piece of paper? A new method tells you how! (w/video)

flexible-photovoltaicsPerovskite semiconductor solar cells are a very exciting photovoltaic technology possessing similar efficiencies to silicon but cast or printed in thin films via liquid inks. Researchers have developed a new method that uses a simple sheet of paper to deposit the perovskite films that does without any expensive equipment. The trick to achieve high performance with this remarkably cheap method is to soak the paper applicator in anti-solvent which almost doubles efficiencies compared to when using it dry, reaching 11% on flexible plastic substrates.

Feb 15th, 2022

Optimizing methods for stable storage of nucleic acid nanoparticles and their transportation at ambient temperatures

nucleic-acid-nanoparticleNucleic acid nanoparticles (NANPs) have found success in a variety of biochemical applications ranging from nanoscaffolds for coordinated delivery of multiple therapeutic nucleic acids (TNAs) to potent immunoregulators and biosensors. Despite their potential, the true viability of NANPs and TNAs is limited by their relative chemical instability and sensitivity to higher temperatures. Shipping and transportation of NANPs and TNAs currently relies on a cold-chain storage. Newly developed methods could reduce the need for cold chain storage and dramatically improve vaccine shelf life.

Feb 10th, 2022

Sustainable batteries roadmap to 2030 and beyond

battery-technologyBATTERY 2030+ is a large-scale cross-sectoral European research initiative bringing together the most important stakeholders in the field of battery R+D to create a strong battery research and innovation ecosystem community. A goal of the project is to develop a long-term roadmap for battery research in Europe. This roadmap suggests research actions towards breakthrough technologies to radically transform the way to discover, develop, and design ultra-high-performance, durable, safe, sustainable, and affordable batteries for use in real applications.

Feb 9th, 2022

On route to 3D printing with atomic resolution (w/video)

stacked-grapheneWhen two or more 2D materials are placed on top of each other their properties change and a material with novel hybrid properties emerges. These materials are called van der Waals heterostructures. By stacking free-standing membranes under observation in an electron microscope, researchers have demonstrated almost arbitrary 3D structures by stacking atomically thin materials, similar to a 3D printing process, where each atomic layer can be chosen from the vast library of available 2D materials.

Feb 7th, 2022

A revolutionary customizable fabrication platform for electronic skins (w/videos)

skin-electronicsConventional skin electronics are fixed designs that lack consideration for the individual characteristics of the wearer as well as the ability to actively adapt to various user specifications. In order to manage different sensor specifications and body impedances, design adjustments are inevitable during fabrication of these devices. To address this issue, researchers have developed a real-time fabrication platform that can adapt to arbitrary environments by freely drawing or erasing paths in a printed circuit.

Feb 3rd, 2022

Novel nanomaterial-based light sails for low-power spacecraft propulsion in Earth orbit and interplanetary travel

light-sailAdapting the concept of interstellar laser sailing for Earth orbital maneuvering and solar system exploration, researchers propose that the fundamental advantages of laser propulsion are manifested at much smaller laser powers in applications where conventional electric and chemical rockets are traditionally utilized. This approach makes use of low-power lasers, which are available already today, and novel light sail nanomaterials. These lasers push small, cell phone sized probes to velocities and destinations that are beyond the reach of current technologies, such as ever bigger chemical rockets being built or state-of-the-art ion engines.

Feb 2nd, 2022