By using rod-shaped nanoparticles, in combination with inhibitors to other uptake pathways, researchers achieved targeting cancer cells over healthy cells.
The possible benefits from this novel technique are twofold: Restricting healthy cells from taking anticancer drugs to help reduce the side effects of drugs for patients; and helping overcome chemoresistance (the uptake of the chemo drug into healthy cells in the tumor...
Jun 10, 2021
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Relying on the quantum confinement effect, the strong light-matter interaction in low-dimensional materials enables them to exhibit excellent photodetection. The unique out-of-plane van der Waals force in low-dimensional layered materials makes them free from the surface dangling bonds compared to traditional bulk materials, which reduces the dark current of the devices by eliminating surface recombination. These unique advantages...
Jun 07, 2021
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With a new approach, that brings us closer to the commercial application of 3D color holograms, scientists have developed the concept of a virtual 3D color object consisting of colorful focal spots at discrete heights in the out-of-plane dimension above the surface of a print - something they dubbed 'optical fireworks'. Unlike previous 3D color holograms, this color-filtering microlens-based displays realize multicolor and...
Jun 02, 2021
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Nature has developed excellent biolubricating systems but onnce biolubrication for instance of synovial joints of osteoarthritis patients breaks down, relief has to come from partially or fully synthetic biolubricants - such as polymeric micro- or nanoparticle-based lubricants - that replace the depleted natural substances. Researchers have now demonstrated that phytoglycogen nanoparticles - single-molecule highly branched...
May 25, 2021
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Nanotechnology is a promising technological advancement that can revolutionize agriculture and food production systems, but the technology must be thoroughly researched before being implemented. Nanobiosensors, nanofertilizers, and nanopesticides have the potential to significantly change the agricultural world. Nanotechnology research related to agriculture is still in its early stages, meaning these new products are not...
May 24, 2021
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When experimental biomedical research results using only one sex are extrapolated to both sexes, unintended harmful consequences to the neglected sex can be the result. Nevertheless, it is still the case that only a small number of published articles report the sex of biosystems used in their study. Many researchers are still using only one sex of biosystems - e.g., cells, tissues, or animals - and apply the results to both...
May 20, 2021
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Inspired by the silk spinning of spiders, researchers have developed a facile strategy to artificially create natural, silk-like hierarchical fibers. They demonstrate the creation of biomimetic and highly bioactive materials by artificially manipulating the self-assembly of silk protein molecules. This work contributes to the understanding of the natural silk spinning process of spiders and provides a strategy for the design...
May 03, 2021
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The propagation of light can be radically controlled with tailor-made nanostructures, called photonic crystals. The main feature of such crystals is a forbidden gap: waves with colors within a forbidden range travel only a limited distance - called Bragg length - before being reflected due to Bragg interference. Scientists have discovered a method to tunably steer light deep into photonic crystals, to depths well beyond the...
Apr 22, 2021
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Researchers have significantly enhanced the performance of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensing platform by adding an atomically thin phase change material to the sensor. This plasmonic sensing device exhibits a detection limit of 1 femtomol for tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha) biomarkers , which is more than three orders of magnitude compared to current state-of-art nanomaterial-enhanced plasmonic sensors. It also...
Apr 19, 2021
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Although solar-driven water evaporation using sunlight is a promising sustainable strategy, the water production rate via solar technologies remains insufficient to meet practical demands. Addressing this issue, researchers have developed a solar absorber gel to purify water from contaminated sources using only natural sunlight. The hydrogel can force liquid water out of the gel via phase transition when the sun warms the...
Apr 13, 2021
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