http://phys.org/nanotech-news/ en-us Phys.org provides the latest news on nanotechnology, nanoscience, nanoelectronics, science and technology. Updated Daily. (Phys.org) —Northwestern University researchers have developed a new method for delivering molecules into single, targeted cells through temporary holes in the cell surface. The technique could find applications in drug delivery, cell therapy, and related biological fields. http://phys.org/news288361946.html Nanotechnology Tue, 21 May 2013 13:32:54 EST news288361946 (Phys.org) —Grapefruits have long been known for their health benefits, and the subtropical fruit may revolutionize how medical therapies like anti-cancer drugs are delivered to specific tumor cells. University of Louisville researchers have uncovered how to create nanoparticles using natural lipids derived from grapefruit, and have discovered how to use them as drug delivery vehicles. UofL scientists Huang-Ge Zhang, D.V.M., Ph.D., Qilong Wang, Ph.D., and their team today (May 21, 2013), published their findings in Nature Communications. http://phys.org/news288359461.html Nanotechnology Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:02 EST news288359461 Rice University scientists have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color. The breakthrough by a team of theoretical and applied physicists and engineers at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) is described this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://phys.org/news288359175.html Nanotechnology Tue, 21 May 2013 12:47:04 EST news288359175 Positively charged gold nanoparticles are usually toxic to cells, but cancer cells somehow manage to avoid nanoparticle toxicity. Mayo Clinic researchers found out why, and determined how to make the nanoparticles effective against ovarian cancer cells. The discovery is detailed in the current online issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. http://phys.org/news288356822.html Nanotechnology Tue, 21 May 2013 12:07:21 EST news288356822 The miniaturization of electronics continues to create unprecedented capabilities in computer and communications applications, enabling handheld wireless devices with tremendous computing performance operating on battery power. This same miniaturization of electronic systems is also creating new opportunities in biotechnology and biophysics. http://phys.org/news288282622.html Nanotechnology Mon, 20 May 2013 15:30:28 EST news288282622 (Phys.org) —Imagine a bendable tablet computer or an electronic newspaper that could fold to fit in a pocket. http://phys.org/news288282505.html Nanotechnology Mon, 20 May 2013 15:28:34 EST news288282505 (Phys.org) —The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole. http://phys.org/news288273199.html Nanotechnology Mon, 20 May 2013 12:53:27 EST news288273199 These days, aerospace engineering is all about the light stuff: building airplanes with lighter wings, fuselage and landing gear in an effort to reduce fuel costs. http://phys.org/news288261101.html Nanotechnology Mon, 20 May 2013 09:31:50 EST news288261101 (Phys.org) —A team of University of Pennsylvania engineers has used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical-analysis techniques. http://phys.org/news288253848.html Nanotechnology Mon, 20 May 2013 07:31:00 EST news288253848 One of the basic principles of nanotechnology is that when you make things extremely small—one nanometer is about five atoms wide, 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair—they are going to become more perfect. http://phys.org/news288171951.html Nanotechnology Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:05 EST news288171951 Nearly everyone is familiar with the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), otherwise known as Teflon, the brand name used by the chemical company DuPont. Famous for being "non-sticky" and water repellent, PTFE is a dry lubricant used on machine components everywhere, from kitchen tools and engine cylinders to space and biomedical applications. http://phys.org/news287996669.html Nanotechnology Fri, 17 May 2013 08:50:03 EST news287996669 (Phys.org) —Graphene has dazzled scientists, ever since its discovery more than a decade ago, with its unequalled electronic properties, its strength and its light weight. But one long-sought goal has proved elusive: how to engineer into graphene a property called a band gap, which would be necessary to use the material to make transistors and other electronic devices. http://phys.org/news287943744.html Nanotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 17:22:40 EST news287943744 Frustration led to revelation when Rice University scientists determined how graphene might be made useful for high-capacity batteries. http://phys.org/news287937899.html Nanotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 15:45:32 EST news287937899 (Phys.org) —In the wake of the sobering news that atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at its highest level in at least three million years, an important advance in the race to develop carbon-neutral renewable energy sources has been achieved. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have reported the first fully integrated nanosystem for artificial photosynthesis. While "artificial leaf" is the popular term for such a system, the key to this success was an "artificial forest." http://phys.org/news287931960.html Nanotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 14:06:07 EST news287931960 (Phys.org) —Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that DNA "linker" strands coax nano-sized rods to line up in way unlike any other spontaneous arrangement of rod-shaped objects. The arrangement-with the rods forming "rungs" on ladder-like ribbons linked by multiple DNA strands-results from the collective interactions of the flexible DNA tethers and may be unique to the nanoscale. The research, described in a paper published online in ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society, could result in the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with desired properties. http://phys.org/news287928661.html Nanotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 13:11:21 EST news287928661 Scientists have identified nanostructures in the ultra-black skin markings of an African viper which they said Thursday could inspire the quest to create the ultimate light-absorbing material. http://phys.org/news287922916.html Nanotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 11:50:01 EST news287922916 Inspired by the structure of moth eyes, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed nanostructures that limit reflection at the interfaces where two thin films meet, suppressing the "thin-film interference" phenomenon commonly observed in nature. This can potentially improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. http://phys.org/news287918613.html Nanotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 10:23:40 EST news287918613 Injectable nanoparticles developed at MIT may someday eliminate the need for patients with Type 1 diabetes to constantly monitor their blood-sugar levels and inject themselves with insulin. http://phys.org/news287911172.html Nanotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 08:19:44 EST news287911172 (Phys.org) —Among its many talents, silver is an antibiotic. Titanium dioxide is known to glom on to certain heavy metals and pollutants. Yet other materials do the same for salt. In recent years, environmental engineers have sought to disinfect, depollute, and desalinate contaminated water using nanoscale particles of these active materials. Engineers call them nanoscavengers. The hitch from a technical standpoint is that it is nearly impossible to reclaim the nanoscavengers once in the water. http://phys.org/news287845112.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 May 2013 14:07:06 EST news287845112 A team of researchers from Columbia University, City University of New York, the University of Central Florida (UCF), and Tohoku University and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, have directly observed a rare quantum effect that produces a repeating butterfly-shaped energy spectrum, confirming the longstanding prediction of this quantum fractal energy structure, called Hofstadter's butterfly. The study, which focused on moiré-patterned graphene, is published in the May 15, 2013, Advance Online Publication (AOP) of Nature. http://phys.org/news287824835.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:09 EST news287824835 Writing in Nature, a large international team led Dr Roman Gorbachev from The University of Manchester shows that, when graphene placed on top of insulating boron nitride, or 'white graphene', the electronic properties of graphene change dramatically revealing a pattern resembling a butterfly. http://phys.org/news287825197.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:04 EST news287825197 (Phys.org) —A class of water-loving, jelly-like materials with uses ranges ranging from the mundane, such as superabsorbent diaper liners, to the sophisticated, such as soft contact lenses, could be tapped for a new line of serious work: testing the biological effects of nanoparticles now being eyed for a large variety of uses. http://phys.org/news287827727.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 May 2013 09:08:55 EST news287827727 Nanotubes are stronger than steel and smaller than any element of silicon-based electronics. They can potentially process information faster while using less energy. The challenge has been figuring out how to incorporate these properties into useful electronic devices. Now scientists at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that by adding ionic liquid—a kind of liquid salt—they can modify the optical transparency of single-walled carbon nanotube films in a controlled pattern. http://phys.org/news287769987.html Nanotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 17:06:37 EST news287769987 (Phys.org) —Alloys like bronze and steel have been transformational for centuries, yielding top-of-the-line machines necessary for industry. As scientists move toward nanotechnology, however, the focus has shifted toward creating alloys at the nanometer scale—producing materials with properties unlike their predecessors. http://phys.org/news287754606.html Nanotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 12:50:17 EST news287754606 (Phys.org) —Atherosclerosis, a buildup of cellular plaque in the arteries, remains one of the leading causes of death globally. While high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, is transferred to the liver for processing, low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, builds up in the arteries in the form of plaque. http://phys.org/news287736835.html Nanotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 07:54:13 EST news287736835 (Phys.org) —A protein from cow blood has the remarkable ability to keep gold nanoparticles from clumping in a solution. The discovery could lead to improved biomedical applications and contribute to projects that use nanoparticles in harsh environments. http://phys.org/news287732043.html Nanotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 06:50:02 EST news287732043 (Phys.org) —Most Americans want the U.S. to place more emphasis on developing solar power, recent polls suggest. A major impediment, however, is the cost to manufacture, install and maintain solar panels. Simply put, most people and businesses cannot afford to place them on their rooftops. http://phys.org/news287666861.html Nanotechnology Mon, 13 May 2013 12:28:39 EST news287666861 One of the most promising new kinds of battery to power electric cars is called a lithium-air battery, which could store up to four times as much energy per pound as today's best lithium-ion batteries. But progress has been slow: The nature of the electrochemical reactions as these batteries are charged remains poorly understood. http://phys.org/news287650555.html Nanotechnology Mon, 13 May 2013 08:30:03 EST news287650555 (Phys.org) —The foundation of many modern electronic devices, such as computer chips, are thin films – nanoscale-thickness layers of one material grown on the surface of another. As consumers continue to demand products that are sleeker and faster, understanding the evolution of thin-film growth will help scientists learn to tailor thin films for new technologies. http://phys.org/news287650425.html Nanotechnology Mon, 13 May 2013 07:53:57 EST news287650425 (Phys.org) —Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have uncovered the characteristics of a low-resistance electrical contact to strontium titanate, SrTiO3, an important prototypical oxide semiconductor. Oxides are likely to be important materials in next-generation electronic devices, and they need to be extremely small. Getting electrical signals into and out of oxide semiconductors is hard because a large energy barrier typically develops at the junction with metal contacts. Metal contacts are required to get electricity into and out of a semiconductor device in much the same way that jumper cables are needed to transfer power from a healthy car battery to a dead battery. This work shows how to eliminate this barrier while keeping the contact area extremely small, at the nanometer level. http://phys.org/news287650346.html Nanotechnology Mon, 13 May 2013 07:52:35 EST news287650346