University of California, San Diego bioengineers have developed a self-healing hydrogel that binds in seconds, as easily as Velcro, and forms a bond strong enough to withstand repeated stretching. The material ...

Chemistry - Polymers

Mar 05, 2012 5 / 5 (7) 2 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- The development of polymer nanostructures and nanoscale devices for a wide variety of applications could emerge from new information about the interplay between nanoscale interfaces in polymeric ...

Nanotechnology - Nanophysics

Jan 09, 2012 5 / 5 (2) 0 |

Clinical gene therapy may be one step closer, thanks to a new twist on an old class of molecules.

Chemistry - Biochemistry

Dec 15, 2011 5 / 5 (2) 0 |

A blast of gamma radiation could toughen up plastic prosthetic joints to make them strong enough to last for years, according to researchers in China writing in the current issue of the International Journal of Biomedical En ...

Chemistry - Biochemistry

Sep 22, 2011 not rated yet 0

The biggest obstacle to making use of solar energy has been the excessively high price of solar cells made of inorganic semiconductors. In contrast, solar cells based on semiconducting polymers are affordable, ...

Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials

Sep 16, 2011 5 / 5 (2) 5 |

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have designed a multiple-compartment gel capsule that could be used to simultaneously deliver drugs of different types. The researchers used a simple "one-pot" ...

Chemistry - Materials Science

Jul 06, 2011 5 / 5 (3) 0 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- Rice University researchers have created a method to measure the axial rotation of tiny rods. The technique detailed in a paper by Sibani Lisa Biswal and her colleagues appears this month ...

Physics - General Physics

May 19, 2011 5 / 5 (1) 0 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- When a forensic agent dusts a surface with powder or exposes it to the vapors of an iodine chamber, mystery fans know what is going on: This is how latent fingerprints are made visible so ...

Chemistry - Materials Science

Apr 11, 2011 not rated yet 0 |

The degree of twisting of natural helical structures, such as the DNA double-helix, plays an essential role in many important biological functions. Because of their twisted architecture, artificial helices ...

Chemistry - Materials Science

Jan 21, 2011 5 / 5 (1) 0

Free radicals may have a bad reputation for causing ozone depletion and premature aging, but they are in fact extremely useful for making novel materials, particularly polymers. Skilled chemists can link up ...

Chemistry - Polymers

Jan 21, 2011 5 / 5 (4) 0

A new form of self-assembling polymer film that bends and stretches when hit by light is pointing the way to a new family of functional materials. This flexing film is the first material to have been made ...

Chemistry - Polymers

Jan 21, 2011 5 / 5 (3) 0

Producing molecules comparable with large bio-molecules in size, shape and structure is an age-old dream of organic chemists. An international research team led by A. Dieter Schluter from the Department of ...

Chemistry - Materials Science

Jan 19, 2011 4.3 / 5 (3) 3 |

Michael Kessler has worked with polymers that repair themselves when they crack. And he's worked with polymers made from vegetable oils. Now he's working to combine the two technologies.

Chemistry - Polymers

Jan 06, 2011 not rated yet 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Theo Odijk, you win. The professor of biotechnology at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has a new best friend in Rice University's Matteo Pasquali.

Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials

Jan 06, 2011 not rated yet 0 |

Plastics-based materials have been in use for decades. But manufacturers are facing a serious hurdle in their quest for new developments: Substantial influences of the microscopic material structure on mechanical ...

Chemistry - Materials Science

Dec 20, 2010 4.5 / 5 (2) 0