https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from IMDEA Nanociencia In natural environments, bacteria rarely live as free-swimming cells but are attached to surfaces as biofilms in medical devices, mobile phones or human tissue. The bacterial behavior, how they attach and grow, group together or excrete compounds that glue the biofilm, is influenced by their mechanical interaction with the surface. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-bacteria-surfaces-fluorescent-probe-visualizes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:02:02 EST news682700521 Researchers at the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies in Nanoscience (IMDEA Nanociencia) and the National Center for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC) have developed an innovative technique to destroy cancer cells by inducing a cascade that spreads throughout the tumor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-photodynamic-therapy-technique-deactivates-tumors.html Oncology & Cancer Tue, 04 Nov 2025 17:01:04 EST news681498062 Researchers at IMDEA Nanoscience (Madrid) have developed a perovskite solar cell with a certified efficiency of 25.2%, very close to the world record of 26.7%. In addition, they managed to manufacture a 5 cm square solar panel with this material that maintains high efficiency (22.1%) and shows extraordinary stability. The work is published in the journal Advanced Materials. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-09-gen-perovskite-solar-cells-edge.html Engineering Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:30:34 EDT news677245994 Researchers at Beijing Genomics and IMDEA Nanociencia institutes have introduced a novel method that could significantly accelerate efficiency and reduce the cost of handling fluidics in DNA sequencing. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-method-dna-sequencing-faster-efficient.html Biotechnology Wed, 03 Sep 2025 14:11:03 EDT news676127462 A team of researchers at IMDEA Nanociencia institute and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore has unveiled a new class of gas sensors based on MINT-functionalized carbon nanotubes, offering unprecedented precision in detecting and distinguishing volatile organic compounds. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-fresh-tech-carbon-nanotube-sensors.html Nanomaterials Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:21:02 EDT news670242061 Unlike other pathologies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cannot be reproduced accurately in animal models, complicating the development of effective drugs. Faced with this challenge, a group of researchers from IMDEA Nanociencia Institute (Madrid), the "Margarita Salas" Biological Research Center and the University of Oxford, led by Dr. Valle Palomo has opted for an innovative approach: working directly with human cells from ALS patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-als-drug-patient-derived-cells.html Neuroscience Tue, 13 May 2025 11:45:04 EDT news666355501 Scientists at IMDEA Nanociencia are working on the development of materials whose properties can change as easily as we flip a switch. They focus on joining molecular switching (spin transition), electrical transport properties and porosity in the same material. Such materials have an enormous potential to host gas molecules, such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen, and feature responsive properties in the presence of these gases. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-nanostructuring-mof-crystals-potential-retaining.html Nanophysics Thu, 03 Apr 2025 04:24:24 EDT news662873060 In an international collaboration, researchers have made an important breakthrough in the therapeutic delivery of microRNAs against Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease with no cure, to date. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-nanoparticles-micrornas-muscle-stem-cells.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 25 Feb 2025 15:57:18 EST news659721433 In molecular shuttles, a ring molecule is threaded onto a linear molecular strand and can move between two portions of the strand, called stations, in response to external stimuli. Chemical stimuli, light or mechanical forces determine the time the shuttle spends at each station while it hops back and forth by random thermal motion. Measuring individual trajectories during the operation of such synthetic devices is crucial for a thorough understanding of their operation and in the optimization of molecular machines. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-optical-tweezers-reveal-motion-symmetric.html Nanophysics Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:22:03 EST news659276521 Researchers have chemically linked 2D materials using a molecular "velcro," resulting in a device with improved optoelectronic properties. The device, made of palladium nanosheets covalently bonded with MoS2, shows an enhanced optoelectronic response in the infrared thanks to the chemically bonded interface between the two materials, in comparison to its van der Waals counterpart. This next generation of 2D-2D heterostructures goes beyond van der Waals thanks to the strong covalent bonds between its 2D materials. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-molecular-velcro-covalent-bonds-2d.html Nanophysics Mon, 13 Jan 2025 14:20:04 EST news656000402 Researchers from Madrid explain a phenomenon that allows the direction of light emission to be controlled at the atomic scale. The paper provides a detailed explanation of how the profile of the light collected in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) experiments changes when the tip is placed on an atomic step. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-atom-profile-emitted-scanning-tunneling.html Nanophysics Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:28:26 EST news650021302 A new on-surface chemical reaction enables the appearance of solitons in π-conjugated polymers. The reaction, called indenyl coupling, reveals that structural parity drives the appearance of solitons in odd-membered π conjugated polymers. The results are a collaboration among scientists at IMDEA Nanociencia, CiQUS (Spain) and the Czech Academy of Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-surface-synthesis-enables-soliton-states.html Polymers Fri, 18 Oct 2024 04:29:48 EDT news648444586 Reducing the environmental impact caused by plastics can be addressed through different strategies, such as the manufacture of more durable plastics or recycling. In general, there are two main types of plastics. The first is thermoplastics, which can be melted and molded to form other objects, although their mechanical properties weaken if they are melted several times. And the second, thermosets, do not melt at high temperatures, since the chains of the polymers that form them are intertwined by chemical bonds. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-carbon-nanotube-derivatives-recyclable-plastics.html Nanomaterials Mon, 30 Sep 2024 10:55:03 EDT news646912501 In nature, photosynthesis powers plants and bacteria; within solar panels, photovoltaics transform light into electric energy. These processes are driven by electronic motion and imply charge transfer at the molecular level. The redistribution of electronic density in molecules after they absorb light is an ultrafast phenomenon of great importance involving quantum effects and molecular dynamics. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ultra-high-camera-molecules-attosecond.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:16:45 EDT news646489002 Coherent X-ray imaging has emerged as a powerful tool for studying both nanoscale structures and dynamics in condensed matter and biological systems. The nanometric resolution together with chemical sensitivity and spectral information render X-ray imaging a powerful tool to understand processes such as catalysis, light harvesting or mechanics. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-method-captures-stochastic-dynamics-coherent.html Nanophysics Wed, 04 Sep 2024 17:05:03 EDT news644688301 Researchers at IMDEA Nanociencia have fabricated high quality microspheres from conjugated organic polymer blends with excellent lasing properties. The laser emission of the microspheres has the highest quality factor reported to date, Q>18,000. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-polymer-blend-microspheres-ultra-threshold.html Nanophysics Mon, 22 Jul 2024 16:41:35 EDT news640885293 The path to a cure for cancer is not unique, as the disease is an extremely complex process. Multiple factors are involved in the process of effectively eliminating a tumor and therefore, being able to have different strategies against cancer is key in this regard. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-combination-multicore-magnetic-nanoparticles-chemotherapy.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 03 Jul 2024 16:31:03 EDT news639243061 Researchers have explained the mechanisms behind a counterintuitive phenomenon: Making a phase transition effective requires less energy if it is initiated by two pulses of light instead of just one. The energy needed to complete the phase transition has been reduced by 6% and could be further optimized. These results have the potential to be transferred to other materials, offering new avenues for precise material control and technological innovation. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-efficiency-boost-dual-pulses-minimize.html Condensed Matter Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:58:05 EDT news632059082 The conductance of classical electric components typically decays with increasing length. In general, this is also the same behavior found at the nanoscale with 1D molecular wires. Now, researchers have demonstrated that, once more, things are different in the nanoworld (i.e. there is plenty of room at the bottom). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ballistic-molecular-wires-porphyrin-nanoribbons.html Nanomaterials Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:26:04 EST news628853161 Researchers at IMDEA Nanociencia have developed an analytical method to explain the formation of a quasi-perfect 1D moiré pattern in twisted bilayer graphene. The pattern, naturally occurring in piled 2D materials when a strain force is applied, represents a set of channels for electrons. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-strain-graphene-1d-moirs.html Nanophysics Mon, 30 Oct 2023 11:25:36 EDT news617883931 A team of researchers has developed a new method for exfoliating MoS2 flakes that produces very large and very thin flakes with high yield. The microwave-assisted exfoliation yields 50 times more flakes than those obtained by ultrasonication and gives a material quality comparable to mechanical exfoliation. This fast process requires minimal processing and holds promise to enable new applications in electronic and photonic devices. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-microwave-driven-exfoliation-mos2-large-flakes.html Nanomaterials Fri, 24 Mar 2023 03:38:47 EDT news598847922 Alleviating the heat-island effect through thermal regulation mechanisms in building elements can improve human thermal comfort and the living environment in urban areas. Passive thermal regulation systems incorporated with roofs, windows or walls, and operating without the need for electricity, are an energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable solution. https://phys.org/news/2022-07-temperature-fluctuation-switchable-spin-crossover-material.html Nanomaterials Fri, 22 Jul 2022 09:18:03 EDT news577700282 A team of scientists have "velcroed" 2D structures of MoS2 and graphene using a covalent connection for the first time. The 2D-2D structures were used to build robust field effect transistors with controlled electronic communication, interface chemical nature and interlayer distance. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-van-der-waals-covalent-2d-2d.html Nanomaterials Thu, 28 Apr 2022 12:02:23 EDT news570366140 It is well known that an electric current increases the temperature of the material through which it is conducted due to the so-called Joule effect. This effect, which is used daily in domestic and industrial heaters, hair dryers, thermal fuses, etc., occurs because the new electrons injected into the material cannot go to the lower energy states because those are already occupied by the electrons of the material and therefore they must start their journey with relatively high energies. These electrons are called hot carriers. However, as they move through the material, hot carriers lose energy through collisions with other electrons and atoms in the solid. The process by which this lost energy is translated into thermal energy and, therefore, into an increase in temperature, is known as thermalisation of hot carriers. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-thermal-death-electrons.html Nanophysics Fri, 30 Jul 2021 09:07:37 EDT news546854852 Cancer is a complex disease, and as such, there is no single way to tackle it. While cancer treatments are evolving toward personalized procedures, in most cases, standard chemotherapy treatments are still required. In chemotherapy, platinum drugs such as cisplatin (approved 42 years ago by FDA) are used, killing both cancerous and healthy cells and causing unwanted sided effects. In this regard, there is plenty of room for improvement for clinical treatments. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-osmium-cancer-cells.html Biochemistry Thu, 01 Jul 2021 08:06:49 EDT news544345606 A study published in Nature Communications involving researchers from the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies in Nanoscience (IMDEA) and the University of Sevilla has measured for the first time the electrical conductivity of a single carbon nanotube with spin-crosslinked molecules inside it. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-scientists-smallest-cable.html Nanophysics Fri, 12 Mar 2021 09:48:59 EST news534764934 In hyperthermia treatments, the temperature is raised above physiological levels to induce the death of cancerous cells. The local application of hyperthermia is key for a successful treatment and to reduce damage to the healthy surrounding tissues. Going down to the nanoscale, nanoparticles can be used in hyperthermia treatments acting as nanoheaters and triggering cellular damage and/or inducing drug release in a selective manner. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-nanothermometry-anticancer-strategies.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 09 Feb 2021 10:19:17 EST news532088354 Chemotherapy is defined as the use of chemicals to reach and damage cancer cells. On its way toward the tumor, the drugs can affect healthy cells, as well. For example, cisplatin, a common drug used in clinical treatments, is not selective and causes unwanted secondary effects such as vomiting, fever and loss of sensitivity, among others. These effects often halt the treatment. It is of great importance to find new drugs that can be selectively activated in the tumor for more effective treatments. Understanding the interaction mechanism of new drug candidates within the cell nano-environment is the first step toward reaching the clinic. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-ph-sensitive-iridium-complexes-catalytic-anticancer.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 12 Nov 2020 07:15:13 EST news524387710 Conjugated polymers are organic macromolecules that are characterized by a backbone chain of alternating double and single bonds. Their overlapping p-orbitals create a cloud of delocalised π-electrons, which can result in useful optical and electronic properties. The design of π-conjugated polymers is highly desirable for technological applications such as tailor-made components for nanoelectronics. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-exploiting-molecular-vibrations-polymers.html Polymers Mon, 05 Oct 2020 07:33:31 EDT news521102009 Knowing the state of mammalian cells, in particular neural cells, depends on advances in nanotechnology‐based interfaces. Nanotechnology offers new technical possibilities to unravel the connectivity routes of the nervous system by adding nanoscale features for a more intimate interface with neurons. In this regard, non-invasive microelectrodes of improved design and low impedance are highly desired. So far flexible electrodes have been proposed, but only a few combine flexibility with both nanostructure and a low impedance. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-neurons-nanostructured-neural-electrodes.html Nanomaterials Mon, 28 Sep 2020 07:24:13 EDT news520496650