Nanotechnology Spotlight – Latest Articles

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Showing Spotlights 1057 - 1064 of 2876 in category All (newest first):

 

Box-shaped graphene – a novel nanostructure

boxshaped_grapheneA scientist has discovered a previously unknown three-dimensional nanostructure consisting of graphene sheets. Graphene is a single monolayer of carbon atoms forming a hexagonal two-dimensional crystal lattice. The discovered nanostructure is a multilayer system of parallel hollow channels with quadrangular cross-section extending along the surface. The discovered nanostructure looked so extraordinary that it took some time to understand what it actually was. The structure was dramatically different from whatever had previously been observed on graphite.

Jan 11th, 2016

Investigating fracture behavior of nanocrystalline Ni-W thin-films

cantilever_testIn the past couple of decades, nickel-tungsten (Ni-W) amorphous and nanocrystalline materials have been drawing more and more research interest due to the superior mechanical properties such as high hardness, good mechanical performance, and excellent corrosion resistance. Striving to enhance the mechanical performance of Ni-W thin film alloys, researchers report how the annealing temperature will influence the microstructure evolution and the fracture properties of Ni-W alloys.

Jan 8th, 2016

Toward the automation of plasmonic design

plamonic_nanostructureMetal nanoparticles, when excited at optical frequencies, may experience localized surface plasmon resonances, which determine enhanced local electric fields, increased scattering cross sections, and high sensitivity to the environment refractive index. Thanks to these unique properties, they are widely utilized especially in biomedical sciences and engineering. Researchers have now conceived and demonstrated a new method to fully automate the design of metal nanoparticles.

Jan 7th, 2016

Flexible, low-power, high-frequency nanoelectronics with monolayer MoS2

FET_deviceIn the past, the performance of synthesized MoS2 had been poor, especially when integrated on flexible substrates. A new study have now yielded the highest performance for CVD-grown monolayer MoS2 device properties on flexible substrates to date. MoS2 exhibits unique physical, optical and electrical properties correlated with its single-layer atomic layer structure. Important for electronics applications, and in contrast to graphene, MoS2 has a bandgap.

Jan 6th, 2016

Microcannons that fire drug-loaded nanobullets

microcannonThe goal of a vast amount of nanomedicine research is the perfect drug carrier: it is injected into the body and transports itself to the correct target, such as a tumor, and delivers the required therapeutic drug dose at this target. This idealized concept was first proposed at the beginning of the 20th century and was nicknamed the 'magic bullet' concept. Taking this 'bullet' concept literally, researchers have developed acoustically triggered microcannons, capable of versatile loading and effective firing of nanobullets, as novel tools toward advancing microscale tissue penetration of therapeutic payloads.

Jan 5th, 2016

Identifying nanopollution

colorimetric_assayEngineered nanoparticles are being used in a wide range of product areas, including composite materials, coatings, electronics, food, agriculture, cosmetics, healthcare, and biotechnology. As a consequence, human exposure to nanoparticles has become a prominent environmental concern; especially since these potential pollutants are not visible to the human eye or detectable by smell. However, there is no current technology that provides rapid, sensitive and highly portable detection and identification of nanoparticles. Now though, researchers have developed a simple colorimetric sensor array approach capable of detection and unambiguous differentiation of a wide range of nanoparticles in aqueous solutions.

Jan 4th, 2016

Top 10 nanotechnology spotlights 2015

energy-scavenging_fabricHere are the 10 most popular Nanowerk Nanotechnology Spotlight articles of 2015. This year, the list includes a quick and simple blood test to detect early-stage cancer; self-powered smart suits; nanomaterials for camouflage and stealth applications; nanotechnology energy applications; 3D-printing with graphene; fuzzy and Boolean logic gates based on DNA nanotechnology; a path towards self-powered electronic papers; a look at whether nanomedicine lhas ived up to its promise; smart materials that become 'alive' with living bacteria in supramolecular assemblies; and repair nanobots on damage patrol.

Jan 1st, 2016

Multiplexed planar array analysis from within a living cell

sensor_arrayResearchers have developed a suspended planar-array chip whose in situ capabilities with a spatial molecular-probe arrangement combine the advantages of both suspended arrays and planar arrays. This opens the way towards the multiplexed detection of intracellular biological parameters using a single device in dramatically reduced volumes, such as inside a living HeLa cell. The chip's volume represents only about 0.35% of the total volume of a typical HeLa cell.

Dec 29th, 2015