Yale scientists use nanotechnology to fight E. coli
New Haven, Conn. — Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can kill bacteria like the common pathogen E. coli by severely damaging their cell walls, according to a recent report from Yale researchers in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Langmuir.
E.coli incubated for one hour on support matrix in the absence (1) or in the presence (2) of nanotubes. (Elimelech/Yale)
Bioengineers at University of Pennsylvania Devise Nanoscale System to Measure Cellular Forces
PHILADELPHIA -- University of Pennsylvania researchers have designed a nanoscale system to observe and measure how individual cells react to external forces.
By combining microfabricated cantilevers and magnetic nanowire technology to create independent, nanoscale sensors, the study showed that cells respond to outside forces and demonstrated a dynamic biological relationship between cells and their environment.
New Nanoparticle Could Provide Simple Early Diagnosis of Many Diseases
Most people think of hydrogen peroxide as a topical germ killer, but the medicine cabinet staple is gaining steam in the medical community as an early indicator of disease in the body.
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University researchers are the first to create a nanoparticle capable of detecting and imaging trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide in animals. The nanoparticles, thought to be completely nontoxic, could some day be used as a simple, all-purpose diagnostic tool to detect the earliest stages of any disease that involves chronic inflammation--everything from cancer and Alzheimer's to heart disease and arthritis.
Researchers at University of Pennsylvania Develop Method for Mass Production of Nanogap Electrodes
PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a reliable, reproducible method for parallel fabrication of multiple nanogap electrodes, a development crucial to the creation of mass-produced nanoscale electronics.
Promising New Nanomedical Cancer Therapy Also Highlights Tech Transfer, Inventor Says
PASADENA, Calif.--If a new approach to cancer therapy, still experimental and in a phase I clinical trial, turns out as well as hoped, the credit will go as much to technology transfer as to scientific acumen.
That's the opinion of Mark Davis, the Schlinger Professor of Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. Davis's custom-designed nanoparticles for fighting cancer are currently being tested on patients at City of Hope in nearby Duarte, and are now in the planning stages for more extensive phase II trials. The nanoparticles are built to deliver chemotherapy drugs to tumors in such a way that the adverse effects of the drugs on the rest of the body are minimized.
Scientists train nano-’building blocks’ to take on new shapes, as reported in Science
9:37 a.m., Aug. 3, 2007--Researchers from the University of Delaware and Washington University in St. Louis have figured out how to train synthetic polymer molecules to behave--to literally “self-assemble” --and form into long, multicompartment cylinders 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, with potential uses in radiology, signal communication and the delivery of therapeutic drugs in the human body.
A New Technique for Building Nanodevices in the Lab: Electron beam "carves" the world's smallest devices
PHILADELPHIA -- Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania are using a new technique to craft some of the tiniest metal nanostructures ever created, none larger than 10 nanometers, or 10,000 times smaller than the width of a single human hair.
Penn Physicists Develop a Carbon Nanotube Aeroegel Optimizing Strength, Shape and Conductivity
PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have created low-density aerogels made from carbon nanotubes, CNTs, that are capable of supporting 8,000 times their own weight. The new material also combines the strength and ultra-light, heat-insulating properties of aerogels with the electrical conductivity of nanotubes.
Powering Nanodevices: Nanogenerator Provides Continuous Power by Harvesting Energy from the Environment
Schematic shows the direct current nanogenerator built using aligned ZnO nanowire arrays with a zigzag top electrode. The nanogenerator is driven by an external ultrasonic wave or mechanical vibration and the output current is continuous. Schematic courtesy Zhong Lin Wang
Researchers have demonstrated a prototype nanometer-scale generator that produces continuous direct-current electricity by harvesting mechanical energy from such environmental sources as ultrasonic waves, mechanical vibration or blood flow.
Widely Used Iron Nanoparticles
Exhibit Toxic Effects on Neuronal Cells
March 28, 2007
By Rex Graham
These PC12 cells were exposed to no (left), low (center), or high (right) concentrations
of iron oxide nanoparticles in the presence of nerve growth factor, which normally stimulates these neuronal cells to form thread-like extensions called neurites
Nanoparticles for Delivery of Prostate Cancer Treatment
New Haven, Conn. — Alan Garen, professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale has received a $100,000 award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation to expand research on the delivery of a targeted therapy for prostate cancer using nanoparticles.
Goal of nanoscale optical imaging gets boost with new hyperlens
By Sarah Yang, Media Relations
BERKELEY – Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a "hyperlens" that brings them one major step closer to the goal of nanoscale optical imaging.
Nano-Piezotronics™: Researchers Create a New Class of Electronic Components by Bending Zinc Oxide Nanowires
Researchers have taken advantage of the unique coupled semiconducting and piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide nanowires to create a new class of electronic components and devices that could provide the foundation for a broad range of new applications.
Humberto Terrones, Instituto Potosino de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología
México aún está a tiempo de participar y hacer aportaciones en una nueva actividad científica que,
sin lugar a dudas, tendrá un impacto importante en la generación de nuevo conocimiento y en la economía mundial: La nanociencia.
Detecting Disease: Scientists Create Dual-modality Microbeads to Improve Identification of Disease Biomarkers in Body Fluids
Analyzing human blood for a very low virus concentration or a sample of water for a bioterrorism agent has always been a time-consuming and difficult process. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have developed an easier and faster method to detect these types of target molecules in liquid samples using highly porous, micron-sized, silica beads.
Elizabeth Dougherty, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
February 1, 2007
On a quest to modernize cancer treatment and diagnosis, an MIT professor and her colleagues have created new nanoparticles that mimic blood platelets. The team wants to use these new multifunctional particles to carry out different medical missions inside the body, from imaging to drug delivery.
