Nov 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Semiconductor materials called 2D halide perovskites can be used in devices like solar cells and LEDs. Scientists led by Assoc. Prof. Nripan Mathews of NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering synthesized four unique types of 2D halide perovskites. Dr. Ayan Zhumekenov, a research fellow...
Nanoscale analysis with DNA-graphene origami
Nov 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) In a recently published study in Advanced Materials Interfaces ("Hybrid DNA Origami – Graphene Platform for Electrically-Gated Nanoscale Motion"), International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) researchers have developed a new sensor that merges DNA origami with graphene to achieve unique accuracy in detecting molecular motion. Jana...
Programmable hydrogel enables precise, customizable drug delivery over two weeks
Nov 22, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Millions of patients who rely on biological medications face a frustrating reality: frequent injections. Modern drugs for conditions from diabetes to arthritis can't be taken as pills because they break down in the digestive system. Instead, patients must maintain rigid injection schedules, sometimes requiring multiple...
Researchers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies
Nov 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Penn Engineers have cooked up a new way to improve mRNA delivery, developing an optimal “recipe” for ionizable lipids — key ingredients in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the molecules behind the COVID-19 vaccines and other innovative therapies. The method, described in Nature Biomedical Engineering ("Optimization of...
Quantum-inspired design boosts efficiency of heat-to-electricity conversion
Nov 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, Rice engineer Gururaj Naik and his team designed a thermal emitter that...
New method for designing artificial proteins
Nov 21, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Protein design aims to create customized antibodies for therapies, biosensors for diagnostics, or enzymes for chemical reactions. An international research team has now developed a method for designing large new proteins better than before and producing them with the desired properties in the laboratory. Their...
Emerging laser-induced graphene-based skin-like sensor systems
Nov 21, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) The burgeoning demands for health care and human-machine interfaces call for the next generation of multifunctional and flexible integrated sensor systems. Principally, flexible sensors are categorized as physical, chemical, and electrophysiological types. Judicious integration of them renders multifunctional flexible sensor systems with skin-like compliance and...
Electrospinning nanofibers of white flour
Nov 21, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The world’s thinnest spaghetti, about 200 times thinner than a human hair, has been created by a UCL-led research team. The spaghetti is not intended to be a new food but was created because of the wide-ranging uses that extremely thin strands of material, called...
pioneering practical solutions for a greener, healthier future
Nov 21, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are materials composed of metal ions or clusters coordinated to organic molecules to form one, two, or three-dimensional structures. These highly porous structures possess large surface areas, making them extremely versatile for various applications. MOFs are a significant area of research in...
Nanoink, printing technologies could enable electronics repairs, production in space
Nov 21, 2024 (Nanowerk News) An Iowa State University engineer floats in the air while other researchers hang tight to a metal frame surrounding and supporting their special printer. It’s not the usual photo you see in a research paper. Tests aboard microgravity flights aren’t your typical materials experiments, either....