The detection of individual particles and molecules has opened new horizons in analytical chemistry, cellular imaging, nanomaterials, and biomedical diagnostics. Traditional single-molecule detection methods rely heavily on fluorescence techniques, which require labeling of the target molecules.
Category: nanotechnology – Page 133
Team develops method for control over single-molecule photoswitching
The new research centers on the use of LSPs to achieve atomic-level control of chemical reactions. A team has successfully extended LSP functionality to semiconductor platforms. By using a plasmon-resonant tip in a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope, they enabled the reversible lift-up and drop-down of single organic molecules on a silicon surface.
The LSP at the tip induces breaking and forming specific chemical bonds between the molecule and silicon, resulting in the reversible switching. The switching rate can be tuned by the tip position with exceptional precision down to 0.01 nanometer. This precise manipulation allows for reversible changes between two different molecular configurations.
An additional key aspect of this breakthrough is the tunability of the optoelectronic function through atomic-level molecular modification. The team confirmed that photoswitching is inhibited for another organic molecule, in which only one oxygen atom not bonding to silicon is substituted for a nitrogen atom. This chemical tailoring is essential for tuning the properties of single-molecule optoelectronic devices, enabling the design of components with specific functionalities and paving the way for more efficient and adaptable nano-optoelectronic systems.
Advancing nanoscale imaging capabilities with dynamic nuclear polarization
Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) has revolutionized the field of nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), making it possible to study a wider range of materials, biomolecules and complex dynamic processes such as how proteins fold and change shape inside a cell.
Flexible nanogenerator with enhanced power density could one day rival the power of solar panels
Your early morning run could soon help harvest enough electricity to power your wearable devices, thanks to a new nanotechnology developed at the University of Surrey.
Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) has developed highly energy-efficient, flexible nanogenerators, which demonstrate a 140-fold increase in power density when compared to conventional nanogenerators. ATI researchers believe that this development could pave the way for nano-devices that are as efficient as today’s solar cells.
The findings are published in the journal Nano Energy.
Real-time nanoparticle reform paves way for smart coatings
Researchers have advanced smart coatings by manipulating nanoparticles to reconfigure themselves by using microscopy and computer simulation.
Terahertz oscillation driven by optical spin-orbit torque
Antiferromagnets are promising for nano-oscillator in terahertz frequency. However, realizing antiferromagnetic moment oscillation via spin-orbit torque remains elusive. Here, the authors demonstrate oscillations in Mn2Au films.
The Microscopy Breakthrough That’s Unveiling Hidden Worlds
Scientists at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society have developed a revolutionary microscopy method that enables the direct visualization of nanostructures and their optical properties.
This breakthrough allows researchers to observe nanoscale materials, like metamaterials, in unprecedented detail by manipulating light in innovative ways. The method has taken over five years to develop and leverages the unique capabilities of the Free Electron Laser. The implications of this research are vast, offering the potential to advance flat optics, shrink 3D optics to 2D, and create more efficient optical devices.
Tailoring Light With Nanomaterials
Physicists develop new model that describes how filaments assemble into active foams
Many fundamental processes of life, and their synthetic counterparts in nanotechnology, are based on the autonomous assembly of individual particles into complex patterns. LMU physicist Professor Erwin Frey, Chair of Statistical and Biological Physics at LMU Munich and member of the ORIGINS Excellence Cluster, investigates the fundamental principles of this self-organization.
Morphable materials: Researchers coax nanoparticles to reconfigure themselves
A view into how nanoscale building blocks can rearrange into different organized structures on command is now possible with an approach that combines an electron microscope, a small sample holder with microscopic channels, and computer simulations, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Indiana University.
The approach could eventually enable smart materials and coatings that can switch between different optical, mechanical and electronic properties.
“One of my favorite examples of this phenomenon in nature is in chameleons,” said Tobias Dwyer, U-M doctoral student in chemical engineering and co-first author of the study published in Nature Chemical Engineering (“Engineering and direct imaging of nanocube self-assembly pathways”). “Chameleons change color by altering the spacing between nanocrystals in their skin. The dream is to design a dynamic and multifunctional system that can be as good as some of the examples that we see in biology.”
Nanomedicine pioneers awarded the Kavli Prize
The 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience is awarded to three nanomedicine pioneers who laid the foundation of controlled release, biomedical imaging and diagnostics.