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Category: nanotechnology – Page 19

Scientists have discovered a remarkable way to destroy cancer cells. A study published last year found stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light caused them to vibrate in sync, enough to break apart the membranes of cancer cells.

Aminocyanine molecules are already used in bioimaging as synthetic dyes. Commonly used in low doses to detect cancer, they stay stable in water and are very good at attaching themselves to the outside of cells.

The research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas, said their approach is a marked improvement over another kind of cancer-killing molecular machine previously developed, called Feringa-type motors, which could also break the structures of problematic cells.

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Quantum sensing is a rapidly developing field that utilizes the quantum states of particles, such as superposition, entanglement, and spin states, to detect changes in physical, chemical, or biological systems. A promising type of quantum nanosensor is nanodiamonds (NDs) equipped with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. These centers are created by replacing a carbon atom with nitrogen near a lattice vacancy in a diamond structure.

When excited by light, the NV centers emit photons that maintain stable spin information and are sensitive to external influences like magnetic fields, electric fields, and temperature. Changes in these spin states can be detected using optically detected (ODMR), which measures fluorescence changes under .

In a recent breakthrough, scientists from Okayama University in Japan developed nanodiamond sensors bright enough for bioimaging, with spin properties comparable to those of bulk diamonds. The study, published in ACS Nano, on 16 December 2024, was led by Research Professor Masazumi Fujiwara from Okayama University, in collaboration with Sumitomo Electric Company and the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology.

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At the Berlin synchrotron radiation source BESSY II, the largest magnetic anisotropy of a single molecule ever measured experimentally has been determined. The larger a molecule’s anisotropy is, the better suited it is as a molecular nanomagnet. Such nanomagnets have a wide range of potential applications, for example, in energy-efficient data storage.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Kohlenforschung (MPI KOFO), the Joint Lab EPR4Energy of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin were involved in the study.

The research involved a bismuth complex synthesized in the group of Josep Cornella (MPI KOFO). This molecule has unique magnetic properties that a team led by Frank Neese (MPI KOFO) recently predicted in . So far, however, all attempts to measure the magnetic properties of the bismuth complex and thus experimentally confirm the theoretical predictions have failed.

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Warp Bubbles: Scientists May Have Found a Real Pathway to Light-Speed Travel. Here is some key information for you to watch before deciding to read the whole article. Thanks for visiting us!

In 2020, physicist Harold “Sonny” White discovered a peculiar energy pattern that resembled a potential nanoscale warp bubble—the first real hint toward faster-than-light travel.

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Researchers at Flinders University have developed a low-cost, high-density polymer that can store data efficiently using nanoscale indents and can be erased and reused multiple times.

This innovative material, made from sulfur and dicyclopentadiene, promises greater storage capacities compared to traditional storage devices, and its ability to be quickly recycled offers a sustainable alternative for the future of data storage.

Innovative Data Storage Material

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Penn Engineers have modified lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) — the revolutionary technology behind the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines — to not only cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) but also to target specific types of cells, including neurons. This breakthrough marks a significant step toward potential next-generation treatments for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

In a new paper in Nano Letters, the researchers demonstrate how peptides — short strings of amino acids — can serve as precise targeting molecules, enabling LNPs to deliver mRNA specifically to the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels of the brain, as well as neurons.

This represents an important advance in delivering mRNA to the cell types that would be key in treating neurodegenerative diseases; any such treatments will need to ensure that mRNA arrives at the correct location. Previous work by the same researchers proved that LNPs can cross the BBB and deliver mRNA to the brain, but did not attempt to control which cells the LNPs targeted.

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Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have made tungsten disulfide nanotubes which point in the same direction when formed, for the first time. They used a sapphire surface under carefully controlled conditions to form arrayed tungsten disulfide nanotubes, each consisting of rolled nanosheets, using chemical vapor deposition.

The team’s technique resolves the long-standing issue of jumbled orientations in collected amounts of nanotubes, promising real world applications for the exotic anisotropy of single nanotubes.

The study is published in the journal Nano Letters.

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A new solar cell process using Sn(II)-perovskite oxide material offers a promising pathway for green hydrogen production through water splitting, advancing sustainable energy technologies.

Experts in nanoscale chemistry have made significant progress toward sustainable and efficient hydrogen production from water using solar power.

An international collaborative study led by Flinders University, involving researchers from South Australia, the US, and Germany, has uncovered a novel solar cell process that could play a key role in future technologies for photocatalytic water splitting—a critical step in green hydrogen production.

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A method for imaging spin waves in magnetic materials uses flash-like intensity variations in a laser beam to capture the wave motion at specific moments in time.

The magnetic moments, or spins, in certain materials can twirl in a coordinated wave pattern that might one day be used to transmit information in so-called spintronic devices. Researchers have developed a new way to image these spin waves using an infrared laser that essentially flashes on and off at a frequency that matches that of the spin waves [1]. Unlike other spin-wave probes, this strobe method can directly capture phase information that is relevant to certain applications, such as hybrid devices that combine spin waves with other types of waves.

A spin wave can be triggered in a magnetic material when some perturbation causes a spin to oscillate, which can then generate a wave of oscillations that ripple through neighboring spins. Spin waves have several properties that make them good candidates for information carriers. For one, they have relatively small wavelengths—a few hundred nanometers at a frequency of 1 GHz, whereas a 1-GHz photon has a wavelength of about 30 cm. This compactness could conceivably allow researchers to build spintronic components, such as waveguides and logic gates, at the nanoscale. Another advantage of these waves is that the spins remain in place, and only their orientation changes. So the heat losses that affect the moving charges in traditional electronics don’t exist.

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Penn Engineers have modified lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)—the revolutionary technology behind the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines—to not only cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) but also to target specific types of cells, including neurons. This breakthrough marks a significant step toward potential next-generation treatments for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

In a new paper in Nano Letters, the researchers demonstrate how —short strings of —can serve as precise targeting molecules, enabling LNPs to deliver mRNA specifically to the that line the blood vessels of the brain, as well as neurons.

This represents an important advance in delivering mRNA to the cell types that would be key in treating neurodegenerative diseases; any such treatments will need to ensure that mRNA arrives at the correct location. Previous work by the same researchers proved that LNPs can cross the BBB and deliver mRNA to the brain, but did not attempt to control which cells the LNPs targeted.

Read more | >