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On the highway of heat transfer, thermal energy is moved by way of quantum particles called phonons. But at the nanoscale of today’s most cutting-edge semiconductors, those phonons don’t remove enough heat. That’s why Purdue University researchers are focused on opening a new nanoscale lane on the heat transfer highway by using hybrid quasiparticles called “polaritons.” Credit: Purdue University photo/DALL-E.

A team of researchers based at the University of Toronto’s (U of T) Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy has discovered a novel ionizable lipid nanoparticle that enables muscle-focused mRNA delivery while minimizing off-target delivery to other tissues. The team also showed that mRNA delivered by the lipid nanoparticles investigated in their study triggered potent cellular-level immune responses as a proof-of-concept melanoma cancer vaccine.

The study, led by Bowen Li, assistant professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, U of T, was published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Called iso-A11B5C1, the new nanoparticle demonstrates exceptional mRNA delivery efficiency in muscle tissues while also minimizing unintended mRNA translation in organs such as the liver and spleen.

A team of researchers has reviewed a unique method for reforming the structures of ultra-small nanomaterials. These nanomaterials, called metal nanoclusters, bridge the gap between the metal atom and the bulk metal, making them highly useful in both basic and applied research. Metal nanoclusters have the potential for wide-ranging applications in the biomedical fields.

The team’s review paper is published in the journal Polyoxometalates.

The team investigated the phosphine-LEIST reaction. This method shows advantages in nanoclusters’ structural modification and property modulation. “The method we reviewed is able to modulate the atomically precise structure of metal nanoclusters and regulate their corresponding performance,” said Man-Bo Li, a professor at Anhui University, China.

Researchers have demonstrated a programmable nano-scale robot, made from a few strands of DNA, that’s capable of grabbing other snippets of DNA, and positioning them together to manufacture new UV-welded nano-machines – including copies of itself.

The robots, according to New Scientist, are created using just four strands of DNA, and measure just 100 nanometers across, so about a thousand of them could squeeze up into a line the width of a human hair.

The team, from New York University, the Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomechanical Engineering, and The Chinese Academy of Sciences, says the robots surpass previous efforts, which were only able to assemble pieces into two-dimensional shapes. The new bots are able to use “multiple-axis precise folding and positioning” to “access the third dimension and more degrees of freedom.”

On the highway of heat transfer, thermal energy is moved by way of quantum particles called phonons. But at the nanoscale of today’s most cutting-edge semiconductors, those phonons don’t remove enough heat. That’s why Purdue University researchers are focused on opening a new nanoscale lane on the heat transfer highway by using hybrid quasiparticles called “polaritons.”

Thomas Beechem loves . He talks about it loud and proud, like a preacher at a big tent revival.

“We have several ways of describing energy,” said Beechem, associate professor of mechanical engineering. “When we talk about light, we describe it in terms of particles called ‘photons.’ Heat also carries energy in predictable ways, and we describe those waves of energy as ‘phonons.’ But sometimes, depending on the material, photons and phonons will come together and make something new called a ‘.’ It carries energy in its own way, distinct from both photons or phonons.”

In the era of big data and advanced artificial intelligence, traditional data storage methods are becoming inadequate. To address the need for high-capacity and energy-efficient storage solutions, the development of next-generation technologies is crucial.

Among these is resistive random-access memory (RRAM), which relies on altering resistance levels to store data. A recent study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie details the work of a research team who have pioneered a method for creating supramolecular memristors, one of the key components in the construction of nano-RRAM.

With a hydrogen production rate of 139 millimoles per hour and per gram of catalyst, the material holds the world record for green hydrogen production with sunlight.


Scharfsinn86/iStock.

Professor Emiliano Cortés, a leading figure in experimental physics and energy conversion at LMU, and Dr. Matías Herrán, a postdoc researcher at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, delved into the intricate world of nanotechnology to develop high-performance nanostructures that could revolutionize solar energy utilization.