Futurity.org » chemical engineering

No-clump proteins may change drug delivery

Tim Green-U. Texas — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:16:17 +0000

U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — A new form of proteins could improve treatments for cancer and other diseases, and deliver drugs to patients more effectively, researchers report.

The protein formulation strategy, discovered by chemical engineering faculty members and students in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, offers a new and universal approach to drug delivery—one that could revolutionize treatment of cancer, arthritis, and infectious disease.

Microcapsules quickly fix nanoscale cracks

Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:57:17 +0000

U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Researchers propose a “repair-and-go” approach to fixing malfunctions caused by small surface cracks on any digital device or part before it hits store shelves.

Although some scratches on digital devices are easy to see and repair, researchers have addressed hard-to-pinpoint nanoscale scratches, which can cause the device as a whole to malfunction. Findings are published in Nature Nanotechnology.

‘Pack’ semiconductors to boost efficiency

Andrew Myers-Stanford — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:10:13 +0000

STANFORD (US) — A new way of packing molecules could boost the electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors, paving the way for foldable smartphones and clothing that uses sunlight to charge iPads.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, chemical engineers report that by packing molecules closer together as the semiconductor crystals form—a technique called “straining the lattice”—they more than doubled the record for electrical conductivity of an organic semiconductor and saw an eleven-fold improvement over unstrained lattices of the same semiconductor.

Bacteria ‘chatter’ curbs infectious slime

Sherylon Carroll-Texas A&M — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:24:02 +0000

TEXAS A&M (US) — By manipulating the way bacteria “talk” to each other, researchers have achieved unprecedented control over the formation and dispersal of biofilms.

Working with E. coli bacteria, researchers employed specific signals sent and received between bacteria to trigger the dispersal of biofilm. The finding is significant because biofilm, a community of bacteria living together, is notoriously difficult to break apart.

‘Tinkertoy’ framework most porous yet

Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:08:45 +0000

U. PITTSBURGH (US) — An alternate approach to building porous materials could ease the delivery of drugs into the human body and better control the storage of voluminous quantities of gas molecules, new research shows.

Working with metal-organic frameworks—crystalline compounds made from metal-cluster vertices linked together by organic molecules to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional porous structures—researchers addressed changing the size of the vertex (the metal cluster) rather than the length of the organic molecule links, which resulted in the largest metal organic framework pore volume reported to date.

Method rids water of heavy metals

Richard Lewis-Brown — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:02:34 +0000

BROWN (US) — Engineers have developed a system that cleanly and efficiently removes trace heavy metals from water.

In experiments, the researchers showed the system reduces cadmium, copper, and nickel concentrations, returning contaminated water to near or below federally acceptable standards.

Hydrogel heals third-degree burns

Mary Spiro-JHU — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:56:23 +0000

JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — A new jelly-like material appears to promote the repair of severe burns, regenerating healthy, scar-free tissue in early experiments with animals.

The new material has not yet been tested on human patients, but researchers say the substance, used as part of a new wound treatment method, appears to promote the formation of new blood vessels and skin in mouse tissue.

Graphene: Oil industry’s rising star

David Ruth-Rice — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:48:48 +0000

RICE (US) — Graphene’s strength, light weight, and solubility may ultimately make it the answer to the efficient, environmentally sound production of oil, a new study shows.

Researchers at Rice University and M-I SWACO, a Texas-based supplier of drilling fluids and subsidiary of oil-services provider Schlumberger, have produced functionalized graphene oxide to alleviate the clogging of oil-producing pores in newly drilled wells.

Sort nanotubes for better electronics

Dan Stober-Stanford — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:25:53 +0000

STANFORD (US) — A new technique could make semiconducting carbon nanotubes more commercially viable for use in printable circuits, bendable display screens, stretchable electronics, and solar technology.

Currently, when nanotubes are manufactured, tubes that work for solar cells are mixed with tubes that work for batteries. The result is a nanotube powder that is not ideal for anything.

New phone battery charges 10x faster

Megan Fellman-Northwestern — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:37:18 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — A new lithium-ion battery not only holds a charge up to 10 times longer than current technology, but can also charge 10 times faster.

Researchers combined two chemical engineering approaches to address two major limitations faced by rechargeable batteries like those found in cellphones and iPods—energy capacity and charge rate—in one fell swoop. The technology could also pave the way for more efficient, smaller batteries for electric cars.