Futurity.org » nanocrystals

All-natural nanosponge captures CO2

Marla Paul-Northwestern — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:33:10 +0000

NORTHWESTERN (US) — Nanostructures made of sugar, salt, and alcohol are able to effectively detect, capture, and store carbon dioxide—and are themselves carbon-neutral.

Because the porous crystals—known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)—are made from all-natural ingredients and are simple to prepare, they have a significant advantage over other MOFs that, while also effective at adsorbing carbon dioxide, are usually prepared from materials derived from crude oil and incorporate toxic heavy metals.

“We are able to take molecules that are themselves sourced from atmospheric carbon, through photosynthesis, and use them to capture even more carbon dioxide,” says Ross S. Forgan, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Fraser Stoddart, professor of chemistry at Northwestern University.

X-ray shows ‘thrilling’ biology in action

Melinda Lee-Stanford — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:48:09 +0000

STANFORD (US) — The world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser is taking remarkable “snapshots” of the inner life of proteins and viruses.

Two studies published in the journal Nature demonstrate the unique capabilities of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), located at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory operated by Stanford University.

Microscope pinpoints single molecules

Mike Krapfl-Iowa State — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:00:20 +0000

IOWA STATE (US) — A new microscope will allow scientists to study biological molecules one at a time.

Cells have surface proteins, called cadherins, that help them stick together. Different kinds of cells have different kinds of cadherins.

Jumpy proteins repair DNA ‘potholes’

Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:32:03 +0000

DNA is suspended as tightropes on beads to permit direct single molecule imaging of the lesion search process during repair. Bennett Van Houten, senior author of the study, says the repair process is “akin to spotting potholes on every street all over the country and getting them fixed before the next rush hour.” (Credit: Neil Kad/University of Essex)

U. PITTSBURGH (US)—Repair proteins appear to efficiently scan the genome for errors by jumping like fleas between DNA molecules, sliding along the strands and perhaps pausing at suspicious spots.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Essex, and the University of Vermont tagged the proteins with quantum dots to watch the action unfold.

Marveling over ‘molecular chicken wire’

David Salisbury-VU — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:55:05 +0000

This illustration shows the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope approaching an undulating sheet of perfect graphene. The exotic substance is 10 times stronger than steel and conducts electricity better than any known material at room temperature. Both physicists and nanoscientists are studying graphene and exploring its potential applications. (Credit: Calvin Davidson, British Carbon Group)

VANDERBILT (US)—The hottest, thinnest, toughest new material in physics and nanotechnology is graphene: a remarkably flat molecule made of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal rings much like molecular chicken wire.

Graphene is 10 times stronger than steel and conducts electricity better than any known material at room temperature. These and graphene’s other exotic properties have attracted the interest of physicists, who want to study them, and nanotechnologists, who want to exploit them to make novel electrical and mechanical devices.

DNA crystals—now showing in 3D

Futurity-Jenny Leonard — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:00:05 +0000

Three-dimensional DNA structures were created by using single-stranded “sticky ends” that link double helices in DNA triangles that point in different directions.

NYU (US)—Chemists have created three-dimensional DNA structures, a breakthrough bridging the molecular world to the world where we live. The technique could help researchers build better nanoelectronics and design more effective drugs.

Quantum dots catch cancer early

Futurity-Jenny Leonard — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:00:35 +0000

In this illustration, quantum dots are depicted as gold spheres that attract DNA strands linked to cancer risks. When the quantum dots are exposed to certain types of light, they transfer the energy to fluorescent molecules, shown as pink globes, that emit a glow. This enables researchers to detect and count the DNA strands linked to cancer. (Credit: Yi Zhang/ Johns Hopkins University)

JOHNS HOPKINS (US)—Using tiny crystals called quantum dots, researchers have developed a highly sensitive test to look for DNA attachments that often are early signs of cancer.

Semiconductors on the cheap with new ‘glue’

Futurity-Jenny Leonard — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:26:39 +0000

A vial of nanocrystals in solution, which serve as “electronic glue” for semiconductor-based technologies. (Credit: Dan Dry)

U. CHICAGO (US)—A new “electronic glue” could speed up advances in less expensive semiconductor-based technologies, including solar cells, say researchers at the University of Chicago and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

University of Chicago postdoctoral scholar Maksym Kovalenko (left) working with nanocrystals in a glovebox in the laboratory of Dmitri Talapin, an assistant professor of chemistry at Chicago. The environmentally controlled conditions of the glovebox permit researchers to perform chemical procedures not possible under room conditions. (Credit: Dan Dry)