A new type of nanoparticle has been created by American scientists which could be applied towards food contamination or environmental pollution testing or even medical diagnostics. The best thing about these nanoparticles is that they are magnetic, luminescent and inexpensive.
It comprises of magnetic core of iron oxide which has been coated in a shell of europium and gadolinium oxide. It produces a red light when it is stimulated with laser at some specific wavelength.
Magnets can be used for manipulating this nanoparticle and can be easily detected by fluorescence. Accurate quantitative assays can be carried out with a built in europium luminescence acting as an internal standard. You can also coat them with short pieces of DNA and utilize them for genetic analysis. This is being hailed as a big achievement in the field of nanotechnology.
