Nanotechblog

Nanotechnology is the future and the Indian government can not ignore it. The government has given a go ahead to the launch of a mission on Nano Science and Technology. The mission will cost around Rs.1000 crore and will be spread across a span of 5 years. The nodal agency for this mission will be the Department of Science and Technology.

The utmost priority for the Nano Mission will be the Capacity-building. This is a step to put India on the map of Nanotechnology. The national mission has been designed in a way that there exists a synergy between the efforts of various agencies and the national research agencies. In case a need for international collaboration is felt then steps will be taken to facilitate it.

Till now around 100 research projects have been funded. A lot of centers on nanoscience and nanotechnology have also been established also a number of post-doctoral fellowships have been awarded. The effort of the government of India will soon put India on the map of Nanoscience where India will be at par with any other developed country.

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Via nanowerk

The boating industry stands to benefit from nanotechnology that is offering it a number of environmental and performance advantages. A new Teak Guard Marine coating product has been released by Nanovations Teak Guard Division which utilizes nanotechnology for absorbing harmful Sun rays and shields wood of the boat from harmful solar radiation. The development of this product involved four years of extensive research. Developed using a blend of nanoscale active ingredients Teak Guard Marine penetrates deeper into the wood grain and improves the life of the wood. It not only offers an attractive finish but also increases the strength and water resistance properties of the teak used for constructing boats.

The nanoscale UV absorber of the coating maintains the natural properties of the wood and it even prevents graying of the wood. The coating dries up pretty fast. The micropores also prevent water vapor from escaping from the teak and therefore prevent peeling, flaking and cracking of the wood. Due to its high stain resistance and water repellant properties it is being labeled as a multifunctional all in one solution for the boating industry.

Via prweb

How about a book which you cant read with naked eyes? If you would like to own such books then switch to nanotechnology which has created the world’s smallest book. This nanoscale book has been published as a work of fine art by Robert Chaplin. This book is available with an International Standard Book Number and is titled ‘Teeny Ted From Turnip Town’. The book has been authored by Malcolm Douglas Chaplin.

In case you would like to read it then you certainly require a scanning electron microscope. Measuring 0.07 mm X 0.10 mm in size this book is smaller than the two books which hold the Guinness record for the smallest books in the world. Publisher Robert Chaplin got this book out with the aid of scientists of SFU and this was achieved using focused gallium ion and electron microscopes. The book narrates the story about Teeny Ted’s victory in the turnip contest at the annual county fair. Labeled as a work of contemporary art the book is only available in signature edition.

Via nanowerk

Tiny fluorescent particles have been developed by University of Florida scientists which can be used for quick identification of bacteria by color coding them. It can certainly help in testing contaminants in food and prevention of bio terror attacks. The team at the university created nanoparticles with three colors - purple for Samonella typhimurium, blue for Escherichia coli and orange for Stapphylococcus aureus. As antibodies consist of proteins which stick to just one thing here nanoparticles containing antibodies cling onto a single type of bacteria.

When these nanoparticles are put along with three different types of bacteria they are color coded by these nanoparticles so that it could be easy to identify them with the aid of a confocal microscope. These findings have already been published in Bioconjugate Chemistry.

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Via wired

Whenever you went for a tooth filling your dentist must have warmed you that the filling was not long life and it might crack due to stressful chewing or biting but now dentists might be able to guarantee life long fillings and all the applause for this goes to nanotechnology. This technology can reduce incidences of cracking by producing tooth restoration which is tougher as compared to any decay fighting fillings available.

Normally pure liquid resin is mixed with a powder containing coloring and reinforcement which packs the paste into the cavity and hence illuminates the teeth with a light which causes the polymerization of the paste and hardening but it tends to get weakened over a period of time. Now a spray drying technique has been introduced which uses dicalcium phosphate anhydrous which are fifty nanometers and twenty times smaller and since these nanoparticles have a higher surface to volume ratio it turns out to be quite effective in releasing ions and therefore offers more strength to the final filling. In order to make this possible nanoscale silica-fused fibers have been produced which are twice stronger as compared to the commericial variety available.

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Via azonano

We would never believe the notion that glues could ever be fabricated in order to develop computer microchips some years back, but now it is not that hard to imagine with US scientists manufacturing a “Nanoglue” that is 100,000 times thinner than a human hair. Surprisingly this “Nanoglue” boasts of withstanding high temperatures and is extremely reliable. The binding energy of the molecules keeps the glue super tough.

This super strong “Nanoglue” has been made from ultrathin materials. The “Nanoglue” is developed at the “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute” in Troy, New York. Key developer and science researcher, Ganapathiraman Ramanath, threw some light on this stating that –“It is really mind-boggling to think about a single layer of molecules improving the adhesion of something, our work shows the possibility of having organic-based nanolayers that are about a 1000 times thinner than the thinnest organic-based glues.”

This glue speaks of high receptivity and super strong characteristics that do not loose their adhesiveness even if the Nanoglue is cut into sheets as thin as one-millionth of a meter. So, how many types of glue you can think of that can withhold their characteristics with such perfection and longevity?

During a telephonic interview, Ramanath said that -”This is a single layer of molecules that are organized like soldiers, this glue chain lines up in very orderly fashion all on its own. Nature does most of it for you. You just have to put the right thing on the top and the right thing on the bottom and it will work.”

Looking into the chemical composition of this glue – it has a chain of carbon molecules consisting of silica-oxygen at one end and sulphur at the other. The intramolecular bonds make this Nanoglue strong and bondable.

Another interesting fact about this glue is that it gets stronger and stronger when heated to temperatures around 400 degrees Celsius or more! At such extreme temperatures, the silica and copper configure to a stronger chemical bonds. He added -”When you heat it, it becomes a better glue, that was something we hadn’t bargained for.”

Price: $US35 ($NZ48.04) per 100 grams

Via: Stuff

A combo of nanotechnology and biology can be used for repairing damaged tissues and organs. Researchers have stated that nanotechnology can be used for mobilizing the healing abilities of the body. Experiments conducted on mice showed that a paralyzed mouse with spinal cord injuries was able to regain the ability of using its hind legs six weeks after being injected with customized nanomaterial injection.

Nanofibers which are at least a thousand times thinner as compared to human hair have been found out to prevent harmful scar tissue formation which blocks the healing of spinal cord and at the same time stimulates the regeneration of damaged cells. The customized molecules self assembeled into nanofibers after being injected in the body and when they are immobilized in the affected area they can help in activation of some of the biological process. The same technique could also be applied in case of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. If it turns successful in humans then it could be a path breaking discovery for millions of people with damaged body parts.

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Via sciencedaily

Researchers while assembling metal particles have developed a metallic material which can be molded into putty and then hardened like pottery. It can also help in bringing down the carbon dioxide emissions produced during the manufacturing stage. Researchers at MIT have found that it is the packing density and not the chemical nature of C-S-H nanoparticles which gives properties to cement. Substituting it with another material can eliminate the need of hot kiln firing which leads to pollution. Magnesium can serve as a replacement for calcium.

Researchers have developed a chemical scheme in which case the nanoparticles are self assembled into putty like material which can be molded into another any shape. When heated at fifty degrees it gets hardened like pottery and does not even produce any carbon dioxide. This has opened up the opportunity for producing new metallic electrically conducting materials which can be used for a number of purposes.

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Via: usatoday

Now, Physicists of the University of Pennsylvania are developing nanostructure metal, not more than 10 nanometers. Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania are using a new technique to craft some of the tiniest metal nanostructures ever created, none larger than 10 nanometers.

They are using new technology to create nanostructure metal. The technology uses transmission electron beam ablation lithography or TEBAL to carve nanostructures from thin sheets of gold, silver, silver, aluminum and other metals. Drndić and Michael Fischbein of Penn’s Department of Physics in the School of Arts and Sciences has conducted the study.

TEBAL provides reliable method to produce quality version of these microscopic devices, which are studied for their novel mechanical properties and it can be used in next generation sensors and electronics. The method allows real time imaging of the devices as they are made.

Traditional techniques, which are used for building nanodevices requires electron beam lithography and also require the use of polymers and chemicals, in which meatl can be evaporated. In addition, the TEBAL method also creates a resistance free connection between the nanostructure and an electrical lead, which can provide power to the device. Additionally, structures made from bottom-up techniques need to be firstly placed on a chip and then connected to larger circuitry.

The team uses the superior control of the electron beam to reproduce multiple, which is similar copies of each structure. The research may lead to computer-based creation of such devices with more intricacy. Penn physicists has also proposed a rapid method of DNA sequencing, which can be developed from this process, by threading DNA strands through an electronic “nanoport” that could read the base pairs that constitute a species’ genetic code.

Image Credit: ND Edu

Via: Physorg

Nano materials are emerging as popular insulation material since they are an improvement over the traditional insulation materials and even cost less. Now nanotechnology is being used in the arena of refrigeration as an insulating material and this can help in bringing down the energy consumption of refrigerators by as much as twenty percent.

A micro thickness film called Nanoskin has been developed by General Applications and it offers a thermal protection layer by using small cells consisting of vacuum. This film will be embedded in the inner wall of the fridge during the manufacturing process for offering effective layer of insulation.

This has resulted in strong interest among a number of companies and a number of European fridge manufacturers are willing to apply this technology to their fridges. It looks like this film will replace the traditional insulating material due to the advantages it offers and the obviously the cost factor too.

Via acr-news