Nanotechblog

Japanese scientists have created a molecular device resembling a ’scissor’ that can be used to control genes, proteins and other molecules in the body. This scissor can be opened and closed with the effect of light.

This device, created by Takuzo Aida and his colleagues at the University of Tokyo, consists of a pivot, handles and blades which make it look like a scissor and it is just 3 nanometers long, making it the world’s smallest scissor.

Rings of carbon and hydrogen known as phenyl groups have been used to make the blades and the pivot is a molecule called chiral ferrocene, which sandwiches a round iron atom between two carbon plates which can rotate freely around the iron atom.

The handles are organic chemical structures called phenylene groups which are tethered together with azobenzene, a molecule that reacts to light.

Shining visible light on the scissors makes the azobenzene expand and drive the handles apart, closing the blades. Shining ultraviolet rays does the opposite and opens up the blade.

The device can be used as a pincer to firmly grasp molecules and manipulate them by twisting them back and forth. Takuzo Aida said:

This work is the first example where a molecular machine mechanically manipulates other molecules by light .This work is an important step for the future development of molecular robotics.

With the success met in this device, the researchers are now making a larger scissor which can be remotely manipulated and can be operated using near-infrared lights,that can find use in the body by reaching deep parts of the body.

Source.

The first comprehensive study of the properties of boron nitrite has been completed on a nanometric scale. The thorough control and knowledge boron nitride’s properties - boron’s binary compound consisting of equal proportions of boron and nitrogen - can now help design this compound-based new materials both on and, likewise, having implications in other fields like biology.

Boron is used to coat reactors and insulation materials. Thanks to ngel Rubio for leading the University of the Basque Country’s Physics of Materials team to come up with this new development.

The results of this new finding are also relevant in understanding the properties of other carbon compounds like - nanotubes, grapheme — in fields like nanoelectronics, photonics. It will also help understand materials for biomedical applications like sensors, biological labels, etc.

This research is groundbreaking as being of a great current scientific interest throughout the world. This will surely help great advancements in these fields in the short and medium term.

If nanotechnology is to be used safely then we need to undertake a life cycle assessment of nanotechnology - this was stated by a team of European and U.S experts. With nanotechnology expanding with every passing year researchers say that there are various uncertainties with regards to the impact which nanotechnology could have on human health and environment.

Andrew Maynard, Chief scientist, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies stated:

The lack of toxicity data specific to nanomaterials is a repeating theme in this and in other studies related to nanotech environmental, health, and safety concerns. Nanotechnology is no longer a scientific curiosity. Its products are in the workplace, the environment, and home.

In case we would like to extract benefits from nanotechnology then the government needs to take responsibility and it should come up with an effective risk research strategy and funding in order to realize this objective. I surely agree and this should happen as early as possible or the damages could be lot more.

Via postchronicle

Up till now I was involved in some serious talks about nanotechnology but here is some lighter side to it. This is a program called When things get small which brings forward the concepts of nanotechnology combined with humor and entertaining effects. You will be able to find out answers to questions such as what happens when things get small or how small is nano or how you can make things small, these are just some of the questions which will get answered in this program but on a lighter note.

What could a stadium sized bowl of peanuts, a shrinking elephant, and a crazed hockey player have to do with nanoscience?

Probably these are some of the weirdest question which will get answered by Adam Smith and physicist Ivan Schuller and they will also go ahead with their plans of creating world’s smallest magnet. Probably you need to watch this program if you would really like to enjoy nanotechnology. Click here to watch the program.

Via nanowerk

If you are the one who thinks that nanotechnology is still in the developing stages and it would take much time to bloom then you are thinking down the wrong track since it is expected that by 2015 the market for nanotechnology would reach $1 trillion in U.S. If facts are to be believed then globally there is an investment of twenty eight percent in this science and alone in 2005 venture capitalists showed confidence in this technology and invested $500 million in this technology.

This can be stated as a big achievement for a technology which has just started to bloom and the investment being undertaken in this technology signifies the confidence of the people in nanotechnology which is in the initial stages of development.

Experts around the globe are pinning hope on this technology and they feel that nanotechnology could contribute a lot to the world.

Via caribjournal

Implants can help in curing a lot of pain in the human body and now researchers are turning to use nanotechnology for making joint, bone and tooth implants as good as nature. They have figured out that the response of host organisms to nanomaterials is different as compared to conventional materials. Though nanomedical implants are still in the beginning stages it has a lot of strength for coming up with improved implants.

Scientists have developed a consensus on this issue and they state that nanostructured implant materials have an advantage over the traditional methods.

Dr. Thomas J. Webster stated:

We continuously are finding more and more positive attributes of using nanomaterials as improved orthopedic implants. Our results point to the idea that no matter what material chemistry one is interested in (metals, ceramics, polymers, composites), increased bone formation can be achieved by nanostructuring these materials. This can be done by using a number of manufacturing techniques including by using nanoparticles themselves, e-beam evaporation, chemical etching, or lithography. In some cases, we see a three to five times faster regeneration of bone on materials of the same chemistry but with nano compared to micron grain sizes.

Probably medical implants would become easier now since nanotechnology is out there.

Via nanowerk

University of Arkansas researchers have tested a new bio sensor which can detect glucose in real time and with greater sensitivity as compared to biocompatible sensors. Called the UA sensor, it has been developed by Xie and has been created with multi-walled carbon nanotubes with a coating of platinum nanoparticles which are one to five nanometers in diameter. These sensors were tested with and without nanoparticles and in this case the carbon nanotubes with platinum were found out to have higher level of sensitivity as compared even without platinum.

Xie stated:

At this stage of the research, we believe that the improved electro-chemical performance is due to the platinum nanoparticles. We are currently investigating mechanisms to optimize this performance.

Since the sensor has a response time between fifteen and thirty seconds it can offer glucose screenings in real time. The improved sensibility was attributed to platinum in multi walled nanotubes.

Via sciencedaily

Finland scientists are claiming that dairy proteins and polysaccharides could be nano engineered as new functional stabilizers in case of food and packaging. Finland has sponsored the Tailored Nanostabilisers for Biocomponent Interfaces Project for engineering and construction of functional nanoscale particles for sensitive bio components in foods.

These particles are expected to act as active emulsions for stabilizing foams and sensitive components in case of processing. In case of food packaging it is aimed at improving the barrier properties of the biopolymers for evaluating the possibility of incorporating enzymes in the case of nanoscale particles in packaging materials. These enzymes are expected to give increased functionality such as freshness indicators.

The researchers are working on the premise that proteins and carbohydrates could act as a nano stabilizer in case of bioactive components.

Via nutraingredients

Do you know anything about spintronics? If no then let me tell you that it is related with the use of spin of an electron for storage, processing and communication of information. So probably one day it might give us even smaller and faster computers. It is being said that spintronics may act as a revolutionary technology for the world of computing.

As per Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, VCU School of Engineering:

In order to store and process information, the spin of an electron must be relatively robust. The most important property that determines the robustness of spin is the so-called ’spin relaxation time’ which is the time it takes for the spin to ‘relax’. When spin relaxes, the information encoded in it is lost. Therefore, we want the spin relaxation time to be as long as possible.

The university has become the first to study spin relaxation time in organic nanostructures. It seems that spintronics would go a long way in revolutionalizing the world of computing and develop better computers for the future.

Via itnews

Did you ever think that one of the most polluting agents - wood could lead to the reversal of global warming process? Here comes a novel invention which uses wood for altering it at the molecular level and has also found a place in the top twenty five inventions of 2007.

Invented by Michael Sykes, the Enertia Building System can turn wood into thermal battery and here wood is injected with zeolitic seed crystals and the molecular structure is altered at the nanolevel therefore it leads to no change in its structural properties. Hence it turns into a solar energy storing device and when the house is configured properly it can heat and cool itself accordingly.

A range of Gluelam wood-wall homes have been developed by Enertia Building Systems and it will help in maximizing energy storing potential and also get commercialized. Since it does not cause carbon pollution therefore it has been able to catch the attention of the world.

Via nanowerk