SEPARATING THE HYPE AND THE BUZZ - Wednesday, August 18, 2010

NEWSWORTHY

Nano “fingerprints” to tell us about nano-bio interaction
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a method that can predict nanoparticle behavior in biological entities. A screening process is performed where the size and surface characteristics of the nanoparticle are studied through a series of chemical tests. After analysis, researchers can create a “fingerpint” for each interaction between the particle and a biological molecule. The findings of this research will help identify which particles are best suited for drug delivery and which are harmful to humans and the environment. See AtoZ Nano, First Science, Nanotech Wire, Nanovip, Nanowerk, and Nature Nanotechnology.

NanoFETs that probe inside cells
A research team of chemists and engineers at Harvard University have devised a method to use nano field effect transistors (nanoFETs) to probe inside cells. They found that coating nanoFETs with the same material as that of the cell membranes (phospholipid bilayer) allows for easy insertion of these structures into the cells. They also found that introducing two 120º kinks to the 1D nanowire creates a 60º single V-shaped, two-pronged nanoFET. The two arms can then be connected to wires to allow current flow through the nano transistor, making it a small, sensitive probing instrument. See AtoZ Nano, First Science, Nanotech Wire, Nanovip, Nanowerk, and Science.

Plastic for nanoscale patterns
Researchers at the Northwestern University developed a method called Solvent-Assisted Nanoscale Embossing (SANE) to create nanopatterns. Using flexible plastic sheets, the team was able to generate an easy and inexpensive nanopatterning method that can be used in any laboratory. This method uses a starting nanoscale master pattern and creates multiple new nanoscale masters with unique spacings and feature sizes. SANE can be used to create different programmable array densities, lessen critical feature sizes, and design reconfigurable lattice symmetries over large areas. This method can aid biologists, chemists and physicists in their research at the nano level. Applications can also be extended to solar energy, data storage and plasmonics.See AtoZ Nano, First Science, Nanovip, Nanowerk, and Nano Letters.

Light-Matter interaction
Physicists from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), the Walther-Meissner-Institute for Low Temperature Research of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (WMI), and Augsburg University, in collaboration with partners from Spain found a stronger than usual interaction between microwave photons and the atoms of a nano-structured circuit. Researchers replaced the previously used cavity resonator (which captures one light particle and one atom inside it) with a microwave resonator, a Josephson junction, and an aluminum nano-structured circuit, which on proper configuration behaves as a single atom. Findings of this research can be used in manufacturing quantum computers. See AtoZ Nano, Nanowerk, and Nature Physics.

Nano and bio for DNA sequencing
A research team from the University of Washington has devised a method to sequence DNA at a small scale using a nanopore taken from Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A. They placed the pore in a membrane surrounded by potassium chloride solution and applied a small voltage to allow current to flow through it. Each time a nucleotide passed through the pore, a different signal was registered. The pore size was maintained such that only one nucleotide passed through it at any given time. A double stranded DNA was attached between two consecutive nucleotides, giving each nucleotide enough time in the pore for proper registration. The results of this research can help in making DNA sequencing as cheap as $1000. See AtoZ Nano, Nanotech Wire, Nanowerk, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Protection for degenerative eye disorders
Researchers from Tufts University found a solution to delay the onset of certain eye diseases and preserve vision. The team treated a set of mice with nanoparticles carrying a gene for GDNF (Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) and found that less photoreceptor cells were damaged in comparison to the control group mice. This led to better eye sight for the treatment group mice, which were tested seven days after the treatment. However, the protection lasted for less than fourteen days. See AtoZ Nano, First Science, Nanotech Wire, Nanowerk, and Molecular Therapy.

Chitosan nanoparticles to control tumor growth
Scientists at the University of Texas developed a nanoparticle-based system to curb the growth of new blood vessels in the tumor, thereby reducing tumor burden on mice suffering from ovarian cancer. The method works on silencing the EZH2 gene that promotes tumor growth through affecting the genes that block the formation of new blood vessels in the tumor. Making the EZH2 inactive in the tumor’s endothelial cells (through small interfering RNA packaged in chitosan nanoparticles) reactivates the vasohibin1 gene which reduces the formation of new blood vessels in the tumor and ovarian cancer in mice. See AtoZ Nano and Nanowerk.

Nicotine + Ozone = harmful nanoparticles
Research conducted at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory revealed that nicotine from secondhand smoke in combination with ozone resulted in nanosized ultrafine particles that could threaten asthma patients. The ultrafine secondary organic aerosols (produced by the transformation of organic gases in the atmosphere), less than 100 nanometers in size, can deposit harmful chemicals deep in the respiratory tract to cause oxidative stress. See AtoZ Nano and First Science.

Nanotube and enzyme combine to kill MRSA
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute developed a nanocoating that could eliminate any methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, which is responsible for antibiotic resistant infections. The coating is a combination of carbon nanotubes and a naturally occurring enzyme called lysostaphin, and is only toxic to MRSA. It does not release any chemicals into the environment during its reaction. The coated area (usually a surgical equipment or hospital walls) does not lose its effectiveness after repeated washings. See First Science, Nanotech Wire, Nanowerk, and ACS Nano.