Cyanine doped silica nanoparticles. “… points out an important hysteresis effect for quantum dots that was not detected for cyanine molecules and was only slightly detected for cyanine doped silica nanoparticles.”

  • “Fluorescence techniques are widely used as detection methods in a wide range of biological imaging and analytical applications.”1

Researchers from Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Department of Thermodynamics, Optical Molecular Spectroscopy Group, Torino, Italy; Department of Inorganic, Physics and Material Chemistry and NIS Centre of Excellence, University of Torino, Torino, Italy; Cyanine Technologies S.p.A., Torino, Italy; have presented an article titled: “Behaviour of Fluorescence Emission of Cyanine Dyes, Cyanine Based Fluorescent Nanoparticles and CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots in Water Solution Upon Specific Thermal Treatments.”

The researchers from Torino, Italy, have also noted:

  • “The purpose of this work is to determine a measurement method which leads to a comparison between different classes of fluorophores in term of stability of the fluorescence signal upon thermal treatment cycles.”
  • “This kind of investigation can determine whether the fluorophore performance is affected by heating/cooling cycles and to what extent.”
  • “The fluorophores considered in this work were organic fluorophores belonging to the family of indocyanine dyes (IRIS3 by Cyanine Technologies S.p.A.) in their molecular form or encapsulated within silica nanoparticles, and CdSe/ZnS carboxyl quantum dots (Qdots 565 ITK by Invitrogen).”
  • “The NIST Standard Reference Material(R) SRM 1932 fluorescein solution was used in the certified concentration as reference material in order to evaluate the repeatability of the used spectrofluorimeter.”
  • “The proposed measurement protocol allows to characterize all kind of fluorophores upon thermal treatments.”
  • “This allows direct comparison of their performance under temperature changes, giving useful guidelines for the selection of the most suitable fluorophore for the envisaged application.”
  • “Moreover the method appears to be a promising tool for the characterisation of reference fluorescent materials.”
  • “The experimental results demonstrate that each fluorophore class shows a specific behaviour.”
  • “The experimental data analysis points out an important hysteresis effect for quantum dots that was not detected for cyanine molecules and was only slightly detected for cyanine doped silica nanoparticles.”
(1) Mortati L, Miletto I, Alberto G, Caputo G, Sassi MP: Behaviour of Fluorescence Emission of Cyanine Dyes, Cyanine Based Fluorescent Nanoparticles and CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots in Water Solution Upon Specific Thermal Treatments. J Fluoresc. 2010 Mar 6; (Article in Press)

Femtosecond laser. Space-selective precipitation. Xerogel suspension. “… precipitation of semiconducting nanoparticles inside a transparent silica xerogel …”

  • “A simple method, suitable for direct space-selective precipitation of semiconducting nanoparticles inside a transparent silica xerogel, is presented.”1

Researchers from Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molécules (CNRS, UMR 8523), Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Lasers et Applications (CERLA), Université de Lille 1, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France; and Laboratoire des Multimatériaux et Interfaces (CNRS, UMR 5615), Université de Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France; have presented an article titled: “Laser-induced direct space-selective precipitation of CdS nanoparticles embedded in a transparent silica xerogel.”

The researchers from France have also noted:

  • “The porous silica monoliths, prepared by the sol-gel method, are first loaded with specific CdS precursors.”
  • “Then, the samples can be irradiated using either a femtosecond laser to generate the nanoparticles inside the deep volume of the silica matrix or a continuous visible laser to yield a nanocrystal growth under the surface.”
  • “The resulting CdS nanoparticles are characterized using absorption and Raman spectroscopies, x-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy.”
(1) Hamzaoui HE, Bernard R, Chahadih A, Chassagneux F, Bois L, Jegouso D, Hay L, Capoen B, Bouazaoui M: Laser-induced direct space-selective precipitation of CdS nanoparticles embedded in a transparent silica xerogel. Nanotechnology. 2010 Mar 8;21(13):134002; (Article in Press)

Smart nanoparticles. “To be a smart therapy, it should be targeted, and it should have some ability to be activated only when it’s there and then kills just the cancer cells.”

Biomedical graduate student Dickson Kirui, from Cornell University, has said:

  • “If, down the line, you could clinically just target the cancer cells, you could then spare the health surrounding cells from being harmed – that is the critical thing …”

More from a Release dated March 8, sourced from Cornell University:
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Single molecules detection. “The sensor consists of a film of carbon nanotubes embedded in collagen.”

Chemical engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have reported the production of “… a sensor array that, for the first time, can detect single molecules of hydrogen peroxide emanating from a single living cell.”

Michael Strano, leader of the research team, has said:

  • “You could envision a small handheld device, for example, which your doctor could point at some tissue in a minimally invasive manner and tell if this pathway is corrupted …”
  • “The list of biomolecules that we can now detect very specifically and selectively is growing rapidly …”

More from a Release dated March 7, sourced from Massachusetts Institute of Technology:
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Nanocrystals in the bone. “… nanotech investigation into the proteins, enzymes and other molecules that control the coupling of mineral ions (calcium and phosphate) …”

Dr Marc McKee, from the Faculty of Dentistry and the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has indicated

  • “Montreal is a world-leader in the biomineralization field, having attracted some of the top international specialists.”
  • ” …research in this area is not just about this disease – we are opening doors to the development of treatments for all kinds of problems related to the crystallization of minerals in the body, including seemingly unrelated areas such cardiovascular diseases, arthritis and even kidney stones.”

More from a Release dated March 5, sourced from McGill University:
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Nano-precipitated calcium carbonate. “… Zibo facility, including 58-acres, has a total designed annual production capacity of 240,000 MT …”

ShengdaTech Inc has reported that the first phase of the Company’s nano-precipitated calcium carbonate “… facility in Zibo, Shandong Province with annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons (”MT”) is operating at 100% utilization rate since January, 2010.”

More from a Release dated March 1, sourced from ShengdaTech Inc:
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nano-SIMS “… function of microbial fuel cells, carbon and nitrogen processing in cyanobacteria using nano-SIMS, the genomics of important metal-biotransforming microorganisms, and the mechanisms of microbial mineral formation and dissolution.”

According to a Release dated March 2, sourced from American Society for Microbiology, Kenneth H Nealson PhD, Wrigley Professor of Geobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles and his colleagues “… have researched the function of microbial fuel cells, carbon and nitrogen processing in cyanobacteria using nano-SIMS, the genomics of important metal-biotransforming microorganisms, and the mechanisms of microbial mineral formation and dissolution. They have made exciting discoveries leading to applications, such as removal of toxic metals in water and electricity production.”

More from the Release dated March 2, sourced from American Society for Microbiology:
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Nanocrystalline grains.

Kevin Hemker, Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering, from Johns Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering has said:

  • “As we make smaller and smaller devices, we’ve been using more nanocrystalline materials that have much smaller crystallites — what materials scientists call grains — and are believed to be much stronger …”
  • “But we have to understand more about how these new types of metal and ceramic components behave, compared to traditional materials.”
  • “How do we predict their reliability? How might these materials deform when they are subjected to stress?”

More from a Release dated February 23, sourced from Johns Hopkins University:
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Nanomaterials. Shelf life. Food products.

Larry Branen, Food Scientist from the University of Idaho,has said:

  • “There’s also no question that nanomaterials may help increase the shelf stability of food products and assure their safety.”
  • “We’ve seen lots of technologies where we didn’t get adoption because we didn’t get consumer acceptance and understanding.”
  • “Irradiation of food has been possible for over 50 years but we still haven’t gotten to general use because there is still a fear and lack of understanding of it.”
  • “To me everything we’re doing today requires an extensive discussion and an interdisciplinary approach.”
  • ” We can’t just focus on the technology but must look at the social and political aspects of the technology as well.”

More from a Release dated February 21, sourced from University of Idaho:
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Batteries. Paper. Cloth.

Yi Cui, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University, has indicated ‘… a way to cheaply and efficiently manufacture lightweight paper batteries and supercapacitors (which, like batteries, store energy, but by electrostatic rather than chemical means), as well as stretchable, conductive textiles known as “eTextiles” – capable of storing energy while retaining the mechanical properties of ordinary paper or fabric.’

More from a Release dated February 20, sourced from Stanford University:
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