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	<title>Nanotechnology</title>
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	<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in</link>
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		<title>Webcast with Peter H. Diamandis on Abundance</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/webcast-with-peter-h-diamandis-on-abundance</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/webcast-with-peter-h-diamandis-on-abundance#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:25:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amazon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exponential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Faculty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foresight news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[richard-branson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[steven-hawking]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/webcast-with-peter-h-diamandis-on-abundance</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ A couple months ago we noted that Abundance , by Foresight Advisor Peter Diamandis and science writer Steven Kotler hit #1 on both Amazon and BarnesAndNoble. On Wednesday, April 11, Singularity University will present a live webcast with co-founder and chairman Peter H. Diamandis on Abundance : Diamandis will present the case that the world is getting better at an accelerating rate through the convergence of four powerful forces: the exponential advancement of technology, DIY (Do It Yourself) innovators, Techno-philanthropists, and the Rising Billion, which, acting together, will create abundance in the areas of clean water, nutritious food, affordable housing, personalized education, top-tier global health care, and ubiquitous energy – helping to solve humanity&#8217;s biggest challenges. Diamandis co-authored Abundance with award-winning technology writer Steven Kotler, bringing together decades of data and extensive interviews with hundreds of innovators and entrepreneurs, including Larry Page, Steven Hawking, Dean Kamen, Daniel Kahneman, Elon Musk, Bill Joy, Stewart Brand, Jeff Skoll, Ray Kurzweil, Ratan Tata, and Craig Venter. The Wall Street Journal called Abundance &#8220;a manifesto for the future that is grounded in practical solutions.&#8221; The Economist Magazine said it was &#8220;a godsend for those who suffer from Armageddon fatigue!&#8221; Sir Richard Branson said: &#8220;Abundance provides proof that the proper combination of technology, people and capital can meet any grand challenge.&#8221; Peter Diamandis co-founded Singularity University with Ray Kurzweil in 2008, and currently serves as its Chairman and a member of the Faculty. He is also Founder and Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, which leads the world in designing and launching large incentive prizes to drive radical breakthroughs in the areas of exploration, energy and environment, education, global development and life sciences. Diamandis is a leading speaker on innovation, counseling senior business leaders how to utilize exponential technologies and incentivized innovation to dramatically accelerate their business and career objectives. Dr. Diamandis earned a BS in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering from MIT, and an MD from Harvard Medical School. He is also known for &#8220;Peter&#8217;s Laws,&#8221; including &#8220;The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself!&#8221; Webcast participation requires registration. Questions can be submitted in advance or during the webcast via Twitter (#whichwaynext). &#8212;James Lewis, PhD ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nano for younger kids</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nano-for-younger-kids</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nano-for-younger-kids#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:25:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[affirmative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[director]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EDUCATION]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[focuses-on-nano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foresight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foresight news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ibero-america]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mexico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mind]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Outreach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nano-for-younger-kids</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Miguel F. Aznar , Foresight&#8217;s Director of Education, sends the following nanotechnology education items. Nano Outreach and Education in Ibero America NanoDYF promotes nanoscience / nanotechnology outreach and education in Ibero America. The NanoDYF 2012 conference in Puebla, Mexico 2012 June 11 – 13, will draw together leaders in research, education, business, and politics to share discoveries and discuss objectives for this outreach. I will present on critical thinking about nanotechnology. More information is at http://www.nanodyf.org/ (use translate.Google.com if you don&#8217;t read Spanish). The NanoMex 2012 Conference runs immediately afterward, June 13 – 15, at the same location. Buckyball Toy Would you like a Buckyball model to hang from your ceiling? Trying to teach someone how hexagons and pentagons drive the shape of C 60 ? Would you like to see which size Buckyballs can form? Having trouble visualizing armchair and zig-zag carbon nanotubes? Would you like to let your mind wander while toying with shapes that carbon can form? About $3 lets you model a C 60 . Buy 2 x $3 to model C 70 , C 76 , C 82 , etc. Buy more to model carbon nanotubes. These are not general purpose models. Each &#8220;carbon&#8221; is black plastic with 3 equally distributed bonding bumps in a plane and &#8220;bonds&#8221; are white plastic tubes that fit snugly over the bumps. One of the three bonds is an implied double bond, so if identifying it is important, a permanent marker is easiest. Spray-painting 1/3 of the tubes might look better. Diamond cannot be modeled with this kit, as it requires all four bonds exposed for tetrahedral bonding. Also, this kit is much smaller than the near-standard Prentice-Hall molecular modeling kits. It will not connect to those. The model is easy to assemble, but holds together for hanging, handing around, or rolling on the floor. The least expensive I&#8217;ve found is at Suntekstore.com, which ships free out of Hong Kong. See here . If you would like to sponsor a school by providing a class-set of these kits, I would be happy to facilitate ( aznar@foresight.org ). Swiss Children Learn Nano Fundamentals The Switzerland-based Innovation Society has developed SimplyNano 1 (use translate.Google, if you don&#8217;t read German), an experiment kit being distributed to 7th – 10th grade classrooms in Switzerland. It focuses on nano dimensions, surfaces, and reactivity. It includes teaching guides plus materials to make a Lego + laser model of an atomic force microscope. Read a short article translated to English . I have not received a kit yet, but if as good as it looks and priced reasonably, it could improve nano education in the US. When / if I can answer these questions in the affirmative, I will repost and welcome those who would like to sponsor a school for acquiring a set of these kits. Miguel F. Aznar Director of Education Foresight Institute ]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Fast nanoscale 3D-printing (link to video)</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/fast-nanoscale-3d-printing-link-to-video</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/fast-nanoscale-3d-printing-link-to-video#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:25:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charles-vollum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dramatically]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[laser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NANOTECH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Printing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vienna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[world-record]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/fast-nanoscale-3d-printing-link-to-video</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 285-micron racecar (credit: Vienna University of Technology) For those interested in atomically precise manufacturing, 3D-printing is an interesting microscale technology for making centimeter-scale objects. We commented on this technology a few months ago with the introduction of two competing technologies for printing complex digitally-designed plastic consumer items. Foresight Senior Associate Charles Vollum sends word of the extension of 3D-printing to nanoscale (approximately 100 nm) resolution. In addition, the new procedure is much faster and enables true 3D fabrication, without requiring layer-by-layer fabrication. A hat tip to KurzweilAI for describing this Vienna University of Technology news release &#8220; 3D-printer with nano-precision &#8220;: Printing three dimensional objects with incredibly fine details is now possible using &#8220;two-photon lithography&#8221;. With this technology, tiny structures on a nanometer scale can be fabricated. Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) have now made a major breakthrough in speeding up this printing technique: The high-precision-3D-printer at TU Vienna is orders of magnitude faster than similar devices (see video). This opens up completely new areas of application, such as in medicine. The video shows the 3d-printing process in real time. Due to the very fast guiding of the laser beam, 100 layers, consisting of approximately 200 single lines each, are produced in four minutes. Setting a New World Record The 3D printer uses a liquid resin, which is hardened at precisely the correct spots by a focused laser beam. The focal point of the laser beam is guided through the resin by movable mirrors and leaves behind a polymerized line of solid polymer, just a few hundred nanometers wide. This high resolution enables the creation of intricately structured sculptures as tiny as a grain of sand. &#8220;Until now, this technique used to be quite slow&#8221;, says Professor J]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Nanocentury: Bringing Digital Control to the Physical World</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/the-nanocentury-bringing-digital-control-to-the-physical-world</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/the-nanocentury-bringing-digital-control-to-the-physical-world#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:24:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bringing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christine-peterson]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Frontiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Institute.]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/the-nanocentury-bringing-digital-control-to-the-physical-world</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Christine Peterson, Foresight Co-Founder &#038; Past President August 8, 2012 Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA Exploring the frontiers of knowledge and imagination, fostering interdisciplinary networking Foresight Institute co-founder and Past President Christine Peterson will speak at the Leonardo Art/Science Evening Rendezvous of August 2012, chaired by Piero Scaruffi. Her talk is scheduled from 8:30-8:55pm and is titled &#8220;The Nanocentury: Bringing Digital Control to the Physical World&#8221;. ]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Nanoparticles reduce tumors in clinical trial</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanoparticles-reduce-tumors-in-clinical-trial</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanoparticles-reduce-tumors-in-clinical-trial#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:24:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boston]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[future medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[harvard-medical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laboratory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nanobiotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nanobusiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NANOTECH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Particles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanoparticles-reduce-tumors-in-clinical-trial</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ An artist's rendering of BIND-014. Image credit: Digizyme, Inc. We have often reported here that targeted nanoparticles to treat cancer have shown great promise in animal studies. An MIT news release written by Anne Trafton now informs us that &#8220; Targeted nanoparticles show success in clinical trials &#8220;: Targeted therapeutic nanoparticles that accumulate in tumors while bypassing healthy cells have shown promising results in an ongoing clinical trial, according to a new paper. The nanoparticles feature a homing molecule that allows them to specifically attack cancer cells, and are the first such targeted particles to enter human clinical studies. Originally developed by researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women&#8217;s Hospital in Boston, the particles are designed to carry the chemotherapy drug docetaxel, used to treat lung, prostate and breast cancers, among others. In the study, which appears April 4 in the journal Science Translational Medicine [ abstract ], the researchers demonstrate the particles&#8217; ability to target a receptor found on cancer cells and accumulate at tumor sites. The particles were also shown to be safe and effective: Many of the patients&#8217; tumors shrank as a result of the treatment, even when they received lower doses than those usually administered. &#8220;The initial clinical results of tumor regression even at low doses of the drug validates our preclinical findings that actively targeted nanoparticles preferentially accumulate in tumors,&#8221; says Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor in MIT&#8217;s Department of Chemical Engineering and a senior author of the paper. &#8220;Previous attempts to develop targeted nanoparticles have not successfully translated into human clinical studies because of the inherent difficulty of designing and scaling up a particle capable of targeting tumors, evading the immune system and releasing drugs in a controlled way.&#8221; The Phase I clinical trial was performed by researchers at BIND Biosciences, a company cofounded by Langer and Omid Farokhzad in 2007. &#8220;This study demonstrates for the first time that it is possible to generate medicines with both targeted and programmable properties that can concentrate the therapeutic effect directly at the site of disease, potentially revolutionizing how complex diseases such as cancer are treated,&#8221; says Farokhzad, director of the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at Brigham and Women&#8217;s Hospital, associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and a senior author of the paper. &#8230; The news release goes on to detail several features of these nanoparticles that may be useful in evaluating other types of nanoparticles that are currently at earlier stages of development and have only been tested in animal models. First of all, nanoparticles of many different compositions have been developed, from gold to DNA. These, called AccurinsTM , use clinically validated biocompatible polymers and incorporate a &#8220;stealth&#8221; layer to avoid removal by the immune system. As explained in the news release: One of the challenges in developing effective drug-delivery nanoparticles, Langer says, is designing them so they can perform two critical functions: evading the body&#8217;s normal immune response and reaching their intended targets. &#8220;You need exactly the right combination of these properties, because if they don&#8217;t have the right concentration of targeting molecules, they won&#8217;t get to the cells you want, and if they don&#8217;t have the right stealth properties, they&#8217;ll get taken up by macrophages,&#8221; says Langer, also a member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. The BIND-014 nanoparticles have three components: one that carries the drug, one that targets PSMA, and one that helps evade macrophages and other immune-system cells. A few years ago, Langer and Farokhzad developed a way to manipulate these properties very precisely, creating large collections of diverse particles that could then be tested for the ideal composition. &#8220;They systematically made a set of materials that varied in the properties they thought would matter, and developed a way to screen them. That&#8217;s not been done in this kind of setting before,&#8221; says Mark Saltzman, a professor of biomedical engineering at Yale University who was not involved in this study. &#8220;They&#8217;ve taken the concept from the lab into clinical trials, which is quite impressive.&#8221; The systematic way in which these researchers addressed multiple variables and issues gives us some indication of what will be required to move nanoparticles and other nanotherapeutics from laboratory studies into clinical trials. &#8212;James Lewis, PhD ]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Mounting graphene on boron nitride improves its electronic properties</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/mounting-graphene-on-boron-nitride-improves-its-electronic-properties</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/mounting-graphene-on-boron-nitride-improves-its-electronic-properties#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:24:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boron-nitride]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[daniel-stolte]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electronic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Graphene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[known-as-pencil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Material]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[molecular electronics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[molecular nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nature-physics]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/mounting-graphene-on-boron-nitride-improves-its-electronic-properties</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ When a sheet of graphene sits atop a sheet of boron nitride at an angle, a secondary hexagonal pattern emerges that determines how electrons flow across the sample. (Illustration by Brian LeRoy) Despite its superlative properties, graphene has not been used to make electronic devices because electrons travel so well though it that they cannot be easily controlled. Now physicists have discovered that placing graphene sheets on boron nitride at the proper angle creates a superlattice that controls the movement of graphene electrons. A hat tip to ScienceDaily for reprinting this University of Arizona news release written by Daniel Stolte &#8220; Microprocessors From Pencil Lead &#8220;: Graphite, more commonly known as pencil lead, could become the next big thing in the quest for smaller and less power-hungry electronics. Resembling chicken wire on a nano scale, graphene – single sheets of graphite – is only one atom thick, making it the world&#8217;s thinnest material. Two million graphene sheets stacked up would not be as thick as a credit card. The tricky part physicists have yet to figure out how to control the flow of electrons through the material, a necessary prerequisite for putting it to work in any type of electronic circuit. Graphene behaves very different than silicon, the material currently used in semiconductors. Last year, a research team led by UA physicists cleared the first hurdle by identifying boron nitride, a structurally identical but non-conducting material, as a suitable mounting surface for single-atom sheets of graphene. The team also showed that in addition to providing mechanical support, boron nitride improves the electronic properties of graphene by smoothening out fluctuations in the electronic charges. Now the team found that boron nitride also influences how the electrons travel through the graphene. Published in Nature Physics [ abstract ], the results open up new ways of controlling the electron flow through graphene. &#8220;If you want to make a transistor for example, you need to be able to stop the flow of electrons,&#8221; said Brian LeRoy, an assistant professor in the University of Arizona&#8217;s department of physics. &#8220;But in graphene, the electrons just keep going. It&#8217;s difficult to stop them.&#8221; &#8230; However, as LeRoy&#8217;s group has now discovered, mounting graphene on boron nitride prevents some of the electrons from passing to the other side, a first step toward a more controlled electron flow. The group achieved this feat by placing graphene sheets onto boron nitride at certain angles, resulting in the hexagonal structures in both materials to overlap in such a way that secondary, larger hexagonal patterns are created. The researchers call this structure a superlattice. If the angle is just right, they found, a point is reached where almost no electrons go through. The news release points out that the researchers cannot yet control the angle at which the graphene and boron nitride are oriented so that only 10-20% of the samples they make show the desired effect. This process must be automated before graphene electronics become practical. &#8212;James Lewis, PhD ]]></description>
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		<title>Gold nanostars shuttled to cancer cell nucleus to release drug</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/gold-nanostars-shuttled-to-cancer-cell-nucleus-to-release-drug</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/gold-nanostars-shuttled-to-cancer-cell-nucleus-to-release-drug#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:24:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bionanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health & longevity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Light]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nanomedicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nanoparticle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NANOTECH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nucleolin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surface]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/gold-nanostars-shuttled-to-cancer-cell-nucleus-to-release-drug</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ One of the most promising current applications of nanotechnology to medicine is the use of nanoparticles to specifically target drug therapy to cancer cells. A variety of different types of nanoparticles using different drug delivery strategies are being investigated, including one type using biopolymers that we described here last week. Another report shows that a very different type of nanoparticle, composed of gold, works by delivering a drug directly to the nucleus of cancer cells. A hat tip to ScienceDaily for reprinting this news release from Northwestern University written by Megan Fellman &#8220; Tiny hitchhikers attack cancer cells: Gold nanostars first to deliver drug directly to cancer cell nucleus &#8220;: Nanotechnology offers powerful new possibilities for targeted cancer therapies, but the design challenges are many. Northwestern University scientists now are the first to develop a simple but specialized nanoparticle that can deliver a drug directly to a cancer cell&#8217;s nucleus &#8212; an important feature for effective treatment. They also are the first to directly image at nanoscale dimensions how nanoparticles interact with a cancer cell&#8217;s nucleus. &#8220;Our drug-loaded gold nanostars are tiny hitchhikers,&#8221; said Teri W. Odom, who led the study of human cervical and ovarian cancer cells. &#8220;They are attracted to a protein on the cancer cell&#8217;s surface that conveniently shuttles the nanostars to the cell&#8217;s nucleus. Then, on the nucleus&#8217; doorstep, the nanostars release the drug, which continues into the nucleus to do its work.&#8221; &#8230; Using electron microscopy, Odom and her team found their drug-loaded nanoparticles dramatically change the shape of the cancer cell nucleus. What begins as a nice, smooth ellipsoid becomes an uneven shape with deep folds. They also discovered that this change in shape after drug release was connected to cells dying and the cell population becoming less viable &#8212; both positive outcomes when dealing with cancer cells. The results are published in the journal ACS Nano [ abstract ]. Since this initial research, the researchers have gone on to study effects of the drug-loaded gold nanostars on 12 other human cancer cell lines. The effect was much the same. &#8220;All cancer cells seem to respond similarly,&#8221; Odom said. &#8220;This suggests that the shuttling capabilities of the nucleolin protein for functionalized nanoparticles could be a general strategy for nuclear-targeted drug delivery.&#8221; The nanoparticle is simple and cleverly designed. It is made of gold and shaped much like a star, with five to 10 points. (A nanostar is approximately 25 nanometers wide.) The large surface area allows the researchers to load a high concentration of drug molecules onto the nanostar. Less drug would be needed than current therapeutic approaches using free molecules because the drug is stabilized on the surface of the nanoparticle. The drug used in the study is a single-stranded DNA aptamer called AS1411. Approximately 1,000 of these strands are attached to each nanostar&#8217;s surface. The DNA aptamer serves two functions: it is attracted to and binds to nucleolin, a protein overexpressed in cancer cells and found on the cell surface (as well as within the cell). And when released from the nanostar, the DNA aptamer also acts as the drug itself. Bound to the nucleolin, the drug-loaded gold nanostars take advantage of the protein&#8217;s role as a shuttle within the cell and hitchhike their way to the cell nucleus. The researchers then direct ultrafast pulses of light &#8212; similar to that used in LASIK surgery &#8212; at the cells. The pulsed light cleaves the bond attachments between the gold surface and the thiolated DNA aptamers, which then can enter the nucleus. In addition to allowing a large amount of drug to be loaded, the nanostar&#8217;s shape also helps concentrate the light at the points, facilitating drug release in those areas. Drug release from nanoparticles is a difficult problem, Odom said, but with the gold nanostars the release occurs easily. That the gold nanostar can deliver the drug without needing to pass through the nuclear membrane means the nanoparticle is not required to be a certain size, offering design flexibility. Also, the nanostars are made using a biocompatible synthesis, which is unusual for nanoparticles. Odom envisions the drug-delivery method, once optimized, could be particularly useful in cases where tumors are fairly close to the skin&#8217;s surface, such as skin and some breast cancers. (The light source would be external to the body.) Surgeons removing cancerous tumors also might find the gold nanostars useful for eradicating any stray cancer cells in surrounding tissue. A particular advantage of these nanostars is that the plasmonic electrons produced on the surface of the nanostars by the laser solves the problem of how to efficiently discharge the drug target from the nanoparticle vehicle. &#8212;James Lewis, PhD ]]></description>
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		<title>Will piezoelectric graphene provide options for nanoscale manipulation?</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/will-piezoelectric-graphene-provide-options-for-nanoscale-manipulation</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/will-piezoelectric-graphene-provide-options-for-nanoscale-manipulation#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:24:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Electrical]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Materials]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[molecular nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Researchers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the-graphene]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/will-piezoelectric-graphene-provide-options-for-nanoscale-manipulation</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ This illustration shows lithium atoms (red) adhered to a graphene lattice that will produce electricity when bent, squeezed or twisted. Conversely, the graphene will deform when an electric field is applied, opening new possibilities in nanotechnology. Illustration: Mitchell Ong, Stanford School of Engineering Bulk piezoelectric materials are already used for atomically precise nanopositioning to position the tips of scanning probe microscopes. Would there be any advantages to engineered control of piezoelectrical properties in a two-dimensional material? Currently piezoelectric properties of materials cannot be engineered&#8212;it is a property only available in certain 3D crystals. Now calculations have demonstrated that graphene can be made piezoelectric by adsorbing atoms on one surface. A hat tip to Physorg.com for reprinting this Stanford University news release written by Andrew Myers &#8220; Straintronics: Engineers create piezoelectric graphene &#8220;: Graphene is a wonder material. It is a one-hundred-times-better conductor of electricity than silicon. It is stronger than diamond. And, at just one atom thick, it is so thin as to be essentially a two-dimensional material. Such promising physics have made graphene the most studied substance of the last decade, particularly in nanotechnology. In 2010, the researchers who first isolated it shared the Nobel Prize. Yet, while graphene is many things, it is not piezoelectric. Piezoelectricity is the property of some materials to produce electric charge when bent, squeezed or twisted. Perhaps more importantly, piezoelectricity is reversible. When an electric field is applied, piezoelectric materials change shape, yielding a remarkable level of engineering control. Piezoelectrics have found application in countless devices from watches, radios and ultrasound to the push-button starters on propane grills, but these uses all require relatively large, three-dimensional quantities of piezoelectric materials. Now, in a paper published in the journal ACS Nano [ abstract ], two materials engineers at Stanford have described how they have engineered piezoelectrics into graphene, extending for the first time such fine physical control to the nanoscale. &#8220;The physical deformations we can create are directly proportional to the electrical field applied. This represents a fundamentally new way to control electronics at the nanoscale,&#8221; said Evan Reed, head of the Materials Computation and Theory Group at Stanford and senior author of the study. This phenomenon brings new dimension to the concept of &#8216;straintronics,&#8217; he said, because of the way the electrical field strains—or deforms—the lattice of carbon, causing it to change shape in predictable ways. &#8220;Piezoelectric graphene could provide an unparalleled degree of electrical, optical or mechanical control for applications ranging from touchscreens to nanoscale transistors,&#8221; said Mitchell Ong, a post-doctoral scholar in Reed&#8217;s lab and first author of the paper. Using a sophisticated modeling application running on high-performance supercomputers, the engineers simulated the deposition of atoms on one side of a graphene lattice — a process known as doping — and measured the piezoelectric effect. They modeled graphene doped with lithium, hydrogen, potassium and fluorine, as well as combinations of hydrogen and fluorine and lithium and fluorine on either side of the lattice. Doping just one side of the graphene, or doping both sides with different atoms, is key to the process as it breaks graphene&#8217;s perfect physical symmetry, which otherwise cancels the piezoelectric effect. The results surprised both engineers. &#8220;We thought the piezoelectric effect would be present, but relatively small. Yet, we were able to achieve piezoelectric levels comparable to traditional three-dimensional materials,&#8221; said Reed. &#8220;It was pretty significant.&#8221; The researchers were further able to fine tune the effect by pattern doping the graphene—selectively placing atoms in specific sections and not others. &#8220;We call it designer piezoelectricity because it allows us to strategically control where, when and how much the graphene is deformed by an applied electrical field with promising implications for engineering,&#8221; said Ong. While the results in creating piezoelectric graphene are encouraging, the researchers believe that their technique might further be used to engineer piezoelectricity in nanotubes and other nanomaterials with applications ranging from electronics, photonics, and energy harvesting to chemical sensing and high-frequency acoustics. &#8220;We&#8217;re already looking at new piezoelectric devices based on other 2D and low-dimensional materials, hoping they might open new and dramatic possibilities in nanotechnology,&#8221; said Reed. Could piezoelectric graphene be used with, for example, DNA origami scaffolding to position molecular tools to execute programmed actions? To hear the researchers discussing their work and plans, including possible application to nanomechanical systems, an ACS Nano podcast is available. &#8212;James Lewis, PhD ]]></description>
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		<title>Nanowires for energy generation</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanowires-for-energy-generation</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanowires-for-energy-generation#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:24:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy-generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[from-photovoltaics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[morphology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Multiple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Promise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REVIEW]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review-looks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the-multiple]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanowires-for-energy-generation</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a result of their morphology, nanowires bring new properties and the promise of performance for a range of electronic devices. This review looks into the properties of nanowires and the multiple ways in which they have been exploited for energy generation, from photovoltaics to piezoelectric generators.]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Nanowires for energy</title>
		<link>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanowires-for-energy</link>
		<comments>http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanowires-for-energy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:24:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nanotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contribution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Increased]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Potential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shell-nanowires]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[the-application]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/nanowires-for-energy</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This special issue of Nanotechnology focuses on studies illustrating the application of nanowires for energy including solar cells, efficient lighting and water splitting. Over the next three decades, nanotechnology will make significant contributions towards meeting the increased energy needs of the planet, now known as the TeraWatt challenge. Nanowires in particular are poised to contribute significantly in this development as presented in the review by Hiralal et al [1]. Nanowires exhibit light trapping properties that can act as a broadband anti-reflection coating to enhance the efficiency of solar cells. In this issue, Li et al [2] and Wang et al [3] present the optical properties of silicon nanowire and nanocone arrays. In addition to enhanced optical properties, core–shell nanowires also have the potential for efficient charge carrier collection across the nanowire diameter as presented in the contribution by Yu et al [4] for rad...]]></description>
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