Six hours after rats were subjected to a single-inhalation exposure to carbon nanotube (CNT) concentrations of 30 mgm³, the material had reached the outer wall of the animals' lungs, the same region affected by asbestos exposure. Within a day, the exposure had triggered an immune response; within weeks, the rats displayed subpleural fibrosis, or scarring. However, it's important to note that neither carbon black nanoparticles nor 1 mgm³ concentrations of CNTs triggered the effects. Elsewhere, research shows microglia, a certain class of support cell, can destroy nanowires injected into rat brains. Clearly, it will take a significant amount of this type of research before the health effects of nanotechnology are fully understood.

Now you can prepare your own nanoparticle dispersions of gold (15 nm), silver (15 nm), and platinum (5 nm), by using self-dispersible nanoparticles of Au, Ag, and Pt offered by Skyspring Nanomaterials Inc. When compared to existing products of dispersions, self-dispersible nanoparticles are easy to use, have a longer shelf life, and are more cost-effective than other products on the market.

Bayside Motion Group, the worldwide leader in precision electro-mechanical motion systems, introduces a line of stages for the fiber optic market. Bayside's Nanopositioning Stages are designed specifically to meet the demanding application requirements of fiber optic alignment, attachment, and component manufacturing processes.

By mixing block copolymers and nanoparticles with surfactants, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory scientists coaxed the nanoparticles to self-assemble into 1D, 2D, and 3D arrays. For fine positioning, they added external stimulation — depending on the type of surfactant used, the nanoparticles can be shifted with either light or heat.

Cation-exchange reactions can convert cadmium-sulfide nanowires into a range of zinc cadmium sulfide nanostructures, such as patterned nanoscale strips, nanowires, and hollow semiconducting nanotubes. The process is size dependent — the reaction rates for sub-nanometer nanocrystals are too fast to control and the rates for bulk materials are too slow. The 5 to 200 nm regime is the sweet spot at which the process works best.

Solution rich in gold ions will grow 150 to 500 nm gold nano-snowflakes on graphene substrates, Kansas State University engineers have shown. By adjusting the rate of diffusion and catalytic reduction, the group produced snowflakes with varying degrees of dendritic features, as well as varying size and coverage density. The interface of nano-snowflake with the graphene reduces the Schottky barrier from 126 to 56 meV and cuts the bandgap nearly in half.

One-dimensional pores in a metal-organic framework can conduct protons, showing the material's potential as a gas separator. Canadian researchers lined the pores with sulfonate groups that modulate the conduction process. In experiments, a sample gas-separator membrane demonstrated gas-tight performance. The work could lead to higher efficiency, lower cost fuel cells.

TPL offers a range of titanate powders with controlled size and chemistry. The nano-size powders are produced via an aqueous, low temperature process that allows for binary and tertiary oxide compositions with controlled stoichiometries. The particle sizes (50 to 400 nm) are ideal for ultra-thin dielectric layers in composites and ceramic capacitors.

Shimadzu's BioSpec-nano is a dedicated spectrophotometer for the quantitation of nucleic acids. Life Science researchers can conserve precious samples and obtain accurate and reproducible results made possible by an automated precision drive mechanism. More details available here.

Using electron-beam lithography, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have produced arrays of gold dipole nanoantennas suitable for acting as optical transmitters. The 70 to 300 nm long antennas provide a 100,000 GHz frequency response. Applications include communications and optical microscopy.

Asymmetric molecules provide one-way current flow to form a molecular diode. Scientists at Arizona State University covalently bound non-symmetric diblock dipyrimidinyldiphenyl molecules using selective deprotection to orient the molecules and AC modulation of the electrode gap to characterize them.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dissolve spontaneously in chlorosulfonic acid for fluid-phase assembly, Rice University researchers report. The nanotubes self-align when in the solution, allowing the CNTs to form liquid-crystal phases, then form fibers. The process can be scaled up for volume manufacturing, providing a method for industrial-scale production.

With a new technique dubbed vortex-field mixing, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories can homogenize nanovolumes in microchannels like those found in lab-on-a-chip applications. Under a vortex magnetic field with a 55 degree field angle, magnetic nanoparticles suspended in solution form chains that act to stir the solution. Once the fluid is mixed, the particles are magnetically removed. Be sure to watch the video.

Nano Linear NT...H is a direct drive moving magnet type positioning table. Magnets and an optical linear scale are incorporated in a moving table made of steel, and stator coils and linear scale head incorporated in a steel bed. Mechanical contact is completely eliminated except linear motion rolling guides. From IKO International, Inc.

NOTIO™ from Mitsui Chemicals America, Inc. is a flexible, low density, transparent elastomer that can be used as a modifier for other compounds, achieving a balance of impact resistance, scratch resistance, heat resistance, transparency, flexibility and elasticity, and elimination of whitening upon bending. NOTIO™ enables the development of higher-value, better functioning products.

The nanotech and MEMS markets are likely to weather the economic storm, but the semiconductor industry, to which they are inextricably bound, may not be so lucky, says Small Times editor Pete Singer. Read his assessment to gain a better understanding of what comes next.

Coatings of superhydrophobic nanoparticles can prevent the buildup of freezing rain on power lines, roads, and more. University of Pittsburgh scientists combined silica nanoparticles with silicone-resin solution to create a surface with minute ridges that prevents ice from binding. They obtained the best results from sub-50 nm particles. Watch the video of ice not forming — much more interesting than watching paint dry.

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