Nanotechnology News

There may be an ongoing dialog about the risks and need for oversight of nanotechnology, but a new survey shows that the public itself is mostly unaware — not just of the controversy but of the technology itself. A poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults reveals: 42% of those surveyed had no awareness of nanotechnology; 20% were marginally acquainted with the nano world; and 10% were well informed. Women and aging Americans made up the least-informed demographic. Ironically, this group is most likely to use products incorporating nanomaterials, some $32 billion of which were sold last year worldwide. Perception of risk seems inversely correlated to knowledge of the technology, making consumer education of increasing importance.

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The most important and up-to-date information on failure analysis in MEMS, optoelectronics and passive devices, depackaging and deprocessing, and more. Prepared by experts in the field; edited by Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society. See a complete library of reference materials in the ASM bookstore.

Now available through Ocean Optics are EviDots, an exciting new quantum-dot nanocrystal technology developed by Evident Technologies. Ideal for researchers and product developers, EviDots provide scientists with a variety of nanocrystals suspended in a solution for experimentation and applications development — everything from biological warfare agent detection to chemical sensing.

In the wake of multiple deaths in the United States from E. coli-tainted spinach, the news of a nanofiber napkin that would provide near-instant identification of biohazards takes on added significance. Formed of a corn-based polymer, the nanofibers incorporate biotin and streptavidin, which can couple antibodies for a given biohazard. When the antibodies attach to their respective biohazard, the fibers could change color, for example, signaling the presence of the hazard.

An all-electric sports utility vehicle capable of traveling 200 miles on a single charge is targeted for commercial release in 2007. Enhanced by Altairnano's NanoSafe™ battery technology, the vehicle is projected to achieve 0 to 60 mph acceleration in less than 10 seconds; recharging will reportedly take less than 10 minutes. A demonstration version of the vehicle was slated to appear at the California Air Resources Board Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Technology Symposium.

Speaking of spinach (above), Ohio University researchers have made a biological mechanical switch from a chlorophyll-a molecule extracted from the leafy green. By injecting the molecule with a single electron, the group was able to switch the molecule into four different positions. Watch the switch work in this video.

By applying peptides to singlewalled carbon nanotubes in field-effect transistors, researchers from Arizona State University, in collaboration with Motorola Labs, produced a sensor that can detect heavy-metal ions in solution at the level of parts-per-trillion. According to the group, the sensor platform is general and can be used for biohazard detection or for biomed applications merely by changing the peptide.

Want to measure wafers thinner and more shapely than those fashion runway models you have been hearing about lately? Try the Proforma series from MTII, proven to measure wafers less than 100 microns thick with warp exceeding ± 800 microns. Talk about curves???

The Saturn DigiSizer® automatically measures particle sizes ranging from 0.1 to 1000 micrometers in just minutes. Optional features such as fully automated sampling and a low-volume sample handling system make the Saturn DigiSizer ideal for a wide range of production, research, and quality control applications. Learn more from Micromeritics.

Carbon nanotubes may be garnering all the headlines, but organic nanotubes offer advantages for biomed and biotech applications. These include the ability to encapsulate guest substances in excess of 10 nm in size (e.g. proteins and nucleic acids), and the ability to disperse easily in water. Now, a team at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has developed a mass-production method for organic nanotubes that offers dramatically shortened drying times and uses less than one thousandth the amount of solvent required by current methods.

Using an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever with a built-in resistance heater to provide precise amounts of spatially-confined heat, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are gaining a new understanding of explosives. The group performed thermal analysis of a polycrystalline explosive called pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). Better understanding nanoscale characteristics such as the size of the individual crystals or the voids between crystals should allow scientists to develop safer explosives.

By attaching molecular "handles" to carbon nanotubes, MIT researchers expect to manipulate and assemble nanotubes without affecting their structure or compromising their conductivity. Normally, carbon nanotubes grow in a chaotic mess, so the MIT group used a software algorithm to settle on carbene and nitrene material classes for the handles. Modeling indicates the materials will have no effect on conductivity. Next step: experimental proof.

In work that may pave the way for the release of medicines from within the body, Johns Hopkins researchers have used a pulse of electrical current to discharge nanoparticles and other biomolecules from a gold launch pad. The group attached the nanoparticles to the gold electrodes with a chain of hydrocarbon molecules. Application of a transient current broke the gold-sulfur bond, releasing the particles of interest. The technique could also be used with biopolymers and protein assemblies.

The CSM Scratch testers are the only commercially available instruments, which have an active feedback control loop for continuously adjusting the normal force. Features include:
• Proven method to quantify adhesion of coatings — many instruments already in use worldwide
• Acoustic emission, frictional force, penetration depth, and optical observation
• Vickers, Knoop, and spherical indenters...

When the object moves toward or away from the sensor, it moves out of the focal point causing the light spots to move inward or outward on the photodiode couples. The object movement with respect to the focal point of the laser is calculated in the electronics by summing the outputs from the exterior and interior diodes... For information contact LMI Technologies.

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If you have a chemistry background, then you might be interested in this senior-level management position located in Emeryville, CA. The successful candidate will develop new methods for bio-analyte detection using carbon nanotubes. He or she should have an MS or a PhD in biochemistry plus experience in developing commercial assay products.

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Nanotechnology may be coming to a tackle box near you. Applied with vapor deposition polymerization, the optical coating on these fishing lures produces an iridescent coating irresistible to fish. Field tests purportedly show that anglers using the lures caught four times as many fish as with other commercially available lures.

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Forget about bad luck. Outdoors or in, the Nanonuno umbrella remains clean and dry no matter what the weather. A nanofilm inspired by the hydrophobic coating of the lotus leaf is responsible. The effect of this umbrella is so profound it has driven people to poetry.

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