The delivery, manipulation and assembly of functional materials such as metal nanoparticles into predefined architectures and patterns is of great interest in nanotechnology.

After binding DNA segments to tiny iron-containing spheres called nanoparticles, researchers have used magnetic fields to direct the nanoparticles into arterial muscle cells, where the DNA could have a therapeutic effect. Although the research, done in cell cultures, is in early stages, it may represent a new method for delivering gene therapy to benefit blood vessels damaged by arterial disease.

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a phenomenon which allows measurement of the mechanical motion of nanostructures by using the AC Josephson effect. The findings, which may be used to identify and characterize structural and mechanical properties of nanoparticles, including materials of biological interest, appear online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have discovered the surprising strength of a sheet of nanoparticles that measures just 50 atoms in thickness.

TURNING cancer cells into mini magnets by using nanoparticles could make biopsies so sensitive and efficient that there will be no need to repeat these invasive tests.

In groundbreaking research, scientists have demonstrated the ability to strategically attach gold nanoparticles - particles on the order of billionths of a meter - to proteins so as to form sheets of protein-gold arrays. The nanoparticles and methods to create nanoparticle-protein complexes can be used to help decipher protein structures, to identify functional parts of proteins, and to "glue" together new protein complexes.

A new drug delivery method using nano-sized molecules to carry the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin to tumors improves the effectiveness of the drug in mice and increases their survival time, according to a study published online June 26 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Here’s a pollution-control tip from nature: Deep inside a flooded mine in Wisconsin, scientists from several institutions including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a world in which bacteria emit proteins that sweep up metal nanoparticles into immobile clumps. Their finding may lead to innovative ways to remediate subsurface metal toxins.

A unique nanoparticle made in a laboratory at the University of Central Florida is proving promising as a drug delivery device for treating glaucoma, an eye disease that can cause blindness and affects millions of people worldwide.

Oil and water are not miscible. However, it is possible to combine both into an emulsion in which they act as a unit-for example, in creams, body lotion, milk, or mayonnaise. In these substances, one of the two liquids is dispersed as tiny droplets in the other, which requires an emulsifier and vigorous shaking or stirring. Whether the oil droplets are suspended in water (oil-in-water emulsion O/W) or the water droplets are suspended in oil (water-in-oil emulsion W/O) depends on various factors.

Ram Devireddy, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at LSU, recently co-authored an article with Todd Monroe, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, investigating the complex effects of nanoparticles on cell freezing. The report was published in the prestigious journal Nanotechnology.

Sandia National Laboratories is pioneering the future of superalloy materials by advancing the science behind how those superalloys are made.