Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "New Method for Production of Stable Antibacterial Fabrics without Color Change"

Antibacterial fabrics are usually produced by using silver nanoparticles. This method changes the color of the fabrics by creating brownish yellow shade in their structure. The aim of the research was to produce fabrics with high and stable antibacterial properties without changing the color. Zinc oxide/silicon dioxide nanocomposite was used in the structure

of the fabric coating to obtain the goal.

In this research, cotton fabrics were produced with antibacterial properties by synthesizing and loading of zinc oxide/silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanocomposite on it. In this research, nanoparticles were synthesized through in-situ process by using two different methods on the structure of cotton fabrics. In one of the methods, zinc oxide nanoparticles were firstly synthesized in silicon dioxide solution, and the solution was next coated on the cotton fabrics. In the second method, the cotton fabrics were firstly coated with silicon dioxide and then zinc oxide nanoparticles were coated on its structure.

Results obtained from investigating cotton fabrics coated through the both methods confirmed that no bacteria have grown  on the fabrics. However, the fabrics produced through the first method (synthesis of nanoparticles and coating of the fabric) showed larger diameter of the bacteria-free area due to the spherical shape and stability of the nanoparticles. Thermal tests also showed that the samples produced through the first method contain the maximum amount of zinc oxide while they have the lowest primary degradation temperature.

  

"New Method for Production of Stable Antibacterial Fabrics without
Color Change"

Fluorescent nanoprobe could become a universal, noninvasive method to identify and monitor tumors -- ScienceDaily

Researchers have developed a hybrid metal-polymer nanoparticle that lights up in the acidic environment surrounding tumor cells. Nonspecific probes that can identify any kind of tumor are extremely useful for monitoring the location and spread of cancer and the effects of treatment, as well as aiding initial diagnosis.

Ref : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smll.201302765/abstract;jsessionid=CF63DFDE0FB5AEF1C0849FC569E055E9.f03t01

Fluorescent nanoprobe could become a universal, noninvasive method to identify and monitor tumors -- 

Cancer research may reduce side effects from chemotherapy

WSU professors Ramazan Asmatulu, Paul Wooley and Shang-You Yang -- along with several graduate students -- are collaborating on research that involves the use of nanotechnology in helping patients undergoing cancer treatment.

Nanotechnology is the creation and application of nanoscale materials. One nanoparticle is about 100,000 times smaller than a strand of hair.

With that technology, the group has created nanomaterials and developed a magnetic-targeted drug delivery system with the goal of localizing as much as possible the cancer drugs to the tumor sites and therefore decreasing the negative effects of the drugs on the body. They've targeted their research on patients with skin and breast cancer.

"Skin and breast cancer patients will be exposed with the lesser amount of cancer drugs, which have too many side effects," Asmatulu says.

So far, they have seen positive results in both "in vitro" studies (using petri dishes and test tubes) and "in vivo" studies (using mice). The group is in the final stages of receiving a patent from the study. In the future, they plan to apply the technology to humans.

Cancer research may reduce side effects from chemotherapy 

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Milk Protein Used in Production of Drug Nanocarriers"

Milk proteins have been used in the production of the nanocarrier. The production and evaluation of performance of the drug delivery system is at laboratorial stage at the moment.

Drugs that are currently used for the treatment of cancers, specially gastric cancer, have not been designed in a target delivery manner. Therefore, large amount of the drugs must be consumed during the treating process. In addition to its side effects, it causes patients with problems from financial point of view. Researchers tried in this study to design and produce oral target drug delivery system to treat gastric cancer by using milk proteins.

 In this research, one of the important proteins in milk entitled casein was used to carry a chemotherapy medicine. Optimal conditions for the production of drug system at nanometric scale were obtained by changing laboratory conditions such as protein or drug concentrations. The system shows interesting therapeutic properties against gastric cancer in comparison with usual drugs.

Results obtained from simulation of stomach and intestine media show that the system slowly releases drug from the nanocapsule due to the acidic environment of the stomach. It also shows much stronger and more interesting effects in comparison with oxaliplatin free drug (which has not been encapsulated) on gastric cancerous cells.

According to the researchers, studies are being carried out on increasing the target delivery properties of the system, and complementary tests are being carried out to produce the drug. Results of the research have been published in ANTI-CANCER AGENTS IN MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY, vol. 14, issue 6, 2014, pp. 892-900.

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Milk Protein Used in Production of Drug Nanocarriers"

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "New Method for Production of Stable Antibacterial Fabrics without Color Change"

Antibacterial fabrics are usually produced by using silver nanoparticles. This method changes the color of the fabrics by creating brownish yellow shade in their structure. The aim of the research was to produce fabrics with high and stable antibacterial properties without changing the color. Zinc oxide/silicon dioxide nanocomposite was used in the structure of the fabric coating to obtain the goal.

In this research, cotton fabrics were produced with antibacterial properties by synthesizing and loading of zinc oxide/silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanocomposite on it. In this research, nanoparticles were synthesized through in-situ process by using two different methods on the structure of cotton fabrics. In one of the methods, zinc oxide nanoparticles were firstly synthesized in silicon dioxide solution, and the solution was next coated on the cotton fabrics. In the second method, the cotton fabrics were firstly coated with silicon dioxide and then zinc oxide nanoparticles were coated on its structure.

Results obtained from investigating cotton fabrics coated through the both methods confirmed that no bacteria have grown on the fabrics. However, the fabrics produced through the first method (synthesis of nanoparticles and coating of the fabric) showed larger diameter of the bacteria-free area due to the spherical shape and stability of the nanoparticles. Thermal tests also showed that the samples produced through the first method contain the maximum amount of zinc oxide while they have the lowest primary degradation temperature.

  

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "New Method for Production of Stable Antibacterial Fabrics without
Color Change"

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "New Method for Production of Stable Antibacterial Fabrics without Color Change"

Antibacterial fabrics are usually produced by using silver nanoparticles. This method changes the color of the fabrics by creating brownish yellow shade in their structure. The aim of the research was to produce fabrics with high and stable antibacterial properties without changing the color. Zinc oxide/silicon dioxide nanocomposite was used in the structure

of the fabric coating to obtain the goal.

In this research, cotton fabrics were produced with antibacterial properties by synthesizing and loading of zinc oxide/silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanocomposite on it. In this research, nanoparticles were synthesized through in-situ process by using two different methods on the structure of cotton fabrics. In one of the methods, zinc oxide nanoparticles were firstly synthesized in silicon dioxide solution, and the solution was next coated on the cotton fabrics. In the second method, the cotton fabrics were firstly coated with silicon dioxide and then zinc oxide nanoparticles were coated on its structure.

Results obtained from investigating cotton fabrics coated through the both methods confirmed that no bacteria have grown on the fabrics. However, the fabrics produced through the first method (synthesis of nanoparticles and coating of the fabric) showed larger diameter of the bacteria-free area due to the spherical shape and stability of the nanoparticles. Thermal tests also showed that the samples produced through the first method contain the maximum amount of zinc oxide while they have the lowest primary degradation temperature.

  

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "New Method for Production of Stable Antibacterial Fabrics without
Color Change"

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Penn engineers efficiently 'mix' light at the nanoscale"

 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have engineered a nanowire system that could pave the way for this ability, combining two light waves to produce a third with a different frequency and using an optical cavity to amplify the intensity of the output to a usable level.

The study was led by Ritesh Agarwal, professor of materials science and engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Ming-Liang Ren, a post-doctoral researcher in his lab. Other members of the Agarwal lab, Wenjing Liu, Carlos O. Aspetti and Liaoxin Sun, contributed to the study.

It was published in Nature communications. Current computer systems represent bits of information -- the 1's and 0's of binary code -- with electricity. Circuit elements, such as transistors, operate on these electric signals, producing outputs that are dependent on their inputs. "Mixing two input signals to get a new output is the basis of computation," Agarwal said. "It's easy to do with electric signals, but it's not easy to do with light, as light waves don't normally interact with one another."

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Arrowhead Files for Regulatory Permission to Begin Phase 1 Trial of RNAi Therapeutic ARC-AAT"

In continuation of my update on RNAi

Arrowhead Research Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted RNAi therapeutics. The company is leveraging its proprietary Dynamic Polyconjugate delivery platform to develop targeted drugs based on the RNA interference mechanism that efficiently silences disease-causing genes. Arrowhead's pipeline includes ARC-520 for chronic hepatitis B virus, ARC-AAT for liver disease associated with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and partner-based programs in obesity and oncology.

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Arrowhead Files for Regulatory Permission to Begin Phase 1 Trial of RNAi Therapeutic ARC-AAT"

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Graphene/nanotube hybrid benefits flexible solar cells: Rice University labs create novel electrode for dye-sensitized cells"

The Rice lab of materials scientist Jun Lou created the new cathode, one of the two electrodes in batteries, from nanotubes that are seamlessly bonded to graphene and replaces the expensive and brittle platinum-based materials often used in earlier versions.

The discovery was reported online in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

Dye-sensitized solar cells have been in development since 1988 and have been the subject of countless high school chemistry class experiments. They employ cheap organic dyes, drawn  from the likes of raspberries, which cover conductive titanium dioxide particles. The dyes  absorb photons and produce electrons that flow out of the cell for use; a return line  completes the circuit to the cathode that combines with an iodine-based electrolyte to refresh the dye.

While they are not nearly as efficient as silicon-based solar cells in collecting sunlight and transforming it into electricity, dye-sensitized solar cells have advantages for many applications, according to co-lead author Pei Dong, a postdoctoral researcher in Lou's lab.

"The first is that they're low-cost, because they can be fabricated in a normal area," Dong said. "There's no need for a clean room. They're semi-transparent, so they can be applied to glass, and they can be used in dim light; they will even work on a cloudy day.

"Or indoors," Lou said. "One company commercializing dye-sensitized cells is embedding them in computer keyboards and mice so you never have to install batteries. Normal room light is sufficient to keep them alive."

The breakthrough extends a stream of nanotechnology research at Rice that began with chemist Robert Hauge's 2009 invention of a "flying carpet" technique to grow very long bundles of aligned carbon nanotubes. In his process, the nanotubes remained attached to the surface substrate but pushed the catalyst up as they grew.

The graphene/nanotube hybrid came along two years ago. Dubbed "James' bond" in honor of its inventor, Rice chemist James Tour, the hybrid features a seamless transition from graphene to nanotube. The graphene base is grown via chemical vapor deposition and a catalyst is arranged in a pattern on top. When heated again, carbon atoms in an aerosol feedstock attach themselves to the graphene at the catalyst, which lifts off and allows the new nanotubes to grow. When the nanotubes stop growing, the remaining catalyst (the "carpet") acts as a cap and keeps the nanotubes from tangling.

The hybrid material solves two issues that have held back commercial application of dye-sensitized solar cells, Lou said. First, the graphene and nanotubes are grown directly onto the nickel substrate that serves as an electrode, eliminating adhesion issues that plagued the transfer of platinum catalysts to common electrodes like transparent conducting oxide.

Second, the hybrid also has less contact resistance with the electrolyte, allowing electrons to flow more freely. The new cathode's charge-transfer resistance, which determines how well electrons cross from the electrode to the electrolyte, was found to be 20 times smaller than for platinum-based cathodes, Lou said.

The key appears to be the hybrid's huge surface area, estimated at more than 2,000 square meters per gram. With no interruption in the atomic bonds between nanotubes and graphene, the material's entire area, inside and out, becomes one large surface. This gives the electrolyte plenty of opportunity to make contact and provides a highly conductive path for electrons.

Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Graphene/nanotube hybrid benefits flexible solar cells: Rice University labs create novel electrode for dye-sensitized cells"