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Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals are widely used in biological imaging, but existing synthesis techniques are difficult and require specialized expertise. Here it is shown that the use of DNA as a ligand allows a simpler synthetic protocol to be used, producing biofunctionalized nanocrystals that exhibit strong optical emission in the visible spectrum, minimal toxicity and small hydrodynamic diameter.
The production of functional molecular architectures through self-assembly is commonplace in nature, but it is still a major challenge to achieve similar complexity in the laboratory. It has now been shown that reversible enzyme-catalysed reactions can drive synthetic self-assembly. This approach could ultimately lead to the fabrication of functional nanostructures with enhanced complexities and fewer defects.
Carbon nanotubes can enhance the excitability of neurons by forming tight contacts with the cell membranes to favour electrical shortcuts between the distal and proximal compartments of the neuron.
The electrical conductance of a nanotube decreases when it is heated. This phenomenon is exploited in a new technique called photothermal current microscopy to image the conductance of individual nanotubes and groups of nanotubes.
The photoluminescence properties of carbon nanotubes are sensitive to molecular adsorption. By studying the response of a pair of single-wall carbon nanotubes, researchers have now shown that analytes of biological interest can be identified and measured in real-time within living cells.
Current methods for synthesizing double-wall carbon nanotubes also produce single- and multi-wall nanotube impurities. Density gradient ultracentrifugation has now been used to separate double-wall nanotubes from such mixtures. The resulting material has distinct advantages over single-wall nanotubes when used in transparent conductors.
Research suggests that citizens use 'religious filters' as an important cognitive shortcut for many scientific issues, including nanotechnology. Combining the results of surveys in the United States and Europe, it has been found that US respondents were significantly less likely to agree that nanotechnology is morally acceptable than respondents in many European countries. These moral views correlated directly with aggregate levels of religiosity in each country.
Most techniques for producing graphene use graphite as a starting material and are labour-intensive. The direct chemical synthesis of carbon nanosheets in gram-scale quantities from the common laboratory reagents ethanol and sodium has now been demonstrated. The ability to produce bulk graphene samples from non-graphitic precursors with a scalable, low-cost approach should take us a step closer to real-world applications of graphene.
Public surveys provide valuable information on how people view nanotechnology, but cannot easily uncover more detailed responses to the complexities of any new technology. Four concurrent workshops debating energy and health nanotechnologies in the US and UK found that energy applications were viewed more positively than those for health in both countries.
A sample of 1,862 adults was presented with balanced information on the risks and benefits of nanotechnology. Subjects did not react in a uniform manner, but polarized along lines consistent with cultural predispositions towards technological risk generally.
