Volume 5 Issue 9, September 2010

An array of polymer tips that can channel light to an underlying substrate can be used to generate intricate nanostructures with high throughput and over large areas.

Targeting magnetic nanoparticles to tumours then applying an alternating magnetic field can improve the contrast for infrared thermal imaging.

Complex artificial networks of genes have been designed that can sense a number of input signals in a user-defined logic to produce predictable output behaviours in mammalian cells.

A method that characterizes the adsorption of a set of small molecules on different nanoparticles may offer a way to predict how proteins interact with them.

An RNA nanocube can self-assemble isothermally during in vitro transcription.

A technique based on scanning probe microscopy, which uses a two-dimensional array of nanoscopic apertures fabricated at the end of polymer tips to channel light to an underlying substrate, can be used to generate arbitrary patterns with both sub-diffraction limit and larger feature sizes over large areas.

A silicon nanowire vibrating in two dimensions can be used to measure the mass and stiffness of atoms and molecules deposited on it.

Crystals of trapped atomic ions can act as nanoscale mechanical oscillators and make ultrasensitive measurements of force and displacement.

Micrometre-thick supercapacitors made from onion-like carbon nanoparticles exhibit orders of magnitude higher capacitance and energy density compared with electrolytic capacitors, and much higher charging/discharging rates than conventional supercapacitors.

A significant enhancement in the conductance of a graphene nanoribbon field-effect transistor is observed when a perpendicular magnetic field is applied.

Two-step bioorthogonal chemistry increases nanoparticle binding for more sensitive cell detection compared with standard techniques, including the biotin–avidin system.

Multiple-transcription-factor proteins are used to build complex logic circuits inside mammalian cells, offering a platform for intelligent therapeutics that interact with biological environments.

By quantifying the competitive adsorption of chemicals and biomolecules onto nanoparticles, an index is developed for characterizing nanomaterials in biological systems, offering a way to create models for predicting the safety of nanomaterials.

Three-dimensional nanoscale scaffolds can be self-assembled from RNA with precise control over their shape, size and composition.

Male mice treated with water-soluble multiwalled carbon nanotubes show reversible testis damage with no effect on fertility.