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Nanoscale structures that are shaped like flowers have been routinely produced from inorganic materials for almost a decade. Now Jun Ge, Jiandu Lei and Richard Zare have made nanoflowers from a combination of an inorganic material (copper phosphate) and various organic materials (in the form of proteins). The increased surface area offered by their flower-like structure endows these hybrid nanoflowers with many useful properties. In particular, using an enzyme as the protein can lead to enhanced activity and stability, making such enzyme nanoflowers suitable for applications in catalysis and biosensing. This scanning electron micrograph, which measures 28 μm across, shows nanoflowers in which the organic material is laccase.
Gender is less of an issue in nanotechnology than in other areas of science and technology but, as Chris Toumey explains, public attitudes to nanotech do depend on gender.
Combining copper(II) phosphate and proteins leads to the formation of hybrid nanostructures that are shaped like flowers and have enhanced catalytic activity and stability.
Quantum dots that contain cadmium, selenium and zinc are not toxic to monkeys for periods of up to 90 days, but longer-term studies are needed to determine the ultimate fate of the heavy metals that accumulate in the organs.
Amyloid protein fibrils and graphene sheets can be combined to make a material that is biodegradable and has useful shape-memory and enzyme-sensing properties.
Mixing copper sulphate with phosphate-buffered saline that contains enzymes results in hybrid nanoflowers that display increased enzymatic activity compared with free enzymes.
Metal nanocubes grafted with polymers can self-assemble into arrays of one-dimensional strings that have well-defined interparticle orientations and tunable electromagnetic properties.
Small numbers of arsenic atoms are implanted into a silicon transistor, and the Anderson–Mott transition is observed by controlling the spacing between these dopants.
Using an approach that is analogous to Millikan's oil drop experiment, the size and charge of single nanoscale objects in solution can be directly measured by analysing their thermal motion in an array of electrostatic fluidic traps on a chip.
Six rhesus macaques injected with a cadmium-based quantum-dot formulation survived without any evidence of toxicity, but cadmium remained in certain organs after 90 days.
Iron oxide nanoparticles encapsulated inside a ferritin protein shell can be used to target and visualize tumours without the use of any targeting ligands or contrast agents.