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The discovery of carbon nanotubes by Sumio Iijima in 1991 is one of the landmarks in the history of nanotechnology. Nature Nanotechnology spoke to him about the events leading up to the discovery, possible applications of nanotubes and his attitude to research.
It is possible to modify the electronic structure of a naturally patterned gold surface in potentially useful ways by allowing layers of silver or copper atoms to self-assemble into arrays of nanostructures.
Researchers have shown that it is possible to control the coupling between two quantum dots in a semiconducting nanowire, and also to count the charges on these dots with a third quantum dot in a different nanowire.
By using ultra-small nanoparticles that can reach the lymph nodes, it is possible to deliver vaccines to immune cells — and activate them — more efficiently
The combination of two scanning probe microscopy techniques has led to a label-free method of detecting charged molecules at the nanoscale and offers a general approach to biosensing with improved resolution, sensitivity and speed.