(Funded by the National Science Foundation)
Rice University scientists have developed halide perovskite nanocrystals that have shown potential as antimicrobial agents that are stable, effective, and easy to produce. The scientists developed a method that coated the halide perovskite nanocrystals in two layers of silicon dioxide. Next, they tested the antimicrobial properties and durability of the double-coated halide perovskite nanocrystals and showed that under relatively low levels of visible light, the halide perovskite nanocrystals destroyed more than 90% of E. coli bacteria in a solution after six hours.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)
Nanoparticles have transformed how mRNA vaccines and therapeutics are delivered by allowing them to travel safely through the body, reach target cells and release their contents efficiently. At the heart of these nanoparticles are ionizable lipids, special molecules that can switch between charged and neutral states depending on their surroundings. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have used an iterative process to find the ideal structure for the ionizable lipid. By borrowing the idea of directed evolution, a technique used in both chemistry and biology that mimics the process of natural selection, the researchers combined precision with rapid output to achieve their ideal “ionizable lipid recipe.”

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)
Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, the researchers designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within practical design parameters. The emitter is composed of a tungsten metal sheet, a thin layer of a spacer material and a network of silicon nanocylinders. The research could inform the development of thermal-energy electrical storage, which holds promise as an affordable, grid-scale alternative to batteries.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)
Copper plays a key role in the growth and development of cells. Because cancer cells grow and multiply more rapidly than non-cancer cells, they have a significantly higher need for copper ions. Restricting their access to copper ions could be a new therapeutic approach. The problem is that it has, so far, not been possible to develop a system that binds copper ions with sufficient affinity to “take them away” from copper-binding biomolecules. Now, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, have successfully developed such a system, which ensures that individual peptide molecules aggregate into nanofibers once they are inside the tumor cells. In this form, the nanofiber surfaces have many copper-binding sites in the right spatial orientation to be able to grasp copper ions.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense)
Researchers from the University of Mississippi have shown that using glycopolymers – polymers made with natural sugars like glucose – to coat nanoparticles that deliver cancer-fighting medication directly to tumors reduces the body’s immune response to cancer treatment. The researchers tested glycopolymer-coated nanoparticle treatments in mice with breast cancer and found that more nanoparticles reached the tumors in the glycopolymer treatment compared to more conventional treatment that uses polyethylene glycol-based nanoparticles. “Our findings highlight that the nanoparticles we’re using significantly reduce unwanted immune responses while dramatically enhancing drug delivery, both in cell and animal models,” said Kenneth Hulugalla, one of the scientists involved in this study.