(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)
Nanoporous membranes with holes smaller than one-billionth of a meter have powerful potential for decontaminating polluted water or for osmotic power generators. But these applications have been limited in part by the tedious process of tunneling individual sub-nanometer pores one by one. Now, researchers from the University of Chicago have found a novel path around this long-standing problem. They created a new method of pore generation that builds materials with intentional weak spots and then applies a remote electric field to generate multiple nanoscale pores all at once.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department Defense)
For the first time ever, researchers have witnessed – in real time and at the molecular-scale – hydrogen and oxygen atoms merge to form tiny, nano-sized bubbles of water. The event occurred as part of a new Northwestern University study, during which scientists sought to understand how palladium, a rare metallic element, catalyzes the gaseous reaction to generate water. “Think of Matt Damon’s character, Mark Watney, in the movie ‘The Martian’,” said Northwestern’s Vinayak Dravid, senior author of the study. “He burned rocket fuel to extract hydrogen and then added oxygen from his oxygenator. Our process is analogous, except we bypass the need for fire and other extreme conditions. We simply mixed palladium and gases together.” Dravid is the founding director of the Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental (NUANCE) Center, where the study was conducted.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University in Philadelphia, the University of Delaware, and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China have discovered a novel means of directing lipid nanoparticles to target specific tissues. The engineers demonstrated how subtle adjustments to the chemical structure of an ionizable lipid, a key component of a lipid nanoparticle, allow for tissue-specific delivery to the liver, lungs, and spleen. The researchers’ key insight was to incorporate siloxane composites – a class of silicon- and oxygen-based compounds already used in medical devices, cosmetics and drug delivery – into ionizable lipids.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)
Cellulose nanocrystals derived from renewable resources have shown great potential for use in composites, biomedical materials, and packaging. But a major challenge in the production of cellulose nanocrystals is the energy-intensive drying process. To address this issue, a team of researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Purdue University, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has introduced a novel multi-frequency ultrasonic drying technology. This method not only accelerates the drying process but also reduces energy consumption, compared to traditional drying techniques.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation)
Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa in Honolulu have unveiled a new technique that could make the manufacture of wearable health sensors more accessible and affordable. Producing these devices often requires specialized facilities and technical expertise, limiting their accessibility and widespread adoption. So, the researchers introduced a low-cost, stencil-based method for producing sensors made from laser-induced graphene, a key material used in wearable sensing. “This advancement allows us to create high-performance wearable sensors with greater precision and at a lower cost,” said Tyler Ray, the researcher who led this study.