(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a new kind of nanopore platform that consists of two or more nanopores stacked just nanometers apart, allowing for more precise detection and control of DNA as it wiggles through. “With current platforms, when molecules like DNA are placed near the nanopores, it’s sort of like having spaghetti in a pot—tangled and difficult to work with, let alone guiding through one hole,” explains Dimitri Monos, one of the scientists involved in this study. “So, typically, researchers need to use proteins to capture, unwind, and straighten it, which, while effective, has many limitations. But with this new design, we’re essentially guiding molecules through two coupled nanopores in the material, providing a controlled, smoother passage of molecules.”

(Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation)
Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Arizona have provided new insights into how next-generation electronics break down or degrade over time. Using a sophisticated electron microscope, the researchers looked at the nanopillars within magnetic tunnel junctions – the building blocks for the non-volatile memory in smart watches and in-memory computing. The researchers ran a current through the device to see how it operates. As they increased the current, they were able to observe how the device degrades and eventually dies in real time. “What was unusual with this discovery is that we observed this burn out at a much lower temperature than what previous research thought was possible,” said Andre Mkhoyan, one of the scientists involved in this research.

(Funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) is celebrating its 20-year anniversary! Over the years, researchers at the NTRC have studied the #toxicity of many engineered nanomaterials throughout their life cycles. The research has covered primary manufactured forms (such as carbon nanotubes, nanoscale titanium dioxide, and silver nanoparticles) and modified versions for specific applications (such as silica-coated iron oxide, heat-treated carbon nanotubes, and reduced graphene oxide). Early studies focused on the tiniest components of air pollution, known as ultrafine particles, which laid the foundation for ongoing research efforts to assess two types of nanoparticles found in workplaces: engineered nanomaterials (purposely created for various applications) and process-derived nanoparticles (unintentionally produced during industrial processes). Also, using samples from worker health effects studies, researchers developed toxicology studies to determine biomarkers of exposure and disease. Together, these studies offer valuable data for understanding workplace hazards and risks.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)
Researchers from Duke University, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Harvard Medical School have developed a platform that uses sound waves as acoustic tweezers to sort viruses from other compounds in a liquid. The platform consists of a rectangular chip with a sample-loading inlet at one end and separate virus and waste outlets at the other end. Two acoustic beams were applied across the chip, perpendicular to the sample flow. Particles larger than 150 nanometers (nm) in diameter were trapped on the chip, particles smaller than 50 nm left through the waste outlet, and viruses of intermediate sizes (50 to 150 nm) were collected via the virus outlet.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)
Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a nanomedicine that increases the penetration and accumulation of chemotherapy drugs in tumor tissues and effectively kills cancer cells in mice. The researchers looked at a particular pathway known as stimulator of interferon genes (STING), whose activation increases the leakiness of blood vessels near the tumor. They designed nanoparticles that encapsulates both STING activators and chemotherapy drugs and evaluated the antitumor effects of the therapy in multiple kinds of tumors in mice; they found large tumor growth inhibition and high cure rates.