News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University; the University of Nevada, Reno; and the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, have described a way to measure levels of a specific kind of carbon nanotube in plant tissues. The researchers grew hydroponic lettuce in the presence of carbon nanotubes and then analyzed the lettuce leaves for traces of carbon nanotubes. This is the first study to measure levels of this kind of carbon nanotube in plants by using thermal analysis.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University; the University of Nevada, Reno; and the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, have described a way to measure levels of a specific kind of carbon nanotube in plant tissues. The researchers grew hydroponic lettuce in the presence of carbon nanotubes and then analyzed the lettuce leaves for traces of carbon nanotubes. This is the first study to measure levels of this kind of carbon nanotube in plants by using thermal analysis.

Researchers at Georgia Tech have found a method to engineer membranes made from graphene oxide, a chemically resistant material based on carbon, so they can work effectively in industrial applications. Many industries that use large amounts of water in their production processes may stand to benefit from using these graphene oxide nanofiltration membranes.

Researchers at Georgia Tech have found a method to engineer membranes made from graphene oxide, a chemically resistant material based on carbon, so they can work effectively in industrial applications. Many industries that use large amounts of water in their production processes may stand to benefit from using these graphene oxide nanofiltration membranes.

By discovering a new printable biomaterial that can mimic properties of brain tissue, researchers at Northwestern University are close to developing a platform capable of treating neurodegenerative diseases or brain and spinal cord injuries using regenerative medicine. A key ingredient to the discovery is the ability to control the self-assembly processes of molecules within the material, enabling the researchers to modify the structure and functions of systems from the nanoscale to the scale of visible features. The researchers showed that materials can be designed to migrate over long distances and self-organize to form larger, “superstructured” bundles of nanofibers.

By discovering a new printable biomaterial that can mimic properties of brain tissue, researchers at Northwestern University are close to developing a platform capable of treating neurodegenerative diseases or brain and spinal cord injuries using regenerative medicine. A key ingredient to the discovery is the ability to control the self-assembly processes of molecules within the material, enabling the researchers to modify the structure and functions of systems from the nanoscale to the scale of visible features. The researchers showed that materials can be designed to migrate over long distances and self-organize to form larger, “superstructured” bundles of nanofibers.

Engineers at Caltech have developed a technique that allows them to precisely place microscopic devices formed from folded DNA molecules not only in a specific location but also in a specific orientation. As a proof-of-concept, the engineers arranged more than 3,000 glowing moon-shaped nanoscale molecular devices into a flower-shaped instrument for indicating the polarization of light. This method for precisely placing and orienting DNA-based molecular devices may make it possible to use these molecular devices to power new kinds of chips that integrate molecular biosensors with optics and electronics for applications such as DNA sequencing or measuring the concentrations of thousands of proteins at once.

A scientific article by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos and Argonne national laboratories reviews the recent progress in colloidal-quantum-dot research and highlights the remaining challenges and opportunities in the rapidly developing field, which is poised to enable a wide array of new laser-based and LED-based technology applications. Colloidal quantum dots are assembled from semiconductor precursors suspended in a solution. They are easily synthesized without a clean room and behave like big atoms that follow the rules of quantum mechanics.

A scientific article by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos and Argonne national laboratories reviews the recent progress in colloidal-quantum-dot research and highlights the remaining challenges and opportunities in the rapidly developing field, which is poised to enable a wide array of new laser-based and LED-based technology applications. Colloidal quantum dots are assembled from semiconductor precursors suspended in a solution. They are easily synthesized without a clean room and behave like big atoms that follow the rules of quantum mechanics.

A team led by researchers at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering has found a new way of enhancing the performance of electrochemical micro-sensors by using a carbon nanomaterial called nano-graphitic carbon. This discovery could lead to the detection of biomolecules, such as dopamine, at lower concentrations than is possible today. Dopamine molecule activity in the brain is associated with motivation, motor control, reinforcement, and reward.