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

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Yale University, and the University of Pennsylvania have built a first-of-its-kind automated tool for depositing films with finely controlled blend compositions made of up to three components onto single samples. Although the researchers focused on a self-assembling polymer system, the platform can be used to explore blends of a variety of materials such as polymers, nanoparticles, and small molecules. 

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Yale University, and the University of Pennsylvania have built a first-of-its-kind automated tool for depositing films with finely controlled blend compositions made of up to three components onto single samples. Although the researchers focused on a self-assembling polymer system, the platform can be used to explore blends of a variety of materials such as polymers, nanoparticles, and small molecules. 

Researchers at Yale University have developed a procedure that can replicate surface structures at the atomic scale – a breakthrough that could lead to better catalysts and improved data storage. This process involves heating a metallic glass alloy containing mainly platinum and then compressing it so that it flows into the mold. The process is similar to routine molding techniques used with polymer-based plastics to make toys and casings, but on a much smaller scale.

Researchers at Yale University have developed a procedure that can replicate surface structures at the atomic scale – a breakthrough that could lead to better catalysts and improved data storage. This process involves heating a metallic glass alloy containing mainly platinum and then compressing it so that it flows into the mold. The process is similar to routine molding techniques used with polymer-based plastics to make toys and casings, but on a much smaller scale.

Researchers at MIT and other institutions have found a way to control the growth of crystals of several kinds of metal organic frameworks. This discovery makes it possible to produce crystals large enough to be probed by a battery of tests, enabling the team to decode the structure of these materials, which look like the two-dimensional hexagonal lattices of materials, such as graphene.

Researchers at MIT and other institutions have found a way to control the growth of crystals of several kinds of metal organic frameworks. This discovery makes it possible to produce crystals large enough to be probed by a battery of tests, enabling the team to decode the structure of these materials, which look like the two-dimensional hexagonal lattices of materials, such as graphene.

Researchers at the University of Virginia Cancer Center have identified a gene responsible for the spread of triple-negative breast cancer to other parts of the body - a process called metastasis - and developed a potential way to stop it, using nanoparticles paired with specially engineered antibodies that bind to the cancerous cells but not to healthy cells.

Researchers at the University of Virginia Cancer Center have identified a gene responsible for the spread of triple-negative breast cancer to other parts of the body - a process called metastasis - and developed a potential way to stop it, using nanoparticles paired with specially engineered antibodies that bind to the cancerous cells but not to healthy cells.

Scientists at Duke University have devised a simplified method for calculating the forces that cause nanoparticles to self-assemble. The new method offers opportunities for rationally designing such particles for a wide range of applications, from harnessing solar energy to driving catalytic reactions.

Scientists at Duke University have devised a simplified method for calculating the forces that cause nanoparticles to self-assemble. The new method offers opportunities for rationally designing such particles for a wide range of applications, from harnessing solar energy to driving catalytic reactions.