Purdue Nanotechnology News

'Buckyballs' have high potential to accumulate in living tissue

September 18, 2008 - Research at Purdue University suggests synthetic carbon molecules called fullerenes, or buckyballs, have a high potential of being accumulated in animal tissue, but the molecules also appear to break down in sunlight, perhaps reducing their possible environmental dangers.

Buckyballs may see widespread use in future products and applications, from drug-delivery vehicles for cancer therapy to ultrahard coatings and military armor, chemical sensors and hydrogen-storage technologies for batteries and automotive fuel cells.

"Because of the numerous potential applications, it is important to learn how buckyballs react in the environment and what their possible environmental impacts might be," said Chad Jafvert, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue.

The researchers mixed buckyballs in a solution of water and a chemical called octanol, which has properties similar to fatty tissues in animals. Jafvert and doctoral student Pradnya Kulkarni were the first to document how readily buckyballs might be "partitioned," or distributed into water, soil and fatty tissues in wildlife such as fish. [Read More]

New 'nano-positioners' may have atomic-scale precision

August 20, 2008 - Engineers have created a tiny motorized positioning device that has twice the dexterity of similar devices being developed for applications that include biological sensors and more compact, powerful computer hard drives.

The device, called a monolithic comb drive, might be used as a "nanoscale manipulator" that precisely moves or senses movement and forces. The devices also can be used in watery environments for probing biological molecules, said Jason Vaughn Clark, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering, who created the design.

The monolithic comb drives could make it possible to improve a class of probe-based sensors that detect viruses and biological molecules. The sensors detect objects using two different components: A probe is moved while at the same time the platform holding the specimen is positioned. The new technology would replace both components with a single one - the monolithic comb drive.

The innovation could allow sensors to work faster and at higher resolution and would be small enough to fit on a microchip. The higher resolution might be used to design future computer hard drives capable of high-density data storage and retrieval. Another possible use might be to fabricate or assemble miniature micro and nanoscale machines. [Read More]

Purdue research team leads nanomaterials conference in India on energy transport, conversion, efficiency

July 25, 2008 - A research team from Purdue University's Discovery Park will travel to India next month to lead a joint India-United States workshop on how advancements in nanotechnology are helping address growing energy needs.

The conference, scheduled for Aug. 19-21 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, will focus on how to improve the energy transport, conversion and efficiency of nanomaterials. A session on Aug. 21, hosted by General Electric Co.'s John F. Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore, will highlight industry-university research partnerships.

"This workshop will bring together researchers in India, the United States and industry to initiate collaborative projects in nanomaterials for advancing energy science and technology," said Pankaj Sharma, associate director of operations and international affairs for Discovery Park. "This event also highlights Discovery Park's international efforts that are stimulating business opportunities and partnerships in India and at Purdue."

The workshop, "Scalable Nanomaterials for Enhanced Energy Transport, Conversion and Efficiency," is co-sponsored by the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum. [Read More]

'Nanonet' circuits closer to making flexible electronics reality

July 23, 2008 - Researchers have overcome a major obstacle in producing transistors from networks of carbon nanotubes, a technology that could make it possible to print circuits on plastic sheets for applications including flexible displays and an electronic skin to cover an entire aircraft to monitor crack formation.

The so-called "nanonet" technology - circuits made of numerous carbon nanotubes randomly overlapping in a fishnet-like structure - has been plagued by a critical flaw: The network is contaminated with metallic nanotubes that cause short circuits.

The discovery solves this problem by cutting the nanonet into strips, preventing short circuits by breaking the path of metallic nanotubes.

"This is a fundamental advance in how nanotube circuits are made," said Ashraf Alam, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University. He is working with Kaushik Roy, Purdue's Roscoe H. George Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and doctoral students Ninad Pimparkar and Jaydeep P. Kulkarni. [Read More]

Advance brings low-cost, bright LED lighting closer to reality

July 17, 2008 - Researchers at Purdue University have overcome a major obstacle in reducing the cost of "solid state lighting," a technology that could cut electricity consumption by 10 percent if widely adopted.

The technology, called light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, is about four times more efficient than conventional incandescent lights and more environmentally friendly than compact fluorescent bulbs. The LEDs also are expected to be far longer lasting than conventional lighting, lasting perhaps as long as 15 years before burning out.

"The LED technology has the potential of replacing all incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs, which would have dramatic energy and environmental ramifications," said Timothy D. Sands, the Basil S. Turner Professor of Materials Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The LED lights are about as efficient as compact fluorescent lights, which contain harmful mercury.

But LED lights now on the market are prohibitively expensive, in part because they are created on a substrate, or first layer, of sapphire. The Purdue researchers have solved this problem by developing a technique to create LEDs on low-cost, metal-coated silicon wafers, said Mark H. Oliver, a graduate student in materials engineering who is working with Sands. [Read More]

Nanotechnology conference to focus on the environment

The interactions of nanotechnology with the environment will be highlighted during a Purdue University conference to be held Aug. 5-6 in Indianapolis.

Called Nanotechnology and the Environment, the sessions will feature the latest research on the subject and future business possibilities in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the design and production of materials that are less than 100 nanometers in size.

"Applications in this science are relatively new, so we are just now finding out some of the implications," said conference coordinator Natalie Carroll, a Purdue professor of youth development and agricultural education. "Materials made on this very small scale have been found to have very different physical properties from the same substances made in more traditional ways.

"The goal of this conference is to bring to light what is known about this technology and help inform those who must make decisions about future opportunities and acceptance of nanotechnology."

Anyone interested in the topic is welcome to attend, particularly those in industry, government and research. The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. Rooms may be reserved by calling (317) 631-2221.

The conference fee is $200. The rate for government employees is $100. Registration is available at www.conf.purdue.edu/nano or by contacting John Wellman at jmw@purdue.edu, (765) 494-0243 or (800) 359-2968.

[Read More]

Virtual world is sign of future for scientists, engineers

July 16, 2008 - Purdue University is operating a virtual environment that enables scientists and engineers to interpret raw data collected with powerful instruments called dynamic atomic force microscopes.

The online tools, believed to be the first of their kind for the instruments, represent a research trend, with tools for other applications also being developed, said Arvind Raman, a Purdue professor of mechanical engineering.

"We will see more and more of this sort of thing for many other types of instruments that are being used around the world," he said. "This allows researchers to spend more time doing research and less time and money developing simulations."

More than 300 researchers from around the world have used the "virtual environment for dynamic atomic force microscopy," or VEDA, since it went online about a year ago.

The virtual environment is described in a research article featured as a cover story in the June issue of the journal Review of Scientific Instruments, published by the American Institute of Physics. The article focuses on two simulation tools needed for atomic force microscopes. [Read More]

Quantum computing breakthrough arises from unknown molecule

June 26, 2008 - The odd behavior of a molecule in an experimental silicon computer chip has led to a discovery that opens the door to quantum computing in semiconductors.

In a Nature Physics journal paper currently online, the researchers describe how they have created a new, hybrid molecule in which its quantum state can be intentionally manipulated - a required step in the building of quantum computers.

"Up to now large-scale quantum computing has been a dream," says Gerhard Klimeck, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University and associate director for technology for the national Network for Computational Nanotechnology.

"This development may not bring us a quantum computer 10 years faster, but our dreams about these machines are now more realistic."

The workings of traditional computers haven't changed since they were room-sized behemoths 50 years ago; they still use bits of information, 1s and 0s, to store and process information. Quantum computers would harness the strange behaviors found in quantum physics to create computers that would carry information using quantum bits, or qubits. Computers would be able to process exponentially more information. [Read More]

Tiny refrigerator taking shape to cool future computers

June 19, 2008 - Researchers at Purdue University are developing a miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers, a cooling technology that would boost performance while shrinking the size of computers.

Unlike conventional cooling systems, which use a fan to circulate air through finned devices called heat sinks attached to computer chips, miniature refrigeration would dramatically increase how much heat could be removed, said Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

The Purdue research focuses on learning how to design miniature components called compressors and evaporators, which are critical for refrigeration systems. The researchers developed an analytical model for designing tiny compressors that pump refrigerants using penny-size diaphragms and validated the model with experimental data. The elastic membranes are made of ultra-thin sheets of a plastic called polyimide and coated with an electrically conducting metallic layer. The metal layer allows the diaphragm to be moved back and forth to produce a pumping action using electrical charges, or "electrostatic diaphragm compression."

In related research, the engineers are among the first to precisely measure how a refrigerant boils and vaporizes inside tiny "microchannels" in an evaporator and determine how to vary this boiling rate for maximum chip cooling.

The research is led by Garimella and Eckhard Groll, a professor of mechanical engineering. [Read More]

Purdue Participating in Biotech Convention

June 10, 2008 - A delegation from Purdue's Discovery Park and the Purdue Research Park will join global leaders next week at the BIO 2008 International Convention, showcasing how they are working together at the state, national and international levels to help heal, fuel and feed the world.

Slated for June 17-20 at the San Diego Convention Center, the annual event, sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, is expected to draw 20,000 corporate executives, researchers, government officials and venture capitalists for three days of networking and learning.

Purdue Research Park and Discovery Park are among the event's 2,200 exhibitors, showcasing the latest in biotechnology and life science products and services. A new feature, the Emerging Technologies Zone, will provide a venue for first-time exhibitors, including early-stage and startup companies, to get their ideas and products in front of the industry's top decision makers.

Imaging yields insights into 'nanomedicine' for cancer treatment

May 2, 2008 - Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a possible new pathway for anti-tumor drugs to kill cancer cells and proposed how to improve the design of tiny drug-delivery particles for use in "nanomedicine."

The synthetic "polymer micelles" are drug-delivery spheres 60-100 nanometers in diameter, or roughly 100 times smaller than a red blood cell. The spheres harbor drugs in their inner core and contain an outer shell made of a material called polyethylene glycol.

Purdue researchers showed for the first time how this shell of polyethylene glycol latches onto the membranes of cancer cells, allowing fluorescent probes mimicking cancer drugs to enter the cancer cells, said Ji-Xin Cheng, an assistant professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemistry.

"This is an interesting new step in developing nanomedicine techniques in drug delivery," he said. [Read More]

'Sticky Nanotubes' Hold Key To Future Technologies

ScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2008) — Researchers at Purdue University are the first to precisely measure the forces required to peel tiny nanotubes off of other materials, opening up the possibility of creating standards for nano-manufacturing and harnessing a gecko's ability to walk up walls.

So-called "peel tests" are used extensively in manufacturing. Knowing how much force is needed to pull a material off of another material is essential for manufacturing, but no tests exist for nanoscale structures, said Arvind Raman, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue.

Researchers are trying to learn about the physics behind the "stiction," or how the tiny structures stick to other materials, to manufacture everything from nanoelectronics to composite materials, "nanotweezers" to medical devices using nanotubes, nanowires and biopolymers such as DNA and proteins, he said.

Flexible carbon nanotubes stick to surfaces differently than larger structures because of attractive forces between individual atoms called van der Waals forces.

"Operating in a nanoscale environment is sort of like having flypaper everywhere because of the attraction of van der Waals forces," Raman said. "These forces are very relevant on this size scale because a nanometer is about 10 atoms wide." [Read More]

CCMB collaborates with Purdue University

April 15, 2008 - Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, India, was joined by researchers from Purdue University USA for a two day symposium on "Bionanotechnology and pharmaceuticals—a glimpse into the future", which was held on March 13 and 14. The two day conference discussed the advancements in bionanotechnology and pharma industry, and how these two fields are coming together to address the challenges of healthcare delivery. It spoke on how bionanotechnology is offering many new approaches to the field of medicine, ranging from advanced engineering of tissues and organs to nanoscale drug delivery that may target single diseased cells. The symposium highlighted laboratory advancements in microfabrication and nanofabrication and their roles in nanomedicine and drug delivery.

Microfabrication allows construction of cellular sized or smaller devices made of new materials for what is known as cell land-tissue engineering. Nanofabrication is used to create nanoscale devices for advanced targeting and delivery of pharmaceuticals to individual human cells through the emerging field of nanomedicine. "We are very pleased that Purdue partnered with CCMB for this event," said N Madhusudhana Rao, CCMB. India and the US face many similar challenges in healthcare, climate change and the environment, energy, improving manufacturing, development of adequate cyber infrastructure, and others. These challenges can be met more effectively when both countries work together to exploit new opportunities in life sciences and nanotechnology. [Read More]

Manufactured buckyballs don't harm microbes that clean the environment

Nanowerk News - April 9, 2008 - Even large amounts of manufactured nanoparticles, also known as Buckyballs, don't faze microscopic organisms that are charged with cleaning up the environment, according to Purdue University researchers.

In the first published study to examine Buckyball toxicity on microbes that break down organic substances in wastewater, the scientists used an amount of the nanoparticles on the microbes that was equivalent to pouring 10 pounds of talcum powder on a person. Because high amounts of even normally safe compounds, such as talcum powder, can be toxic, the microbes' resiliency to high Buckyball levels was an important finding, the Purdue investigators said.

The experiment on Buckyballs, which are carbon molecules C60, also led the scientists to develop a better method to determine the impact of nanoparticles on the microbial community.

"It's important to look at the entire microbial community when nanomaterials are introduced because the microbes are all interdependent for survival and growth," said Leila Nyberg, a doctoral student in the School of Civil Engineering and the study's lead author. "If we see a minor change in these microorganisms it could negatively impact ecosystems." [Read More]

Needle-size Device Created To Track Tumors, Radiation Dose

ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2008) — Engineers at Purdue University are creating a wireless device designed to be injected into tumors to tell doctors the precise dose of radiation received and locate the exact position of tumors during treatment.

The information would help to more effectively kill tumors, said Babak Ziaie, an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a researcher at Purdue's Birck Nanotechnology Center.

Ziaie is leading a team that has tested a prototype "wireless implantable passive micro-dosimeter" and said the device could be in clinical trials in 2010. "Because organs and tumors shift inside the body during treatment, a new technology is needed to tell doctors the exact dosage of radiation received by a tumor," Ziaie said.

The prototype is enclosed in a glass capillary small enough to inject into a tumor with a syringe, said Ziaie, who has a dual appointment in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

Research findings are detailed in a paper appearing in the June issue of IEEE Transactions On Biomedical Engineering. The paper was written by doctoral student Chulwoo Son and Ziaie. [Read More]

Purdue exhibit helps mark NanoDays

April 2, 2008 - Purdue's "Nano in Your Neighborhood" exhibit on display in Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering is helping to celebrate NanoDays.

NanoDays is a weeklong event established by the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network to raise public awareness of nanoscale science and engineering through community-based educational outreach. This year's NanoDays started March 29 and runs through April 6.

"Nano in Your Neighborhood," designed by the Purdue Agricultural Communication department and Purdue nanotechnology experts, is an interactive exhibit that relates emerging science to everyday life.

Visitors of the exhibit will walk through a fictional neighborhood that focuses on six themes introducing them to different areas of nanotechnology. The neighborhood features elements like a university, manufacturing company, mega-mart, medical center, farm and drive-in, each of which explores related areas of nanotechnology.

Throughout the exhibit visitors will find videos, hands-on and flip panel displays, interactive games, a "Jumbotron video and more.

More details on NanoDays are available at www.nisenet.org/page.php?page_ID=46.

Transparent Computer Monitors? Engineers Make First 'Active Matrix' Display Using Nanowires

ScienceDaily (Apr. 1, 2008) — Engineers have created the first "active matrix" display using a new class of transparent transistors and circuits, a step toward realizing applications such as e-paper, flexible color monitors and "heads-up" displays in car windshields.

The transistors are made of "nanowires," tiny cylindrical structures that are assembled on glass or thin films of flexible plastic. The researchers used nanowires as small as 20 nanometers - a thousand times thinner than a human hair - to create a display containing organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDS. The OLEDS are devices that rival the brightness of conventional pixels in flat-panel television sets, computer monitors and displays in consumer electronics.

"This is a step toward demonstrating the practical potential of nanowire transistors in displays and for other applications," said David Janes, a researcher at Purdue University's Birck Nanotechnology Center and a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. [Read More]

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