Category Archives: Nanotechnology

Jan 26, 2022(Nanowerk News) Concrete fractures that are invisible to the naked eye stand out in images produced through a technique created at Rice University.A collaboration between research groups at Rice and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research discovered by chance that common Portland cement contains microscopic crystals of silicon that emit near-infrared fluorescence when illuminated with visible light. That led to two realizations. The first was that the exact wavelength of the emission can be used to identify the particular type of cement in a structure.Small cracks in a stressed, painted cement block are barely visible under ambient lighting (left panel) but show up clearly in the near-infrared image at right. Rice University scientists discovered silicon crystals in Portland cement emit fluorescent, infrared light that can reveal early damage in concrete that might otherwise be overlooked. (Image: Weisman Research Group/Nagarajaiah Group/Rice University)The second and perhaps more important is that the near-infrared emission can reveal even very small cracks in cement or concrete. The trick is to apply a thin coat of opaque paint to the concrete when its new. In near-infrared scans, intact concrete appears black and glowing light reveals the tiniest of cracks.The open-access study by the labs of Rice chemist Bruce Weisman, Rice structural engineer Satish Nagarajaiah and Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research investigator Jafarali Parol appears in Scientific Reports ("Nearinfrared photoluminescence of Portland cement").Wei Meng, the papers first author, found the phenomenon while pursuing the Rice teams long-standing work on optical strain sensing with carbon nanotubes.This arose from a project in which we were trying to apply our strain measurement technique to cement and concrete, but we ran into an unexpected problem when we illuminated a specimen coated with a nanotube film, said Weisman, a pioneer in nanotube spectroscopy. We found that one of the peaks in our film spectrum was obscured by much stronger emission coming from somewhere. We never expected it would be from the cement itself.He said he was not aware of any other lab reporting the phenomenon. Eventually, we were able to mask off the specimen so the emission didnt interfere with our strain measurement, he said. But we kept in the backs of our minds that maybe this could be interesting on its own.The emissions unusual spectral signature let the researchers deduce that the source was pure silicon crystals. Minerals called silicates are major components of cement, and we hypothesized that during the high temperature production process, very small amounts decompose to form microscopic silicon crystals, Weisman said. Their emission wavelength tells us that theyre larger than about 10 nanometers, but they cant be much bigger or people would have noticed them long ago.Meng experimented on small concrete blocks painted black and with holes drilled in the middle. These served as focal points to form microcracks that would propagate outward when the blocks were compressed, also cracking the paint. He found the fluorescent signal came through the tiny cracks and could easily be mapped with a raster-scanning laser.Concrete structures need monitoring, and this is one way of monitoring them, said Nagarajaiah, who specializes in infrastructure/structural monitoring, system identification, damage detection and adaptive stiffness structure systems to withstand seismic events. Getting a clear idea of where cracks are can be quite important in structures, especially in the critical places where we know theyre going to be stressed.He said the benefits of better crack detection could extend beyond bridges and buildings to containment structures at nuclear power plants or on ships or the insides of wells and pipelines that are difficult to access.The researchers said a practical approach is to shine light on critical structures and photograph them using a near-infrared camera and narrow-band spectral filter.Cement cracking can be an early symptom of failure, so people who are concerned with the structural integrity and safety of concrete structures want to detect microcracks before they grow, Weisman said.Rice research scientist Sergei Bachilo is co-author of the study. Nagarajaiah is a professor of civil and environmental engineering, of materials science and nanoengineering, and of mechanical engineering. Weisman is a professor of chemistry and of materials science and nanoengineering.

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Silicon fluorescence shines through microcracks in cement, revealing early signs of damage - Nanowerk

Courtesy of Keroles Riad, Concordia University and Sylvie Ouellette, Concordia University

Lets be honest: there are many ways in which size matters, and for some purposes small is beautiful. However, sometimes very small things, like nanoparticles, are misunderstood.

In recent months, many people have had difficult conversations with friends and family members who were hesitant about taking the COVID-19 vaccine. In some cases, this hesitance arose because they have been led to believe that vaccines cant be trusted because they contain nanoparticles. It is lipid nanoparticles called liposomes that carry the mRNA molecule in the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

Those liposomes act as vehicles delivering the viral protein template to where it can interact with the immune system and trigger the production of antibodies. Their small size allows them to do that job faster and more effectively.

Liposomes are minuscule droplets of fat that mimic the membranes of our cells. This allows the particles to not only travel to their destination in the body without triggering an immune reaction, but also to fuse with our cells that can then uptake the mRNA molecule and synthesize the protein for which it codes. Once delivery is complete, these lipid nanoparticles are degraded by our body just like any other lipid.

This technology has been made possible through years of concerted efforts by the scientific community. These types of nanoparticles are a potentially useful vehicle for all sorts of other medicines. These include other vaccines, and also promising cancer treatments.

As scientists who make nanoparticles, we had hoped that at least our loved ones would be less fearful of our work. Thankfully, they are all now fully vaccinated, but vaccine hesitancy stemming from the novelty of the terms nanoparticles and nanotechnology leaves us concerned.

With the rise of COVID cases due to the Omicron variant, efforts to address vaccine hesitancy across the globe need to be ramped up, including information about nanoparticles. The terms nanoparticles and nanotechnology may be uncommon to a lot of people, but humans have been interacting with nanoparticles for millennia, and each one of us comes into contact with nanotechnology-based products every single day.

One of the authors Keroles Riad mass-produces nanoparticles by literally setting chemicals on fire (very satisfying). This process called flame spray pyrolysis can produce special nanoparticles called quantum dots, which are used in lithium batteries and gas-sensing devices. But nanotechnology has uses in every aspect of our lives, affecting things like our wine, our guts and our climate.

The nanoparticles in mRNA vaccines are not the first nanoparticles used for health applications. For instance, co-author Sylvie Ouellette is currently synthesizing lipid nanodiscs in her lab. This consists of breaking down the lipid layer of E. coli bacteria into small pieces, to study the proteins it contains as if they were still in their natural environment. Since these proteins are involved in antibiotic resistance, lipid nanodiscs are an important tool in the fight against infection.

Sylvie has also studied gold nanoparticles to assess their usefulness in diagnosing and treating cancer and other health conditions.

Nanoparticles have been used for centuries. In fourth century China, nanoparticles were made via flame and used as inks.

Gold nanoparticles have been at the core of Ayurveda, a traditional Indian healing practice, for thousands of years. Although the jury is still out as to whether these gold nanoparticles in and of themselves confer healing properties, the method by which they are synthesized has paved the way for their use in modern medicine. They are now studied as a vehicle to target medically active compounds to tissue or cells involved in various diseases such as cancer.

Nano comes from a Greek word meaning dwarf. In essence, it means very small. A nanometer is 70,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. A nanoparticle is anything that is so small that its size ranges from one to a few hundred nanometers. If you cut a block of wood to pieces that are about 0.0000001 centimetres (one nanometer), you will have made nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles can be made out of almost anything, from metals to fat. They can form naturally or inadvertently, and can also be synthesized in research or industrial laboratories.

Different coloured copper oxide quantum dots from Keroless lab. (Andrew Kingsley Jeyaraj), Author provided

Perhaps one of the most common nanoparticles today is carbon black, which is used to reinforce our car tires and improve their wear resistance, constituting a US$17.5 billion dollar industry in 2018. We paint the walls in our homes with titanium white nanoparticles. The pills we swallow to treat our headaches or serious illnesses are usually coated with silica or titanium nanoparticles.

More recently, several brands of anti-aging creams have boasted higher efficacy thanks to their active compounds being contained in liposomes the same type of nano-sized fat particles that are at the core of the mRNA COVID vaccines.

Given the broad incidence and wide variety of nanoparticles, there are also some that are not beneficial. For example, the nano-sized soot particles from cigarettes that smokers inhale are very harmful to the lungs.

Other types of soot nanoparticles enter the atmosphere when planes and cargo ships burn fuel, where they are the third major contributor to the climate crisis. However, unlike other greenhouse gases, soots stay in the atmosphere is only a few weeks long (compared to a hundred years in the case of carbon dioxide). That means that if we were to stop emitting soot today, the benefits would be immediate.

Small is good when used beneficially, but nanoparticles can sometimes trigger fear or mistrust. Just like the conversations weve had with our own families, helping people understand how nanoparticles are part of our everyday lives may help dissolve some of those fears.

Do you have a question about COVID-19 vaccines? Email us at ca-vaccination@theconversation.com and vaccine experts will answer questions in upcoming articles.

Keroles Riad, Postdoctoral fellow, Chemical and Materials Engineering, Concordia University and Sylvie Ouellette, PhD Candidate, Chemistry/Biochemistry, Concordia University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The nanoparticles in mRNA vaccines are nothing to fear: We interact with many useful, tiny particles every day - TheStreet

"These new products are a great example of the kind of innovation that is possible with our new kind of capacitive sensors," said Barbara Barclay, CEO of Somalytics. "We look forward to igniting discovery across many industries to pioneer better, faster and less-expensive applications for human computer interaction. Our devices will enable life-changing applications in assistive technology, health and wellness, industrial safety, and transportation in addition to better experiences in consumer electronics, gaming and wearables as well as many other areas."

SomaControl and SomaSense

SomaControlis a 3D gesture monitor that can enable everyday tasks at home or integrated into gaming devices for a more immersive experience. It allows users to interact with and control a digital device using hand movements with no contact.

SomaSenseis a flexible 3D sensing floor mat that observes, monitors and reports on human wellness factors, including presence, gait and foot pressure, with applications in health tech and wellness assisting individuals with balance, movement and other challenges.

Demonstrations of these products at CES will show users firsthand ways that new and improved human-computer interface experiences are possible with Somalytics technology, including:

New CPC Sensor Technology

Somalyticsis promising to bring better "sense" to the digital world bycreating a new genre of gesture-based digital interfaces, wellness monitoring and safety applications. Its first-of-its-kind miniature sensor is flexible and highly sensitive to the human body. Mass production of Somalytics' new capacitive sensors is expected to begin in 2022, ushering in a new era of human-machine interface applications that will save and improve lives.

Compared to existing capacitive sensors, Somalytics' are 100 times smaller and 10 times faster, with greater rangefor sensing proximity and pressure. Offering unprecedented sensitivity to human tissue, the sensors acknowledge humanpresence at up to 20 centimeters. They work with any skin tone or eye shape, recognize 3D gestures without need for any hand device, and are faster and better than infrared. All of this enables a new generation of touchless technology applicable to almost any interaction between humans and machines.

Better Eye Tracking

"Somalytics' sensors will open an entire new era for wearable eye tracking because the sensors are not camera based and there is no illumination of the eye required," added Barclay, a recognized international expert in eye tracking technology. "The processing speed is under three milliseconds, and the sampling rate is 10 times faster than best-in-class existing technologies. With Somalytics' sensors, eye tracking will evolve to accomplish the 'real feel' and 'real-time eye to eye' experience for which augmented and virtual reality users have long waited."

Somalytics Launch

In November, Somalytics was spun out of CoMotionat the University of Washingtonwith support from hard science investment firm IP Group Inc.Somalytics' patent-pending products are a new class of ultrahigh-sensitivity, fast-response, capacitive sensors built using substrate filled with carbon nanotubes developed at the University of Washington in the laboratory of Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Jae-Hyun Chung, Somalytics' co-founder, and the laboratory of Assistant Professor of Environmental and Forest Sciences Anthony Dichiara.

Stay tuned to Somalytics on LinkedInand Twitterfor updates!

For more information, go to http://www.somalytics.com.

IMAGES: For photos and video of Somalytics, please go to ces.vporoom.com/Somalytics.

About SomalyticsSomalytics is bringing better sense to the digital world. The nanotechnology start-up was launched by IP Group Inc. to commercialize technology developed by University of Washington researchers in collaboration with CoMotion. Somalytics has developed a patent-pendingminiature paper carbon-nanotube capacitive sensor that is highly sensitive to the human body, enabling new consumer and industrial applications. Somalytics' skin, eye and gesture monitoring sensors are developed and manufactured in the U.S. and are anticipated to change the world by improving the human experience through innovations in areas such as consumer electronics, the Internet of Things, transportation, and health and wellness. Follow us on LinkedInand Twitter. http://www.somalytics.com.

SOURCE Somalytics

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CES 2022: Somalytics to unveil products powered by world's smallest nano-based capacitive sensor in huge breakthrough for industry - PRNewswire

The growing world population needs a secure supply of food. Biofortifying staple foods is one way to solve challenges in the food industry. A paper recently published in Biology has considered the use of nanotechnology to fortify wheat, a key global crop.

Study:Insight into the Prospects for Nanotechnology in Wheat BiofortificationImage Credit:maxbelchenko/Shutterstock.com

Biofortification is the process of deliberately increasing the nutritional value of a food by agronomic methods, breeding, and biotechnology. It differs from conventional fortification in that it aims to increase the nutritional value of a plant during its growth rather than manually adding vitamins, minerals, and trace elements during processing.

Biofortification has important implications for reaching populations that have no or limited access to traditional supplements and fortification methods. It provides public health benefits with minimal risk to the health of populations and individuals.

Different strategies used for wheat biofortification. The left side of the figure explains the wheat biofortification strategies other than nanobiofortification and their drawbacks. The right side of the figure provides a summary of nanobiofortification including its target, entry points of nanofertilizers in plants, and the advantages of nanomaterials (Feiron, Znzinc, CuCopper, NPKnitrogen, phosphorus and potassium).

Wheat is consumed by a sizable proportion of the worlds population. Increasing its nutritional value will tackle issues with malnutrition in growing populations. In recent decades, several biofortification strategies have been attempted with varying degrees of success. Conventional breeding, agronomic biofortification, and transgenic approaches have all been employed to provide nutritional benefits.

Whilst these approaches have had their successes, there have also been major drawbacks to them. There are regulatory barriers to the field, even though the biofortification methods themselves are well-developed. Genetic biofortification is limited by restrictions in the available targeted biological gene pool as well as being time-consuming. Agronomic biofortification suffers from problems with available fertilizers. Conventional plant breeding takes time.

Nanobiofortification has gained traction in recent years as a viable alternative to contemporary genetic and agronomic methods. Using nanotechnology can circumvent time issues, resource requirements, and environmental risks.

One main benefit is the targeted delivery of fertilizer in the required amount, increasing nutrient uptake and preventing the leaching of potentially harmful inorganic fertilizer into fragile ecosystems. Nanomaterials used for this purpose vary in efficiency due to size, composition, chemical features, and the plant they are targeted for.

An overview of the different methods used for Wheat Nanobiofortification, types of applied nanomaterials, and their outcome in the form of fortified nutrients. (Abbreviations in the figure: NPs- nanoparticles; ZnOzinc oxide; dexdextran; Fe2O3ferric oxide; Fe3O4ferrosoferric oxide; NPKnitrogen, phosphorus, potassium; CNPchitosan nanoparticles; Bboron, Feiron, Znzinc; Sisilicon; Pphosphorus; Cucopper).

Nanotechnology is utilized in biofortification in numerous ways. Nanobiofortification systems can introduce nutrients into soil in a controlled release rate. Their ability to provide wide coverage and efficient absorption support plant development and environmental safety, compared to agronomic fertilizers.

Currently, three different types of nanomaterials are being employed for biofortification: nanoscale coating fertilizers, nanoscale additives fertilizers, and nanoscale fertilizers (NFs.) Nanomaterials used in these fertilizers can be classified as polymeric nanomaterials, ceramic nanomaterials, and metallic nanomaterials.

The nanomaterials used in nanofertilizers can be grouped into macronutrient fertilizers, micronutrient fertilizers, plant growth-stimulating NFs, and nanomaterial-enhanced fertilizers. This grouping is due to the nutritional benefits the nanoscale systems confer upon the target plant. The research provided many perspectives on nanobiofortification methods, some of which will now be discussed.

Several micronutrients are essential for wheat, including zinc, the deficiency of which causes necrosis, stunted growth, decreased seed quality, and decreased yield. Traditionally micronutrient enhanced composite NPK fertilizers do not always provide wheat with the necessary concentration of micronutrients.

The small size and large surface area of nanoparticles significantly increase the bioavailability of the micronutrients. Zn and Fe enhanced NFs are of particular focus due to the deficiency of these micronutrients in the world population.

Important macronutrients including calcium, magnesium, and nitrogen are encapsulated or inserted into macronutrient NFs. The addition of these macronutrients to NPK fertilizers in the amounts necessary increases the amount of fertilizer needed, which presents a serious ecological risk. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems are more efficient at delivering macronutrients as well as being more sustainable.

There are different routes by which nutritionally enriched nanomaterials can be introduced into wheat plants. Seed priming, soil fertilization, and foliar fertilization can all be employed. Studies have been conducted into all three routes, demonstrating the benefits of NPs.

In seed priming, seeds are treated before planting. Seed priming with nanoparticles improves metabolism and delivers nutrients more effectively than conventional methods. Both soil and foliar fertilization show increased nutrient uptake and yield using NPs.

Biofortification with nanoparticles shows huge promise for the future. Optimized delivery can save costs and allow so-called Precision farming. Whilst NFs have well-discussed health benefits, controlling their supply and accumulation needs to be carefully monitored, as their long-term health and environmental risks are not properly understood.

Although there are some reports of toxicity in nanomaterials used for agricultural purposes, they remain one of the best solutions to the challenges facing modern agriculture and feeding a growing world population.

Kahn, M.K et al. (2021) Insight into the Prospects for Nanotechnology in Wheat Biofortification [online] Biology 10(11) 1123 | mdpi.com. Available at:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/11/1123/htm

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.

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How Can Nanotechnology be Used in Wheat Biofortification? - AZoM

According to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the next batch of Euro banknotes could be made with new materials and nanotechnology developed in Spain. Presented at the CSIC headquarters in Madrid, they claim that the objective of the new notes is to improve their safety and durability, while increasing the quality and sustainability.

A research team from the Madrid Institute of Materials Science (ICMM-CSIC), is responsible for this development, and it works in collaboration with the Bank of Spain. Funding for this comes from the Eurosystem the monetary authority of the Eurozone.

The Bank of Spain has been advising and collaborating in the CSIC research so that the results of the project can be applied to euro banknotes. This project, which began in October 2019, is due to conclude its first phase in 2022, and is subject to strict confidentiality requirements.

Tasked with safeguarding the integrity and security of euro banknotes is The European Central Bank. With this objective, the European Central Bank, and all national central banks, such as the Bank of Spain, try to incorporate increasingly advanced technologies to achieve better banknotes.

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Spanish nanotechnology could be used on new Euro banknotes - Euro Weekly News

Our group has demonstrated the possibility to use photothermal nanofibers and laser irradiation as a new methodology to deliver gene editing effector molecules in living cells. We have demonstrated broad applicability in different therapeutic cells, such as T cells and stem cells, with a variety of effector molecules, such as siRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Importantly, we were able to show that the quality of the therapeutic cells is significantly better as compared to commercially available technologies, leading to better therapeutic potency of the final cell product.

More information can be found in the original publication (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-021-00976-3) or in this blog article: https://bioengineeringcommunity.nature.com/posts/safe-engineering-of-therapeutic-cells-with-photothermal-nanofibers

Xiong R., Hua D., Van Hoeck J., Berdecka D., Lger L., De Munter S., Fraire J., Raes L., Harizaj A., Sauvage F., Goetgeluk G., Pille M., Aalders J., Belza J., Van Acker T., Fernandez E.B., Si T., Vanhaecke F., De Vos W., Vandekerckhove B., van Hengel J., Raemdonck K., Huang C., De Smedt S.C., Braeckmans K. Photothermal nanofibers enable safe engineering of therapeutic cells. Nat. Nanotechnol. DOI: 10.1038/s41565-021-00976-3 (2021).

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New publication in Nature Nanotechnology on safe engineering of therapeutic cells with photothermal nanofibers - ELIS