Chemistry Nanotechnology

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has developed a tiny micro supercapacitor (MSC), being small as the width of a person's fingerprint.

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) scientists have invented a novel contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which enables real-time visualisation and detection of the size and number of amyloid-beta in the brain, a main hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The invention offers hope for early detection and large-scale routine screening of AD. It can also help to assess the efficacy of drugs used to treat it.

A hemispherical vanadium oxide cluster has a cavity that can accommodate a bromine molecule. It was found that a bromine molecule trapped in the cavity was polarized and that an alkane molecule like pentane, butane and propane could be brominated with the bromine molecule in the cavity with a selectivity differing from ordinary bromination. The present findings are expected to be useful for polarization of small molecules and design of highly functional catalysts.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Biomaterials a high-speed atomic-force microscopy study of protein filaments in the nuclear pore complex. The visualization in real-time of the filaments’ dynamics is an important step in our understanding of molecular transport mechanisms between a cell nucleus and its surrounding medium.

Scientists are looking for ways to make millions of molecule-sized robots swarm together so they can perform multiple tasks simultaneously.

Researchers at Kanazawa University and Tsukuba University report in Nanoscale that the physical properties of extracellular bacterial membrane vesicles are significantly diverse. The properties for a single type of bacterium as well as for different types are found to be highly heterogeneous.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Analytical Chemistry an efficient method for filling a batch of nanopipettes with a pore opening below 10 nanometer. The method is based on the application of a temperature gradient to the nanopipette tips so that residual air bubbles are driven out.