Vinothan.R

World's first light-activated antimicrobial surface that also works in the dark Mar 24, 2014 This image shows samples of silicone with the various dyes infused. Credit: Sacha Noimark, Elaine Allan and Ivan P. Parkin Researchers at UCL have developed a new antibacterial material which has potential for cutting hospital acquired infections. The combination of two simple dyes with nanoscopic particles of gold is deadly to bacteria when activated by light - even under modest indoor lighting. And in a first for this type of substance, it also shows impressive antibacterial properties in total darkness. The research, from by Sacha Noimark and Ivan Parkin (both UCL Chemistry) and Elaine Allan (UCL Eastman Dental Institute), is published today in the journal  Chemical Science . Hospital-acquired infections are a major issue for modern medicine, with pathogens like methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus  (MRSA) and  Clostridium difficile  (C. diff) getting extensive publ

Research and applications of iron oxide nanoparticles Hidasuki pattern on Bizen stoneware From the mysteries of producing red colors in traditional Japanese Bizen stoneware to iron-oxidizing bacteria for lithium ion batteries, Professor Jun Takada is at the forefront of research on innovative iron oxide nanomaterials. Professor Jun Takada is at the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology at Okayama University. "I spent thirty years investigating how craftsman were able to render the beautiful red colors in Bizen and Arita pottery," explains Takada. "This research revealed the important role of iron oxide particles for producing the colors. I am now working on innovative applications of nanometer scale iron oxide materials produced by 'iron-oxidizing bacteria'. I have made a transition from fine ceramics and Bizen stoneware to fuel cells and biotechnology!" Bizen ware has a history of more than a thousand years. The pottery has distinct

Published on  February 24th, 2014 |  Edited by: April Gocha, PhD 0 Move over, polymers—silica nanoparticles may be the new adhesive for hydrogels and tissues Published on February 24th, 2014 | Edited by: April Gocha, PhD 0 in Share French scientists have devised an adhesive from silica nanoparticles that can glue together gel-like materials and resist deformation. Credit: © CNRS Photothèque/ESPCI/MMC – GRACIA Marie. Polymers make great adhesives, but they just can’t stick it when it comes to gluing together gel-like materials. French researchers at  ESPCI ParisTech  and  CNRS  may have devised a superior adhesive—silica nanoparticles. The researchers recently reported in  Nature  a simple and inexpensive method of using commercial silica nanoparticles as an adhesive for gels and even biological tissues. The scientists simply applied a solution containing silica nanoparticles to the surface of poly(dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA)  gel, and briefly pressed

Solar tiles may be blue or black. Until recently, if you wanted a home solar-power system, you had to install a set of large photovoltaic panels on the roof or in the yard. But nowadays you have more choices, including low-profile solar tiles that can be integrated with standard siding or shingles. While solar tiles are a clear aesthetic improvement, they're a new technology that's still very much under development; they will continue to become more viable with every year's advances, but currently they may only be practical for some homeowners. History Solar tiles have been in use since the 1990s. In 1996, photovoltaic shingles won "Popular Science" magazine's Grand Award for the best new technology. Since then, they've continued to gain popularity among green builders, and are most commonly used in place of or in conjunction with standard roof tiles or shingles. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that California developers pla

Guinness record: World's thinnest glass is just two atoms thick At just a molecule thick, it's a new record: The world's thinnest sheet of glass, a serendipitous discovery by scientists at Cornell and Germany's University of Ulm, is recorded for posterity in the Guinness Book of World Records. The "pane" of glass, so impossibly thin that its individual silicon and  oxygen atoms  are clearly visible via  electron microscopy , was identified in the lab of David A. Muller, professor of applied and  engineering physics  and director of the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science. The work that describes direct imaging of this thin glass was first published in January 2012 in  Nano Letters , and the Guinness records officials took note. The record will now be published in the Guinness World Records 2014 Edition. Just two atoms in thickness, the glass was an accidental discovery, Muller said. The scientists had been making graphene, a

New NANO Particles make solar cell cheaper to manufacture University of Alberta researchers have found that abundant materials in the Earth's crust can be used to make inexpensive and easily manufactured nanoparticle-based solar cells. The University of Alberta  discovery, several years in the making, is an important step forward in making solar power more accessible to parts of the world that are off the traditional  electricity grid  or face high power costs, such as the Canadian North, said researcher Jillian Buriak, a chemistry professor and senior research officer of the National Institute for Nanotechnology, based on the  University of Alberta  campus. Buriak and her team have designed nanoparticles that absorb light and  conduct electricity  from two very common elements: phosphorus and zinc. Both materials are more plentiful than scarce materials such as cadmium and free from manufacturing restrictions imposed on lead-based nanoparticles. "Half the world