Modifying DNA strands with lipid-like molecules opens more possibilities for designing DNA structures for drug delivery and other purposes.
Archive for the 'Research' Category
Nymphs of certain jumping insects have evolved 400-micrometer mechanical gear strips to precisely synchronize legs when jumping.
Carbyne – a straight line of carbon atoms linked by double bonds or by alternating single and triple bonds — is the next stiff, carbon-based structure with unusual and desirable properties. It has been observed under limited natural and experimental conditions, is expected to be difficult to synthesize and store, and now has been theoretically [...]
Materials scientists have pursued the question of why vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests show much lower modulus values than expected. Now researchers from Georgia Tech have found that the nanotubes they fabricate contain kinks that dramatically diminish modulus value. In other words, the nanotubes are not straight; therefore, they are not stiff. The government-funded research [...]
A major advance in the computational design of proteins that bind tightly to specific small molecules will facilitate several technologies, possibly including the development of atomically precise manufacturing.
How complex could circuits be made using precisely positioned DNA nanostructures as templates to grow graphene nanoribbons?
“Molecular threading”, a nanotechnology developed by Halcyon Molecular and now owned by Aeon Biowares, enables precise placement of individual long molecules of DNA, either for sequencing or for nanofabrication of novel DNA nanostructures.
At the 2013 Conference the winner of the 2011 Feynman Prize for Experimental work presents STM studies showing how the manipulation of single molecules on a surface can yield insights to their mechanical, electronic, and optical properties, and be used in a controlled way to build pre-defined molecular architectures.
The Conference to be held February 7-9, 2014 in Palo Alto, California will emphasize the integration of nano-engineered devices and materials into larger, more complex systems.
Graphene molecules a bit more than one nanometer across and greatly distorted from planarity have altered properties and offer novel building blocks for nanotechnology.
A limited set of videos from the January 2013 Foresight Conference have been made available. John Randall started the Conference presentations describing the patterned silicon Atomic Layer Epitaxy (ALE) approach to atomically precise manufacturing.
Covalent bonding of nanocrystals into a glass makes the glass ‘smart’ enough to transmit heat, light, both, or neither as desired.
In simplest terms, cellular automata can be thought of as groups of ‘cells’ in which the state of an individual cell will flip depending on the states of its neighbors. A ‘cell’ can be a pixel, a molecule, etc. The mathematical rules associated with cellular automation are complex and have been applied to fields as [...]
A porous metal-organic framework ‘host’ soaks up molecular ‘guests’ to form a crystalline complex, the structure of which can be determined by X-ray crystallography, providing atomic-resolution structures of minute amounts of guest molecules, and perhaps eventually other nanostructures.
Good old fashioned boxes are here to stay, even in the context of nanoscale devices. Across a broad range of technologies and size regimes, boxes serve as containers for components, barriers against contaminants and/or radiation, and, as in the case of cell membranes, can be permeable to allow selected interactions between the interior and exterior. [...]
A pillar constructed and positioned using DNA nanotechnology holds two gold nanoparticles and a dye molecule to enhance fluorescence over a hundred fold.
Two open access reviews portray the widening approach of DNA nanotechnology toward more complex atomically precise systems.
A simple DNA scaffold organizes light-collecting molecules for artificial photosynthesis.
Biotechnology-based isolation and amplification of sequence-verified clones of DNA oligonucleotides will provide longer and less expensive materials for building complex DNA nanostructures and nanomachinery.
Quantum dots are semiconducting, nanoscale clusters that show electronic characteristics distinct from both bulk-scale materials and single molecules. Their special characteristics make quantum dots attractive for a broad range of potential applications, including photovoltaics and nanoscale transistors. The size and shape of quantum dots impact electrical properties and can therefore be used to tune the [...]