News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

MIT engineers have shown that they can enhance the performance of drug-delivery nanoparticles by controlling a trait of chemical structures known as chirality—the "handedness" of the structure. The MIT team found that coating nanoparticles with the right-handed form of the amino acid cysteine helped the particles to avoid being destroyed by enzymes in the body. This finding could help researchers to design more effective carriers for drugs to treat cancer.

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a method that could make reproducible manufacturing at the nanoscale possible. The team adapted a light-based technology used widely in biology—known as optical traps or optical tweezers—to build a novel nanowire heterostructure, which is a nanowire consisting of distinct sections comprised of different materials.

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a method that could make reproducible manufacturing at the nanoscale possible. The team adapted a light-based technology used widely in biology—known as optical traps or optical tweezers—to build a novel nanowire heterostructure, which is a nanowire consisting of distinct sections comprised of different materials.

An international team of researchers has used nanoparticles to deliver a drug into specific compartments of nerve cells, dramatically increasing its ability to treat pain in mice and rats. The drug that the researchers encapsulated into nanoparticles is an FDA-approved drug used to prevent nausea and vomiting that had previously failed clinical trials as a pain medication.

An international team of researchers has used nanoparticles to deliver a drug into specific compartments of nerve cells, dramatically increasing its ability to treat pain in mice and rats. The drug that the researchers encapsulated into nanoparticles is an FDA-approved drug used to prevent nausea and vomiting that had previously failed clinical trials as a pain medication.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have devised a scheme for assembling light-absorbing molecules and water-splitting catalysts on a nanoparticle-coated electrode. The result is the production of hydrogen gas fuel via artificial photosynthesis—a lab-based mimic of the natural process aimed at generating clean energy from sunlight.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have devised a scheme for assembling light-absorbing molecules and water-splitting catalysts on a nanoparticle-coated electrode. The result is the production of hydrogen gas fuel via artificial photosynthesis—a lab-based mimic of the natural process aimed at generating clean energy from sunlight.

Researchers have found that nanocrystal formation is key to improving the performance of magnesium-containing rechargeable batteries.

Researchers have found that nanocrystal formation is key to improving the performance of magnesium-containing rechargeable batteries.

Chemists at Northwestern University have used visible light and nanoparticles to quickly and simply make molecules that are of the same class as many lead compounds for drug development. The nanoparticles are known as quantum dots – so small they are only a few nanometers across. But the small size is power, providing the material with attractive optical and electronic properties not possible at greater length scales.