There’s an urgent demand for new antimicrobial compounds that are effective against constantly emerging drug-resistant bacteria. Two robotic chemical-synthesizing machines at the Molecular Foundry have joined the search.

Scientists have carried out a study aimed at precisely controlling phase transformations with high spatial precision, which represents a significant step forward in realizing new functionalities in confined dimensions. Such a precise control of phase transformations opens up new avenues for materials design and processing, as well as advanced nanodevice fabrication.

Researchers have been studying mucus in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients, and their primary goal was to design inhalable therapeutic nanoparticles that cross the cystic fibrosis mucus barrier in the lung. But the work recently led the researchers to the unexpected discovery that mucus appears to change as the disease progresses; the mobility of these nanoparticles could vary widely in mucus from different patients.

Scientists have unlocked the secret to creating stable dynamic skyrmions – the nanoscale magnetic whirls that promise to meet our insatiable appetite for data storage

When scientists began making tiny organic circular structures using carbon atoms, the idea was to improve carbon nanotubes for use in electronics or optical devices. Now they believe this technique might roll solo. Researchers now show that these cycloparaphenylenes can be made using a variety of atoms, not just those from carbon.

Researchers have made the world’s smallest spirals and found they have unique optical properties that are nearly impossible to counterfeit if they were added to identity cards, currency and other objects.

Physicists have developed an experimental technique to simulate friction at the nanoscale. Using their technique, the researchers are able to directly observe individual atoms at the interface of two surfaces and manipulate their arrangement, tuning the amount of friction between the surfaces. By changing the spacing of atoms on one surface, they observed a point at which friction disappears.

Until recently, making a defect-free material was impossible. Now that nanotechnological advances have made such materials a reality, however, researchers have shown how these defects first form on the road to failure.

The ability of a carbon nanofiber pad to detect changing neurotransmitter concentrations was demonstrated in a proof-of-principle collaboration between engineers and neurosurgeons. The active area was one-tenth the size of current deep-brain-stimulation electrical contacts.

Researchers are giving new meaning to the term “read the fine print” with their demonstration of a color printing process using nanomaterials. In this case, the print features are very fine — visible only with the aid of a high-powered electron microscope.