Medical science is placing high hopes on nanoparticles that could be used as a vehicle for targeted drug delivery. Scientists have for the first time succeeded in assaying the stability of these particles and their distribution within the body. Their results show that a lot of research is still needed in this field.

Advances in manufacturing technology for ‘quantum dots’ may soon lead to a new generation of LED lighting that produces a more user-friendly white light, while using less toxic materials and low-cost manufacturing processes that take advantage of simple microwave heating. It could help the nation cut its lighting bill in half.

n two new studies, researchers from across the United States have begun to design the framework on which to build the emerging field of nanoinformatics — the combination of nanoscale research and informatics.

People with diabetes mellitus often suffer from impaired wound healing. Now, scientists have developed antibacterial nanofibres of cellulose acetate loaded with silver that could be used in a new type of dressing to promote tissue repair.

A DNA-loaded nanoparticle has been designed that can pass through the mucus barrier covering conducting airways of lung tissue. Nanotechnology could one day provide an inhaled vehicle to deliver targeted therapeutic genes for those suffering from life-threatening lung disorders, the investigators say.

Scientists describe in a new study how they constructed elastic conducting fibers by wrapping lighter-than-air, electrically conductive sheets of tiny carbon nanotubes to form a jelly-roll-like sheath around a long rubber core.

Scientists propose a novel nanotechnology-based strategy to improve water filtration. The project was an experiment in crowdsourced computing — carried out by over 150,000 volunteers who contributed their own computing power to the research.

For the first time, Harvard researchers have created wakes of light-like waves moving on a metallic surface, called surface plasmons, and demonstrated that they can be controlled and steered. The creation and control of surface plasmon wakes could lead to new types of plasmonic couplers and lenses that could create two-dimensional holograms or focus light at the nanoscale.