Carbon nanotubes that look like asbestos, behave like asbestos

Washington, DC A major study published today in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes a poster child for the nanotechnology revolution could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sufficient quantities. The study used established methods to see if specific types of ...

Carbon Nanotubes That Look Like Asbestos, Behave Like Asbestos

New study shows inhaling long, thin carbon nanotubes may result in asbestos-related disease WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A major study published today in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes -- a poster child for the "nanotechnology revolution" -- co...

Radio waves fire up nanotubes embedded in tumors, destroying liver cancer

HOUSTON - Cancer cells treated with carbon nanotubes can be destroyed by non-invasive radio waves that heat up the nanotubes while sparing untreated tissue, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and Rice University has shown in preclinical experi...

Scientists get first look at nanotubes inside living animals

HOUSTON, Sept. 24, 2007 -- Rice University scientists have captured the first optical images of carbon nanotubes inside a living organism. Using fruit flies, the researchers confirmed that a technique developed at Rice -- near-infrared fluorescent imaging -- was capable of detecting DNA-sized nano...

Researchers effectively treat tumors with use of nanotubes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. By injecting man-made, microscopic tubes into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, scientists have discovered a way to effectively kill kidney tumors in nearly 80 percent of mice. Researchers say that the finding suggests a potential future cancer tr...

Novel Light Weight Polymers Made Up of Carbon Nanotubes

University of Virginia engineering professor Mool C. Gupta and his team have used carbon nanotubes to unite the virtues of plastics and metals in a new ultra-lightweight , conductive material that may revolutionize electromagnetic shielding and more. The team's innovation will be honored with...

Report: Asbestos Litigation Disaster for Investors Could Be Repeated With Nanotechnology Unless SEC and FASB Close Eight Major Loopholes Now Preventing Honest Disclosures

...es from which workers need protection. Carbon nanotubes are one type of nanotechnology. Some forms of thes...Researchers have concluded that "long, thin carbon nanotubes showed the same effects as long, thin asbestos fib...ll the growing concern, companies producing carbon nanotubes have failed to disclose to investors whether the...

MIT scientist launches special nanoscience symposia at ACS National Meeting

... of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. Topic: Stimuli Responsive Coatings: From Mechanomutable nanotubes to Functionalized Living Cells (CHED 1185, 3 p.m.) Jeff Tza-Huei Wang, Ph.D., Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Th...

Risk-Management Policies Needed Now in Nanotechnology, Insighter Piece Concludes; FDLI Sponsors Nanotechnology Meeting, Publishes Book on FDA-Regulated Products

...bers. Because they are as light as plastic and stronger than steel, carbon nanotubes will likely see use in a variety of new applications, including medical nan...city studies, scientists found that inhaling long, thin multi-walled carbon nanotubes had the potential to cause lung disorders similar to those caused by expo...

UC San Diego engineers develop novel method for accelerated bone growth

... to help accelerate bone growth through the use of nanotubes and stem cells. This new finding could lead to qui...ymal stem cells on top of very thin titanium oxide nanotubes in order to control the conversion paths, called d...esearch is that if the surgeon uses titanium oxide nanotubes with stem cells, the bone healing could be acceler...

Nanotubes in Biological News

MIT nanotubes sniff out cancer agents in living cells

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--MIT engineers have developed carbon nanotubes into sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells. The sensors, made of carbon nanotubes wrapped in DNA, can detect chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin as well as environmental toxins and free radical...

Slipping through cell walls, nanotubes deliver high-potency punch to cancer tumors in mice

The problem with using a shotgun to kill a housefly is that even if you get the pest, you'll likely do a lot of damage to your home in the process. Hence the value of the more surgical flyswatter. Cancer researchers have long faced a similar situation in chemotherapy: how to get the most medica...

Livermore researchers use carbon nanotubes for molecular transport

LIVERMORE, Calif. - Molecular transport across cellular membranes is essential to many of life's processes, for example electrical signaling in nerves, muscles and synapses. In biological systems, the membranes often contain a slippery inner surface with selective filter regions made up of spec...

Spin control: New technique sorts nanotubes by length

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have reported* a new technique to sort batches of carbon nanotubes by length using high-speed centrifuges. Many potential applications for carbon nanotubes depend on the lengths of these microscopic cylinders, and one of the ...

Using carbon nanotubes to seek and destroy anthrax toxin and other harmful proteins

Troy, N.Y. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new way to seek out specific proteins, including dangerous proteins such as anthrax toxin, and render them harmless using nothing but light. The technique lends itself to the creation of new antibacterial and antimicrobia...

Using nanotubes to detect and repair cracks in aircraft wings, other structures

Troy, N.Y. Adding even a small amount of carbon nanotubes can go a long way toward enhancing the strength, integrity, and safety of plastic materials widely used in engineering applications, according to a new study. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a simple new t...

UConn chemists find secret to increasing luminescence efficiency of carbon nanotubes

STORRS, Conn. - Chemists at the University of Connecticut have found a way to greatly increase the luminescence efficiency of single-walled carbon nanotubes, a discovery that could have significant applications in medical imaging and other areas. Increasing the luminescence efficiency of carbo...

The gold standard: Biodesign Institute researchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes

Arizona State University researchers Hao Yan and Yan Liu imagine and assemble intricate structures on a scale almost unfathomably small. Their medium is the double-helical DNA molecule, a versatile building material offering near limitless construction potential. In the January 2, 2009 issue o...

Researchers make breakthrough in the production of double-walled carbon nanotubes

In recent years, the possible applications for double-walled carbon nanotubes have excited scientists and engineers, particularly those working on developing renewable energy technologies. These tiny tubes, just two carbon atoms thick, are thin enough to be transparent, yet can still conduct elect...

Simulations help explain fast water transport in nanotubes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. By discovering the physical mechanism behind the rapid transport of water in carbon nanotubes, scientists at the University of Illinois have moved a step closer to ultra-efficient, next-generation nanofluidic devices for drug delivery, water purification and nano-manufacturing. ...

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Nanotubes in Biological Technology

Biomimetic-engineering design can replace spaghetti tangle of nanotubes in novel material

Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) devices have the potential to revolutionize the world of sensors: motion, chemical, temperature, etc. But taking electromechanical devices from the micro scale down to the nano requires finding a means to dissipate the heat output of this tiny gadgetry. In ...

Fitter frames: Nanotubes boost structural integrity of composites

Troy, N.Y. A new research discovery at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute could lead to tougher, more durable composite frames for aircraft, watercraft, and automobiles. Epoxy composites are increasingly being incorporated into the design of new jets, planes, and other vehicles. Composite materi...

UB engineers prove that carbon nanotubes are superior to metals for electronics

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In the quest to pack ever-smaller electronic devices more densely with integrated circuits, nanotechnology researchers keep running up against some unpleasant truths: higher current density induces electromigration and thermomigration, phenomena that damage metal conductors and ...

Spinning carbon nanotubes spawns new wireless applications

The University of Cincinnati has long been known for its world-record-breaking carbon nanotubes. Now researchers at the University of Cincinnati have discovered new uses by spinning carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into longer fibers with additional useful properties. Breakthroughs Without Broken Thre...

Semiconducting nanotubes produced in quantity at Duke

DURHAM, N.C. -- After announcing last April a method for growing exceptionally long, straight, numerous and well-aligned carbon cylinders only a few atoms thick, a Duke University-led team of chemists has now modified that process to create exclusively semiconducting versions of these single-walle...

Dry adhesive based on carbon nanotubes gets stronger, with directional gripping ability

The race for the best "gecko foot" dry adhesive got a new competitor this week with a stronger and more practical material reported in the journal Science by a team of researchers from four U.S. institutions. Scientists have long been interested in the ability of gecko lizards to scurry up wall...

Tsunami invisibility cloak, dark energy v. the void, sorting nanotubes with light, and more

Tsunami Invisibility Cloak M. Farhat, S. Enoch, S. Guenneau and A.B. Movchan Physical Review Letters (forthcoming) Rather than building stronger ocean-based structures to withstand tsunamis, it might be easier to simply make the structures disappear. A collaboration of physicists from th...

True properties of carbon nanotubes measured

EVANSTON, Ill. --- For more than 15 years, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been the flagship material of nanotechnology. Researchers have conceived applications for nanotubes ranging from microelectronic devices to cancer therapy. Their atomic structure should, in theory, give them mechanical and ele...

Carbon nanotubes made into conductive, flexible 'stained glass'

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Carbon nanotubes are promising materials for many high-technology applications due to their exceptional mechanical, thermal, chemical, optical and electrical properties. Now researchers at Northwestern University have used metallic nanotubes to make thin films that are semitr...

The future of computing -- carbon nanotubes and superconductors to replace the silicon chip

The future of computing is under the spotlight at the Institute of Physics Condensed Matter and Materials Physics conference at the Royal Holloway College of the University of London on 26-28 March. The end of the silicon chip The silicon chip, which has supplied several decades worth of ...