Heated magnetic nanoparticles may be the future of eradicating cancer cells without harming healthy tissue, according to research from the University of Buffalo, USA. The nanoparticles strike tumours with significant heat under a low magnetic field.
Hao Zeng, Professor of Physics at Buffalo, said, ‘The main accomplishment of our work is the greatly enhanced heating performance of nanoparticles under low-field conditions suitable for clinical applications. The best heating power we obtained is close to the theoretical limit, greatly surpassing some of the best performing particles that other research teams have produced.’
Targeting technologies would first direct nanoparticles to tumours within the patient’s body. Exposure to an alternating magnetic field would prompt the particles’ magnetic orientation to flip back and forth hundreds of thousands of times a second, causing them to warm up as they absorb energy from the electromagnetic field and convert it to thermal energy.
Two particles have been tested – manganese-cobalt-ferrite and zinc ferrite. While the manganese particle reached maximum heating power under high magnetic fields, the biocompatible zinc ferrite was efficieny under an ultra-low field.
While this form of treatment, known as magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia, is not new, the Buffalo-designed particles are able to generate heat several times faster than the current standard.
Just in time for the icy grip of winter: A team of researchers led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has identified several mechanisms that make a new, cold-loving material one of the toughest metallic alloys ever. Nanoscale…
In a paper to be published in a forthcoming issue of Nano, a team of researchers from Henan University have investigated the flame retardant performance of epoxy resin using a boron nitride nanosheet decorated with cobalt ferrite nanoparticles.
Polymers are widely used in our daily lives due to good physical and chemical stability, corrosion resistance and other superior properties. However, most polymers, due to their organic nature, are inherently flammable which is a potential threat to the safety of human life and property. In order to avoid or reduce the flammability of polymers, it is a good strategy to add flame retardants to the polymers.
Among them, two-dimensional (2-D) layered inorganic nanomateirals (nanosheets), represented by graphene oxide,molybdenum disulfide, and boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS), exhibit excellent flame retardant performance due to their good physical barrier effects. However, the flame retardance is not enough in the use of such 2-D inorganic flame retardants alone, and in particular, the ability to suppress toxic gases and smoke is weak.
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, or NMC, is one of the most promising chemistries for better lithium batteries, especially for electric vehicle applications, but scientists have been struggling to get higher capacity out of them. Now researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory…
By combining multiple nanomaterials into a single structure, scientists can create hybrid materials that incorporate the best properties of each component and outperform any single substance. A controlled method for making triple-layered hollow nanostructures has now been developed at KAUST. The hybrid structures consist of a conductive organic core sandwiched between layers of electrocatalytically active metals: their potential uses range from better battery electrodes to renewable fuel production.
Although several methods exist to create two-layer materials, making three-layered structures has proven much more difficult, says Peng Wang from the Water Desalination and Reuse Center who co-led the current research with Professor Yu Han, member of the Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center at KAUST. The researchers developed a new, dual-template approach, explains Sifei Zhuo, a postdoctoral member of Wang’s team.
The researchers grew their hybrid nanomaterial directly on carbon paper—a mat of electrically conductive carbon fibers. They first produced a bristling forest of nickel cobalt hydroxyl carbonate (NiCoHC) nanowires onto the surface of each carbon fiber (image 1). Each tiny inorganic bristle was coated with an organic layer called hydrogen substituted graphdiyne (HsGDY) (image 2).
Pierced Jug with Harpies and Sphinxes Ewer A.H. 612/ A.D. 1215–16 Iran, probably Kashan Stonepaste; openwork decoration, polychrome painted under turquoise glaze
This jug has a carved and pierced outer shell that surrounds a solid inner container. The openwork with harpies, sphinxes, quadrupeds, and scrolls was first painted with touches of black and cobalt blue, and then the entire jug was covered in a turquoise glaze. The Persian verses around the rim were written by the poet Rukn al‑Din Da'vidar Qummi, and an anonymous love poem near the base includes the date of production.
