Blog @ NanoVic - Nanotechnology Blog

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and the University of Akron - Ohio, have created synthetic “gecko tape” (see news article pointed out by the Foresight Nanotech Institute). The team manufactured a polymer surface covered in carbon nanotubes that imitate the microscopic hairs on a gecko’s footpad. These work by forming weak bonds on contact that can be broken through movement. The team have transformed this polymer into a flexible patch that can stick and restick with up to four times the ’stickability’ of a gecko’s foot. Spiderman suits can’t be far away - good news for students designing superhero suits as part of the SHINE year 10 nanotechnology elective (see Module 3 in the Teacher’s section).

When I was at the NSTI Nanotech 2007 conference in late May, I listened to Caroline Baier-Anderson from Environmental Defense present the risk framework for nanotechnology that was developed in partnership with DuPont. The framework provides a process for the evaulation of environmental, health and safety risks with regards to the development of nanotechnology products.  Environmental Defense and DuPont have now publicly released their Nano Risk Framework. 

The New Scientist reports on the efforts of Andre Godin and Prof Jennfier West at Rice University who have used gold nanospheres for both cancer treatment and imaging mechanisms.  The gold-coated silica nanospheres are injected into the bloodstream and then accumulate at tumour sites where the blood vessels are leakier.  The tumour site is illuminated with an infrared laser, which creates a process that causes heat and kills the cells surrounding the nanopsheres.  The team has now also enabled the nanospheres to scatter some of the infrared light, allowing the spheres to also act as an imaging agent and saving a trip to the MRI.  One particle “detects and destroys” tumours, saving further drug delivery and treatment length.

Over the last three years Bridge8 has become an integral part of NanoVic’s activities, bringing new perspectives on the future of nanotechnology in our society, based on the expertise of Dr Kristin Alford.  This has shaped our thinking about fundamental issues such as the role of public debate in directing a technology, the importance of having new technologies address social inequities, and the opportunity for competitive advantage through education.  Bridge8 has also helped us think through the topic of molecular manufacturing – a topic most conventional nanotechnology tries to avoid, but which may in some form be the future of the technology; we cannot afford to dismiss it unconsidered.

Kristin has now set up a new forum for discussion of the perspectives, applications, creative pursuits and social issues related to innovation and emerging technologies, with a focus on nanotechnologies. The Bridge8 blog, is an important addition to the field and will add expertise and the insights from other industries to our understanding of nanotechnology.

Peter Binks, Francesca Calati and Amanda Clarke from St Helena Secondary College and myself will be presenting during the Education and Workforce Development Session for COMS 2007 in September in Melbourne.  We will be discussing how the St Helena Innovative Nanotechnology Education (SHINE) program moved from an idea to be a fully integrated program at the school, that is now seeking to provide access to the curriculum for other schools.  We will cover the curriculum and the effects it is having on students learning science and look at the value of school education programs for the nanotechnology workforce in Australia.  To find more about SHINE, read the NanoVic blog on the opening or see our news items.

When chemist Fraser Stoddart recently celebrated his 65th birthday at “The Young(ish) Giants of Chemistry” conference in Edinburgh, UK, he might have been surprised to discover that one of his gifts was an original portrait of himself.  However, this wasn’t any normal portrait - this was a portrait so small you need a microscope to see it! The 20 micrometre-sized work of art was produced by Chad Mirkin of Northwestern University, Illinois, using a technique he developed known as Dip-Pen Nanolithography. This technique uses an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip to write onto surfaces using molecular ink and is now used in labs across the world for studying materials at the nanoscale.  What a creative way to apply such a scientific tool!

When we buy a kg of flour how do we really know that we’re getting a kilogram? Scientists at CSIRO are working on developing the perfect kilogram from a sphere of pure silicon and are within 35nm from perfection. A piece of fine hair accidentally dropped into a kg of flour would not be registered on the average scales, but would add a massive 50,000nm to the diameter of the CSIRO kilogram sphere. This work really is precision engineering at the nanoscale! 

The clinical potential of curcumin, which is a component of the ingredient turmeric commonly used in Indian cooking, has been widely investigated, in particular for tumour destruction and clearance of plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. However, due to its hydrophobic nature, the use of curcumin for disease treatment in humans has been somewhat limited as it is not easily taken up into the bloodstream.  A recent MIT web article describes work underway at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Delhi, where curcumin has been incorporated into polymer nanospheres which are 50nm in size. These curcumin/nanosphere structures are soluble in nature, which should enable them to enter the bloodstream more easily than curcumin alone. This is an exciting example of how the most modern technologies can be combined with natural materials, with the possibility of providing significant benefits in human healthcare.

We have written before about the nanotechnology that makes up switchable glass and how this technology by iGlass has been incorprated into the Eureka SkyDeck on the 88th floor. Well, I can now report that Larry Jordan and I have braved and survived The Edge (unlike a certain CEO who found a very important meeting he had to attend!). Some of the Western Bulldogs footballers there at the same time did not seem so keen either….

Larry and I are pictured with Raymond Lam and Jonathan Duckworth who designed ‘Serendipity’ an interactive 3D virtual interface table which is on show at the Eureka SkyDeck entrance.