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IBM and The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology Develop New Antimicrobial Hydrogel to Fight Superbugs and Drug-Resistant Biofilms

By Guest PostJanuary 24, 2013Health, Technologyalcohol, antibiotic, antimicrobial activity, antimicrobial hydrogel, aseptic techniques, biocompatible, biodegradable, biofilms, blackhole, bleach, cdc, conventional antibiotics, drug resistant bacteria, drug resistant biofilm, gravitation, health hazards, hydrogels, ibm, ibm research, infectious diseases, institute of bioengineering, james hedrick, macromolecule, microbial membranes, molecular structure, molecular zipper, nanomedicine solutions, Nanotechnology, new technology, non-toxic, orifice barriers, polymer, positive charge, skin infections, sterilization, synthetic antimicrobial hydrogel, synthetic hydrogel, united states, water solubility, yi yan yang

Applications range from protective coating to sterilize hospital surfaces and medical equipment or as an injection to more effectively treat patients

SAN JOSE, Calif. – 24 Jan 2013: Researchers from IBM and the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology revealed today an antimicrobial hydrogel that can break through diseased biofilms and completely eradicate drug-resistant bacteria upon contact. The synthetic hydrogel, which forms spontaneously when heated to body temperature, is the first-ever to be biodegradable, biocompatible and non-toxic, making it an ideal tool to combat serious health hazards facing hospital workers, visitors and patients.

Traditionally used for disinfecting various surfaces, antimicrobials can be found in traditional household items like alcohol and bleach. However, moving from countertops to treating drug resistant skin infections or infectious diseases in the body are proving to be more challenging as conventional antibiotics become less effective and many household surface disinfectants are not suitable for biological applications. (more…)

Researchers Create ‘Nanoflowers’ for Energy Storage, Solar Cells

By Guest PostOctober 18, 2012Scienceacs nano, atomic structure, batteries, carnation, chun li, device, energy storage, flow, flower like, flower structure, gayatri pongur snigdha, germanium sulfide, ges, ges nanoflower, ges powder, ges vapor, graphite, liang huang, linyou cao, lithium ion, marigold, material, micrometer, nanometer, next generation, non-toxic, north Carolina, petal, semiconductor, solar cell, state university, structure, surface area, toxic, useable power, vaporize, yifei yu

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created flower-like structures out of germanium sulfide (GeS) – a semiconductor material – that have extremely thin petals with an enormous surface area. The GeS flower holds promise for next-generation energy storage devices and solar cells.

“Creating these GeS nanoflowers is exciting because it gives us a huge surface area in a small amount of space,” says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the research. “This could significantly increase the capacity of lithium-ion batteries, for instance, since the thinner structure with larger surface area can hold more lithium ions. By the same token, this GeS flower structure could lead to increased capacity for supercapacitors, which are also used for energy storage.” (more…)

Photovoltaics from Any Semiconductor

By Guest PostJuly 29, 2012Sciencealex zettl, berkeley lab, cadmium telluride, coins, copper oxide, crystals of silicon, electric field, electrical current, feng wang, metal oxides, non-toxic, onur ergen, p n junctions, phosphides, photovoltaics, renewable energy, semiconductor, sfpv, solar cells, solar energy, steven byrnes, sulfides, will gannett, william regan

Berkeley Lab Technology Could Open Door to More Widespread Solar Energy Devices

A technology that would enable low-cost, high efficiency solar cells to be made from virtually any semiconductor material has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley. This technology opens the door to the use of plentiful, relatively inexpensive semiconductors, such as the promising metal oxides, sulfides and phosphides, that have been considered unsuitable for solar cells because it is so difficult to tailor their properties by chemical means.

“It’s time we put bad materials to good use,” says physicist Alex Zettl, who led this research along with colleague Feng Wang. “Our technology allows us to sidestep the difficulty in chemically tailoring many earth abundant, non-toxic semiconductors and instead tailor these materials simply by applying an electric field.” (more…)

MU Scientists Find Cinnamon Can Replace Harmful Chemicals Used to Create Nanoparticles

By Guest PostNovember 29, 2010Sciencecancer cells, cinnamon, electronics, fight cancer, gold nanoparticles, green process, kattesh katti, kitchen spice, nanoparticles, non-toxic, norman borlaug, toxic chemicals

*MU scientists make strides in green nanotechnology*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Gold nanoparticles, tiny pieces of gold so small that they can’t be seen by the naked eye, are used in electronics, healthcare products and as pharmaceuticals to fight cancer. Despite their positive uses, the process to make the nanoparticles requires dangerous and extremely toxic chemicals. While the nanotechnology industry is expected to produce large quantities of nanoparticles in the near future, researchers have been worried about the environmental impact of the global nanotechnological revolution. (more…)

Tag Archives: non-toxic

IBM and The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology Develop New Antimicrobial Hydrogel to Fight Superbugs and Drug-Resistant Biofilms

Researchers Create ‘Nanoflowers’ for Energy Storage, Solar Cells

Photovoltaics from Any Semiconductor

MU Scientists Find Cinnamon Can Replace Harmful Chemicals Used to Create Nanoparticles