A Northwestern University research team has developed tiny optical elements from metal nanoparticles and a polymer that one day could replace traditional refractive lenses to realize portable imaging systems and optoelectronic devices. The flat and versatile lens, a type of metalens, has a thickness 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair. “This…
Bioresorbable Electronic Medicine Heals Damaged Nerves
Researchers at Northwestern University and Washington University School of Medicine have developed the first example of a bioresorbable electronic medicine: an implantable, biodegradable wireless device that speeds nerve regeneration and improves the healing of a damaged nerve. The collaborators — materials scientists and engineers at Northwestern and neurosurgeons at Washington University — developed a device…
Researchers Gain Unprecedented Control of Polymer Grids
Synthetic polymers are ubiquitous — nylon and polyester, Teflon and epoxy, to name just a few. All are made up of long, linear structures that can tangle. Chemists have long dreamed of making polymers with two-dimensional, grid-like formations, but this goal has proven challenging. The first examples of such structures, now known as covalent organic…
New Method Bends Light, Possibly for Cloaking Devices
Northwestern University researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind technique for creating entirely new classes of optical materials and devices that could lead to light bending and cloaking devices — news to make the ears of Star Trek’s Spock perk up. Using DNA as a key tool, the interdisciplinary team took gold nanoparticles of different sizes and…
Sugar-Coated Nanomaterial Excels at Promoting Bone Growth
Most Complex Nanoparticle Crystal Ever Made by Design
The most complex crystal designed and built from nanoparticles has been reported by researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. The work demonstrates that some of nature’s most complicated structures can be deliberately assembled if researchers can control the shapes of the particles and the way they connect using DNA. “This is a…
Sweat-Monitoring “Lab on the Skin”
A Northwestern University research team has developed a first-of-its-kind soft, flexible microfluidic device that easily adheres to the skin and measures the wearer’s sweat to show how his or her body is responding to exercise. A little larger than a quarter and about the same thickness, the simple, low-cost device analyzes key biomarkers to help…
New Electrical Energy Storage Material Shows its Power
A powerful new material developed by Northwestern University chemist William Dichtel and his research team could one day speed up the charging process of electric cars and help increase their driving range. An electric car currently relies on a complex interplay of both batteries and supercapacitors to provide the energy it needs to go places,…