A temporary tattoo to help control a chronic disease might someday be possible, according to scientists at Baylor College of Medicine who tested antioxidant nanoparticles created at Rice University. A proof-of-principle study led by Baylor scientist Christine Beeton, published by Nature’s online, open-access journal Scientific Reports, shows that nanoparticles modified with polyethylene glycol are conveniently…
Graphene Nanoribbons Could Repair Damaged Spinal Cords
The combination of graphene nanoribbons made with a process developed at Rice University and a common polymer could someday be of critical importance to healing damaged spinal cords in people, according to Rice chemist James Tour. The Tour lab has spent a decade working with graphene nanoribbons, starting with the discovery of a chemical process…
Graphene Nanoribbons Act as Nature’s Copycat
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) bend and twist easily in solution, making them adaptable for biological uses like DNA analysis, drug delivery, and biomimetic applications, according to scientists at Rice University. Knowing the details of how GNRs behave in a solution will help make them suitable for wide use in biomimetics, according to Rice physicist Ching-Hwa Kiang,…
Unique Properties of Ultra-flat Circuits Explored
The old rules don’t necessarily apply when building electronic components out of two-dimensional materials, according to scientists at Rice University. The Rice lab of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson analyzed hybrids that put 2D materials like graphene and boron nitride side by side to see what happens at the border. They found that the electronic characteristics…
Spider Silk Offers Clues to Semiconducting Circuit Behavior
New discoveries about spider silk could inspire novel materials to manipulate sound and heat in the same way semiconducting circuits manipulate electrons, according to scientists at Rice University, in Europe, and in Singapore. A paper in Nature Materials looks at the microscopic structure of spider silk and reveals unique characteristics in the way it transmits…
“Rivet Graphene” Useful for Electronics
Nanoscale “rivets” give graphene qualities that may speed the wonder material’s adoption in products like flexible, transparent electronics, according to researchers at Rice University. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour has reported the creation of “rivet graphene,” two-dimensional carbon that incorporates carbon nanotubes for strength and carbon spheres that encase iron nanoparticles, which enhance…
“Missing Tooth” Sends Drugs to Hard-to-Reach Body Locations
A gap-toothed peptide created by bioengineers at Rice University may be an efficient way to deliver insoluble drugs to precise locations in the body. Rice bioengineer Jeffrey Hartgerink and his students made a hydrogel of what they call “missing tooth” peptide nanofibers. Gaps in the fibers are designed to hold drug molecules that have hydrophobic…