Probing magnetic materials with extreme ultraviolet radiation allows to obtain a detailed microscopic picture of how magnetic systems interact with light – the fastest way to manipulate a magnetic material. A team of researchers led by the Max Born Institute has now provided the experimental and theoretical groundwork to interpret such spectroscopic signals. The results…
Why a Deeper Knowledge of Chemistry is Needed to Drive Biologic Drug Innovation
Celebrating the Invention of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
I left graduate school hoping never to see a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) ever again. My thesis project of more than 30 years ago required the analytical power promised by the combination of chromatographic separation and positive identification with a mass spectrometer. That power was embodied in a frequently temperamental, relatively high-maintenance early benchtop instrument…
Chemists Build a Better Cancer-Killing Drill
An international team of scientists is getting closer to perfecting molecule-sized motors that drill through the surface of cancer cells, killing them in an instant. Researchers at Rice University, Durham (U.K.) University and North Carolina State University reported their success at activating the motors with precise two-photon excitation via near-infrared light. Unlike the ultraviolet light…
Synthesis of Helical Ladder Polymers
Ladder polymers — molecules made of adjacent rings sharing two or more atoms — are challenging to synthesize, because they require highly selective, quantitative reactions to avoid the formation of branching structures or of interruptions in the ring sequence in the polymer chain. Moreover, most existing strategies for the synthesis of ladder polymers suffer from…
Investigating the Metabolic Impact of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
Applying Precious Metal Catalysts Economically
Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the Fritz Haber Institute Berlin have developed a new method of using rare and expensive catalysts as sparingly as possible. They enclosed a precious metal salt in outer shells, tiny micelles, and had them strike against a carbon electrode, thus coating the surface with nanoparticles of the precious metal contained…
Research Team Leads the Way in a Green Chemistry Breakthrough For Renewables
Driving Chemical Reactions With Light
New Digital Filter Approach Aims to Improve Chemical Measurements
New Polymer Films Conduct Heat Instead of Trapping It
Polymers are usually the go-to material for thermal insulation. Think of a silicone oven mitt, or a Styrofoam coffee cup, both manufactured from polymer materials that are excellent at trapping heat. Now MIT engineers have flipped the picture of the standard polymer insulator, by fabricating thin polymer films that conduct heat — an ability normally…
Squid Skin Inspires Creation of Next-Generation Space Blanket
Drawing design inspiration from the skin of stealthy sea creatures, engineers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a next-generation, adaptive space blanket that gives users the ability to control their temperature. The innovation is detailed in a study published today in Nature Communications. “Ultra-lightweight space blankets have been around for decades – you…
Coffee Machine Helped Physicists to Make Ion Traps More Efficient
Scientists from ITMO University have developed and applied a new method for analyzing the electromagnetic field inside ion traps. For the first time, they explained the field deviations inside nonlinear radio-frequency traps. This allows to reconsider the prospects nonlinear traps applications, including ion cooling and studies of quantum phenomena. The results are published in the…
Green Plastic Production Made Easy
A one-step method enables scalable and more environmentally friendly production of plant-derived plastic monomers, paving the way towards the mass production of a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based materials. An international team, including Kiyotaka Nakajima of Hokkaido University, Japan, and Emiel Hensen of Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, has developed an energy-efficient method to synthesize…
New Method Inverts the Self-Assembly of Liquid Crystals
In liquid crystals, molecules automatically arrange themselves in an ordered fashion. Researchers from the University of Luxembourg have discovered a method that allows an anti-ordered state, which will enable novel material properties and potentially new technical applications, such as artificial muscles for soft robotics. They published their findings in the scientific journal Science Advances. The…
Oregon Scientists Drill Into White Graphene to Create Artificial Atoms
How to Get the Perfect Gas Mixture
What happens if your gas mixing ratios or compositions are off in your experiment? You must start over because now your data is corrupt. One way to remove this variable is to choose the right flow controller to control two or more gases to form a mixture (blended) in a chamber until the specified concentrations…
Observing a Molecule Stretch and Bend in Real-Time
Being able to watch how molecules bend, stretch, break, or transform, during chemical reactions requires, to an extent, state-of-the-art instruments and techniques that can observe and track, with sub-atomic spatial and few-femtoseconds temporal resolution, all the atoms within a molecule and how they behave during such a change. About 20 years ago, scientists came up…
New Polymer Mixture Key to Ultra-Sensitive Heat Sensors
A new ultra-sensitive heat sensor could have applications in everything from smart bandages to smart buildings, thanks to a new polymer mixture that yields strong signals with just slight temperature differences. Researchers from the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University created the flexible, transparent and printable sensors by utilizing certain thermoelectric materials. “The material…
Same Properties, Lower Cost—Copper-Based Alternative for Next-Generation Electronics
Japanese scientists have developed a technique to transform a copper-based substance into a material that mimics properties of precious and pricey metals such as gold and silver. The new medium, made of copper nanoparticles (very small copper-based structures) has promising applications in the production of electronic devices that would otherwise depend on expensive gold and…
Mirrors Control Chemical Selectivity
A chemical reaction transforms the molecules that make up matter. To influence chemical reactions, chemists typically act on the molecules themselves, rather than the space in which the reaction takes places. However, researchers at the University of Strasbourg have shown that chemical reactions can indeed be influenced simply by conducting them between two appropriately spaced…
New Approach Useful for Assembling Nanoparticles
A new “oil-and-vinegar” approach to self-assembling materials with unusual architectures comprised of spherical nanoparticles could be useful for a number of applications including optics, plasmonics, electronics and multi-stage chemical catalysis. A research team from Duke University has developed a new technique that takes advantage of the layers formed by liquids that refuse to mix together,…
Wristband Samplers Show Similar Chemical Exposure Across Three Continents
To assess differences and trends in personal chemical exposure, Oregon State University researchers deployed chemical-sampling wristbands to individuals on three continents. After they analyzed the wristbands that were returned, they found that no two wristbands had identical chemical detections. But the same 14 chemicals were detected in more than 50 percent of the wristbands returned…
Monoclonal Antibody Characterization Using Dual-Channel Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography
The volume of biopharmaceuticals reaching the clinic continues to increase, and these products now account for an estimated 40 percent of the overall pharmaceutical pipeline, according to a recent report from industry consultants BioPlan Associates. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are currently amongst the largest of the different classes of biotherapeutic products, with their success driven in…
Research Team Makes Strides Towards Synthetic Cells
The ability to develop artificial membranes that mimic complex living cells can provide insight into the building blocks of life and pave the way for scientists to someday create a slew of artificial systems, including artificial blood, immune cells and organelles, that could ultimately help treat diseases. A research team led by Neal Devaraj, PhD,…