March 30, 2009: The global pharmaceutical and chemical giant Merck is teaming up with Yissum Research Development Co. Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to develop a semiconductor nanoparticle technology for display applications.

They will jointly develop an application invented by Uri Banin from the Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at Hebrew University.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will license QLight Nanotech’s semiconductor nanoparticle technology for optical applications and will sponsor an R&D program to be conducted by QLight Nanotech over the next three years. QLight Nanotech will contribute its experience in nanoparticle research, particularly in synthesizing and manipulating new nanoparticles, and Merck will contribute its expertise in the specialty materials field and in large-scale production of sophisticated chemical formulations, which will be used for producing large quantities of the nanoparticles developed at QLight Nanotech.

Flat-screen displays are ubiquitous in computer and television screens, and are mainly manufactured based on liquid crystal technology (LCD). QLight Nanotech’s new technology promise to enable development of both flexible and very large displays, including advertising displays, large-scale video and TV walls.

March 30, 2009: Chemists at the University of Illinois have created a simple and inexpensive molecular technique that replaces an expensive atomic force microscope for studying what happens to small molecules when they are stretched or compressed.

The researchers use stiff stilbene, a small, inert structure, as a molecular force probe to generate well-defined forces on various molecules, atom by atom.

“By pulling on different pairs of atoms, we can explore what happens when we stretch a molecule in different ways,” said chemistry professor Roman Boulatov. “That information tells us a lot about the properties of fleeting structures called transition states that govern how, and how fast, chemical transformations occur.”

Boulatov, research associate Qing-Zheng Yang, postdoctoral researcher Daria Khvostichenko, and graduate students Zhen Huang and Timothy Kucharski describe the molecular force probe and present early results in a paper accepted for publication in Nature Nanotechnology.

Similar to the force that develops when a rubber band is stretched, restoring forces occur in parts of molecules when they are stretched. Those restoring forces contain information about how much the molecule was distorted, and in what direction.

The molecular force probe allows reaction rates to be measured as a function of the restoring force in a molecule that has been stretched or compressed.

This information is essential for developing a chemomechanical kinetic theory that explains how force affects rates of chemical transformations.

Such a theory will help researchers better understand a host of complex phenomena, from the operation of motor proteins that underlie the action of muscles, to the propagation of cracks in polymers and the mechanisms by which living cells sense forces in their surroundings.

“Localized reactions offer the best opportunity to gain fundamental insights into the interplay of reaction rates and molecular restoring forces,” Boulatov said, “but these reactions are extremely difficult to study with a microscopic force probe.”

Microscopic force probes, which are utilized by atomic force microscopes, are much too large to grab onto a single pair of atoms. Measuring microns in size, the probe tips contact many atoms at once, smearing experimental results.

“By replacing microscopic force probes with small molecules like stiff stilbene, we can study the relationship between restoring force and reaction rate for localized reactions,” Boulatov said. “The more accurately we know where our probe acts, the better control we have over the distortion, and the easier it is to interpret the results.”

Using conventional methods, Boulatov and his students first attach stiff stilbene to a molecule they wish to study. Then they irradiate the resulting molecular assembly with visible light. The light causes the stilbene to change from a fully relaxed shape to one that exerts a desired force on the molecule. The chemists then measure the reaction rate of the molecule as a function of temperature, which reveals details of what caused the reaction to accelerate.

One type of chemical transformation the researchers studied is the breaking of one strong (covalent) chemical bond at a time. The experimental results were sometimes counterintuitive.

“Unlike a rubber band, which will always break faster when stretched, pulling on some chemical bonds doesn’t make them break any faster; and sometimes it’s a bond that you don’t pull on that will break instead of the one you do pull,” Boulatov said. “That’s because experiences in the macroscopic world do not map particularly well to the molecular world.”

Molecules do not live in a three-dimensional world, Boulatov said. Molecules populate a multi-dimensional world, where forces applied to a pair of atoms can act in more than three dimensions.

“Even small molecules will stretch and deform in many different ways,” Boulatov said, “making the study of molecular forces even more intriguing.”

March 30, 2009: In response to the growth and development of nanotechnology companies that produce and use nanoscale materials, SOCMA‘s Nanotechnology SME Coalition has expanded its membership categories to address their specific needs. This new service comes on the heels of SOCMA’s recent name change to the Society of Chemical Manufactures and Affiliates, reflecting the organization’s commitment to the batch, custom and specialty chemical industry, the group announced in a news release.

While chemical producers still play an important role in creating new chemical substances, nanotech startups and other companies associated with nanotechnology have expanded their products and services. One new membership category is for nanotech startups which will boost chemical industry growth as they move from venture-backed research operations to fully developed private and public companies.

As new nanoscale products are developed and regulatory agencies increase their activity, startups will face challenges in safety when bringing these products to the marketplace. In fact, nanotechnology is one of the drivers for calls for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), an important chemical control statute.

There are many companies that have interests in the business of nanotechnology but do not specifically produce or use nanomaterials. These companies would join as associate members and, as such, may participate in meetings, conference calls and SOCMA Nanotechnology SME Coalition events as well as offer their input to comments, position papers, or presentations that the Coalition may prepare. Companies that would qualify as Associate members include, but are not limited to, consultants, law firms, laboratories, research organizations and other industry trade groups. A reduced dues rate is currently available for these new membership categories.

SOCMA’s Nanotechnology SME Coalition represents companies of all sizes, including small and mid-sized entrepreneurial companies, engaged in the manufacture, use, or sale of nanoscale products. The coalition focuses on environmental, safety, and health issues to promote a positive public perception of the nanotech industry, advocate on behalf of the industry to the regulatory agencies (e.g. EPA, OSHA and FDA), address standards and definitions in nanotechnology, coordinate with other nanotechnology trade associations, advocacy organizations and business groups, as well as to act as an industry voice.

As a networking forum for its members, the coalition facilitates information exchange, dissemination of regulatory and legislative updates, and sharing of the best practices for development of nanotechnology stewardship programs.

SOCMA was formerly known as the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association.

March 27, 2009: Imagine if all you had to do to charge your iPod or your BlackBerry was to wave your hand, or stretch your arm, or take a walk? You could say goodbye to batteries and never have to plug those devices into a power source again.

In research presented at the American Chemical Society’s 237th National Meeting, scientists from Georgia describe technology that converts mechanical energy from body movements or even the flow of blood in the body into electric energy that can be used to power a broad range of electronic devices without using batteries.

“This research will have a major impact on defense technology, environmental monitoring, biomedical sciences and even personal electronics,” says lead researcher Zhong Lin Wang, Regents’ Professor, School of Material Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The new “nanogenerator” could have countless applications, among them a way to run electronic devices used by the military when troops are far in the field.

The researchers describe harvesting energy from the environment by converting low-frequency vibrations, like simple body movements, the beating of the heart or movement of the wind, into electricity, using zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires that conduct the electricity. The ZnO nanowires are piezoelectric — they generate an electric current when subjected to mechanical stress. The diameter and length of the wire are 1/5,000th and 1/25th the diameter of a human hair.

In generating energy from movement, Wang says his team concluded that it was most effective to develop a method that worked at low frequencies and was based on flexible materials. The ZnO nanowires met these requirements. At the same time, he says a real advantage of this technology is that the nanowires can be grown easily on a wide variety of surfaces, and the nanogenerators will operate in the air or in liquids once properly packaged. Among the surfaces on which the nanowires can be grown are metals, ceramics, polymers, clothing and even tents.

Schematic illustration shows the microfiber-nanowire hybrid nanogenerator, which is the basis of using fabrics for generating electricity. (Credit: Z. L. Wang and X. D. Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology.)

“Quite simply, this technology can be used to generate energy under any circumstances as long as there is movement,” according to Wang.

To date, he says that there have been limited methods created to produce nanopower despite the growing need by the military and defense agencies for nanoscale sensing devices used to detect bioterror agents. The nanogenerator would be particularly critical to troops in the field, where they are far from energy sources and need to use sensors or communication devices. In addition, having a sensor which doesn’t need batteries could be extremely useful to the military and police sampling air for potential bioterrorism attacks in the United States, Wang says.

While biosensors have been miniaturized and can be implanted under the skin, he points out that these devices still require batteries, and the new nanogenerator would offer much more flexibility.

A major advantage of this new technology is that many nanogenerators can produce electricity continuously and simultaneously. On the other hand, the greatest challenge in developing these nanogenerators is to improve the output voltage and power, he says.

Last year Wang’s group presented a study on nanogenerators driven by ultrasound. Today’s research represents a much broader application of nanogenerators as driven by low-frequency body movement.

March 26, 2009: Forget dancing angels — a research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) has shown how to detect and monitor the tiny amount of light reflected directly off the needle point of an atomic force microscope probe. In so doing they have demonstrated a 100-fold improvement in the stability of the instrument’s measurements under ambient conditions.

Their work, recently reported in Nano Letters potentially affects a broad range of research from nanomanufacturing to biology, where sensitive, atomic-scale measurements must be made at room temperature in liquids.

Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are one of the workhorse tools of nanotechnology. AFMs have a sharp, pointed probe fixed to one end of a diving-board-like cantilever. As the probe is scanned across a sample, atomic-scale forces tug at the probe tip, deflecting the cantilever. By reflecting a laser beam from the top of the cantilever, researchers can sense changes in the force and build up a nanoscale topographic image of the sample. The instruments are terrifically versatile — in various configurations they can image electrostatic forces, chemical bonds, magnetic forces and other atomic-scale interactions.

While extremely sensitive to atomic-scale features, AFMs also are extremely sensitive to interference from acoustic noise, temperature shifts and vibration, among other factors. This makes it difficult or impossible either to hold the probe in one place to observe the specimen under it over time (useful for studying the dynamics of proteins) or to move the probe away and return to exactly the same spot (potentially useful for nanoscale manufacturing).

“At this scale, it’s like trying to hold a pen and draw on a sheet of paper while riding in a jeep,” observes NIST physicist Thomas Perkins. A few instruments in specialized labs, including some at NIST, solve this problem by operating at extremely cold temperatures in ultra-high vacuums and in heavily isolated environments, but those options aren’t available for the vast majority of AFMs — in bioscience laboratories, for example, where the specimen often must be immersed in a fluid.

The solution, devised at CU’s Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA), uses two additional laser beams to sense the three-dimensional motion of both the test specimen and the AFM probe. The beams are held stable relative to each other to provide a common reference. To hold the specimen, the team uses a transparent substrate with tiny silicon disks (“fiducial marks”) embedded in it at regular intervals. One laser beam is focused on one of these disks. A small portion of the light scatters backwards to a detector.

Any lateral vibration or drift of the sample shows up at the detector as a motion of the spot while any vertical movement shows up as a change in light intensity. A similar trick with the second beam is used to detect vibration or drift in the probe tip, with the added complication that the system has to work with the scant amount of light reflected off the apex of the AFM probe. Unwanted motion of the tip relative to the sample is corrected on the fly by moving the substrate in the opposite direction.

“This is the same idea as active noise cancellation headphones, but applied to atomic force microscopy,” says Perkins.

In its most recent work, the JILA team has controlled the probe’s position in three dimensions to better than 40 picometers (1nm = 1000 picometers) over 100 seconds. In imaging applications, they showed the long-term drift at room temperature was a mere 5 picometers per minute, a 100-fold improvement over the best previous results under ambient conditions. Just like photographers use the stability of a tripod and longer exposures to improve picture quality, the JILA team used their improved stability to scan the AFM probe more slowly, leading to a 5-fold improvement in AFM image quality. And as a bonus, says Perkins: the technique works with standard commercial probes.