A four-step unidirectional molecular motor driven by light and temperature changes catalyzes different chemical reactions at different steps of its rotary cycle.
RNA CAD tools developed for RNA-regulated control of gene expression in synthetic biology successfully engineered metabolic pathways in bacteria. Will engineering RNA-based genetic control systems lead to design tools for other RNA-based molecular machine systems?
Protein-like structures called peptoids can be formed into stable, free-floating nanosheets.
How small could a molecular switch be made? It is difficult to think of one smaller than the single proton switch just demonstrated by this group in Germany.
Controlling the chemical processes of corrosion and plating at the nanoscale has been used to fabricate from inorganic nanoparticles complex three-dimensional objects with hollow interiors.
A new polymer that disintegrates in response to harmless radiation that can penetrate several inches into human tissue may lead to nanoparticles that release their drug cargo only at a desired time and place.
Will the integration of a single-crystal material with “giant” piezoelectric properties onto silicon make possible scanning probe microscopes on a chip?
Adding a new molecular recognition code to structural DNA nanotechnology—a pattern of projecting and recessed blunt-end DNA helices can be used to code the assembly of DNA origami tiles into larger DNA nanostructures.
Small DNA molecules fluoresce in the presence of specific transcription factors, sensing which genes are being expressed in that cell, potentially allowing cancer treatments to be personalized, and the quality of stem cells to be monitored.
This contribution has been forwarded by Ivo Rivetta. The primary forces on the nanometer scale are scaled versions of what we experience on a day to day basis. Instead of gravity, surface forces such as water tension and electric charge dominate. As an example, compare wet basketballs and wet sand. The weight of the basketballs… Continue reading Leveraging nanoforces to increase biosensor sensitivity
