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nanotimes News in Brief

Graduate student Ronen Gottesman developed a silver nanoparticle-coated paper with the guidance of Prof. Nina Perkas at Bar-Ilan University‘s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA, Israel) and Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences. They presented a simple method to develop coating of colloidal silver on paper using ultrasonic radiati- on, and the coatings are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM), and thermogravimetry (TGA) measurements. Depending on the variables such as precursor concentrations and ultrasonication time, uniform coatings ranging from 90 to 150nm in thickness have been achieved. The so called “killer paper” is intended for use as a new food packaging material.

Ronen Gottesman, Sourabh Shukla, Nina Perkas, Leonid A. Solovyov, Yeshayahu Nitzan, and Aharon Gedanken: Sonochemical Coating of Paper by Microbiocidal Silver Nanoparticles, In: Langmuir, Vol. 27(2011), No. 2, Janu- ary 18, 2011, Pages 720-726, DOI:10.1021/la103401z: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/la103401z

11-02/03 :: February / March 2011

two naturally occurring molecules (chlorophyll and lipid) to create a unique nanoparticle that shows promise for numerous diverse light-based (biopho- tonic) applications. The structure of the nanopar- ticle, which is like a miniature and colorful water balloon, means it can also be filled with drugs to treat the tumor it is targeting.”

Jonathan F. Lovell, Cheng S. Jin, Elizabeth Huynh, Hong- lin Jin, Chulhong Kim, John L. Rubinstein, Warren C. W. Chan, Weiguo Cao, Lihong V. Wang, Gang Zheng: Por- physome nanovesicles generated by porphyrin bilayers for use as multimodal biophotonic contrast agents, In: Nature Materials, Vol. 10(2011), No. 4, March 20, 2011, Pages 324-332, DOI: 10.1038/NMAT2986: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NMAT2986

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Non- Destructive Testing IZFP in Saarbrücken, Germany, have adapted the conventional sonar procedure – a simple ultrasound method – and have succeeded in generating three-dimensional images with the aid of innovative software. At the same time, they have increased the testing rate a hundredfold.

A team of scientists from Princess Margaret Hos- pital have created an organic nanoparticle that is completely non-toxic, biodegradable and nimble in the way it uses light and heat to treat cancer and deliver drugs. Principal investigator Dr. Gang Zheng, Senior Scientist, Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI), Princess Margaret Hospital at University Health Network, says: “In the lab, we combined

Dr.-Ing. Andrey Bulavinov and his team at IZFP have developed a new method that works at up to 100 times the speed. “We no longer use the sonar method that emits a sound field in just one parti- cular direction. Instead, we use the probe – which experts refer to as a “phased array” – to generate a defocused, non-directional wave that penetrates the material,” the engineer explains. “What we get back are signals coming from all directions, and the computer uses these signals to reconstruct the com- posite image.” In a manner similar to subterranean