Soft Nanotechnology – TechConnect Briefs

Controlled production of food emulsion using microfluidics

Pulido de Torres C., Amici E., Gallarino A., Da Silva M., Jousse F., Unilever, UK

We present Microfluidic technology applied to the production of monodisperse emulsion in a food context. We investigate the effect of surfactants and microdevice geometry on drop size and robust production regimes. Minimum drop size achievable in [...]

Effect of Surface Hydration and Interfusion of Suspended Silica Nanoparticles on Heat Transfer

Milanova D., Wu X., Kumar R., University of Central Florida, US

Nanofluid suspensions enhance thermal conductivity and the heat transfer. The authors have previously shown that the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) of NiChrome wire in a silica nanofluid can be increased by 200% compared to conventional [...]

Playing with actuators in microfluidic systems

Tabeling P., Barbier V., Goulpeau J., Lonetti B., Willaime H., ESPCI, FR

In the lab-on a chips of the future, flows will be handled at the microscale through mazes of microchannels. For such systems, it will be crucial to integrate a number of actuators on the chip [...]

Morphological Implications of the Interphase; Linking Crystalline and Amorphous Regions in Semi-Crystalline Polymers

Rastogi S., Terry A.E., Eindhoven University of Technology, NL

In semi-crystalline polymers, a range of morphologies can be obtained in which a chain may traverse the amorphous region between the crystals or fold back into the crystals leading to adjacent or non-adjacent re-entry, depending [...]

From Helical Starch Inclusion Complexes to Supramolecular Starch Assemblies

Conde-Petit B., Nuessli J., Heinemann C., Escher F., ETH Zürich, CH

Starch, in particular the linear amylose fraction has the ability ot form helical inclusion complexes with suitable guest molecules like monoglycerides, linear alcohols, lactones or terpenes. The helical amylose segments have a strong tendency to [...]

Molecular Communication among Nanomachines Using Vesicles

Moritani Y., Hiyama S., Suda T., NTT DoCoMo, Inc., JP

Molecular communication is a new and interdisciplinary research area that spans the nanotechnology, biotechnology, and communication technology. Molecular communication allows biological and artificially-created nanomachines to communicate over a short distance using molecules. In molecular communication, [...]

Spontaneously Forming Unilamellar Nano-Sized Vesicles – Polydispersity, Size, Shape and Stability

Nieh M-P, Raghunathan V.A., Huang C-Y, Pencer J., Harroun T., Katsaras J., National Research Council at Canada, CA

Unilamellar vesicles (ULV) made up entirely of biologically relevant materials can serve as carriers for drug delivery or gene therapy. Compared to extrusion and sonication methods, traditionally used for producing ULV, spontaneously forming ULV offer [...]

Quantum Dot Nanocrystals in Neurosciences

Pathak S., Cao E., Davidson M., Jin S., Silva G., UCSD, US

We have developed labeling methods using commercially available quantum dots specific to neurons and glia (Pathak S, in press) and have used these tools to label GFAP intermediate filament cellular bridges as well as integrin [...]

Interaction between polyether- poly (2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)copolymers and phospholipid model vesicles – implications for gene delivery efficiency

Tan J.F., Bromberg L., Tam K.C., Too H.P., Hatton T.A., Singapore-MIT Alliance, SG

Our previous studies have demonstrated that surface-active copolymers of Pluronic® surfactants and tertiary amino polycations such as poly (2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (pDMA) possess an enhanced DNA transfection efficiency compared to pDMA homopolymers. The transfection efficiencies of [...]

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of emulsification in microfluidics devices

van der Graaf S., van der Sman R.G.M., van der Graaf S., van der Sman R.G.M., Wageningen University, NL

Using microdevices we investigate the manufacturing of surfactant stabilised monodisperse food emulsions. Design of the process is a complicated matter, involving knowledge of wetting behaviour, droplet breakup in confined systems, surfactant dynamics coupled to droplet [...]

Multiscale Modeling of Polymer Based Nanomaterials

Smith G.D., Smith J.S., Bedrov D., Borodin O., Smith G.D., Smith J.S., University of Utah, US

In materials design and engineering there is a need for fundamental information that spans large scales of time and distances, from the quantum chemical nature of interactions to the macroscopic mechanical, and electrical properties. In [...]

Analysis of Surface Interaction between TiO2 Fine Particles with Different Surface Modification in Isoparaffin by Using Colloid Probe AFM

Kamiya H., Suzuki M., Kikuchi M., Iijima M., Tsukada M., Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, JP

To control the dispersion stability of nanometer scaled fine inorganic particles in organic solvent, various kinds of surface modification on particles have been carried out. This paper focused on the surface modification on titanium oxide [...]

Transmission Spectrum of PDMS in 4-7µm Mid-IR Range for Characterization of Protein Structure

Chen K-C, Chen Y.F., Wo A.M., Chen K-C, Chen Y.F., National Taiwan University, TW

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy has been an important tool to characterize secondary structure of proteins for decades. To extend PDMS-based micro-device into spectroscopic characterization of proteins for structural study, the transmission spectrum of PDMS over the [...]

Thermodynamic Characterization of Nanoscale Materials

Smith A.L., Masscal Corporation, US

“The largest barrier to rational design and controlled synthesis of nanomaterials with predefined properties is the lack of fundamental understanding of thermodynamic and kinetic processes at the nanoscale. …Bulk material properties are not size-dependent, but [...]

Characterisation of Drug Nanoparticles by Atomic Force Microscopy

Bailey N.A., Booth J., Clark B.C., AstraZeneca, UK

A key consideration when developing a drug nanoparticle formulation, particularly when intended for parenteral administration, is the control of particle size, shape and physical properties such as dissolution rate and stability with respect to Ostwald [...]

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