a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
When you hear the term “plastic pollution,” what do you think of? If you’re like me, you might picture a pile of garbage on a beach, or microplastic beads inside a fish. Most of us are aware that plastic pollution can be found everywhere. But you might be surprised to learn that "everywhere" in this …
Continue reading "Accidental nanoparticles in the environment: the nanoplastic pollution problem"
Now that children from 5 to 11 years old are eligible to receive COVID vaccines, many people are wondering again about exactly how they work. You may have heard that both Moderna and Pfizer make mRNA vaccines (more on that in a minute). But the vaccines would not be effective with mRNA alone. Another significant …
Continue reading "Lipid Nanoparticles in COVID Vaccines"
Imagine you work at a grocery store and you need to figure out how many shopping carts will fit in a certain space. You know that each shopping cart is 33 inches long, but you might decide to round that up to 36 inches (3 feet) for your estimation: That rounding is just one example …
Remember all those great Black Friday deals on QLED televisions? You may not realize it, but they were all about nanotechnology! The Q in QLED stands for quantum dots, which are not only being used to enhance the displays of TVs, but also are used in solar cells, medical imaging, and sensing.1-3 However, the disposal …
Continue reading "Quantum Dots and Lipid Rafts: Analytical Chemistry Solves a Nanoscale Mystery"
A few days from now is Valentine’s Day, a day to take time to appreciate what matters the most in life… chocolate! I’m sure you’ve seen the tiny, cheesy, heart-shaped boxes of off-brand chocolates in grocery and convenience stores around this time of year. Maybe you’ve even been gifted this inexpensive treat before. How do …
Continue reading "What Does Nanotechnology Have to Do with Chocolate?"
I recently had an article published in the journal Environmental Science: Nano along with seven co-authors from the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. The title is “Formation of supported lipid bilayers containing phase-segregated domains and their interaction with gold nanoparticles.”1 At first glance that title may be confusing, but I promise it will all make sense …
Continue reading "What’s in a scientific publication’s name? One research article title explained"
If you’re like me, you might already have a pile of old electronics in your basement, waiting for you to figure out what to do with them. You haven’t put them out with the trash, because you know it’s a good idea to keep them out of landfills… But why is that? Researchers have known …
Continue reading "Why Shouldn’t We Toss Lithium-Ion Batteries in the Trash?"
Take a look around – do you see a surface that looks a little bumpy? Now close your eyes, reach out your hand, and feel that surface. Got an idea of what it feels like? Great! Now, could you use what you’ve learned with your sense of touch to draw a picture of this bumpy …
Continue reading "The Atomic Force Microscope – Probing to “See” at the Nanoscale"
Guest Post by Zachary Vasile It can be difficult to record exactly how a writer thinks. This is not to mystify the brain of a writer, but to say that we often reason in incredibly convoluted and abstract ways, leaping from one thing to another, working in undisciplined bursts when the spirit takes us. And …
Continue reading "A Science Journalist Ventures Into the Lab"
One of the primary goals of the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology is to understand what happens when nanomaterials are exposed to biological systems like organisms or even cells. How can we do this? You may think back to an introductory biology class and recall a few buzz words about cells, like endoplasmic reticulum, vesicles, and …
Continue reading "How Do Scientists Understand the Cell Membrane?"
Sustainable Nano 