15-Jan-2013

A disposable and cost effective electrochemical sensor that can detect atropine in a drink has been made by scientists from the UK and Brazil. Atropine is a plant-derived drug that can be used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and exposure to nerve agents. However, it is also used as a ...

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15-Jan-2013

The nuclear industry generates radioactive toxic waste, which needs to be decontaminated inside the facilities themselves and of the effluents released into the environment. Radionuclide decontamination is currently performed using physico-chemical methods and while they work well, they are ...

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15-Jan-2013

Fluorescence imaging is typically used to study biomolecules with high sensitivity and resolution, but many biological molecules are fluorescent themselves, limiting the potential of this technique. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is capable of high sensitivity but isnot inhibited by ...

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11-Jan-2013

US and German scientists have used laser light to guide micro-particles through a solution towards a target. The technique could be applied to transport the particles to specific locations inside living cells, they say. These so-called ‘micro-swimmers’ consist of a polystyrene sphere with one ...

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11-Jan-2013

Scientists in the US have reported a new insight into the understanding of the bonding trends within, and the differences between, the 4f and 5f element series with soft donor atom ligands. The coordination chemistry and differing bond lengths explain the covalency of different 4f and 5f ...

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09-Jan-2013

Scientists in the Republic of Korea have treated zinc oxide nanorods in piezoelectric nanogenerators (which use mechanical vibrations, such as body movement and air flow, to power electronic devices) to a thermal annealing process to improve their output voltage (output was 25 times higher than ...

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09-Jan-2013

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been embraced as the green solvent of the future and are noted for their operational safety in part due to their non-flammable nature as compared to conventional solvents. In fact, existing regulations for measuring the flammability of solvents do not take into account ...

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09-Jan-2013

Wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry has been shown by scientists in Portugal to be a suitable tool for assessing lead concentration in animal bone, which will help investigate lead metabolism and public health issues. The toxic nature of Pb means that it is important to monitor ...

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07-Dec-2012

Nafion (a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane) is widely used in fuel cells to conduct protons, but Nafion membranes are prone to rapid dehydration at low humidity, which results in a loss of conductivity. To overcome this problem, scientists in China have made a metal-organic framework (MOF) ...

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07-Dec-2012

Scientists in China have used zeolite-coated mesh films for gravity-driven oil-water separation. The superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity of the zeolite’s surface allow the highly efficient separation of various oils. Unlike other oil-water separation membranes based on ...

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