Membrane Technology: Looking Deep into Smallest Pores

Membranes of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VaCNT) can be used to clean or desalinate water at high flow rate and low pressure. Recently, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and partners carried out steroid hormone adsorption experiments to study the interplay of forces in the small pores. They found that VaCNT of specific pore geometry and pore surface structure are suited for use as highly selective membranes. The researchers report in Nature Communications. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44883-2)

Antibiotics crisis: nanoparticles as therapy guide

In the case of blood poisoning, the bacteria in the blood must be identified as fast as possible so that a life-saving therapy can be started. Empa researchers have now developed “sepsis sensors” with magnetic nanoparticles that detect bacterial pathogens within a short period of time and identify suitable candidates for antibiotic therapies.

Tabletop Magnetic Resonance Units to Revolutionize Diagnostics and Materials Analysis

In the HyPERiON CRC coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), researchers from KIT and the universities of Kaiserslautern, Konstanz and Stuttgart are jointly developing technology for compact high-performance magnetic resonance units. In the future, the devices could be used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, in medical practices or at border checkpoints. The German Research Foundation is funding the interdisciplinary group with more than 10.6 million euros for four years starting on July 1, 2022.

Shine On: Avalanching Nanoparticles Break Barriers to Imaging Cells in Real Time

A team of researchers co-led by Berkeley Lab and Columbia University has developed a new material called avalanching nanoparticles that, when used as a microscopic probe, offers a simpler approach to taking high-resolution, real-time snapshots of a cell’s inner workings at the nanoscale.