Nanoparticle Chicken Feed Keeps Birds Healthy

Feb. 29, 2008 -- Researchers at Clemson University have fed nanoparticles to chickens, eliminating deadly bacteria and making the chickens safer for human consumption.

The research could reduce the number of cases of food-borne diseases in the United States and one day treat the more than five million people in developing countries who die annually from diarrhea.

"Our ultimate goal is to use these nanoparticles as a treatment for children in underdeveloped countries," said Fred Stutzenberger, a retired professor of microbiology at Clemson who is publishing a review of the research next month in the journal Advances in Applied Microbiology.

The researchers made a microscopic ball of polystyrene, the same plastic used in CD cases. Threads hang off of the ball, and at the end of each one is a molecule that, to certain bacteria, looks like sugar. E. coli, salmonella, and other potentially deadly bacteria latch onto the molecule but can't process it, and essentially glue themselves to it.

Eventually dozens of nanoparticles attach themselves to the bacteria, making it very difficult for an infection to develop or spread.

"If we can block that first interaction [between bacteria and host]," said Jeremy Tzeng, a fellow researcher and microbiologist on the project, "then we can block an infection."

With the bacteria surrounded and unable to cause an infection, they pass harmlessly through the digestive system and out of the chicken.

Nanoparticle-Fed

Since the nanoparticles latch onto an area of the cell critical for triggering an infection, it would be hard for the bacteria to develop a resistance to the nanoparticles (the same process that leads to antibiotic-resistance bacteria) and still cause an infection.

The nanoparticles are several hundred nanometers in size, too big to migrate out of the digestive system and into the rest of the bird (or, potentially, human). Separate tests done by the scientists confirmed that no nanoparticles were found in any other tissues of the chicken's body.

The nanoparticles can also be applied to the chicken feed at anytime to remove potentially deadly bacteria. For example, feeding animals the nanoparticles just before slaughter could reduce the risk of contaminating the meat with e. coli or other bacteria if a worker or machine accidentally nicks open the stomach or intestine.

They have been tested in hundreds of chickens, rabbits and mice, none of which showed any reaction to the nanoparticles.

The researchers eventually want to develop the nanoparticles to directly treat human diseases, specifically diarrheal diseases in the developing world, and have been in touch with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in an effort to develop the technology.

"This is really an excellent opportunity to treat organisms without going through antibiotics," said Challa Kumar, a nanotechnology researcher at Louisiana State University who was not involved in the USDA-funded research.

"It has a tremendous commercial potential. I don't see any reason why it should fail if they try it in human beings."

LINK

I wonder if this same approach, suitably altered, would work as a viricide.

Looks like viruses are contemplated!

United States Patent Application 20070184120

Stutzenberger; Fred J. ; et al. August 9, 2007

Adhesin-specific nanoparticles and process for using same

Abstract

The present invention is generally directed to compositions useful in preventing and/or treating disease due to infection by any of a variety of biologically active pathogenic microorganisms. The compositions include nanoparticles formed of a hydrophobic polymeric core, hydrophilic linking agents bound to the core, and biofunctional materials bound to the linking agents. The biofunctional materials are functionally identical to receptors on host cell surfaces that can be recognized and bound by adhesins on the surface of the targeted pathogenic adhesin-bearing microorganisms. In one embodiment, the binding action between the nanoparticles and the microorganisms can lead to the formation of large agglomerated complexes, which can then be easily removed from an area, including the digestive tract of an infected individual. The compositions of the present invention can also be utilized in preventing enteric infections via the ability to purge animals of enteropathogens prior to transport and processing for human consumption.

Inventors: Stutzenberger; Fred J.; (Clemson, SC) ; Latour; Robert A. JR.; (Clemson, SC) ; Sun; Ya-Ping; (Clemson, SC) ; Tzeng; Tzuen R.; (US)

Assignee Name and Adress: Clemson University

Serial No.: 677132
Series Code: 10
Filed: October 1, 2003

Claims

1. A composition capable of binding to a biologically active microorganism comprising: a nanoparticle, said nanoparticle comprising a hydrophobic polymeric core, a hydrophilic linking agent bound to said polymeric core, and a biofunctional material bound to said linking agent, wherein said biofunctional material comprises a binding site for adhesins present on the surface of the biologically active microorganism.

[0060] In one embodiment, the nanoparticles of the present invention can target commensal microorganisms such as yeast or other fungi. For example, the yeast Candida albicans is a human commensal. The ability of Candida to adhere to the host is a fungal virulence factor similar to that of other microbial systems, and is considered a significant step in the development of candidiasis. The present invention can also target viral pathogens. In particular, the biofunctional materials on the surface of the nanoparticles can include those which can be recognized and bound by the pathogenic capsid surfaces of a virus. For example, the nanoparticles can be biofunctionalized so as to target various rotaviruses, Norwalk-like viruses, adenoviruses, astroviruses, coronaviruses, enteroviruses, or other viral agents. For example, in one embodiment, nanoparticles can be biofunctionalized with the GP120 protein of HIV to provide a particulate immunizing preparation.

Clemson patent filing link
http://tinyurl.com/2js8we

NPI and Stuttgart University

Just what is the relationship between NPI and Stuttgart University?

Ref:
http://ragingbull.quote.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLB01350&read=2347

Note - --For more information about ANI's thin film transistor approach please see "Solution-deposited carbon nanotube layers for flexible display applications" published in Physica E 37 (2007), pages 119-123-- LINK - http://tinyurl.com/2tm3wf

Question - who are these guys and what is their involvement/connection with NPI:
Axel Schindler(a), Jochen Brill(a), Norbert Fruehauf(a),
Chair of Display Technology, Universitaet Stuttgart, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany

Here's the US patent application:
http://tinyurl.com/77jx6

Of note - claims:
9. A sensor comprising a sensing element for detecting an analyte embedded in a polymer matrix interdispersed with carbon nanotubes.

20. The sensor of claim 19 wherein the sensing element is deposited on a conducting polymer deposited on a substrate.

21. A sensor comprising a sensing element for detecting an analyte, wherein the sensor is coupled to a carbon nanotube.

Re Axel Shindler:
http://www.lfb.uni-stuttgart.de/aktuelles/lfb-nachrichten.en.html

The Stuttgart University activities:
http://www.lfb.uni-stuttgart.de/aktuelles/doc/20060207_El-Kolloquium.pdf

GROUP IV Semiconductor patents

I did a search and found these (will they render CNT, SED, LCD, plasma, OLED to the garbage heap?):

Results of Search in US Patent Collection db for:
AN/"Group IV": 2 patents.
Hits 1 through 2 out of 2

	PAT. NO.		Title
1	7,122,842		Solid state white light emitter and display using same
2	7,081,664		Doped semiconductor powder and preparation thereof

LINK

1) includes a BLU embodiment as well as a display embodiment.

This Japanese patent also looks interesting:

United States Patent	6,897,604
Koshida	May 24, 2005

---

Method of generating ballistic electrons and ballistic electron solid semiconductor element and light emitting element and display device

Abstract

A method of generating ballistic electrons with a high controllability by applying an electric field to a nano-structure micro-crystal layer or a semi-insulating layer of a semiconductor to generate ballistic electrons or quasiballistic electrons by a multiple-tunnel effect; and a semiconductor device used in this method and provided with a practical material constitution.

---

Inventors:	Koshida; Nobuyoshi (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee:	Japan Science and Technology Corporation (Saitama, JP)

LINK

Lighting Goes Digital

Josh Wolfe, Forbes/Wolfe Emerging Tech Report 11.01.07, 1:15 PM ET

Illumination has changed very little since the incandescent bulb was invented over 100 years ago, and lighting has remained the last refuge of analog technology. Everything else--including music, photography, displays and computing--has shifted to a digital medium.

The current buzz in lighting is compact fluorescent bulbs, which represent an incremental improvement in energy efficiency over incandescent bulbs. But those taking the long view on lighting favor solid-state sources, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are expected to outshine fluorescent bulbs in terms of energy efficiency and lifetime. On the downside, LEDs are constructed from expensive semiconductor alloys, such as gallium nitride, that are difficult to mass-produce either effectively or inexpensively.

This has led one solid-state start-up, Ottawa-based Group IV Semiconductor, to tap another semiconductor material: silicon. Silicon falls under Group IV on the Periodic Table (hence the company's name). It is among the most common materials on earth, and its properties are thoroughly researched thanks to its central role in the trillion-dollar electronics industry. Oddly, however, the material is not known for its ability to emit light.

Group IV claims to have found a way around this by sandwiching a layer of silicon nanocrystals, or quantum dots, in between a transparent film and a silicon substrate. When a current is applied to the structure, it energizes the electrons in the nanocrystals. As they settle back into their natural state, the pent-up energy is released as light.

The company hopes to have a market-ready product within two years. "It'll be a light bulb," explained CEO Stephen Naor. "But we're making an emitter, not the bulb itself."

A market-ready bulb, he added, will require an eventual partnership with a lighting manufacturer, which Group IV is currently exploring. In the meantime, the company recently inked a partnership with Applied Materials (nasdaq: AMAT - news - people ), a leading nano-manufacturing equipment supplier that competes with companies such as KLA-Tencor (nasdaq: KLAC - news - people ) and LAM Research (nasdaq: LRCX - news - people ) to help it develop a low-cost manufacturing process for its devices.

Group IV does not disclose its finances. But its early operations were supported by Ontario Centres of Excellence and the Business Development Bank of Canada. It was also among the first investments made by Vinod Khosla's new venture capital firm, Khosla Ventures.

Group IV completed its latest round of funding last month. It was led by Montreal-based Garage Technology Ventures and Applied Materials subsidiary Applied Ventures LLC. The company now has enough cash in pocket to complete its two-year product-development phase and prepare for a commercial launch, according to Naor.

Link

I read the other day - Link - where a company - Group IV, I believe - is about to provide Si chip light bulbs and I thought of NPI's offering via SME of a CNT version - that light bulb business is huge and with the prohibition of incandescent bulbs fast approaching, well, it made me think. Did I buy any more NNPP? No, but it is starting to look enticing - in spades.

And I wondered if these chip lights would make good BLUs or even a TV display. Haven't a clue! But like OLEDs and CNT - they are solid-state lights with no heat creation and I see recently where Sony is producing and selling OLED TVs. Can Si chip displays be next?

Ref:
GROUP IV
http://www.groupivsemi.com/

Nanoparticles could make hydrogen cheaper than gasoline

EE Times: Semi News

R. Colin Johnson

EE Times
(02/25/2008 9:21 AM EST)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The hydrogen economy is getting a shot in the arm from a start-up that says its nanoparticle coatings could make hydrogen easy to produce at home from distilled water, and ultimately bring the cost of hydrogen fuel cells in line with that of fossil fuels.

QuantumSphere Inc. says it has perfected the manufacture of highly reactive catalytic nanoparticle coatings that could up the efficiency of electrolysis, the technique that generates hydrogen from water. Moreover, the coatings could also eliminate the need for expensive metals like platinum in hydrogen fuel cells.

Boasting 1,000 times the surface area of traditional materials, the coatings can be used to retrofit existing electrolysers to increase their efficiency to 85 percent--exceeding the Department of Energy's goal for 2010 by 10 percent. The scheme holds the promise of 96 percent efficiency by the time cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells hit automobile showrooms, according to the Santa Ana, Calif., company.

"Instead of switching 170,000 gas stations over to hydrogen, using our electrodes could enable consumers to make their own hydrogen, either in the garage or right on the vehicle," said Kevin Maloney, president, chief executive officer and co-founder of QuantumSphere. "Our nanoparticle-coated electrodes make electrolysers efficient enough to provide hydrogen on demand from a tank of distilled water in your car."

The first commercial product inspired by QuantumSphere's technology will debut later this year: a battery using a cathode coated with the startup's nanoparticles, thereby increasing its energy density 5x over alkaline cells and boosting power by 320 percent. The first commercial nonrechargeable batteries with this increased capacity will be announced by an as-yet-unnamed major U.S. battery maker in the second half of 2008.

QuantumSphere also claims to be able to improve rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride batteries to the point where they perform better than the less environmentally friendly lithium-ion batteries popular today.

QuantumSphere's plan is first to retrofit existing electrolysis equipment with its nanoparticle electrodes to boost efficiency. Next, it intends to partner with original equipment manufacturers to design at-home and on-vehicle electrolysers for making hydrogen from water for fuel cells. Finally, the company wants to work with fuel cell makers to replace their expensive platinum electrodes with inexpensive stainless-steel electrodes coated with nickel-iron nanoparticles.

QuantumSphere's nanoparticles are available in four formulations: nickel cobalt, iron cobalt, nickel iron and silver copper. According to the Freedonia Group Inc. (Cleveland), the nanoparticles can be sold directly into the catalyst metals market, which it predicts will edge up to $4.7 billion this year.

QuantumSphere is also expected to have an impact on the battery market, which Freedonia estimates will grow to more than $5 billion by 2009. Portable fuel cells and direct hydrogen generation are markets that are growing even faster, with fuel cells estimated to top $11 billion by 2013, according to Wintergreen Research Inc. (Lexington, Mass.), and hydrogen generation to exceed $15 billion by 2016, according to Clean Edge Inc. (Portland, Ore.).

QuantumSphere was founded in 2002 with just $100,000 of private funding and still has not taken in any venture capital, although it did have a public funding round last year. The company's founding goal was to create a thimble full of the nanoparticles it invented. But now, just over five years later, it claims to have surpassed its original goal with a manufacturing plant capable of producing tons of nanoparticles per year.

QuantumSphere claims its current manufacturing capacity is enough for both the battery and electrolysis markets. With an eye on future growth, however, the company has partnered with the OM Group Inc. (Cleveland) for mass-producing nanoparticles when QuantumSphere can no longer meet demand.

After perfecting the original invention, for which QuantumSphere was awarded a patent last year, the company hired an engineering team to adapt the nanoparticles for particular applications. Leading that team was director of fuel cell research Kimberly McGrath, a protg of George Olah, the 1994 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry. Olah, inventor of the direct liquid-methanol fuel cell, serves as a scientific adviser to QuantumSphere.

"We have formulated a nanoparticle coating that has a very high surface area, enabling inexpensive coated stainless-steel electrodes to exceed the performance of the expensive platinum electrodes used today," said McGrath. "We start with raw material that covers about the size of a sheet of paper, but after converting into nanoparticles, it covers a soccer field."

The nanoparticles are perfect spheres, consisting of a couple hundred atoms measuring from 16 to 25 nanometers in diameter. They are formed by means of a vacuum-deposition process that uses vapor condensation to produce highly reactive catalytic nanoparticles, for which the engineering team has formulated several end-use applications.

"Our biggest engineering challenge was finding a way to get the nanoparticles to stick to metal electrodes," McGrath said. The company has solved that problem, she said, "enabling existing electrolysis equipment to realize a 30 percent increase in hydrogen output just by retrofitting our coated electrodes."

QuantumSphere projects that the efficiency of electrolysis using its nanoparticle-coated electrodes, now at 85 percent, can be increased to 96 percent by the time hydrogen fuel cell automobiles are in wide use. Adjusting for rising gasoline prices, QuantumSphere projects that performing electrolysis at home to power hydrogen fuel cells will then be less expensive than burning fossil fuels.

The company has also made progress in its quest to eliminate the need for expensive platinum electrodes inside the fuel cell itself, claiming that today it can replace half a fuel cell's platinum with nanoparticle-coated stainless steel. QuantumSphere hopes to demonstrate fuel cells with no platinum at all in the coming years.

http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206801669

Some day....somebody....some company....is going to do the impossible....run your car on water. Oil stinks, gas stinks, and both are expensive as hell. Water is cheap, no stink, available everywhere - except deserts, where oil comes from - and if you are thirsty, much better than oil or gasoline.

Strong, Light, and Stretchy Materials

Monday, February 25, 2008

A nanocomposite of aluminum oxide and a polymer is as tough as metals but lighter.

By Prachi Patel-Predd

Researchers have dispersed tiny platelets of aluminum oxide in a polymer to make a material that is tough, stretchy, and lightweight. The material could lead to longer-lasting bone and dental implants and lighter, more fuel-efficient car and airplane parts. It could also be used to make bendable, transparent electronics.

In their efforts to create strong yet light materials, chemists and materials scientists have long tried to mimic nanostructures found in nature. Shells, bones, and tooth enamel all consist of stiff ceramic platelets arranged in a polymer matrix like bricks in mortar. These hybrid materials combine the strength of ceramics and the stretchability of polymers.

In 2007, University of Michigan researchers engineered clay-reinforced polymers that were extremely strong but brittle: it takes a lot of energy to deform them, but when they do deform, they break abruptly. Researchers at MIT succeeded in making stiff but less brittle clay-polymer composites, which will tolerate some stretching before they break. (See "Ultra-Tough Nanotech Materials.")

Ludwig Gauckler, the professor of materials at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, in Switzerland, who led the new work, says that his group's composite is better still. It's five times as strong as the material made at MIT, he says, yet it's still stretchy. A film of the composite is already as strong as aluminum foil, Gauckler says, but if stretched, it can expand by up to 25 percent of its size; aluminum foil would break at 2 percent.

An added advantage of the hybrid material is that it's light, says Harvard materials scientist Andre Studart, who was involved in the work. The material is half to a quarter as heavy as steel of the same strength, Studart says, and it would make a good substitute for fiberglass, which is commonly used in car parts. Because the material's strength comes from the platelets diffused through it, Studart says, "it will be strong in two directions and not only in one direction, as in the case of fiber-reinforced material."

Moreover, while the material is translucent now, its structure could be modified to render it transparent, making it suitable for dental material and transparent electronic circuits.

To assemble their material, the researchers disperse aluminum oxide platelets in ethanol and spread the mixture over water. The platelets arrange themselves into a single layer on the surface of the water. Then the researchers dip a glass plate into the solution, transferring the platelets to the glass. Finally, they deposit a layer of the biocompatible polymer chitosan on top of the platelets. The researchers repeat this process until the thickness of the final composite is a few tens of micrometers, and then they peel the material off the glass plate with a razor blade.

In designing the material, the researchers carefully studied the mechanical structure of nacre, the shiny layer on the inside of seashells, and tried to improve it. Nacre has platelets made of calcium carbonate arranged in layers inside a protein-based polymer. "There's something very special about the size of these platelets," Studart says. "Nacre uses specific platelet length and thickness to achieve the high strength and [stretchability] that you see in metals."

The ratio between the length and thickness of the platelets has to be just right, Studart says. If it is too high, the platelets break when the material is stretched. If it is too low, the material is not very stiff.

The researchers chose to work with aluminum oxide platelets, which are five times as strong as the calcium carbonate platelets found in nacre. They also made their platelets thinner--about 200 nanometers across, as opposed to the 500 to 1,000 nanometers of the naturally occurring platelets--to lower the likelihood of flaws in their structure. The best average length-to-thickness ratio, the researchers calculated, is 40, so they made the platelets 5 to 10 micrometers long. "Stronger platelets allow us to use a higher ratio and therefore achieve higher strength, compared to shells, with a lower concentration of platelets," Studart says. Low concentrations are important, he says, "because that means the composite has more polymer and has a lot of [stretchability]."

This is the closest anyone has come to duplicating the mechanical structure and behavior of a natural material, says Francois Barthelat, a mechanical-engineering professor and biomimetic-materials researcher at McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec. But before the material can be used, he says, the researchers will have to develop a faster way to make it in larger quantities.

Princeton University chemistry professor Ilhan Aksay thinks that the technique should be easy to modify so that it is suitable for bulk manufacture. "You could make large shapes with this technique," he says. He imagines that the material could be useful for bone and dental implants.

Gauckler says that the material needs many improvements before it can be practically used. A better polymer would make the composite stronger. The researchers also need to find a way to get better bonding between the aluminum oxide and the polymer. For now, Gauckler says, "we have shown that we can [come close to] doing as good a job as nature."

***************************

NPI is doing something (R&D +?) wrt aluminum and nano as well as their polymer-nano developments. Looks like the possible uses range from teeth fixing to auto parts. NPI - the car company?;-) Nano steel stronger than old steel and nano aluminum stronger and stretchier than old aluminum. We are entering the nano materials age! They will shortly be producing the 'NANO' car in India for the masses. It does NOT - yet - contain anything truly nano in nature. I envision nano cars containing truly nano ingredients to proliferate from now on and NPI to play an important role in their success.

Ref:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Nanotech/20333/?nlid=894

(WO/2007/115162) CARBON NANOTUBE-REINFORCED NANOCOMPOSITES
http://tinyurl.com/3xtb4o

(WO/2007/127906) NANO-FILLER FOR COMPOSITES
http://tinyurl.com/3cw8gw

Viruses may fight brain tumors

Viruses may be a useful therapeutic arsenal against the most pervasive forms of brain tumors — provided they can be engineered to be safe, a recent study by researchers at the medial school reported this week.

When vesicular stomatitis virus — a lab-created virus distantly related to the rabies viruses — is administered into the bloodstream, it can find its way into the brain and kill deadly brain tumors, the study found.

The finding may have implications for a novel therapeutic technique for treating brain tumors down the line, if the group can perfect the technology and see it through clinical trials, neurosurgery professor Anthony von den Pol said.

Brain tumors, which affect over 200,000 Americans annually, are currently incurable and generally lead to mortality within months. This frightening statistic, coupled with the currently imperfect forms of treatment for the condition, make the discovery potentially groundbreaking, medical school Dean Robert Alpern said.

“The basic idea is that brain tumors in adults are impossible to treat,” he said. “It’s almost guaranteed that if someone is diagnosed with the condition, that they will die. We really need a treatment that is toxic that can selectively enter tumor cells but not normal cells, to cure this.”

In the study, the group transplanted human brain tumors into mice brains and injected the VSV virus into the tail end of the mouse. Three days later, the tumor cells, which had been infected with the virus, were dying or dead, while the normal brain cells had been spared, von den Pol said. Before the technology can go to human trials, he said, the researchers must conduct further tests to be completely certain it will not harm non-cancerous cells.

Existing treatment methods for brain tumors include chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, which work by slowing down the progress of a tumor but are typically unable to eliminate all tumor cells. As a result, regrowth of tumors begins within days, von den Pol said.

“There isn’t any treatment right now that is 100 percent successful,” he said. “There is a possibility that a virus can go into the brain and infect one tumor cell and then create thousands of virus particles that then go on to infect other tumor cells. So the virus can potentially act as a self-amplifying anti-cancer agent.”

The shortcomings of current therapy options reflect the invasiveness of brain tumors, which divide rapidly and migrate around the host brain. This mobility makes it difficult for existing procedures to find and remove all cancerous cells, von den Pol said. Chemical methods, he said, such as drug administration, have traditionally proven to be inadequate, since the brain contains a blood-brain barrier that restricts the entry of numerous substances.

The viral approach to cancer treatment is not new, although it is the first time a viral candidate of this level of promise has been isolated, Guido Wollmann, a co-author on the study, said. Scientists have been testing the technique for several decades, but earlier experiments used viruses that only infected particular tumor cells, Wollman said.

Wollmann said that this technique fails because brain tumors are composed of many different types of tumor cells, and these individual cells mutate at a rapid rate over the course of the disease, leading to increased heretogeneity over time.

“If you are very specific in your target, you actually limit yourself a lot,” he said. “That’s where we came in, to find a virus that has a much broader spectrum of infection — which, in theory, in capability to get into every cell.”

But in reality, the VSV never enters normal body cells, Wollman said. Viruses can be fought off by normal cells, which have defense mechanisms — which tumor cells lack — that curb the process of infection. This gives the virus the ability to distinguish between normal and cancerous cells, and selectively kill tumor growth, he explained.

The lab is currently engaged in finding ways to make the technology safer in humans. Von den Pol said the challenge is now to eliminate the probability of the virus’ infecting non-tumor cells — a process that can be engineered by genetic mutations, additions and deletions — while still retaining its ability to infect viral cells.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23721

Human-derived nanoparticles and vascular response to injury in rabbit carotid arteries: Proof of principle

International Journal of Nanomedicine

Human-derived nanoparticles and vascular response to injury in rabbit carotid arteries: Proof of principle

Maria A K Schwartz1, John C Lieske2, Vivek Kumar2, Gerard Farell-Baril2, Virginia M Miller1,3

1Departments of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Internal Medicine; 2Division of Nephrology, and 3Surgery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

Abstract: Self-calcifying, self-replicating nanoparticles have been isolated from calcified human tissues. However, it is unclear if these nanoparticles participate in disease processes. Therefore, this study was designed to preliminarily test the hypothesis that human-derived nanoparticles are causal to arterial disease processes. One carotid artery of 3 kg male rabbits was denuded of endothelium; the contralateral artery remained unoperated as a control. Each rabbit was injected intravenously with either saline, calcified, or decalcified nanoparticles cultured from calcified human arteries or kidney stones. After 35 days, both injured and control arteries were removed for histological examination. Injured arteries from rabbits injected with saline showed minimal, eccentric intimal hyperplasia. Injured arteries from rabbits injected with calcified kidney stone- and arterial-derived nanoparticles occluded, sometimes with canalization. The calcified kidney stone-derived nanoparticles caused calcifications within the occlusion. Responses to injury in rabbits injected with decalcified kidney stone-derived nanoparticles were similar to those observed in saline-injected animals. However, decalcified arterial-derived nanoparticles produced intimal hyperplasia that varied from moderate to occlusion with canalization and calcification. This study offers the first evidence that there may be a causal relationship between human-derived nanoparticles and response to injury including calcification in arteries with damaged endothelium.

Keywords: arterial calcification, endothelial injury, intimal hyperplasia

Download this Article for Free
2104 OLE-IJN-OA-2008-Schwartz.pdf
http://dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=2104

http://dovepress.com/articles.php?content_id=2231

IBM experimenting with DNA to build chips

The research uses DNA molecules to arrange carbon nanotubes into a grid that might function as a data storage device or to perform calculations.

By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: February 20, 2008, 4:00 AM PST

Will the building block of life become the building block of the semiconductor industry? It's possible.

Scientists at IBM are conducting research into arranging carbon nanotubes--strands of carbon atoms that can conduct electricity--into arrays with DNA molecules. Once the nanotube array is meticulously constructed, the laboratory-generated DNA molecules could be removed, leaving an orderly grid of nanotubes. The nanotube grid, conceivably, could function as a data storage device or perform calculations.

"These are DNA nanostructures that are self-assembled into discrete shapes. Our goal is to use these structures as bread boards on which to assemble carbon nanotubes, silicon nanowires, quantum dots," said Greg Wallraff, an IBM scientist and a lithography and materials expert working on the project. "What we are really making are tiny DNA circuit boards that will be used to assemble other components."

The work, which builds on the groundbreaking research on "DNA origami" conducted by California Institute of Technology's Paul Rothemund, is only in the preliminary stages. Nonetheless, a growing number of researchers believe that designer DNA could become the vehicle for turning the long-touted dream of "self-assembly" into reality.

Chips made on these procedures could also be quite small. Potentially, DNA could address, or recognize, features as small as two nanometers. Cutting-edge chips today have features that average 45 nanometers. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.)

"What we are really making are tiny DNA circuit boards that will be used to assemble other components."

--Greg Wallraff, IBM scientist

"There is nothing else out there that we can do that with," said Jennifer Cha, an IBM biochemist working on getting the biological and nonbiological molecules to interact.

Right now, products get manufactured in a top-down approach with machinery and equipment manipulating raw materials. In self-assembly, the intrinsic chemical and physical properties of molecules, along with environmental factors, coax the raw materials into complex structures. It works with snowflakes, after all.

Getting the raw materials to behave in a precise, orderly manner, however, remains a challenge, which is where DNA comes in. DNA consists of specific chemical bases (guanine, cytosine) that bind and react in somewhat predictable ways with each other.

"The sequence (of base pairs in DNA) is well known," said Cha. "Most people are acknowledging that DNA and these biological scaffolds are actually quite useful to at least pattern very small systems."

How it works
In creating chip arrays, DNA assembly might work as follows: scientists would first create scaffolds of designer DNA manipulated into specific shapes. Rothemund has made DNA structures in the shapes of circles, stars, and happy faces.

A pattern would then be etched into a photo-resistant surface with e-beam lithography and the combination of several interacting thin films. A solution of the designer DNA would then be poured on the patterned surface and the DNA would space themselves out according to the patterns on the substrate and the chemical/physical forces between the molecules.

The nanotubes would then be poured in. Interactions between the nanotubes and the DNA would occur until they formed the desired pattern. Single strand DNA, along with origami, could be used in concert.

Another key part in the system revolves around peptides that can bind to the DNA and a nonbiologically inspired molecule like a nanotube.

"Building a DNA scaffold is not trivial because you need the biological system to recognize something that doesn't exist at all in biology," said Cha. "We can also use these biomechanical scaffolds to position inorganic nanomaterials. Potentially, we could also use these biomechanical systems to synthesize inorganic materials."

Although it's early, progress is occurring. Researchers have published papers on how DNA can coil around nanotubes and disperse them in water. Papers detailing how DNA can arrange nanotubes will come soon. Future experiments will need to be conducted into aligning nanotubes into arrays. Other researchers in this field include Nadrian Seeman at New York University and Thom LaBean at Duke University.

IBM will also examine ways of employing DNA to sort nanotubes, said Cha. Not all nanotubes are equal. The arrangement and relative position of carbon atoms in a nanotube, called chirality, can change the properties of a nanotube. Some nanotubes can't conduct electricity, for instance, even though they were made with others that do conduct electrons. Separating good from bad nanotubes currently requires applying an electric field, soaking them in solutions, or selecting by hand.

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If DNA manufacturing can become a reality, worries about the pace of progress in the computing world slowing down because of the difficulties involved in following Moore's Law would likely fade, at least for a while. Chipmakers shrink the size of the features of their chips every two years. While this improves the performance, producing smaller circuits has strained the financial and technical resources of the industry. The limits of lithography (used to "draw" circuits) have prompted many, including Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, to predict that the pace of progress would slow down.

With DNA, chipmakers could phase out multibillion fabrication facilities stocked with lithography systems, which cost tens of millions of dollars, and the other "top-down" style equipment.

Potentially, DNA techniques could allow manufacturers to produce features that are smaller than patterns that could be achieved even with the most advanced lithography systems, predicted Wallraff. E-beam lithography, which is extremely difficult to use in mass manufacturing, goes down to 10 nanometers.

"Of course, the devil is in the details," said Wallraff. "These are self-assembly procedures and error rates--missing features could be the downfall."

http://www.news.com/IBM-experimenting-with-DNA-to-build-chips/2100-1008_3-6231183.html

Nanoviricides Found Highly Effective against Ebola by USAMRIID

Tuesday February 19, 7:00 am ET

Broad-spectrum Nanoviricides Demonstrated to Have Excellent Efficacy
in Cell Culture Studies

WEST HAVEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC.OB) (the "Company"), announced today that the broad-spectrum nanoviricides™ drug candidates were found to be highly effective against the deadly Ebola virus in initial cell culture studies by scientists at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

“The fact that the same drug candidates that were highly effective against common influenza and rabies in animal studies and bird flu (H5N1) in cell culture studies were also found to be highly effective against the deadly Ebola virus clearly indicates that these nanoviricides are truly broad-spectrum,” said Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, CEO of the Company, about the results.

“We have identified common mechanisms by which these very different types of viruses bind to cells and enter cells. We have designed the nanoviricides to display the same features that these viruses look for on the host cell. Our nanoviricides essentially mimic the host cell. We believe this results in fooling the virus to bind to the nanoviricide and be destroyed,” said Anil R. Diwan, Ph.D., President of the Company, adding, “We now have a phenomenal streak of successes of this biomimetic technology as broad-spectrum antivirals.”

Animal studies to test the efficacy of these nanoviricides drug candidates against Ebola infection will be undertaken shortly, according to USAMRIID scientists.

USAMRIID and NanoViricides entered into a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) in October, 2007. The resulting joint R&D effort enables USAMRIID scientists to test the efficacy of several NanoViricides, Inc. anti-viral nanomedicines against deadly hemorrhagic fever viruses at the Ft. Detrick, Maryland BSL4 facilities.

It is hoped that success against the deadly Ebola virus will lead to further success against other virulent pathogens such as hanta viruses, Marburg virus, Junin virus, Machupo virus, and Rift Valley fever virus. There are currently no FDA-approved treatment options for these diseases.

About USAMRIID

USAMRIID, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program, and plays a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The Institute’s mission is to conduct basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

The Institute is working to develop therapeutics for a number of agents, such as Ebola virus, plague, several toxins, and orthopoxviruses.

The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.

About NanoViricides:

NanoViricides, Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com) is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for viral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide™ class of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to dismantle them. The Company is developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including H5N1 bird flu, seasonal influenza, HIV, hepatitis C, rabies, and dengue fever, among others.

Contact:

NanoViricides, Inc.
Amanda Schuon, 310-550-7200
info@nanoviricides.com

Association of Nanoparticle and Kidney Stone Formation

Nanobac Announces Publication of Association of Nanoparticle and Kidney Stone Formation

Results May Change Approach to Medical Management of Kidney Stones

Last update: 11:28 a.m. EST Feb. 19, 2008

TAMPA, FL, Feb 19, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Nanobac Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Nanobac" or "the Company") announces publication in the International Journal of Nanomedicine research that scientists from the University of California San Francisco collaborating with Nanobac scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center have concluded demonstrating that calcium deposits in the human kidney called Randall's Plaque may in fact be Calcifying Nano Particles (CNPs, also referred to as nanobacteria) which lead to the formation of Kidney Stones.

The study, led by Marshall Stoller M.D. of UCSF and Neva Ciftcioglu, formerly Nanobac's Director of Science at NASA Johnson Space Center, found that CNPs were identified and cultured from Randall's Plaques and detected by Nanobac's proprietary diagnostics. This could represent potential new early diagnosis and treatment opportunities for patients who suffer from Kidney Stones.

Dr. Olavi Kajander, Nanobac's Chief Research and Science Officer, stated: "A strong link was found between the presence of Randall's Plaques and the detection of CNPs. These results suggest new insights into the etiology of Randall's Plaque formation, and will help us understand the pathogenesis of stone formation. Further studies on this topic may lead to new approaches on early diagnosis and novel medical therapies of kidney stone formation."

Nanobac Pharmaceuticals Inc. is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.nanobac.com .

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B23B8D8FD-0228-4CA0-BC85-E90812468E00%7D&siteid=nbs

Article - International Journal of Nanomedicine
http://dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=2030
http://dovepress.com/articles.php?content_id=2151

International Journal of Nanomedicine

Issue: ON-LINE EARLY
Pages: 0-0

Association between Randall’s plaque and calcifying nanoparticles

Neva Çiftçioglu1, Kaveh Vejdani2, Olivia Lee2, Grace Mathew1, Katja M Aho3, E Olavi Kajander4, David S McKay5, Jeffrey A Jones5, Marshall L Stoller2

1Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA; 2Department of Urology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; 3University of Kuopio, Department of Biosciences/Biochemistry, Kuopio/Finland; 4Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, Tampa, FL, USA; 5National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

Objectives: Randall initially described calcified subepithelial papillary plaques, which he hypothesized as nidi for urinary calculi. The discovery of calcifying nanoparticles (CNP), also referred to as nanobacteria, in calcified soft tissues has raised another hypothesis about their possible involvement in urinary stone formation. This research is the first attempt to investigate the potential association of these two hypotheses.

Methods: We collected renal papilla and blood samples from 17 human patients who had undergone laparoscopic nephrectomy. Immunohistochemical staining (IHS) was applied using monoclonal antibody (mAb) against CNP. Homogenized papillary tissues and serum samples were cultured for CNP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were performed on papillary samples. Serum samples were tested for CNP antigen and antibody with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: Randall’s plaques (RP) were visible on gross inspection in 11 out of 17 samples. IHS was positive for CNP antigen in 8 of the visually positive samples, but in only 1 of the remaining samples. SEM revealed spherical apatite-formations in 14 samples confirmed by EDS analysis. In cultures, all serum samples and 13 tissue homogenates grew CNP. In ELISA, 14 samples were positive for CNP-antigen and 11 samples were positive for CNP-antibody.

Conclusion: There was evidence of a link between detection of CNP and presence of RP. Although causality was not demonstrated, these results suggest that further studies with negative control samples should be made to explore the etiology of RP formation, thus leading to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of stone formation.

Keywords: calcifying nanoparticles, nanobacteria, Randall’s plaque, urinary stone

Download this Article for Free
2030 OLE-IJN-OA-2008-Ciftcioglu.pdf
Here:
http://dovepress.com/articles.php?content_id=2151

Fireballs/Ball Lightning/Nanoparticles/Microwaves/Radio waves

February 18, 2008

By Miranda Marquit

"People have been pondering ball lightning for a couple of centuries,"
says James Brian Mitchell, a scientist the University of Rennes in
France. Mitchell says that different theories of how it forms, and why
it burns in air, have been considered, but until now there were no
experimental indications of what might be happening as part of the
ball lightning phenomenon.

Now, working with fellow Rennes scientist LeGarrec, as well as
Dikhtyar and Jerby from Tel Aviv University and Sztucki and Narayanan
at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France,
Mitchell can prove that nanoparticles likely exist in ball lightning.
The results of the work by Mitchell and his colleagues can be found in
Physical Review Letters: "Evidence for Nanoparticles in Microwave-
Generated Fireballs Observed by Synchrotron X-Ray Scattering."

"A group in New Zealand came up with this idea of 'dusty plasma,'"
Mitchell tells PhysOrg.com. "They thought that nanoparticles burning
in air could cause ball lightning to remain for seconds, rather than
disappearing after milliseconds. This was an attractive model." But
the model couldn't be proved without detecting the nanoparticles.

Mitchell says that he saw a paper by Jerby describing the creation of
a fireball in controlled conditions. "These fireballs floated in air,"
Mitchell explains. "They resemble ball lightning." This provided an
opportunity to study whether or not nanoparticles were likely to exist
in this natural phenomenon, shedding light on a scientific mystery.

Video of a floating fireball: WMV (610KB)
http://www.physorg.com/newman/gfx/files/Fireball%20floating.wmv

The work was done at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in
Grenoble. The facility uses an x-ray that is 10 billion times more
powerful than a typical x-ray found in a hospital. Additionally,
Mitchell explains, the accelerator for the synchrotron is more than a
kilometer in circumference: "We can get measurements here that we
couldn't get in many other places."

"We passed an x-ray beam through the fireball we made, and saw that it
was scattered. This indicated that there were particles inside the
fireball." Not only were Mitchell and his peers able to determine that
nanoparticles must exist in fireballs similar to ball lightning, but
they were also able to take measurements. "Particle size, density,
distribution and even decay rate were measured using this technique,"
he says.

Mitchell's work with fireballs isn't finished. When PhysOrg.com spoke
to him for this article, he was back in Grenoble taking more
measurements. "This is interesting from a fundamental standpoint," he
insists, "and right now we are more interested in size and structure."
Additionally, he says that some of the particles will be trapped and
sent to Tel Aviv in order to study them for composition.

Mitchell hopes that this work will have more practical applications as
well. "We are working with coupling the nanoparticles with microwave
energy," he says. "They heat up very quickly. This could be a way of
producing catalysts for other experiments."

Right now, it looks as though one of the mysteries of ball lightning
has been solved. This experiment has provided a strong case for the
presence of nanoparticles in ball lightning. The next step is
discovering what scientists can do with the information.

More videos can be found at http://www.eng.tau.ac.il/~jerby/Fireballs.html

http://www.physorg.com/news122559215.html


--Kapitza produced fireballs by high-power radio waves [6], suggesting
accordingly an external-energy mechanism for fireballs
in nature.--
http://www.eng.tau.ac.il/~jerby/67.pdf

'Radio waves' reminded me of Kanzius and his burning salt water
experiment.

http://finance.google.com/group/google.finance.658555/search?q=Kanzius&group=google.finance.658555&qt_g=Search+Discussions

Unique nanotube composites constructed for organic solar cells

Somenath Mitra and Cheng Li

Single-wall carbon nanotubes improve the performance of organic photovoltaics and could bring them closer to practical implementation.

Harvesting energy directly from the abundant resource of solar radiation through the use of solar cells is increasingly becoming a major component of future global energy production. Other renewable energy sources, like wind and hydroelectric power, can require large scale infrastructure. Solar energy, on the other hand, only needs solar cells and sunshine. Technologically feasible solutions are available today for solar electricity generation. They are predominantly based on the use of silicon conversion cells. The most efficient cells, however, use relatively expensive high-quality single-crystal or amorphous silicon wafers. Unless there are major breakthroughs, current silicon-based thin-film technologies may be reaching their limit in terms of their ratio of cost to efficiency.

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are made of polymers and have the advantage that they can be painted on a surface, such as on the outside walls of a building or on rooftops. Accordingly, there is a great deal of interest in putting them to use in large-scale applications. Compared with existing technologies, OPVs promise moderate power conversion efficiencies. By the same token, they have the very attractive feature that they can be made by highly scalable, high-speed coating and printing processes such as spray painting and inkjet printing to cover large areas on flexible plastic substrates. They provide a low-cost alternative for the future.

In an OPV, solar radiation is harnessed in an unusual way. Incoming radiation excites the photoactive polymer, which functions atomically as a loosely bounded electron-hole pair, referred to as an exciton. The key to OPV technology is the mechanism of effective separation and transport of the electrons and holes (charge carriers). Otherwise, energy is wasted. Examining certain classes of molecules can help in understanding the mechanism's importance.

Spherical fullerenes or C₆₀ (also known as buckyballs) are allotropes (different forms) of carbon that are capable of trapping electrons. They can be used in OPVs for separating charges to prevent recombination of electrons and holes. However, the allotropes are neither good conductors of electricity nor optimal for charge transport. A single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT), a cylindrical variation of a fullerene, offers a solution owing to its shape. SWNTs have a nanometer-scale diameter and exhibit ballistic electrical conductivity (many times better than copper) that can serve as tiny wires.

Figure 1. (a) Attachment of C₆₀ clusters on the sidewall of carbon nanotubes. Under light irradiation, electrons captured by C₆₀ molecules will be injected into and then transported via SWNTs. (b) Photograph of devices fabricated on flexible plastic. (c) Scanning electron microscope image of the C₆₀-SWNT complex showing decoration of the nanotube surface with C₆₀ clusters. SWNT: Single-wall nanotube.

The key component of the OPVs developed in our group is a C₆₀-SWNT complex. The SWNTs offers superior electron transport properties, and the spherical C₆₀, with its large surface-to-volume ratio, is extremely efficient at separating photogenerated charge carriers. The charge partitioning at the polymer/C₆₀ interface is followed by efficient electron transport through the nanotubes. Together, these lead to higher quantum efficiencies.

Recently, we developed the chemistry related to the synthesis of the C₆₀-SWNT complex and the associated OPV fabrication technology.^1,2 Figure 1(a) shows in schematic form nanotubes decorated with clusters of C₆₀ molecules and the mechanism of charge transport. Figure 1(b) is a photograph of a solar cell made by coating a flexible plastic substrate. Figure 1(c) presents a scanning electron microscope image of the SWNT-C₆₀ complex. The surface of the tubes is dotted with clusters of C₆₀.

Adding SWNTs to a photoactive coating improves the performance of OPVs. The coating is composed of a conducting polymer: poly(3-hexylthiophene). We tested both the C₆₀-SWNT complex and the pristine C₆₀ in our lab under simulated AM1.5-G solar irradiation at 95 mW/cm². When the SWNTs were introduced into the photoactive composite layer via binding with C₆₀, the short circuit current and fill factor improved significantly with power conversion efficiency, by as much as 78%.

In photovoltaic cells without SWNTs and after charge separation at the polymer/C₆₀ interface, electrons can move toward the cathode only by hopping between C₆₀ molecules. In contrast, SWNTs can form a network throughout the composite layer and provide a direct pathway for enhanced electron transport. Electrons captured by C₆₀ molecules or clusters are transferred to SWNTs for rapid current flow. The C₆₀-SWNT composite appears to be an excellent candidate for constructing low-cost OPVs. C₆₀ is significantly less expensive than other fullerene derivatives, and only a small amount of the more expensive SWNT is needed in the photoactive composite. Further optimization of material synthesis and device fabrication is necessary to optimize the performance of our solar cell.

This work was supported at New Jersey Institute of Technology by the US Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center.

---

Somenath Mitra, Cheng Li

Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Newark, NJ

Somenath Mitra chairs the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). His research interests include organic photovoltaics, nanotechnology, and sensor development.

Cheng Li is a research fellow. He completed his PhD in materials science and engineering at NJIT in 2003 before joining Somenath Mitra's group. His research interests include device physics of organic solar cells, organic thin-film transistors, and thin-film sensors for damage detection.

---

References:

1. C. Li, Y. Chen, Y Wang, Z. Iqbal, M. Chhowalla, S. Mitra, Fullerene-single wall carbon nanotube complex for polymer bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells, J. Mater. Chem. 17, pp. 2406, 2007.

2. C. Li, S. Mitra, Processing of fullerene-single wall carbon nanotube complex for bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, pp. 253112, 2007.

http://spie.org/x19641.xml?highlight=x2358#B1

DOI: 10.1117/2.1200802.1045

Thermoelectric Breakthrough in Silicon Nanowires

Contact: Lynn Yarris (510) 386-5375, lcyarris@lbl.gov

Jan. 9, 2008

BERKELEY, CA — Energy now lost as heat during the production of electricity could be harnessed through the use of silicon nanowires synthesized via a technique developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) at Berkeley. The far-ranging potential applications of this technology include DOE’s hydrogen fuel cell-powered “Freedom CAR,” and personal power-jackets that could use heat from the human body to recharge cell-phones and other electronic devices. Rough silicon nanowires synthesized by Berkeley Lab researchers demonstrated high performance thermoelectric properties even at room temperature when connected between two suspended heating pads. In this illustration, one pad serves as the heat source (pink), the other as the sensor. “This is the first demonstration of high performance thermoelectric capability in silicon, an abundant semiconductor for which there already exists a multibillion dollar infrastructure for low-cost and high-yield processing and packaging,” said Arun Majumdar, a mechanical engineer and materials scientist with joint appointments at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley, who was one of the principal investigators behind this research. “We’ve shown that it’s possible to achieve a large enhancement of thermoelectric energy efficiency at room temperature in rough silicon nanowires that have been processed by wafer-scale electrochemical synthesis,” said chemist Peidong Yang, the other principal investigator behind this research, who also holds a joint Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley appointment. Majumdar, who was recently appointed director of Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) and is a member of the Materials Sciences Division, is an expert on energy conversion and nanoscale science and engineering. Yang is a leading nanoscience authority with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and with the UC Berkeley Chemistry Department. Majumdar and Yang are the co-authors of a paper appearing in the January 10, 2008 edition of the journal Nature, entitled “Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Rough Silicon Nanowires.” Also co-authoring this paper were Allon Hochbaum, Renkun Chen, Raul Diaz Delgado, Wenjie Liang, Erik Garnett and Mark Najarian. The Nature paper describes a unique “electroless etching” method by which arrays of silicon nanowires are synthesized in an aqueous solution on the surfaces of wafers that can measure dozens of square inches in area. The technique involves the galvanic displacement of silicon through the reduction of silver ions on a wafer’s surface. Unlike other synthesis techniques, which yield smooth-surfaced nanowires, this electroless etching method produces arrays of vertically aligned silicon nanowires that feature exceptionally rough surfaces. The roughness is believed to be critical to the surprisingly high thermoelectric efficiency of the silicon nanowires. “The rough surfaces are definitely playing a role in reducing the thermal conductivity of the silicon nanowires by a hundredfold, but at this time we don’t fully understand the physics,” said Majumdar. “While we cannot say exactly why it works, we can say that the technique does work.” Nearly all of the world’s electrical power, approximately 10 trillion Watts, is generated by heat engines, giant gas or steam-powered turbines that convert heat to mechanical energy, which is then converted to electricity. Much of this heat, however, is not converted but is instead released into the environment, approximately 15 trillion Watts. If even a small fraction of this lost heat could be converted to electricity, its impact on the energy situation would be enormous. From left, Renkun Chen, Arun Majumdar, Peidong Yang and Allon Hochbaum were co-authors of a Nature paper that described a wafer-scale electrochemical synthesis technique for producing rough silicon nanowires that can convert heat into electricity with surprisingly high efficiency. “Thermoelectric materials, which have the ability to convert heat into electricity, potentially could be used to capture much of the low-grade waste heat now being lost and convert it into electricity,” said Majumdar. “This would result in massive savings on fuel and carbon dioxide emissions. The same devices can also be used as refrigerators and air conditioners, and because these devices can be miniaturized, it could make heating and cooling much more localized and efficient.” However the on-going challenge for scientists and engineers has been to make thermoelectric materials that are efficient enough to be practical. The goal is a value of 1.0 or more for a performance measurement called the “thermoelectric figure of merit” or ZT, which combines the electric and thermal conductivities of a material with its capacity to generate electricity from heat. Because these parameters are generally interdependent, attaining this goal has proven extremely difficult. In recent years, ZT values of one or more have been achieved in thin films and nanostructures made from the semiconductor bismuth telluride and its alloys, but such materials are expensive, difficult to work with, and do not lend themselves to large-scale energy conversions. “Bulk silicon is a poor thermoelectric material at room temperature, but by substantially reducing the thermal conductivity of our silicon nanowires without significantly reducing electrical conductivity, we have obtained ZT values of 0.60 at room temperatures in wires that were approximately 50 nanometers in diameter,” said Yang. “By reducing the diameter of the wires in combination with optimized doping and roughness control, we should be able to obtain ZT values of 1.0 or higher at room temperature.” The ability to dip a wafer into solution and grow on its surface a forest of vertically aligned nanowires that are consistent in size opens the door to the creation of thermoelectric modules which could be used in a wide variety of situations. For example, such modules could convert the heat from automotive exhaust into supplemental power for a Freedom CAR-type vehicle, or provide the electricity a conventional vehicle needs to run its radio, air conditioner, power windows, etc. When scaled up, thermoelectric modules could eventually be used in co-generating power with gas or steam turbines. Figure (a) is a cross-sectional scanning electron microscope image of an array of rough silicon nanowires with an inset showing a typical wafer chip of these wires. Figure (b) is a transmission electron microscope image of a segment of one of these wires in which the surface roughness can be clearly seen. The inset shows that the wire is single crystalline all along its length. “You can siphon electrical power from just about any situation in which heat is being given off, heat that is currently being wasted,” said Majumdar. “For example, if it is cold outside and you are wearing a jacket made of material embedded with thermoelectric modules, you could recharge mobile electronic devices off the heat of your body. In fact, thermoelectric generators have already been used to convert body heat to power wrist watches.” The Berkeley Lab researchers will be studying the physics behind this phenomenon to better understand and possibly manipulate it for even further improvements. They will also concentrate on the design and fabrication of thermoelectric modules based on silicon nanowire arrays. Berkeley Lab’s Technology Transfer Department is now seeking industrial partners to further develop and commercialize this technology. This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Science, through the Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. Berkeley Lab is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory located in Berkeley, California. It conducts unclassified scientific research and is managed by the University of California. Visit our Website at www.lbl.gov. http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/MSD-silicon-nanowires.html Additional Information Arun Majumdar can be reached via e-mail at majumdar@me.berkeley.edu Peidong Yang can be reached via e-mail at p_yang@uclink.berkeley.edu For more information on the research of Arun Majumdar, visit his Website at http://www.me.berkeley.edu/faculty/majumdar/ For more information on the research of Peidong Yang, visit his Website at http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/pdygrp/main.html If interested in licensing the silicon nanowire technology for commercial development, please contact Berkeley Lab’s Technology Transfer Department at TTD@lbl.gov

Canon US Reissue Patent 40,062 Feb. 12, 2008

This recent Canon US reissue patent is of interest in that it pertains to SED type subject matter but includes the possibility that a carbon layer on the cathode is not an absolute necessity (though it is mentioned as a possibility) and can consist solely of SnO2 (tin oxide):

United States Patent RE40,062

Yoshioka , et al. February 12, 2008

Display device with electron-emitting device with electron-emitting region insulated from electrodes

Abstract

A display device includes an electron-emitting device which is a laminate of an insulating layer and a pair of opposing electrodes formed on a planar substrate. A portion of the insulating layer is between the electrodes and contains fine particles of an electron emitting substance, that portion acting as an electron emitting region. Electrons are emitted from the electron emission region by applying a voltage to the electrodes, thereby stimulating a phosphorous to emit light.

Inventors: Yoshioka; Seishiro (Hiratsuka, JP), Nomura; Ichiro (Atsugi, JP), Suzuki; Hidetoshi (Yokohama, JP), Takeda; Toshihiko (Yokohama, JP), Kaneko; Tetsuya (Yokohama, JP), Banno; Yoshikazu (Machida, JP), Yokono; Kojiro (Yokohama, JP)

Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP)
Appl. No.: 09/587,249
Filed: June 2, 2000

Related U.S. Patent Documents

Application Number - Filing Date - Patent Number - Issue Date
08396066 Feb., 1995
08191065 Feb., 1994
07705720 May., 1991
07218203 Jul., 1988 5066883
Reissue of: 08479000 Jun., 1995 05759080 Jun., 1998
Foreign Application Priority Data

Jul 15, 1987 [JP] 62-174837
Oct 02, 1987 [JP] 62-250448
Oct 09, 1987 [JP] 62-255063
Oct 09, 1987 [JP] 62-255068
Apr 27, 1988 [JP] 63-102485
Apr 27, 1988 [JP] 63-102486
Apr 27, 1988 [JP] 63-102487
Apr 27, 1988 [JP] 63-102488
Jun 21, 1988 [JP] 63-154516 [A very early date!!]

http://tinyurl.com/38p9b3

Canon is up to something - I'm not sure what. This requires some analysis to see if their SED development can be based on this patent and bypass our IP.

These clams get my attention as noted by --[]-- my comments in the brackets:

.Iadd.6. A method of fabricating an electron-emitting device which comprises a pair of electrodes and a layer disposed between the electrodes, the method comprising the steps of: disposing the pair of electrodes in first and second regions on a substrate, respectively; and providing the layer between the regions, the layer comprising a metal and a semiconductor, and being in contact with the electrodes so that current flows from one of the electrodes to another one of the electrodes through the layer by a voltage applied between the electrodes, wherein the metal is Pd..Iaddend.[No carbon required - no fine particles required]

.Iadd.7. The method of claim 6, wherein the semiconductor is selected from the group consisting of carbon and SnO.sub.2..Iaddend.[Carbon OR SnO.sub.2]

.Iadd.8. A method of fabricating an electron-emitting device, comprising the steps of: disposing a pair of electrodes in first and second regions on a substrate, respectively; and providing a layer between the regions, the layer comprising carbon and a metal, and being in contact with the electrodes so that current flows from one of the electrodes to another one of the electrodes through the layer by a voltage applied between the electrodes, wherein the metal is Pd..Iaddend.[No carbon required - no fine particles required]

.Iadd.9. A method of fabricating an electron-emitting device, comprising the steps of: disposing a pair of electrodes in first and second regions on a substrate, respectively; and providing a layer between the regions, the layer comprising carbon and a metal, and being in contact with the electrodes so that current flows from one of the electrodes to another one of the electrodes through the layer by a voltage applied between the electrodes, wherein the layer comprises primarily carbon..Iaddend.[Carbon is required]

.Iadd.10. A method of fabricating an electron-emitting device, comprising the steps of: disposing a pair of electrodes in first and second regions on a substrate, respectively; and providing a layer between the regions, the layer being in contact with the electrodes so that current flows from one of the electrodes to another one of the electrodes through the layer by a voltage applied between the electrodes, the layer comprising an insulating material and at least some conductive particles which protrude from a surface of the layer, wherein the conductive particles comprise Pd..Iaddend.[No carbon required - conductive particles are required]

.Iadd.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the insulating material is SiO.sub.2..Iaddend.[No carbon required]

Don't know if this is the way to avoid carbon. Carbon is certainly contemplated! But NOT a requirement!! Is carbon the BEST? Unknown - but likely so. Does NPI's IP cover a non-carbon variation anyway? I think so!

BTW - what is added in the reissue appears between '.Iadd.' and '.Iaddend.'

The original US patent 5,759,080 is here:
Link

These are the claims:
1. A method of preparing an electron-emitting device, comprising the steps of:

forming electrodes opposed to each other on a substrate;

forming between the electrodes and in contact therewith an insulating layer in which fine particles are completely enclosed; and

etching the insulating layer so as to partially expose the fine particles.

2. A method of preparing an electron-emitting device comprising the steps of:

forming electrodes opposed to each other on a substrate;

forming between the electrodes and in contact therewith a semiconductor layer in which fine particles are completely enclosed; and

etching the semiconductor layer so as to partially expose the fine particles.

3. A method of preparing an electron-emitting device, comprising the steps of:

(i) forming a semiconductor layer on a substrate;

(ii) forming electrodes on said semiconductor layer; and

(iii) dispersing fine particles between said electrodes.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said semiconductor layer comprises a layer comprising an amorphous silicon semiconductor, a crystallized silicon semiconductor, or a compound semiconductor.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said semiconductor layer has a film thickness of from 50 angstroms to 10 .mu.m.

All original claims require the presence of 'fine particles'. The Reissue claims 6-48 do NOT so require these 'fine particles' in every claim!!

Claims 1-5 inclusive are original while claims 6-48 are added in the reissue patent.

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A FIELD EMITTER ELECTRODE USING THE ARRAY OF NANOWIRES

Publication Number: WO/2008/018701 International Application No.: PCT/KR2007/003572
Publication Date: 14.02.2008
International Filing Date: 25.07.2007

Applicants: KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Abstract:
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a field emitter electrode, in which nanowires are aligned horizontally, perpendicularly or at any angle between horizontal and perpendicular according to the direction of a generated electromagnetic field. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a field emitter electrode having nanowires aligned horizontally, perpendicularly or at any angle between horizontal and perpendicular according to the direction of a generated electromagnetic field, the method comprising the steps of diluting nanowires in a solvent, dispersing the resulting solution on a substrate fixed to the upper part of an electromagnetic field generator, and fixing the nanowires aligned in the direction of an electromagnetic field generated from the electromagnetic field generator. According to the present invention, a high capacity field emitter electrode having high density nanowires aligned according to the direction of a generated electromagnetic field can be fabricated by a simple process and nanowires can be used as positive electrode materials for field emission displays (FEDs), sensors, electrodes, backlights and the like.

http://tinyurl.com/2m7dfw

THERMIONIC EMITTING METAL INTERCALATED GRAPHITIC NANOFIBERS

Abstract:

A carbon-based composition comprising graphite carbon nano-fibers intercalated with a metal useful as a thermionic electron emission material.

Applicants:VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY [US/US]; 1207 17th Avenue South, Suite 105, Nashville, TN 37212 (US) (All Except US).
LUKEHART, Charles, M. [US/US]; 1207 17th Avenue South, Suite 105, Nashville, TN 37212 (US) (US Only).
MICHEL, Jason, A. [US/US]; 1207 17th Avenue South, Suite 105, Nashville, TN 37212 (US) (US Only).
FISHER, Timothy [US/US]; 1207 17th Avenue South, Suite 105, Nashville, TN 37212 (US) (US Only).
ROBINSON, Vance [US/US]; 1207 17th Avenue South, Suite 105, Nashville, TN 37212 (US) (US Only).

Title:	THERMIONIC EMITTING METAL INTERCALATED GRAPHITIC NANOFIBERS
Abstract:	A carbon-based composition comprising graphite carbon nano-fibers intercalated with a metal useful as a thermionic electron emission material.

Claims:

1. A carbon-based composition comprising graphite carbon nano-fibers intercalated with a metal.

2. A composition of claim 1 wherein said metal is an alkali metal.

3. A composition of claim 2 wherein said alkali metal is potassium.

4. A thermionic electron emission material comprising the composition of claim 1.

[0017] The present invention is predicated on the discovery that certain metal intercalated GCNF materials possess unexpectedly low work functions and

concomitant enhanced thermionic emission properties. Preferred intercalating metals are the alkali metals. Particularly preferred is potassium.

[0018] More particularly, it has unexpectedly1 found that the thermionic electron energy distributions (TEEDs) from GCNFs with and without potassium intercalation reveal a dramatic reduction in work function from 4.7 eV to 2.2 eV due to the intercalation. This reduction is generally consistent with prior photoemission experiments on fibrous carbon materials with intercalated alkali metals; however an important difference is that the present results were performed at elevated temperatures. These results indicate that the effect can be maintained at the high temperatures required in applications of these materials as thermionic electron sources and energy conversion materials.

http://tinyurl.com/yre5cx