News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Researchers have found that a material shaped like a one-dimensional DNA helix, encapsulated in a nanotube made of boron nitride, helps build a field-effect transistor with a diameter of two nanometers. Transistors on the market are made of bulkier silicon and range between 10 and 20 nanometers in scale. The work was performed by engineers at Purdue University in collaboration with Michigan Technological University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Texas at Dallas.

A team led by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has cultured the human blood-brain barrier on a chip, re-creating its physiology more realistically than predecessor chips. In testing related to drug delivery, nanoparticles moved through this “blood-brain-barrier-on-a-chip” after engaging endothelial cell receptors, which caused these cells to engulf the nanoparticles and then transport them to what would be inside the human brain in a natural setting.

A team led by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has cultured the human blood-brain barrier on a chip, re-creating its physiology more realistically than predecessor chips. In testing related to drug delivery, nanoparticles moved through this “blood-brain-barrier-on-a-chip” after engaging endothelial cell receptors, which caused these cells to engulf the nanoparticles and then transport them to what would be inside the human brain in a natural setting.

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University are using advanced polymers and carbon nanotubes to improve the performance of military body armor. The researchers plan to improve the properties of fibers used in body armor to absorb ballistic energy and dissipate it as quickly as possible when a projectile strikes. 

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University are using advanced polymers and carbon nanotubes to improve the performance of military body armor. The researchers plan to improve the properties of fibers used in body armor to absorb ballistic energy and dissipate it as quickly as possible when a projectile strikes. 

Stacking ultrathin complex oxide single-crystal layers allows researchers to create new structures with hybrid properties and multiple functions. Now, using a new platform developed by engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers will be able to make these stacked-crystal materials in virtually unlimited combinations. The engineers combined their expertise to create ultrathin complex oxide single-crystal layers by using graphene as the peel-away intermediate.

Stacking ultrathin complex oxide single-crystal layers allows researchers to create new structures with hybrid properties and multiple functions. Now, using a new platform developed by engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers will be able to make these stacked-crystal materials in virtually unlimited combinations. The engineers combined their expertise to create ultrathin complex oxide single-crystal layers by using graphene as the peel-away intermediate.

A team of researchers led by Rutgers University has developed a gold nanoparticle-based tool to monitor influenza A virus mutations in real time, which could help virologists learn how to stop viruses from replicating. It is the first time in virology that experts have used imaging tools with gold nanoparticles to monitor mutations in influenza with unparalleled sensitivity.

A team of researchers led by Rutgers University has developed a gold nanoparticle-based tool to monitor influenza A virus mutations in real time, which could help virologists learn how to stop viruses from replicating. It is the first time in virology that experts have used imaging tools with gold nanoparticles to monitor mutations in influenza with unparalleled sensitivity.

Chemical engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have demonstrated how to make the conversion process from carbon dioxide to methanol more efficient by using a highly effective separation membrane they produced. The membrane contains small pores — known as water-conduction nanochannels — that can carefully and quickly let water go through them without losing gas molecules. This breakthrough, the researchers said, could improve a number of industry processes that depend on chemical reactions where water is a byproduct.