Scientists have developed a method using nanoparticles laced with polymers that promises to deliver potent antibiotics directly to bacteria. The method would bypass the body’s natural resistance to certain designer drugs, and combat bacteria that have grown resistant to existing drugs. A team of researchers built the nanoparticles from a polymer coated with polyethylene glycol, [...]
Polymer Nanotubes Key to Detecting Nerve Gas
May 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Korean scientists have developed a sensor built from polymer nanostructures that can detect extremely minute concentrations of nerve gas, is less expensive than current models, lightweight, wearable, and can be used continuously. Jyongsik Jang, a polymer scientist at Seoul National Laboratory, says the sensor can detect nerve gas at concentrations as low as 10 parts [...]
Polymers Help Make New Drugs Faster, Cheaper
May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that certain kinds of polymers can improve a protein purifier that could help pharmaceutical companies save time and money. When prescription drugs are created, desired proteins need to be isolated from the others, a process called purifying, which is time-consuming and expensive. Capturing the proteins is a necessary [...]
Guidelines Set to Reduce Resin Supply Problems
May 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Automobile production will not lag, despite a disruption in the supply of an important polyamide, thanks to interim guidelines that will provide a method to analyze and test replacement materials. The guidelines were developed by more than 30 companies, representing links in the supply chain of the polyamide called nylon 12, as well as automakers [...]
Starch Technique Could Add to Fiber Stock
May 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Starch usually is too thick of a substance to make into fibers, but food scientists at Penn State have discovered a method that converts it into strands that could be used to make less expensive and more environmentally friendly bandages and paper products. “There are many applications for starch fibers,” says Lingyan Kong, graduate student, [...]
Device Makes Quick Genetic Tests
May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Canadian researchers have developed a medical device the size of a toaster that can perform the same genetic tests as a fully equipped laboratory in a fraction of the time. The key to the device — developed at the University of Alberta — is a small plastic chip that can make several determinations: from whether [...]
Bipolymer Microthreads Regenerate Human Tissue
May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
American researchers are developing a system that uses microthreads to regenerate human tissue and heal wounds. George Pins, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, got the idea of using microthreads as the basis for tissue engineering when he wanted to find a better way to repair torn anterior cruciate [...]
Scientists Create Plastic Solar Cell
April 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Scientists have discovered a method using polymers that could allow improved solar cells to be manufactured more cheaply and with more flexibility. Manufacturers already print or roll material onto surfaces to produce an electronically functional device, writes Jennifer Hicks in Forbes. This process is used to make organic solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes that [...]
Polymer Alternative to DNA Created
April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
British scientists have developed polymer alternatives to DNA and RNA — the molecular architecture of life on Earth — that could lead to improvements in medicine and nanotechnology. DNA forms the template that contains all the information necessary to create an organism, writes Eryn Brown for Los Angeles Times via BostonHerald.com. RNA takes that information [...]
Mussel-Inspired Adhesive Has Many Useful Properties
April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Inspired by mussels’ ability to adhere to many surfaces underwater, German researchers have developed a group of adhesives that are waterproof, can bind themselves together, react with surfaces, degrade with light, and are biocompatible. The materials have applications in medicine, reports Azom.com. They could be used for removable hydrogel pads that help regenerate skin or [...]
