In brief

By National Law No. 27,685 ("Law"), published on 16 September 2022, Law No. 26,270 was amended, expanding throughout the entire national territory the promotion regime for the development and production of modern biotechnology and nanotechnology. The regime will be in force up to 31 December 2034.

The Law set forth the following tax benefits: (i) the accelerated amortization of the capital goods, special equipment, and parts or elements forming those new goods, which were acquired for the project; (ii) the anticipated refund for the VAT corresponding to the goods acquired for the project; and (iii) the granting of a tax credit bond equivalent to 50% of expenses paid for hiring investigative and development services from institutions that are part of the national public system of science, technology and innovation. The tax credit bond will be valid for 10 years and it will only be transferable once.

In focus

The Law includes the concept of nanotechnology in the definition of "Modern Biotechnology", which means every technological application based on rational knowledge and scientific principles that derive from biology, biochemistry, microbiology, bioinformatics, molecular biology and genetic engineering, or that uses live organisms or parts of them, either for the production of goods and services, or for the substantial improvement of products and productive processes.

The Law set forth the following tax benefits:

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Argentina: Promotion of modern biotechnology and nanotechnology - Lexology

LONDON, Sept. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to The Business Research Companys research report on the filters market, nanotechnology is gaining popularity in the filters market trends. Nanotechnology in filters refers to the use of nanomaterials and nanoparticles to improve the performance of filters. One such filter system based on nanotechnology is a nanotech-based water purification system that is thought to be modular, highly efficient, and cost-effective compared to traditional water filtration procedures. These systems are made up of carbonaceous nanomaterials, metal oxide nanoparticles, zeolites, and other nanomaterials that are integrated into a polymeric matrix to improve the performance of traditional polymeric membranes. For instance, in February 2020, Parker Hannifin Corporation, a US-based motion and control technology company, and its Industrial Gas Filtration and Generation Division introduced ProTura SB Nano Pleated Filters, which is a dust collection filter used in a variety of applications. The ProTura SB Nano Pleated Filters use advanced nanofibre filtration technology whose filters are made from a 100% synthetic base media with a proprietary nanofiber layer applied to the collection surface, designed for demanding applications.

Request for a sample of the global filters market report

The global filters market size is expected to grow from $68.28 billion in 2021 to $72.23 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.95%. The global filters market share is expected to grow to $94.30 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.89%.

The rapidly increasing adoption of air purifiers due to increasing toxic gas release in the air causing severe health hazards is expected to fuel the filter market demand. Air toxics cause a broad range of health effects depending on the specific pollutant, the amount of exposure, and how people are exposed. People inhaling high levels of air toxics experience nose, throat and eye irritation, and breathing difficulty. Long term exposure to air toxics such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, lead and others can cause cancer and lead to a long-term damage to the respiratory, neurological, immune, and reproductive systems. For instance, according to a study from British Lung Foundation (BLF) and Asthma UK published in February 2021, nearly 6 million people aged over 65 in England are at higher risk of lung damage and asthma attacks because of toxic air. This rise in toxic air would increase the demand for air purifies thus driving the filters market growth.

Major players in the filters market are 3M Company, Airex Filter Corp, Koch Filter, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies SE & Co KG, Donaldson Company Inc, Camfil AB, Parker Hannifin Corp, DENSO Corp, Clark Air Systems, Spectrum Filtration Pvt Ltd, MANN+HUMMEL, Clear Edge Filtration Group, Pall Corporation, Danaher Corporation, TFI Filtration (India) Private Limited and Aarkays Air Equipment Private Limited.

The global filters market is segmented by product into fluid filters, ICE filters, air filters; by distribution channel into offline stores, online stores; by application into motor vehicles, consumer goods, utilities, industrial and manufacturing, others.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the global filters market in 2021. The regions covered in the global filters market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Africa.

Filters Global Market Report 2022 Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2022-2026 is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provide filters market overviews, filters market analyze and forecast market size and growth for the whole market, filters market segments and geographies, filters market trends, filters market drivers, filters market restraints, filters market leading competitors revenues, profiles and market shares in over 1,000 industry reports, covering over 2,500 market segments and 60 geographies.

The report also gives in-depth analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the market. The reports draw on 150,000 datasets, extensive secondary research, and exclusive insights from interviews with industry leaders. A highly experienced and expert team of analysts and modelers provides market analysis and forecasts. The reports identify top countries and segments for opportunities and strategies based on market trends and leading competitors approaches.

Not the market you are looking for? Check out some similar market intelligence reports:

Air Purifiers Global Market Report 2022 By Technology (HEPA Filter, Activated Carbon), By Type (Dust Collectors, Fume & Smoke Collectors), By End-User (Residential, Commercial) Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2022-2026

Water Purifiers Global Market Report 2022 By Technology Type (RO Water Purifier, UV Water Purifier, Gravity-Based Water Purifier), By End-User (Industrial, Commercial, Household), By Distribution Channel (Retail Stores, Direct Sales, Online), By Portability (Portable, Non-Portable), By Device Type (Wall Mounted, Countertop, Tabletop, Faucet-Mounted, Under-The-Sink (UTS)) Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2022-2026

Nanotechnology Services Global Market Report 2022 - By Service (Research And Development, Information Tracking, Technology Scouting, Standardisation, Regulation Briefings), By Application (Pharmaceuticals, Medical Equipment, Food And Beverages, It), By Provider (Large Enterprise, Small And Medium Enterprise) - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2022 - 2026

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Companies In The Filters Market Are Incorporating Nanotechnology To Improve The Efficiency Of The Filters As Per The Business Research Company's...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Saudi Arabia Nanotechnology in Cosmetics Market: Prospects, Trends Analysis, Market Size and Forecasts up to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The country research report on Saudi Arabia nanotechnology in cosmetics market is a customer intelligence and competitive study of the Saudi Arabia market. Moreover, the report provides deep insights into demand forecasts, market trends, and, micro and macro indicators in the Saudi Arabia market.

Also, factors that are driving and restraining the nanotechnology in cosmetics market are highlighted in the study. This is an in-depth business intelligence report based on qualitative and quantitative parameters of the market. Additionally, this report provides readers with market insights and a detailed analysis of market segments to possible micro levels. The companies and dealers/distributors profiled in the report include manufacturers & suppliers of the nanotechnology in cosmetics market in Saudi Arabia.

Segments Covered

The report on Saudi Arabia nanotechnology in cosmetics market provides a detailed analysis of segments in the market based on products, and nanomaterial.

Segmentation Based on Products

Segmentation Based on Nanomaterial

Highlights of the Report

The report provides detailed insights into:

1) Demand and supply conditions of the nanotechnology in cosmetics market

2) Factor affecting the nanotechnology in cosmetics market in the short run and the long run

3) The dynamics including drivers, restraints, opportunities, political, socioeconomic factors, and technological factors

4) Key trends and future prospects

5) Leading companies operating in the nanotechnology in cosmetics market and their competitive position in Saudi Arabia

6) The dealers/distributors profiles provide basic information of top 10 dealers & distributors operating in (Saudi Arabia) the nanotechnology in cosmetics market

7) Matrix: to position the product types

8) Market estimates up to 2028

The report answers questions such as:

1) What is the market size of the nanotechnology in cosmetics market in Saudi Arabia?

2) What are the factors that affect the growth in the nanotechnology in cosmetics market over the forecast period?

3) What is the competitive position in Saudi Arabia nanotechnology in cosmetics market?

4) What are the opportunities in Saudi Arabia nanotechnology in cosmetics market?

5) What are the modes of entering Saudi Arabia nanotechnology in cosmetics market?

Key Topics Covered:

1. Report Overview

2. Executive Summary

3. Market Overview

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Market Dynamics

3.2.1. Drivers

3.2.2. Restraints

3.2.3. Opportunities

3.2.4. Challenges

3.3. PEST-Analysis

3.4. Porter's Diamond Model for Saudi Arabia Nanotechnology in Cosmetics Market

3.5. IGR-Growth Matrix Analysis

3.6. Competitive Landscape in Saudi Arabia Nanotechnology in Cosmetics Market

4. Saudi Arabia Nanotechnology in Cosmetics Market by Products

4.1. Hair Care

4.2. Skin Care

4.3. Make-up

4.4. Sexual Well-being

4.5. Others

5. Saudi Arabia Nanotechnology in Cosmetics Market by Nanomaterial

5.1. Liposomes

5.2. Nanoemulsions

5.3. Nanocapsules

5.4. Solid Lipid Nanoparticles

5.5. Nanosilver and Nanogold

5.6. Others

6. Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/viwfjt

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Insights on the Saudi Arabia Nanotechnology in Cosmetics Industry to 2028 - by Product and Nanomaterial - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business Wire

Sep 23, 2022(Nanowerk News) Since the initial discovery of what has become a rapidly growing family of two-dimensional layered materials called MXenes in 2011, Drexel University researchers have made steady progress in understanding the complex chemical composition and structure, as well as the physical and electrochemical properties, of these exceptionally versatile materials. More than a decade later, advanced instruments and a new approach have allowed the team to peer within the atomic layers to better understand the connection between the materials form and function.In a paper recently published in Nature Nanotechnology ("Oxycarbide MXenes and MAX phases identification using monoatomic layer-by-layer analysis with ultralow-energy secondary-ion mass spectrometry"), researchers from Drexels College of Engineering and Polands Warsaw Institute of Technology and Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics reported a new way to look at the atoms that make up MXenes and their precursor materials, MAX phases, using a technique called secondary ion mass spectrometry.In doing so, the group discovered atoms in locations where they were not expected and imperfections in the two-dimensional materials that could explain some of their unique physical properties. They also demonstrated the existence of an entirely new subfamily of MXenes, called oxycarbides, which are two-dimensional materials where up to 30% of carbon atoms are replaced by oxygen.A new technique using secondary-ion mass spectrometry has given Drexel researchers a fresh look at the two-dimensional materials they have been studying for more than a decade. (Image: Drexel University)This discovery will enable researchers to build new MXenes and other nanomaterials with tunable properties best suited for specific applications from antennas for 5G and 6G wireless communication and shields for electromagnetic interference; to filters for hydrogen production, storage and separation; to wearable kidneys for dialysis patients.Better understanding of the detailed structure and composition of two-dimensional materials will allow us to unlock their full potential, said Yury Gogotsi, PhD, Distinguished University and Bach professor in the College, who led the MXene characterization research. We now have a clearer picture of why MXenes behave the way they do and will be able to tailor their structure and therefore behaviors for important new applications.Secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a commonly used technique to study solid surfaces and thin films and how their chemistry changes with depth. It works by shooting a beam of charged particles at a sample, which bombards the atoms on the surface of the material and ejects them a process called sputtering. The ejected ions are detected, collected and identified based on their mass and serve as indicators of the composition of the material.While SIMS has been used to study multi-layered materials over the years, the depth resolution has been limited examining the surface of a material (several angstroms). A team led by Pawel Michalowski, PhD, from Polands Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics, made a number of improvements to the technique, including adjusting the angle and energy of the beam, how the ejected ions are measured; and cleaning the surface of the samples, which allowed them to sputter samples layer by layer. This allowed the researchers to view the sample with an atom-level resolution that had not been previously possible.The closest technique for analysis of thin layers and surfaces of MXenes is X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which we have been using at Drexel starting from the discovery of the first MXene, said Mark Anayee, a doctoral candidate in Gogotsis group. While XPS only gave us a look at the surface of the materials, SIMS lets us analyze the layers beneath the surface. It allows us to remove precisely one layer of atoms at a time without disturbing the ones beneath it. This can give us a much clearer picture that would not be possible with any other laboratory technique.As the team peeled back the upper layer of atoms, like an archaeologist carefully unearthing a new find, the researchers began to see the subtle features of the chemical scaffolding within the layers of materials, revealing the unexpected presence and positioning of atoms, and various defects and imperfections.We demonstrated the formation of oxygen-containing MXenes, so-called oxycarbides. This represents a new subfamily of MXenes which is a big discovery! said Gogotsi. Our results suggest that for every carbide MXene, there is an oxycarbide MXene, where oxygen replaces some carbon atoms in the lattice structure.Since MAX and MXenes represent a large family of materials, the researchers further explored more complex systems that include multiple metal elements. They made several pathbreaking observations, including the intermixing of atoms in chromium-titanium carbide MXene which were previously thought to be separated into distinct layers. And they confirmed previous findings, such as the complete separation of molybdenum atoms to outer layers and titanium atoms to the inner layer in molybdenum-titanium carbide.All of these findings are important for developing MXenes with a finely tuned structure and improved properties, according to Gogotsi.We can now control not only the total elemental composition of MXenes, but also know in which atomic layers the specific elements like carbon, oxygen, or metals are located, said Gogotsi. We know that eliminating oxygen helps to increase the environmental stability of titanium carbide MXene and increase its electronic conductivity. Now that we have a better understanding of how much additional oxygen is in the materials, we can adjust the recipe so to speak to produce MXenes that do not have it, and as a result more stable in the environment.The team also plans to explore ways to separate layers of chromium and titanium, which will help it develop MXenes with attractive magnetic properties. And now that the SIMS technique has proven to be effective, Gogotsi plans to use it in future research, including his recent $3 million U.S. Department of Energy-funded effort to explore MXenes for hydrogen storage an important step toward the development of a new sustainable energy source.In many ways, studying MXenes for the last decade has been mapping uncharted territory, said Gogotsi. With this new approach, we have better guidance on where to look for new materials and applications.

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New technique allows researchers to scrape beyond the surface of nanomaterials - Nanowerk

Sep 23, 2022(Nanowerk News) What do clouds, televisions, pharmaceuticals, and even the dirt under our feet have in common? They all have or use crystals in some way. Crystals are more than just fancy gemstones. Clouds form when water vapor condenses into ice crystals in the atmosphere. Liquid crystal displays are used in a variety of electronics, from televisions to instrument panels. Crystallization is an important step for drug discovery and purification. Crystals also make up rocks and other minerals. Their crucial role in the environment is a focus of materials science and health sciences research.Scientists have yet to fully understand how crystallization occurs, but the importance of surfaces in promoting the process has long been recognized. Research from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the University of Washington (UW), and Durham University sheds new light on how crystals form at surfaces.Their results were published in Science Advances ("Hydroxide films on mica form charge-stabilized microphases that circumvent nucleation barriers").Aluminum hydroxide, depicted here in orange, undergoes fluctuations between structures before forming an ordered crystal. (Illustration by Nathan Johnson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)Previous studies on crystallization led scientists to form the classical nucleation theorythe predominant explanation for why crystals begin to form, or nucleate. When crystals nucleate, they begin as very small ephemeral clusters of just a few atoms. Their small size makes the clusters extremely difficult to detect. Scientists have managed to collect only a few images of such processes.New technologies are making it possible to visualize the crystallization process as never before, said PNNL Physical Sciences Division Chemist Ben Legg. He partnered with PNNL Battelle Fellow and UW Affiliate Professor James De Yoreo to do just that. With the help of Professor Kislon Voitchovsky from Durham University in England, they used a technique called atomic force microscopy to watch the nucleation of an aluminum hydroxide mineral on a mica surface in water.Mica is a common mineral, found in everything from drywall to cosmetics. It often provides a surface for other minerals to nucleate and grow. For this study, however, its most important feature was its extremely flat surface, which allowed researchers to detect the few-atom clusters as they formed on the mica.What Legg and De Yoreo observed was a crystallization pattern that was not expected from the classical theory. Instead of a rare event in which a cluster of atoms reaches a critical size and then grows across the surface, they saw thousands of fluctuating clusters that coalesced into an unexpected pattern with gaps that persisted between crystalline "islands."After careful analysis of the results, the researchers concluded that while certain aspects of the current theory held true, ultimately their system followed a nonclassical pathway. They attribute this to electrostatic forces from charges on the mica surface. Because many types of materials form charged surfaces in water, the researchers hypothesize that they observed a widespread phenomenon and are excited to look for other systems where this nonclassical process might occur.Assumptions from classical nucleation theory have far-reaching implications in disciplines ranging from materials science to climate prediction, said De Yoreo. The results from our experiments can help produce more accurate simulations of such systems.

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Atomic-scale imaging reveals a facile route to crystal formation - Nanowerk

Northwestern University has announced a major new center focused on improving the quality of primary care to improve primary care services and systems throughout the world.

A gift from the Patrick G. 59, 09 H (97, 00 P) and Shirley W. Ryan 61, 19 H (97, 00 P) Family will endow the Ryan Family Center for Global Primary Care within Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicines Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health, whose mission is to improve health for a better world.

The primary care centers focus within that aim is to collaborate with partner institutions in international environments where critical health care is most needed. Northwestern will help identify opportunities for research and training, build capacity for more primary care patients and, ultimately, improve health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care. The gift is part of a transformational $480 million gift from the Ryan Family to the University that was announced in September 2021.

This wonderful gift from the Ryan Family enables Northwestern to expand our critically important work across the globe to improve lives and transform human health, said Dr. Eric G. Neilson, Lewis Landsberg Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Feinberg. It is support like this that accelerates the pace of discovery for some of societys most important health issues. We are very grateful for their commitment to the science in medicine.

With the centers support, Feinberg faculty will conduct research and support scientific laboratories in these collaborating institutions, and Feinberg students and trainees will travel globally for pilot projects in primary care research.

With this visionary gift, the Ryans are putting Northwesterns faculty in a position to help reinvent primary care on a global scale, Northwestern President Michael H. Schill said. This represents one of our most urgent directives as an institution, one with as far-reaching effects as anything undertaken at a university like ours.

Dr. Robert J. Havey 80 MD, 83 GME, 84 GME (08, 13 P), deputy director of the Havey Institute for Global Health,said the goal of the Institute for Global Health is to find sustainable solutions to improve the health and health care of populations in under-resourced countries around the world. He noted that primary care is the foundation needed for health care to be affordable and effective.

The new Ryan Family Center for Global Primary Care will allow the Institute to find more efficient ways to improve and expand primary care systems to serve the billions of people around the world who currently have poor access to quality health care, said Havey, also a clinical professor ofmedicinein the division ofgeneral internal medicine and geriatrics, and a long-time general internist with Northwestern Medical Group. This is a humanitarian, economic and social stability crisis, occurring at a time of unprecedented global population growth. All of us at the Institute are grateful to the Ryan Family for recognizing and helping support this critical need.

As the largest donors in Northwesterns history, the Ryan Family has made broad and deep philanthropic investments across the institution, includingacademics. The Ryans have given in support of hundreds of different University programs. Among the most notable are:

Patrick G. Ryan is a 1959 Northwestern graduate. He received his undergraduate degree in business from what was then called the School of Business and now is named the Kellogg School of Management. He also received an honorary degree from the University in 2009 in appreciation for his 14 years of service as chairman of Northwesterns Board of Trustees. In 2013, he was inducted into Northwesterns Athletics Hall of Fame.

Shirley Welsh Ryan is a 1961 Northwestern graduate. She received her undergraduate degree in English Literature from what was then called the College of Arts and Sciences and is now named the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. In 2019, Northwestern awarded Mrs. Ryan the honorary title of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Mr. Ryan is distinguished as one of Chicagos most successful entrepreneurs and prominent civic leaders. His first business venture while a student involved selling scrapbooks to fellow students, which paid for his Northwestern education. Mr. Ryan founded and served for 41 years as CEO of Aon Corporation, the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage. At the time of his retirement, Aon had nearly $8 billion in annual revenue with more than 500 offices in 120 countries.

In 2010, Mr. Ryan founded Ryan Specialty, a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents and carriers. The firm provides distribution, underwriting, product development, administration and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter.

Mr. Ryan currently serves as chairman and CEO of Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc., which completed its initial public offering in July 2021. The firms shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RYAN. Mr. Ryan is distinct in having founded and built two major New York Stock Exchange traded insurance companies.

Mr. Ryan is a member of the Chicago Business Hall of Fame, and a member and past president of the Economic Club of Chicago. He also is a member of the International Insurance Hall of Fame and the Automotive Hall of Fame, a member and past chairman of Northwesterns Board of Trustees, a recipient of the esteemed Horatio Alger Award and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Shirley Welsh Ryan is founder of Pathways.org, which is used by 40 million parents and healthcare professionals annually through its video-based website and social media in every country except North Korea. Three hundred U.S. institutions of higher learning use Pathway.orgs free materials. Mrs. Ryans pioneering work to empower every infants fullest physical development has won numerous awards. Two U.S. presidents have appointed her to the National Council on Disability in Washington, D.C., which advises the U.S. Congress on disability policy.

In 2017, Pathways.org merged with the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, acclaimed for 32 years as the number one U.S. rehabilitation hospital by U.S. News & World Report.

The Pathways.org Medical Round Table (P.M.R.T.), created in 1990, is the first Infant Milestone Chart of typical and atypical development to be endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (A.A.P.). All Pathways.org material is in accord with the leadership of P.M.R.T. and A.A.P.

Mrs. Ryan is a strong believer in the power of early infant detection, therapeutic intervention, universal accessibility, and the concept that all children can learn. She serves on the boards of University of Notre Dame, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Alain Locke Charter School and WTTW-PBS. She also has served on the boards of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and Ronald McDonald House Charities; has chaired the Chicago Community Trust; and founded the Lincoln Park Zoo Womens Board. For 46 years, Mrs. Ryan has led a Northwestern graduate-level course entitled Learning for Life.

Mrs. Ryan has been awarded honorary doctorates from Northwestern, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also has received the Chicago History Museum Award for Distinction in Civic Leadership.

In addition to earning her B.A. from Northwestern, Mrs. Ryan studied at the Sorbonne of the University of Paris and the Ecoledu Louvre in Paris.

In addition to Mr. and Mrs. Ryan, the Ryan Family includes Pat 97 JD, MBA and Lydia; Rob 00 JD, MBA and Jennifer; and Corbett.

This is one in a series of announcements being made this fall related to the Ryan Familys $480 million gift to Northwestern, which wasannounced in September 2021.

Originally posted here:
Northwestern announces new global primary care center to foster health care equity in the developing world - Northwestern Now

Sep 22, 2022(Nanowerk News) Researchers at the MIT Media Lab have designed a miniature antenna that can operate wirelessly inside of a living cell, opening up possibilities in medical diagnostics and treatment and other scientific processes because of the antennas potential for monitoring and even directing cellular activity in real-time.The most exciting aspect of this research is we are able to create cyborgs at a cellular scale, says Deblina Sarkar, assistant professor and AT&T Career Development Chair at the MIT Media Lab and head of the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek Lab. We are able to fuse the versatility of information technology at the level of cells, the building blocks of biology.A paper describing the research was published in the journal Nature Communications ("Cell Rovera miniaturized magnetostrictive antenna for wireless operation inside living cells").An artist's rendition of the Cell Rover, an intracellular antenna for exploring and augmenting the inner world of the cell. (Image: Irakli Zurabishvili for Deblina Sarkar, with models by IronWeber and Lauri Purhonen)The technology, named Cell Rover by the researchers, represents the first demonstration of an antenna that can operate inside a cell and is compatible with 3D biological systems. Typical bioelectronic interfaces, Sarkar says, are millimeters or even centimeters in size, and are not only highly invasive but also fail to provide the resolution needed to interact with single cells wirelessly especially considering that changes to even one cell can affect a whole organism.The antenna developed by Sarkars team is much smaller than a cell. In fact, in the teams research with oocyte cells, the antenna represented less than .05 percent of the cell volume, putting it well below a size that would intrude upon and damage the cell.Finding a way to build an antenna of that size to work inside a cell was a key challenge.This is because conventional antennas need to be comparable in size to the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves they transmit and receive. Such wavelengths are very large they represent the velocity of light divided by the wave frequency. At the same time, increasing the frequency in order to reduce that ratio and the size of the antenna is counterproductive because high frequencies produce heat damaging to living tissue.The antenna developed by the Media Lab researchers converts electromagnetic waves into acoustic waves, whose wavelengths are five orders of magnitude smaller representing the velocity of sound divided by the wave frequency than those of the electromagnetic waves.This conversion from electromagnetic to acoustic waves is accomplished by fabricating the miniature antennas using material that is referred to as magnetostrictive. When a magnetic field is applied to the antenna, powering and activating it, magnetic domains within the magnetostrictive material align to the field, creating strain in the material, the way metal bits woven into a piece of cloth could react to a strong magnet, causing the cloth to contort.When an alternating magnetic field is applied to the antenna, the varying strain and stress (pressure) produced in the material is what creates the acoustic waves in the antenna, says Baju Joy, a student in Sarkar's lab and the lead author of this work. "We have also developed a novel strategy using a non-uniform magnetic field to introduce the rovers into the cells," Joy adds.Configured in this way, the antenna could be used to explore the fundamentals of biology as natural processes occur, Sarkar says. Instead of destroying cells to examine their cytoplasm as is typically done, the Cell Rover could monitor the development or division of a cell, detecting different chemicals and biomolecules such as enzymes, or physical changes such as in cell pressure all in real-time and in vivo.Materials such as polymers that undergo change in mass or stress in response to chemical or biomolecular changes already used in medical and other research could be integrated with the operation of the Cell Rover, according to the researchers. Such an integration could provide insights not afforded by the current observational techniques that involve destruction of the cell.With such capabilities, the Cell Rovers could be valuable in cancer and neurodegenerative disease research, for example. As Sarkar explains, the technology could be used to detect and monitor biochemical and electrical changes associated with the disease over its progression in individual cells. Applied in the field of drug discovery, the technology could illuminate the reactions of live cells to different drugs.Because of the sophistication and scale of nanoelectronic devices such as transistors and switches representing five decades of tremendous advancements in the field of information technology, Sarkar says the Cell Rover, with its mini antenna, could carry out functions ranging all the way to intracellular computing and information processing for autonomous exploration and modulation of the cell. The research demonstrated that multiple Cell Rovers can be engaged, even within a single cell, to communicate among themselves and outside of the cells.The Cell Rover is an innovative concept as it can embed sensing, communication and information technology inside a living cell, says Anantha P. Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. This opens up unprecedented opportunities for extremely precise diagnostics, therapeutics, and drug discovery, as well as creating a new direction at intersection between biology and electronic devices.The researchers named their intracellular antenna technology Cell Rover to invoke, like that of a Mars rover, its mission to explore a new frontier.You can think of the Cell Rover, says Sarkar, as being on an expedition, exploring the inner world of the cell.

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Cell Rover: Exploring and augmenting the inner world of the cell - Nanowerk

Sep 22, 2022(Nanowerk News) As the need to mitigate climate change accelerates, scientists are trying to find new ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One process, called electrochemical reduction or electrolysis, uses electricity and a catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into organic products that can be used in other ways. Unlike conversion between water and hydrogen, chemical recycling of carbon dioxide can produce various useable products because carbon can develop vast varieties of organic structures.One way to achieve electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide uses very tiny pieces of copper. While bulk copper metal has known to convert carbon dioxide into various organic molecules, these small pieces of copper can further improve catalytic activity not only by the increase of its surface area but also by the unique electronic structure of copper emerged from nanosizing.The organic layer grown on cuprous oxide nanocube improved CO2 reduction selectivity of Cu species wrapped by it, and also maintained its cubic structure during catalysis. (Image: Shoko Kume, Hiroshima University)In a paper published in Chemical Communications ("Uniform wrapping of copper(i) oxide nanocubes by self-controlled copper-catalyzed azidealkyne cycloaddition toward selective carbon dioxide electrocatalysis"), researchers explain a process for improving the way the copper nanocubes convert carbon dioxide, by improving their selectivity. Selectivity refers to the ability of a catalyst to produce a desired product over unwanted byproducts.Recent developments in carbon dioxide reduction using copper electrocatalysts can convert the gas into hydrocarbons and alcohol, but the selectivity of various copper-related electrocatalysts developed so far is still elusive, because they tend to lose activity through structural reorganization during the catalysis, said Shoko Kume, associate professor at the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering at Hiroshima University in Japan.Researchers discovered that this problem can be solved by growing an organic layer on top of the nanocubes. First, a pair of monomers were added to the copper oxide nanocube. These monomers were tethered by the chemistry on copper oxide and an even organic layer grew on the surface of the cubes. This new organic layer helps improve carbon dioxide reduction selectivity, in part because carbon dioxide has poor solubility and the organic layer the researchers produced has hydrophobic properties, meaning it repels excessive water, from which unwanted hydrogen is produced.The wrapping improved carbon dioxide reduction of the copper beneath this organic layer by suppressing hydrogen evolution, and also maintained the cubic structure throughout the catalyst operation, said Kume.Another important factor for improving the quality of the organic layer was the temperature at the time of the growth, with the best results found at room temperature. Under the best conditions, the layer is flat with a thickness of several molecules. Even the thin layer readily permeates carbon dioxide and allows the wrapped copper to undergo electroreduction, protecting the metals and helping the cubes retain their shape.Currently, copper nanocubes are not widely adopted as a method for carbon dioxide reduction because they are unstable and do not have the level of selectivity needed to effectively recycle the carbon dioxide into other chemical products. The findings of this paper highlight a new method of creating an electrocatalyst using copper nanocubes that can solve some of these problems. Researchers also point out, looking ahead, that the method can be modified to control both the selectivity and improve how the catalysts work.Our current method can introduce a vast variety of organic structures within the layer, which can be involved in the carbon dioxide reduction process to control its selectivity and efficiency, said Kume. It can also be used to control the dynamic behavior of metal species during catalysis, which can develop catalysts with long life and a tolerance for impurities.

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Wrapping of nanosize copper cubes can help convert carbon dioxide into other chemicals - Nanowerk