Nanobodies modifizieren die Form und Funktion von Proteinen

Binden Antikoerper des Immunsystems an Proteine, koennen sie deren Form - und damit auch die Funktion dieser Molekuele - veraendern. Einem LMU-Team gelang hier nun ein Durchbruch: Die Forscher konnten zeigen, dass unkonventionell kleine Antikoerper, die sogenannten Nanobodies, die Eigenschaften des Gruen Fluoreszierenden Proteins, kurz GFP, mit unerwarteter Praezision modifizieren.

New imaging technique allows quick evaluation of graphene sheets

Graphene based sheets such as pristine graphene, graphene oxide, or reduced graphene oxide are basically single atomic layers of carbon network. They are the world's thinnest materials. A general visualization method that allows quick observation of these sheets would be highly desirable as it can greatly facilitate sample evaluation and manipulation, and provide immediate feedback to improve synthesis and processing strategies. Current imaging techniques for observing graphene based sheets include atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. Some of these techniques are rather low-throughput. And all the current techniques require the use of special types of substrates. This greatly limits the capability to study these materials. Researchers from Northwestern University have now reported a new method, namely fluorescence quenching microscopy, for visualizing graphene-based sheets.

Heart cells display a behavior-guiding ‘nanosense’ on new lab-on-a-chip

Johns Hopkins biomedical engineers, working with colleagues in Korea, have produced a laboratory chip with nanoscopic grooves and ridges capable of growing cardiac tissue that more closely resembles natural heart muscle. Surprisingly, heart cells cultured in this way used a 'nanosense' to collect instructions for growth and function solely from the physical patterns on the nanotextured chip and did not require any special chemical cues to steer the tissue development in distinct ways.

Photovoltaic cells to power biological nanorobots inside the body

As the fields of bionanotechnologies develop, it will become possible one day to use biological nanodevices such as nanorobots for in situ and real-time in vivo diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of specific targets. A prerequisite for designing and constructing wireless biological nanorobots is the availability of an electrical source which can be made continuously available in the operational biological environment (i.e. the human body). Several possible sources - temperature displacement, kinetic energy derived from blood flow, and chemical energy released from biological motors inside the body - have been designed to provide the electrical sources that can reliably operate in body. Researchers now report the construction of a 980-nm laser-driven photovoltaic cell that can provide a sufficient power output even when covered by thick biological tissue layers.