Bio-inspired assembly of nanoparticle building blocks

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V-shaped amphiphilic molecules containing gold nanoparticles form cylindrical micelles when exposed to water. Credit: Eugene ZubarevRice University
V-shaped amphiphilic molecules containing gold nanoparticles form cylindrical micelles when exposed to water. Credit: Eugene Zubarev/Rice University

Chemists at Rice University have discovered how to assemble gold and silver nanoparticle building blocks into larger structures based on a novel method that harkens back to one of nature's oldest known chemical innovations – the self-assembly of lipid membranes that surround every living cell.


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All News summaries for November 27, 2006

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