Nanoparticle

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In nanotechnology, a particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit in terms of its transport and properties. It is further classified according to size: In terms of diameter, fine particles cover a range between 100 and 2500 nanometers, while ultrafine particles, on the other hand, are sized between 1 and 100 nanometers. Similarly to ultrafine particles, nanoparticles are sized between 1 and 100 nanometers, though the size limitation can be restricted to two dimensions. Nanoparticles may or may not exhibit size-related properties that differ significantly from those observed in fine particles or bulk materials .

Nanoclusters have at least one dimension between 1 and 10 nanometers and a narrow size distribution. Nanopowders are agglomerates of ultrafine particles, nanoparticles, or nanoclusters. Nanometer sized single crystals, or single-domain ultrafine particles, are often referred to as nanocrystals. Nanoparticle research is currently an area of intense scientific research, due to a wide variety of potential applications in biomedical, optical, and electronic fields. The National Nanotechnology Initiative has led to generous public funding for nanoparticle research in the United States.

For more information about Nanoparticle, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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News tagged with nanoparticles

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Running electronics using light

Running electronics using light

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (19) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- "If you open up almost any electronic gadget, you will see various elements that operating using electric circuitries," Nader Engheta tells PhysOrg.com. "Many of them have different functi ...


Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?

Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?

Physics / General Physics

created Jun 24, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (18) | comments 30

(PhysOrg.com) -- Maxwell’s demon may be making a comeback. Physicists know that the demon, an imaginary creature that decreases the entropy of a system, cannot exist in macroscopic systems due to the energy ...


Scientists Create Light-Bending Nanoparticles

Scientists Create Light-Bending Nanoparticles

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Mar 03, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (20) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Metallic nanoparticles and other structures can manipulate light in ways that are not possible with conventional optical materials. In a recent example of this, Rice University researchers ...


Nanoparticles for gene therapy improve

Nanoparticles for gene therapy improve

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Nov 06, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- About five years ago, Professor Janet Sawicki at the Lankenau Institute in Pennsylvania read an article about nanoparticles developed by MIT's Robert Langer for gene therapy, the insertion ...


Nanoparticles may cause DNA damage across a cellular barrier

Nanoparticles may cause DNA damage across a cellular barrier

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have shown in the laboratory that metal nanoparticles damaged the DNA in cells on the other side of a cellular barrier. The research, by the University of Bristol, is published ...


How Size Matters For Catalysts: Study Links Size, Activity, Electronic Properties

How Size Matters For Catalysts: Study Links Size, Activity, Electronic Properties

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Utah chemists demonstrated the first conclusive link between the size of catalyst particles on a solid surface, their electronic properties and their ability to speed chemical ...


Two-In-One Punch Knocks Out Drug Resistant Cancer Cells

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy, leading to relapse of disease. One approach showing promise in overcoming multidrug resistance in tumors is to combine two different anticancer ...


Magnetism Turns Drug Release On and Off

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Oct 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Many medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and chronic pain, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques ...


New aluminum-water rocket propellant promising for future space missions

New aluminum-water rocket propellant promising for future space missions

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 07, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (21) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are developing a new type of rocket propellant made of a frozen mixture of water and "nanoscale aluminum" powder that is more environmentally friendly than conventional propellants ...


Silver Nanoparticles Give Polymer Solar Cells A Boost

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 05, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (13) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Small bits of metal may play a new role in solar power. Researchers at Ohio State University are experimenting with polymer semiconductors that absorb the sun’s energy and generate electricity. The goal: ...


Oxygen in place of chlorine: Towards a more environmentally friendly propylene oxide synthesis

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 01, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Propylene oxide is an important bulk chemical that is used primarily in the production of polyurethane plastics. Currently, propylene oxide is usually made from propylene (propene) in a process that uses ...


When nano may not be nano

When Nano May Not Be Nano

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Sep 13, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (8) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- The same properties of nanoparticles that make them so appealing to manufacturers may also have negative effects on the environment and human health. However, little is known which particles ...


'NanoPen' may write new chapter in nanotechnology manufacturing

'NanoPen' may write new chapter in nanotechnology manufacturing

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Sep 02, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Researchers in California are reporting development of a so-called "NanoPen" that could provide a quick, convenient way of laying down patterns of nanoparticles — from wires to circuits — for making futuristic ...


Tumors Feel the Deadly Sting of Nanobees

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Aug 28, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (13) | comments 3

When bees sting, they pump into their victims a peptide toxin called melittin that destroys cell membranes. Now, by encapsulating this extremely potent molecule within a nanoparticle, researchers at the Washington University ...


Acoustic tweezers can position tiny objects

Acoustic tweezers can position tiny objects

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Aug 28, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Manipulating tiny objects like single cells or nanosized beads often requires relatively large, unwieldy equipment, but now a system that uses sound as a tiny tweezers can be small enough ...