Branchy molecules make precise pores

January 12/19, 2005

Self-assembly is one of the most practical ways to construct things at the molecular scale.

Researchers from the University of Toronto have found a way to coax a material containing microscopic pores to assemble from two very different types of molecules.

The material could be used as packaging material for microscopic electronics, to store gases, and to deliver tiny amounts of drugs to very specific places, according to the researchers.

The material is made from a mix of the inorganic silica material alkoxysilyl and dendrimers, which are branched organic molecules that can be used to make templates for complicated porous structures. Organic molecules contain carbon; inorganic molecules do not.

The researchers found a way to use the self-assembling dendrimers to direct the inorganic molecules into a useful structure. The silica molecules attach to the outermost branches of the dendrimers, which link up to form a layer around cylindrical templates. The researchers made materials with 8.2-nanometers and 9.1-nanometers diameter regularly-spaced pores.

The material could be used practically in five to ten years, according to the researchers. The work appeared in the November 26 issue of Science.


Page One

Video organizes paper

Conversations control computers

DNA scheme builds computers

The History Files:
A Short History of the Computer


Letter to readers

Briefs:
Copy-and-paste goes natural
RNA tiles form nanopatterns
Input device tracks muscle tremors
Nano gas turbine designed
Ultrasound makes blood stand out
Silicon surfaces speed circuits
Branchy molecules make precise pores

Research Watch blog

View from the High Ground Q&A
How It Works

RSS Feeds:
News  | Blog

Ad links:
Buy an ad link


Advertisements:



Ad links: Clear History

Buy an ad link

 
Home     Archive     Resources    Feeds     Glossary
TRN Finder     Research Dir.    Events Dir.      Researchers     Bookshelf
   Contribute      Under Development     T-shirts etc.     Classifieds


© Copyright Technology Research News, LLC 2000-2010. All rights reserved.