Process Engineering

Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a powerful new method for detecting infectious diseases, including those associated with many bioterrorism and warfare threats such as anthrax, tularemia, smallpox and HIV.

A research team led by Chad A. Mirkin, director of Northwestern’s Institute for Nanotechnology, has invented a technique for creating thousands of DNA detection probes made of gold nanoparticles with individual molecules attached. Much like human fingerprints, the

Medical researchers would like to use nano-scale tubes to push very tiny amounts of drugs dissolved in water to exactly where they are needed in the human body.

The roadblock to putting this theory into practical use has been the challenge of building pumps small enough to do the job. In addition to the engineering challenge of building a nano-scale pump, there is the added complication of clogging by any biological molecule that can occur in valves small enough to fit a channel the size of

Researchers have shown how tiny wires and metallic spheres might be arranged in various shapes to form “nanoantennas” that dramatically increase the precision of medical diagnostic imaging and devices that detect chemical and biological warfare agents.

Engineers from Purdue University have demonstrated through mathematical simulations that nanometer-scale antennas with certain geometric shapes should be able to make possible new sensors capable of detecting a single molecule of a chemical or

A new way researchers have developed to make dense ceramics in complex shapes could lead to light, tough, and hard ceramic parts at lower cost.

The recently patented technique, called “displacive compensation of porosity,” or DCP, uses a chemical reaction between molten metal and a porous ceramic to generate a new composite material. The technique fills the tiny pores inside the ceramic with additional ceramic material. The resulting super-dense part retains the shape of the original ceramic

Australian researchers have created the ideal manufacturing material of the future – clean, green ‘super steel’ that is double the strength of normal steel and resistant to fracture.

“Stronger steel means less material is required to support a load or resist a force, which should lead to lighter structures and vehicles,” says Deakin University researcher, Dr Georgina Kelly.

“This would deliver reduced energy needs and emissions in cars, and greater potential to develop more complex

Researchers at Purdue University have made a surprising discovery that could open up numerous applications for metal “nanocrystals,” or tiny crystals that are often harder, stronger and more wear resistant than the same materials in bulk form.

The research engineers have discovered that the coveted nanocrystals are contained in common scrap, the chips that are normally collected and melted down for reuse.

“Imagine, you have all of these bins full of chips, and they get melted down