Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Rice University researchers have enhanced micron-sized titanium dioxide particles to trap and destroy BPA, a water contaminant with health implications. Cyclodextrin molecules on the surface trap BPA, which is then degraded by reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the light-activated particles. Illustration by Danning Zhang

Reusable water-treatment particles effectively eliminate BPA. Rice University scientists have developed something akin to the Venus’ flytrap of particles for water remediation. Micron-sized spheres created in the lab of Rice environmental engineer Pedro Alvarez are built to catch and destroy bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical used to make plastics.

BPA is commonly used to coat the insides of food cans, bottle tops and water supply lines, and was once a componen...

UQ’s Dr Mario D. Garcia conducting one of the many experiments involved in the research.
Credit: The University of Queensland

A chemical compound found in common herbicides could help fight hospital-acquired human fungal pathogenic infections, which claim an estimated two million lives per year. A team of international researchers led by The University of Queensland has discovered that the chemical chlorimuron ethyl also targets a range of fungal infections that are potentially fatal to humans, particularly people undergoing treatments which place the immune system under stress.

Dr Luke Guddat, from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, said the finding was very timely, given the growth in drug-resistant infections...

Principle of a silicon singlet fission solar cell with incorporated organic crystals.
Credit: M. Künsting/HZB

A solar cell’s efficiency indicates what percentage of the solar energy radiated into the cell is converted into electrical energy. The theoretical limit for silicon solar cells is 29.3% due to physical material properties. In a new article, researchers describe how this limit can be abolished.

In the journal Materials Horizons, researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and international colleagues describe how this limit can be abolished. The trick: they incorporate layers of organic molecules into the solar cell...

Nanoparticles to treat Snakebites

Venomous snakebites affect 2.5 million people, and annually cause more than 100,000 deaths and leave 400,000 individuals with permanent physical and psychological trauma each year. Researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have now described a new approach to treating snake bites, using nanoparticles to bind to venom toxins and prevent the spread of venom through the body.

The standard treatment for snakebites is the intravenous administration of IgG immune molecules that recognize venoms. However, such antivenom therapies must be administered quickly – and by trained healthcare workers – to be effective and are highly specific to particular venoms...