Plasmonics News and Research

RSS

BGU and CCHMC receive early stage funding to develop three new pediatric medical devices

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) have received early stage funding to develop three new devices that have applications for pediatric medical markets, as part of a collaboration announced this past spring.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers turn light into heat on the nanoscale to trigger biochemical reactions

Since Edison's first bulb, heat has been a mostly undesirable byproduct of light. Now researchers at Rice University are turning light into heat at the point of need, on the nanoscale, to trigger biochemical reactions remotely on demand.

14 Dec 2012

BRIGHTs bind to biomarkers of disease and light up to reveal their location

Called BRIGHTs, the tiny probes described in the online issue of Advanced Materials on Nov. 15, bind to biomarkers of disease and, when swept by an infrared laser, light up to reveal their location.

21 Nov 2012

NYU-Poly creates ultra-sensitive biosensor to identify small single virus particles

Researchers at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) have created an ultra-sensitive biosensor capable of identifying the smallest single virus particles in solution, an advance that may revolutionize early disease detection in a point-of-care setting and shrink test result wait times from weeks to minutes.

29 Aug 2012

Researchers create super-sensor that can detect even single samples of viruses

By affixing nanoscale gold spheres onto a microscopic bead of glass, researchers have created a super-sensor that can detect even single samples of the smallest known viruses. The sensor uses a peculiar behavior of light known as "whispering gallery mode," named after the famous circular gallery in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where a whisper near the wall can be heard around the gallery.

24 Aug 2012

Delivering chemotherapy drugs with nanobubbles more deadly to cancer cells

Using light-harvesting nanoparticles to convert laser energy into "plasmonic nanobubbles," researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) are developing new methods to inject drugs and genetic payloads directly into cancer cells.

9 Apr 2012

Starfruit-shaped nanorods for medical imaging, chemical sensing

They look like fruit, and indeed the nanoscale stars of new research at Rice University have tasty implications for medical imaging and chemical sensing.

28 Mar 2012

New sensor can detect glucose levels in human saliva

For the 26 million Americans with diabetes, drawing blood is the most prevalent way to check glucose levels. It is invasive and at least minimally painful. Researchers at Brown University are working on a new sensor that can check blood sugar levels by measuring glucose concentrations in saliva instead.

24 Jan 2012

New simple diagnostic tool to detect dangerous viruses

Boston University researchers have developed a simple diagnostic tool that can quickly identify dangerous viruses like Ebola and Marburg. The biosensor, which is the size of a quarter and can detect viruses in a blood sample, could be used in developing nations, airports and other places where natural or man-made outbreaks could erupt.

22 Nov 2010

Highlights of Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI Meeting

Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine.

21 Oct 2010

Researchers develop high-resolution technology to visualize individual virus particles

In the war against infectious disease, identifying the culprit is half the battle. Now, research professor Shaopeng Wang and his colleagues from the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, describe a new method for visualizing individual virus particles. Their research opens the door to a more detailed understanding of these minute pathogens, and may further the study of a broad range of micro- and nanoscale phenomena.

25 Aug 2010

Physicists and oncologists to develop novel ultra sensitive platform for early cancer detection

The SPEDOC project will create the precursor to future devices for individualized diagnosis and monitoring of cancer therapy, which will allow the illness to be treated in earlier stages and at lower doses, reducing or preventing current secondary effects.

29 Apr 2010

NSERC awards $5M grant to develop faster detection methods for cancer

A nanomedicine research group led by a University of Toronto chemist has received a $5-million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), giving them the green light to develop faster ways of detecting leukemia and lung cancer cells.

28 Sep 2009

Light can be manipulated for creative and lucrative ends

The speed of light, 300 million metres per second, was long thought an immutable constant and has defined our understanding of matter and energy but recent research in the area of optics and photonics is proving that we can manipulate light to some ingenious and hugely lucrative ends.

9 Sep 2009

"Drops" of gold that burn tumors

At a technical breakfast, Romain Quidant presented his research into the detection and treatment of cancer using gold nanoparticles illuminated with laser light. Quidant, who was recently awarded the Fresnel Prize 2009 that recognizes the highest level of excellence amongst emerging researchers in the field of photonics, is an ICREA researcher at the UPC's Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) and a fellow of the Cellex Foundation Barcelona.

16 Jul 2009

DNA-based assembly line for precision nano-cluster construction

Building on the idea of using DNA to link up nanoparticles - particles measuring mere billionths of a meter - scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a molecular assembly line for predictable, high-precision nano-construction.

29 Mar 2009