Materials Science

Materials Science

Drug particle delivers insulin on demand

Injectable polymer nanoparticles could store insulin in the body over several days and release the medication precisely when blood sugar concentrations change.

Materials Science

This Won’t Hurt . . . Tiny needles deliver drugs painlessly

Microscopic needles may provide a painless alternative to syringes and patches.

Materials Science

No Assembly Required: DNA brings carbon nanotube circuits in line

Using DNA as a scaffold, researchers have devised a simple way of creating carbon nanotube transistors—a feat that paves the way for more complex circuits made from these nanomaterials.

Materials Science

Water Repellency Goes Nano: Carpet of carbon nanotubes cleans itself

Forests of carbon nanotubes coated with Teflon yield a superhydrophobic material—the ultimate self-cleaning surface.

Materials Science

A Soft Touch: Imaging technique reveals hidden atoms

Researchers have devised a new imaging technique for visualizing every carbon atom in the basic unit of graphite.

Materials Science

Charging cartilage

A hybrid material made of biodegradable polymers and carbon nanotubes yields an optimal scaffold for growing cartilage.

Materials Science

Soft spheres yield photonic structures

A novel technique for patterning light-guiding channels through photonic crystals made of hydrogel nanoparticles may lead to faster, all-optical telecommunications technologies.

Materials Science

Molecular Memory: Carbon-nanotube device stores data in molecules

Scientists have created a memory device in which data are encoded in switching molecules called catenanes that are attached to a carbon nanotube.

Materials Science

Sopping Up Heavy Metal: Hybrid material removes mercury from water

A hybrid material consisting of a bacterial protein and a temperature-sensitive polymer proves efficient at removing mercury from contaminated water.

Materials Science

Plastic Chips: New materials boost organic electronics

A new class of electrically conducting organic molecules provides researchers with improved materials with which to fabricate plastic electronic devices.

Materials Science

Titanium makes move toward mainstream

Inventors of a new process for producing titanium claim that their method can reduce the metal's cost to one-third its current price.

Materials Science

Layered Approach

A decade-old method for creating thin coatings is poised to move from the lab to countless low- and high-tech products.