PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers develop new, less expensive nanolithography technique

Researchers develop new, less expensive nanolithography technique
2012-08-31
(Press-News.org) Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new nanolithography technique that is less expensive than other approaches and can be used to create technologies with biomedical applications.

"Among other things, this type of lithography can be used to manufacture chips for use in biological sensors that can identify target molecules, such as proteins or genetic material associated with specific medical conditions," says Dr. Albena Ivanisevic, co-author of a paper describing the research. Ivanisevic is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and associate professor of the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nanolithography is a way of printing patterns at the nanoscale.

The new technique relies on cantilevers, which are 150-micron long silicon strips. The cantilevers can be tipped with spheres made of polymer or with naturally occurring spores. The spheres and spores are coated with ink and dried. The spheres and spores are absorbent and will soak up water when exposed to increased humidity.

As a result, when the cantilevers are exposed to humidity in a chamber, the spheres and spores absorb water – making the tips of the cantilevers heavier and dragging them down into contact with any chosen surface.

Users can manipulate the size of the spheres and spores, which allows them to control the patterns created by the cantilevers. For example, at low humidity, a large sphere will absorb more water than a small sphere, and will therefore be dragged down into contact with the substrate surface. The small sphere won't be lowered into contact with the surface until it is exposed to higher humidity and absorbs more water.

Further, the differing characteristics of sphere polymers and spores mean that they absorb different amounts of water when exposed to the same humidity – giving users even more control of the nanolithography.

"This technique is less expensive than other device-driven lithography techniques used for microfabrication because the cantilevers do not rely on electronic components to bring the cantilevers into contact with the substrate surface," Ivanisevic says. "Next steps for this work include using this approach to fabricate lithographic patterns onto tissue for use in tissue regeneration efforts."



INFORMATION:

The paper, "Parallel Dip-Pen Nanolithography using Spore- and Colloid-Terminated Cantilevers," was published online Aug. 17 in the journal Small. Lead author of the paper is Dr. Marcus A. Kramer, who did the work at NC State while completing his Ph.D. at Purdue University.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Researchers develop new, less expensive nanolithography technique

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Fear and driving opportunity motivated changes in driving behavior after 9/11

2012-08-31
A catastrophic event – such as a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or market collapse – often strikes twice. There is the damage caused by the event itself, as lives are lost or left in ruin. But there is also the second act, catalyzed by our response to the catastrophic event. This second act has the potential to cause just as much damage as the first. In the year following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there were approximately 1,600 more traffic fatalities in the United States than expected. This figure suggests the possibility that fear may have ...

Research yields two 'firsts' regarding protein crucial to human cardiac function

Research yields two firsts regarding protein crucial to human cardiac function
2012-08-31
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State University researchers led by physics doctoral student Campion Loong have achieved significant benchmarks in a study of the human cardiac protein alpha-tropomyosin, which is an essential, molecular-level component that controls the heart's contraction on every beat. Using an imaging method called atomic force microscopy, Loong achieved two "firsts": the first direct imaging of individual alpha-tropomyosin molecules, which are very small — roughly 40 nanometers long — and the first demonstrated examples of a measure of the human cardiac ...

BUSM researchers study use of MRI in osteoarthritis

2012-08-31
(Boston) – A study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected a high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis in middle-aged and elderly patients that had no evidence of knee osteoarthritis in X-ray images. Ali Guermazi, MD, PhD, professor of radiology at BUSM and chief of Musculoskeletal Imaging at Boston Medical Center (BMC), led this study in collaboration with researchers from Lund University in Sweden, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Klinikum Augsburg ...

BUSM researchers find potential key to halt progression, reverse damage from emphysema

2012-08-31
(Boston) – A study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has shown that a compound used in some skin creams may halt the progression of emphysema and reverse some of the damage caused by the disease. When the compound Gly-His-Lys (GHK) was applied to lung cells from patients with emphysema, normal gene activity in altered cells was restored and damaged aspects of cellular function were repaired. The study, which is published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine, also demonstrates the potential impact of using genomic technologies ...

Mobile apps for diabetes present usability issues for older adults

2012-08-31
Diabetes is prevalent among adults aged 65 and older and can lead to a number of other serious health issues. Maintaining control of blood glucose levels is one of the most important actions diabetics can take to control their illness. New technology is designed to make self-monitoring easier and more accessible than ever before, but often tech products fail to accommodate some older users. Human factors/ergonomics researchers Laura A. Whitlock and Anne Collins McLaughlin evaluated the usability issues that older adults may experience with one type of emerging technology, ...

Wayne State researchers say adolescent smoking prevention programs still critical

2012-08-31
DETROIT — While many might see the case for programs to prevent adolescent cigarette smoking as already made, a pair of Wayne State University researchers believes that due to increasingly challenging economic times, policymakers need to be reminded to continue allocating funding for such programs. Xinguang Chen, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine, and Feng Lin, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering, have found a way to provide policymakers with some hard evidence. Most adult smokers in the ...

AGU journal highlights -- 31 August 2012

2012-08-31
The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences (JGR-G), Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres (JGR-D), Water Resources Research (WRR), and Space Weather (SW). In this release: 1. Trade-offs between water for food and for curbing climate change 2. Low calcification in corals in the Great Barrier Reef 3. The Everglades still threatened by excess nutrients 4. Wetlands the primary source of Amazon Basin methane 5. Old fractures ...

Cleveland Clinic researchers investigating potential drug for treatment of Alzheimer's disease

2012-08-31
Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, Cleveland: A compound developed to treat neuropathic pain has shown potential as an innovative treatment for Alzheimer's disease, according to a study by researchers at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute and Anesthesiology Institute. "Cleveland Clinic dedicated two years of research into the examination of this compound and our findings show it could represent a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," said Mohamed Naguib, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. "Development ...

International collaboration key to science and engineering globalization

International collaboration key to science and engineering globalization
2012-08-31
International collaboration is a key aspect of the globalization of science and engineering. A recent report and data evaluation released by the National Science Foundation (NSF) showed that one in six scientists and engineers in the United States reported working with individuals in other countries in a given week. International collaboration was more likely to occur among persons working in the for-profit sector, men, and those with higher levels of educational attainment. Individuals who earned postsecondary degrees both in the United States and abroad reported the highest ...

Customer service is an emotional experience

2012-08-31
Los Angeles, (August 31, 2012) You can probably recall a customer service experience that left you feeling good. A recent study has shown not only that positive emotion from sales staff is contagious to a customer, but that a satisfied customer also improves the salesperson's mood. This research is now available in Human Relations, published by SAGE. Sandra Kiffin-Petersen, and Geoffrey Soutar from University of Western Australia and Steven Murphy from Carlton University, Canada used a qualitative diary study with 276 sales employees to shed light on the sales experience ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New insights into tRNA-derived small RNAs offer hope for digestive tract disease diagnosis and treatment

Emotive marketing for sustainable consumption?

Prostate cancer is not a death knell, study shows

Unveiling the role of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in endometrial carcinoma

Traditional Chinese medicine unlocks new potential in treating diseases through ferroptosis regulation

MSU study pinpoints the impact of prenatal stress across 27 weeks of pregnancy

Biochemist’s impact on science and students honored

ELF4: A key transcription factor shaping immunity and cancer progression

Updated chronic kidney disease management guidelines recommend SGLT2 inhibitors regardless of diabetes or kidney disease type

New research explores how AI can build trust in knowledge work

Compound found in common herbs inspires potential anti-inflammatory drug for Alzheimer’s disease

Inhaled COVID vaccine begins recruitment for phase-2 human trials

What’s in a label? It’s different for boys vs. girls, new study of parents finds

Genes combined with immune response to Epstein-Barr virus increase MS risk

Proximity and prejudice: Gay discrimination in the gig economy

New paper suggests cold temperatures trigger shapeshifting proteins

Reproductive justice–driven pregnancy interventions can improve mental health

Intranasal herpes infection may produce neurobehavioral symptoms, UIC study finds

Developing treatment strategies for an understudied bladder disease

Investigating how decision-making and behavioral control develop

Rutgers researchers revive decades-old pregnancy cohort with modern scientific potential

Rising CO2 likely to speed decrease in ‘space sustainability’ 

Study: Climate change will reduce the number of satellites that can safely orbit in space

Mysterious phenomenon at center of galaxy could reveal new kind of dark matter

Unlocking the secrets of phase transitions in quantum hardware

Deep reinforcement learning optimizes distributed manufacturing scheduling

AACR announces Fellows of the AACR Academy Class of 2025 and new AACR Academy President

TTUHSC’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences hosts 37th Student Research Week

New insights into plant growth

Female sex hormone protects against opioid misuse, rat study finds

[Press-News.org] Researchers develop new, less expensive nanolithography technique