‘nanoparticles’
Research Snapshot: BME team demonstrates potential for 1st clinically successful osteoarthritis drug
Sep. 2, 2021—THE IDEA Post-traumatic osteoarthritis—caused by degraded cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in joints—occurs after a joint injury. With the knowledge that PTOA will lead to earlier onset and faster progression of osteoarthritis following an injury, researchers including Craig Duvall, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering, set out to develop a drug for the prevention of...
Discovery points to new avenues to kill aggressive cancer cells
Aug. 3, 2021—Chemoresistant SW480 colon cancer cells stained for lipid rafts (green), death receptor 4 (red) and cell nuclei (blue). Image taken by Joshua Greenlee using a Zeiss LSM 880 from the Vanderbilt Cell Imaging Shared Resource Center. By Marissa Shapiro THE IDEA Vanderbilt faculty and researchers are looking for the “Achilles’ heel” of the cancer cells...
Breast cancer vaccine research delivers promising results
Jun. 11, 2020—By Marissa Shapiro With a surprisingly simple approach in which cancer cells are first grown, ruptured and converted into nanoparticles, and then used as a vaccine, Vanderbilt researchers have developed what appears to be a promising treatment for breast cancer metastasis. Research led by Jenna Dombroski, Ph.D. student and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow...
Alert system for failing nuclear plant pipes uses thin films and sound vibrations
Oct. 24, 2019—A failing pipe can be tough to spot. It may cause a puddle, produce another sign of damage, or simply burst before detection. A flooded kitchen or laundry room is messy and inconvenient, but the stakes are much, much higher in nuclear power plants – which on average contain many miles of pipeline. As concern...
Flying saucer’ quantum dots hold secret to better, brighter lasers
Mar. 21, 2017—This computer-generated model shows the spherical core of the quantum dot nanoparticle (in red) along with the ‘flying saucer’ shape of the outer shell (in yellow). The tension in the core induced by the shell affects the electronic states and lowers the energy threshold required to trigger the laser. (Alex Voznyy/University of Toronto) Fresh insights...
Quantum dots made from fool’s gold boost battery performance
Nov. 11, 2015— Anna Douglas holding one of the batteries that she has modified by adding millions of quantum dots made from iron pyrite, fool’s gold. (John Russell / Vanderbilt) If you add quantum dots – nanocrystals 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair – to a smartphone battery it will charge in 30...
7 Vanderbilt engineers who found winter break was prime time for research
Jan. 2, 2015—Relieved undergraduates turned in their finals and jetted off for winter break a few weeks ago, leaving the halls at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering almost unnervingly empty. But there’s no break for research. Anyone in need of company could find labs full of Ph.D. candidates working practically the whole time. “We joke that one...