Nanoparticles

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… Read More

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’… Read More

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,… Read More

Nuclear power plants contain miles of pipes of different sizes. Shown is the turbine floor with new reheaters and secondary side piping at Unit 2, Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant, 2012. (Photo: Tennessee Valley Authority) A failing pipe can be tough to spot. It may cause a puddle, produce another… Read More

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… Read More

  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… Read More

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… Read More