Soft X-ray method promises nanocarrier breakthroughs

Before the huge potential of tiny nanocarriers for highly targeted drug delivery and environmental clean-up can be realized, scientists first need to be able to see them

27-May-2021 - Currently researchers have to rely on attaching fluorescent dyes or heavy metals to label parts of organic nanocarrier structures for investigation, often changing them in the process. A new technique using chemically-sensitive "soft" X-rays offers a simpler, non-disruptive way of gaining insight ...

New sensors could enable more affordable detection of pollution and diseases

23-Jun-2017 - When it comes to testing for cancer, environmental pollution and food contaminants, traditional sensors can help. The challenges are that they often are bulky, expensive, non-intuitive and complicated. Now, one team reports in ACS Sensors that portable pressure-based detectors coupled with ...

Portable smartphone laboratory detects cancer

WSU portable smartphone laboratory detects cancer

20-Oct-2016 - Washington State University researchers have developed a low-cost, portable laboratory on a smartphone that can analyze several samples at once to catch a cancer biomarker, producing lab quality results. The research team, led by Lei Li, assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and ...

Researchers watch skin cells 'walk' to wounds

13-Jun-2016 - Skin cells typically spend their entire existence in one place on your body. But Washington State University researchers have seen how the cells will alter the proteins holding them in place and move to repair a wound. "And they walk," said Jonathan Jones, director of WSU's School of Molecular ...

Sequencing of cacao genome will help US chocolate industry, subsistence farmers

17-Sep-2010 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their partners have announced the preliminary release of the sequenced genome of the cacao tree, an achievement that will help sustain the supply of high-quality cocoa to the $17 billion U.S. chocolate industry and protect the livelihoods of ...

Measuring nitrate concentrations in leafy green vegetables

10-Sep-2009 - Leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, Asian greens, and spinach can accumulate high concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), which are potentially harmful if consumed by humans. To measure NO3-N concentration in plant tissue, many laboratories use ion selective electrodes (ISEs). Relatively ...