Tracking down Environmental Toxins

Detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by interrupted energy transfer

02-Nov-2023 - PFAS, a family of highly fluorinated substances, represent a danger for humans and the environment. Particularly problematic members of this family, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) appear to cause organ damage and cancer, as well as disrupting the ...

Plants transformed into detectors of dangerous chemicals

Scientists engineer plants to speak in color

26-Oct-2023 - What if your house plant could tell you your water isn’t safe? Scientists are closer to realizing this vision, having successfully engineered a plant to turn beet red in the presence of a banned, toxic pesticide. To achieve this, UC Riverside researchers had to solve an engineering puzzle: how ...

Startup HyPhoX develops miniaturized biosensors with support from BAM

"The innovative thing about our sensor is that we combine optical, electrical and biochemical analytics on one chip, and we do it in a handy, portable device"

23-Oct-2023 - Toxic substances, viruses and other microorganisms are a danger to humans and the environment. A team of founders from the Leibniz Institute for Innovative Microelectronics (IHP) and the Technical University of Wildau, with the support of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing ...

A miniature magnetic resonance imager made of diamond

Quantum sensors make microscale NMR spectroscopy possible

23-Oct-2023 - The development of tumors begins with miniscule changes within the body's cells; ion diffusion at the smallest scales is decisive in the performance of batteries. Until now the resolution of conventional imaging methods has not been high enough to represent these processes in detail. A research ...

Researchers create pioneering approaches for the detection of viral antigens

Sybodies: a revolution in biological recognition

18-Sep-2023 - The outbreak of the COVID pandemic in 2020 has once again shown how important reliable and rapid detection methods are to initiate effective measures to combat a pandemic. Scientists from the Chair of Materials Science and Nanotechnology at TU Dresden (TUD) have made considerable progress in the ...

Can an artificial nose detect food spoilage?

07-Sep-2023 - Researchers have developed an energy-efficient computing-based chip with smell-sensing units that can detect food spoilage and provides real-time conditions continuously throughout the spoilage process. The system is described in a study published in Advanced Science. Other electronic noses, or ...

Virtual lab calculates optimal lubricant composition

Extending lubricant lifespan: Sensor system developed for real-time monitoring

06-Sep-2023 - Mechanical bearings and gearboxes — like those used in electric vehicles and wind farms — are often treated with lubricants to avoid friction and wear. However, these components might be under voltage. This would impair the effectiveness of the lubricants to such a degree that the tribological ...

Detection of bacteria and viruses with fluorescent nanotubes

Straightforward customisation of carbon nanotube biosensors

26-Jul-2023 - The new sensor design resembles a molecular toolbox that can be used to quickly assemble sensors for a variety of purposes. An interdisciplinary research team from Bochum, Duisburg and Zurich has developed a new approach to construct modular optical sensors which are capable of detecting viruses ...

Future Insight Prize 2023 Awarded to Khalid Salaita for Early Detection of Pandemics

Khalid Salaita awarded a research grant for the development of sensors to detect pathogens automated by DNA motors

13-Jul-2023 - Merck awarded Khalid Salaita, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., with the Future Insight Prize 2023 worth € 500,000 for research on a pandemic early alert system. Salaita’s group is developing a novel platform technology ...

New material transforms light, creating new possibilities for sensors

“This process gives us a whole new way of designing materials”

22-Jun-2023 - A group of scientists and engineers that includes researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have created a new class of materials that can absorb low energy light and transform it into higher energy light. The new material is composed of ultra-small silicon nanoparticles and organic ...