I remember as a kid we were sometimes allowed to mix up a glass of chocolate milk after school.  If we used too much of the chocolate powder or we didn’t mix it properly, we ended up with a bunch of black goo in the bottom of the glass.   And yet when we had the little containers of chocolate milk at school, it didn’t have that problem.  Why was that?

Chocolate milk reminds me a little of particle analysis and the zeta potential of colloids.  Agilent has recently introduced its Series 7000 line of particle analyzers.  (See www.agilent.com/chem/particles for more info) One of the analyzers - the Agilent ZetaProbe - is all about ensuring the stability of the suspension.  As I talk with customers working with colloids not everyone understands the power of using zeta potential to ensure the stability of the suspension. 

If you’re someone dealing with suspensions, let me recommend a couple of resources to learn more about zeta potential.  

Applications notes explaining zeta potential: http://www.chem.agilent.com/scripts/LiteratureResults.asp?iprodinfotype=4&imodel=1765 

e-seminar presentation given by Dr Richard O’Brien, a pioneer in the field of zeta potential: http://www.chem.agilent.com/scripts/LiteratureResults.asp?iprodinfotype=4&imodel=1765

My recommendation - mix yourself a glass of chocolate milk - and read up on zeta potential.  Let me know how it goes! 

Although I’m not a medical doctor, I’m very intrigued with the possibility of nanoparticles becoming the drug delivery mechanism for the future.  Delivering small doses of medicines directly to cancer cells would eliminate the painful chemotherapy that many now have to suffer through.  I’ve had several friends who have gone through this misery and it’s something that I hope researchers and doctors can figure out.

The key is really to use the right sized particle, coated with a molecule that will attract itself to the diseased cell.  Once inside the cell the nanoparticle can deliver enough medicine to kill just that cell and not the healthy cells that may be around it. 

Agilent announced at Pittcon a particle size spectrophotometer that can measure the particle size distribution in the 5 nm to 15 um range - the sweet spot for these drug delivery nanoparticles.   Using our proven UV-VIS spectrophotometer technology the instrument is able to measure and display a wide distribution of particles in suspension in only 5 seconds.   Getting the right-sized nanoparticles should help researchers find the drug delivery mechanism of the future.

If you are looking for a good article on this subject check out this website — http://www.expresspharmaonline.com/20080415/healthcare01.shtml

If you want to learn more about the Agilent 7010 Particle Size Spectrophotometer, check out this website — www.agilent.com/chem/particles

When one talks about nanotechnology it’s usually about building something small, maybe out of nanotubes or nanoparticles.  It’s about creating a structure that is stronger, lighter weight, more durable, more flexible, or in some way better when built from the ground up.  It’s rarely (if ever) about tearing something apart or breaking something down into smaller elements. 

 In the world of proteomics it’s about studying proteins, particularly their structures and the role they play in living organisms.  It’s about finding a specific protein of interest in a complex sample, or more specifically separating the protein of interest away from the abundant proteins in the sample.  Not exactly separating the men from the boys or the forest from the trees - but rather it’s the inverse.  It’s separating the baby from the giants or the needle away from the stack of logs.  Not an easy task when you’re dealing with nanoscale devices like proteins.   

 In this article a group at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, used a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) instrument with three columns to find the protein of interest.  They were able to separate the specific protein of interest away from the huge number of abundant proteins in the sample. 

Check out the application examples on the Agilent Nanotechnology website (www.agilent.com/find/nano) or click here to see this specific example of using an LC-MS for nanotechnology research.

Chemical sensing will very likely become an important field in the world of nanotechnology.  Chemical sensing plays in important role in our homes as we use carbon dioxide sensors to detect that harmful gas.  Sensors in public arenas are important to warn us of impending danger from toxic spills or terrorist attacks.  Chemical sensors in hospitals and clinics help us prevent disease or warn us of harmful viruses.  Nanotechnology will no doubt improve the sensitivity of chemical sensors making them even more useful for characterizing minute amounts of toxins or finding very early signs of disease.

Carnegie Melon University is building a chemical sensor array using inkjet printing technology.  The printed circuit board is powered with a DC power supply during the testing. To learn more about this chemical sensor - go to Application Examples on the Agilent in Nanotechnology website.

Today, Agilent begins an applications section of the nanotechnology website.  The new section is a reference of nanotechnology applications showing typical instruments being used in research projects.   Each example gives a brief description of the project, the instruments used, the measurements made, and the device or structure being studied.  It also cites the name of the article, the publication, and the authors if you want to read more about this specific application.  It is divided into chemical, electronics, life sciences, materials, and optical categories for easier reference. 

To see the applications section, go to www.agilent.com/find/nano and click on the Application Examples found on the left side navigation bar under Resources.

 Let me highlight a few of the applications available this week.  If you are interested in carbon nanotubes, check out the chemical section to see how a gas chromatograph is used as a nanotube filter.  For those in electronics, this week’s applications include optical amplifiers tested with an oscilloscope and transistors tested with a semiconductor parameter analyzer.  In life science, genes are being identified with a bioanlyzer.  In in the optical section quantum dots being used as infared photodectors are tested using a semiconductor analyzer to accurately plot their current/voltage (I-V) characteristics.  In the nanomaterials section polymer micelles are characterized with a liquid chromatograph / mass spectrometer.  An LCR meter is used to plot the capacitance/voltage (C-V) curves. 

The applications section will have weekly additions, so visit it frequently.   My thanks to Jeff Harvey, a student at the University of Colorado-Boulder, who help us put together these research summaries.  If you have an application that you would like us to highlight- reply to this blog. 

In nanotechnology research the sample sizes of chemical mixtures are quite small.  It’s important to do a thorough analysis of this small sample as efficiently as possible.  Flow splitting - sending the sample to multiple detectors - is an important measurement technique in gas chromatography.  The technique provides the most information possible in a single run.  The technique allows you to locate peaks of interest faster and provides higher confidence in identifying unknowns in the sample. 

 The new Agilent 7890A Gas Chromatograph uses flow splitting for fast sample characterization.  It makes use of capillary flow technology for channels with low dead volumes.  I believe the combination of these techniques will be a key for the nanotechnology researcher.

Welcome to the Agilent Nanotechnology WebLog. As the premier measurement company we feel it is important for us to start the dialogue around measurements being made in nanotechnology research. We use the word “measurements” in a broad sense to include the imaging, manipulation and characterization of nanoscale devices and structures with microscopy products. We include the sensing and sourcing of electrical signals to characterize nanoscale devices. And we include the chemical and biological analysis of molecules and compounds at the nanoscale. All measurements are fair game – shape, size, hardness, conductance, capacitance, current flow, voltage, chemical make-up, bioanalysis, fluorescence, etc. It’s your choice what we talk about.

It’s an exciting time to be on the leading edge. In basic research you collaborate on projects. You learn together, you share expertise, and you succeed as a team. Why not take this same approach on the measurement side? That’s the focus of this blog – the measurements (in the broad sense) that you need in your nanotechnology projects. It’s the measurements that lead to breakthroughs in nanotechnology which I hope will make a better life for us and our children.

This blog is about measurements made with any instrument. It’s about learning from each other what works and what doesn’t. It’s about success—finding ways to successfully complete nanotechnology projects, whether that be in basic research or the engineering of products for the market. Other web sites and blogs will provide us with information on breakthroughs in nanotechnology research – this blog is all about the nuts and bolts of the measurements that lead to the breakthrough. It’s the HOW and not the WHAT.

I encourage you to sign up, learn from others, and participate by sharing your experience.

Grant Drenkow
Agilent Nanotechnology Program Manager
Grant_drenkow@agilent.com