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.

With all the talk in the US about illegal steroid use in athletics, its good to hear about microarrays and bioanalyzers involved in more meaningful research.  The Kaneka Corporation in Japan is using a bioanalyzer to test the RNA of mice to see the effect of licorice flavanoids (not steroids) on gene expression.  I don’t think they will turn these mice into baseball players but it does show the versatility of a bioanalyzer.  The analysis of RNA will hopefully lead to cures to some of our most puzzling diseases.  It’s just another example of this nano world and the measurements that make breakthroughs possible.

Just about the time you think you know every instrument that exists - someone comes up with a new idea.  University of Maryland researchers have come up with something they refer to as a dielectric microwave microscope.  The combination of a microwave source and a AFM probe allows one to send microwave signals to dielectric material and look at the signals that are reflected back to the probe. 

Is this really a microscope?  According to the dictionary - a microscope is an optical instrument having a magnifying lens or a combination of lenses for inspecting objects too small to be seen or too small to be seen distinctly and in detail by the unaided eye.  So in the true sense, this isn’t a microscope because there are no optics and lenses.  However, it does allow one to “view” phenomena that is too small for the naked eye.  And I use the term “view” pretty loosely - a chance to better understand and/or characterize an object (or in this case, dielectric material). 

From my perspective I think we’re going to see a lot more combinations of traditional instruments to characterize / view new types of materials.  I applaud researchers who have found ways to combine different sources and sensors in order to better explain the properties and structures of nano materials.  If you would like to share your combination instruments or solicit ideas on combinational instruments - write back to this blog or send me an email (grant_drenkow@agilent.com). 

We would love to start a dialog on this subject that might lead to better measurements which in turn leads to breakthrough research and hopefully to products to improve our world.  Pretty lofty thoughts - but what you can’t measure … you can’t improve. 

To visit examples of unique measurements in the nano world - check out these application examples.   http://nano.tm.agilent.com/index.cgi?CONTENT_ID=1361&User:LANGUAGE=en-US

If you’re new to the nanotechnology world, you might want to read an article on materials measurements at the nanoscale.  I happen to know the author very well.  The article walks through all the various instruments for making measurements on nanotechnology materials.  Some of them will surprise you as a number of people are using electronic instruments to make surogate measurements.  Check it out - page 10.

http://www.home.agilent.com/upload/cmc_upload/All/amj3_09_11_07.pdf

If you’re new to the nanotechnology world, you might want to read an article on materials measurements at the nanoscale.  I happen to know the author very well.  The article walks through all the various instruments for making measurements on nanotechnology tools.  Some of them will surprise you as a number of people are using electronic instruments to make surogate measurements.  Check it out - page 10.

http://www.home.agilent.com/upload/cmc_upload/All/amj3_09_11_07.pdf

Isn’t it amazing how much you’ve learned over a lifetime?  Did you ever stop to think how much you’ve forgotton?   The human memory is amazing but certainly not fool-proof.  And yet even a whiff of a certain smell or a glimpse of a certain shape can bring back the memories of something in your past.

Electronic memory is also quite amazing, powering digital cameras and MP3 players.  As nanotechnology takes hold the density of the memory will continue to increase, giving us the power to capture and store nearly everything around us.  As the size shrinks, one challenge will be the testing of memory.  When dealing with nanoscale elements on a memory chip it is critical that the electronic signals be very precise. 

Fudan University in China uses a function generator to send very precise nanosecond pulses to its nanoscale memory devices.   Read more about the application in the Application Example section of the Agilent in Nanotechnology website.  http://nano.tm.agilent.com/index.cgi?CONTENT_ID=1238&User:LANGUAGE=en-US

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.

Stimulus and response is common in almost every part of our society.  As parents– a bad behavior by your child (stimulus) results in a punishment from you (response).  A lowering of interest rates (economic stimulus) generally results in a surge in house sales or consumer spending (economic response).  The swallowing of a sleeping pill (stimulus) results in a much needed rest (response).  The same holds true for nanotechnology.

This week I want to highlight three examples of a stimulus-response from our collection of nanotechnology measurement examples found on the nanotechnology website.  http://nano.tm.agilent.com/index.cgi?CONTENT_ID=1361&User:LANGUAGE=en-US

In electronics, we have the Unversity of Groningen in The Netherlands performing a stimulus-response on an organic field effect transistor (FET).  They use a pulse generator to stimulate the FET with an 85V, 10ms pulse and they use a semiconductor analyzer to measure the current/voltage and the capacitance/voltage responses.  Their work is published in the February 2005 edition of Nature Materials.

In life science, Pohang University in South Korea is performing a stimulus-response in electrochemistry.  They are using a function / arbitrary waveform generator to generate a simulated noise signal and use an oscilloscope to measure the peak current from analytes.  Their work is published in the June 2005 edition of Analytical Chemistry. 

In materials science, Georgia Tech is using a combination of instruments to characterize the mechanical properties of carbon nanosprings.  They use an atomic force microscope (AFM) to stimulate the nanospring and a dynamic signal analyzer (DSA) to capture the deflection signal.  They also use a function/arbitrary waveform generator to trigger the DSA with a specfic pulse waveform.  Their work is published in the February 2004 Nano Letters. 

If you have an application that you would like us to highlight on the nanotechnology website, send me an email at grant_drenkow@agilent.com

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. 

The Nobel Prize for 2007 goes to Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg for giant magnetoresistance (GMR).  The technology allows one to read very small magnetic differences stored on computer hard drives and convert it to electric current.  It enables hard drive manufacturers to store large amounts of data in a small space.  GMR is a great example of nanoscale measurements enabling breakthroughs in future commercial products. 

 Go to http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2007/press.html to read the full report.