/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers from ICMAB are revolutionizing how we manipulate light at the nanoscale using chiral plasmonic structures—nanomaterials designed to interact with polarized light in extraordinary ways. /news/2025-04-chiral-plasmonic-nanostructures-limits-nanoscale.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 10 Apr 2025 11:58:03 EDT news663505081 Barcodes are commonly used to track items like groceries or clothing, but University of Central Florida researchers have developed a special "barcode" to identify much smaller objects: molecules. /news/2024-10-unique-barcodes-molecules-medical-advancements.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:15:03 EDT news648213301 Researchers at the University of Ottawa have made a discovery that changes what we know about light and materials. They found that engineered achiral (symmetric) materials, called achiral plasmonic metasurfaces, can absorb light differently depending on the handedness of the wavefront of light. This was surprising because, for years, such materials were found to be indifferent to any optical probes and do not show such selective absorption. /news/2024-09-scientists-uncover-absorbing-properties-achiral.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:09:03 EDT news646916941 When chiral gold nanoparticles are irradiated with near-infrared femtosecond pulses, visible emission of luminescence is observed. In a study published in Advanced Optical Materials, this luminescence was found to yield high selectivity for left- or right-handed circularly polarized light, depending on the chirality of the nanoparticles, with a dissymmetry factor of approximately 0.7. This finding suggests the potential to elevate various applications using circularly polarized light to practical levels. /news/2024-06-gold-nanoparticles-emit-left.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 05 Jun 2024 09:39:39 EDT news636799177 Skyrmions are topologically protected quasiparticles with sophisticated spin textures, widely studied in condensed-matter systems, magnets and recently in photonics, which predicts great potential in ultra-high-capacity information storage, due to their diversified and stable topological spin textures in ultrasmall particle-like region. /news/2024-04-topologically-multiskyrmions-family-quasiparticles.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:21:34 EDT news633604889 A new fabrication process for helical metal nanoparticles provides a simpler, cheaper way to rapidly produce a material essential for biomedical and optical devices, according to a study by University of Michigan researchers. /news/2024-03-simple-scalable-method-3d-helical.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 18 Mar 2024 16:43:04 EDT news629998982 Researchers have successfully manipulated distinct exciton species within a hybrid monolayer WSe2-Ag nanowire structure. By exploiting the unique valley-spin locked band structures and electron-hole configurations of TMDs, the team, led by Professor Hongxing Xu, Prof. Xiaoze Liu and Dr. Ti Wang from School of Â鶹ÒùÔºics and Technology, has taken a significant step toward practical photonic applications for optical information processing and quantum optics. /news/2024-02-versatile-wse.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 08 Feb 2024 11:07:25 EST news626612843 Plasmonics are special optical phenomena that are understood as interactions between light and matter and possess diverse shapes, material compositions, and symmetry-related behavior. The design of such plasmonic structures at the nanoscale level can pave the way for optical materials that respond to the orientation of light (polarization), which is not easily achievable in bulk size and existing materials. /news/2024-01-showcase-breakthroughs-potential-plasmonics.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:49:45 EST news625848582 A research group from Kobe University in Japan have proposed and tested a nano-antenna that uses the specific optical resonance of dielectric nanoparticles to form a near field of circularly polarized light. This technique bolsters the circularly polarized light-selective response of chiral molecules. The results of this study should provide applications in chirality analysis and asymmetric photochemical reactions for biomolecules, chemical substances, and pharmaceuticals. /news/2023-06-nano-antenna-field-circularly-polarized.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:20:03 EDT news607173601 Researchers at LSU, in collaboration with Zuse Institute in Berlin, Germany, have developed an ultraviolet metasurface that discriminates between left- and right-handed amino acids with attomolar sensitivity. /news/2022-10-ultraviolet-metasurfaces-discriminate-handedness-biomolecules.html Nanomaterials Tue, 04 Oct 2022 08:37:02 EDT news584091421 Tetrahedron-shaped nanoparticles are interesting enough by themselves, but under the right circumstances, Rice University scientists have discovered they do something remarkable. /news/2022-07-bottom-up-2d-yield-materials.html Nanomaterials Mon, 25 Jul 2022 11:01:13 EDT news577965670 Metamaterial interface waveguides can confine and guide electromagnetic (EM) waves, which has attractive potential in integrated photonics physics and wireless devices, from radio frequencies to optical bands. The energy flow in waveguides can be fully controlled by sorting the near-field light waves according to their handedness (chirality), which determines the direction of energy transmission. Chirality sorting is an important process to develop in the field of chiral photonics. In the future, chiral-sorting metadevices may be fully digitized and programmable, so that reconfigurable unidirectional transmission routes and scattering performance of the artificial structures can be controlled simultaneously. /news/2022-07-chiral-sources-metamaterial-interface-waveguides.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 19 Jul 2022 15:18:02 EDT news577462681 The left hand looks like the right hand in the mirror but the left-handed glove does not fit on the right hand. Chirality refers to this property where the object cannot be superimposed on to the mirror image. This property in molecules is an important factor in pharmaceutical research as it can turn drugs toxic. /news/2022-05-metamaterial-significantly-chiral-nanoparticle.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 03 May 2022 10:08:21 EDT news570791299 An international team of scientists from Austria and Germany has launched a new paradigm in magnetism and superconductivity, putting effects of curvature, topology, and 3D geometry into the spotlight of next-decade research. The results are published in Advanced Materials. /news/2021-11-dimension-magnetism-superconductivity.html Superconductivity Wed, 03 Nov 2021 15:04:20 EDT news555170657 Using DNA structures as scaffolds, Tim Liedl, a scientist of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich, has shown that precisely positioned gold nanoparticles can serve as efficient energy transmitters.  /news/2021-04-energy-transmission-gold-nanoparticles-coupled.html Nanomaterials Thu, 08 Apr 2021 14:25:16 EDT news537110710 Nanolight sources based on resonant excitons of plasmons near a sharp metallic nanostructure have attracted great interest in optical nanoimaging. However, the resonant phenomenon only works for one type of wavelength that resonates with plasmons. Compared to plasmonic resonance, the alternative plasmon nanofocusing method can generate a source of nanolight by propagating and compressing plasmons on a tapered metallic nanostructure, independent of wavelength, due to its reliance on propagation. In a new report on Science Advances, Takayuki Umakoshi and a research team in applied physics and chemistry in Japan generated a white nanolight source spanning across the entire visible light range through plasmon nanofocusing. Using the process, they demonstrated spectral bandgap nanoimaging of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The experimental demonstration of the source of white nanolight will enable diverse research fields to progress toward next-generation, nanophotonic technologies. /news/2020-06-white-nanolight-source-optical-nanoimaging.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 17 Jun 2020 09:30:02 EDT news511520956 Scientists have pioneered a new technique to expose hidden biochemical pathways involving single molecules at the nanoscale. /news/2020-05-eavesdropping-molecules-replaying-chatter.html Biochemistry Fri, 15 May 2020 11:19:19 EDT news508760298 A new nanomaterial developed by scientists at the University of Bath could solve a conundrum faced by scientists probing some of the most promising types of future pharmaceuticals. /news/2019-09-scientists-nanomaterial-untwisted.html Nanomaterials Fri, 13 Sep 2019 10:26:15 EDT news487589165 Â鶹ÒùÔºicists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, have devised a method to turn a non-magnetic metal into a magnet using laser light. /news/2019-07-magnetise-non-magnetic-metals-physicists.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Plasma Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 29 Jul 2019 08:40:07 EDT news483608389 Over the past decade, numerous physics studies have explored how oscillating electric fields produced by lasers or microwave sources can be used to dynamically alter the properties of materials on demand. In a new study featured in Nature Â鶹ÒùÔºics, two researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), in Singapore, have built upon the findings of these studies, uncovering a mechanism through which a non-magnetic interacting metal can spontaneously magnetize. /news/2019-07-spontaneous-magnetization-non-magnetic-interacting-metal.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 23 Jul 2019 06:00:01 EDT news483000611 Helical plasmonic nanostructures have attracted considerable attention in materials science and chemistry due to their inherent optical chirality. In a new report, Yang Chen and a research team in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the U.S. developed unique 3-D Janus (nanoparticles with two or more surface properties) plasmonic helical nanoapertures (helical holes), with direction-controlled polarization sensitivity. They engineered the helical structures using one-step grayscale focused ion beam milling (FIB). Chen et al. then encoded the Janus metasurface with two nanoaperture enantiomers (left and right handed mirror image molecules of each other) with specific rotational angles to demonstrate direction-controlled polarization data encryption for the first time. /news/2019-06-polarization-encryption-based-storage-d-janus.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Jun 2019 09:30:02 EDT news479024177 In Jules Verne's famous classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the iconic submarine Nautilus disappears into the Moskenstraumen, a massive whirlpool off the coast of Norway. In space, stars spiral around black holes; on Earth, swirling cyclones, tornadoes and dust devils rip across the land. /news/2019-05-whirlpools-electrons.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 07 May 2019 07:20:16 EDT news476432410 Even tiny amounts of viruses can have disastrous consequences. RNA identification can reveal the type of virus present. A fast and sensitive technique based on optical detection has now been outlined in the journal Angewandte Chemie. Scientists from Germany and Finland have demonstrated the binding of an RNA target to a probe made of gold nanorods and a DNA origami structure. Chirality switches triggered by binding can be measured by circular dichroism spectroscopy. /news/2018-09-optical-picomolar-rna-plasmonic-chirality.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 19 Sep 2018 12:39:40 EDT news456579573 For the first time scientists have created a way to model the interaction between light and twisted molecules, as these molecules transition from left- to right-handed versions, or vice versa. The transitional forms offer a deeper insight into material symmetries and their unexpected behaviour could lead to improved design of telecoms components. /news/2018-05-morphing-nanoscale-tailor-applications-future.html Nanomaterials Thu, 03 May 2018 10:50:02 EDT news444562716 An international research collaborative has reported a new, highly parallel technique to fabricate precise metallic nanostructures with designed plasmonic properties by means of self-assembled DNA origami shapes. The so-called DALI (DNA-assisted lithography) method has been published in the latest issue of Science Advances. /news/2018-02-miniature-optical-antennas-dna.html Nanophysics Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:00:02 EST news436778950 (Â鶹ÒùÔº) —A combination of nanotechnology and a unique twisting property of light could lead to new methods for ensuring the purity and safety of pharmaceuticals. /news/2014-05-chiral-molecules-pharmaceuticals.html Nanophysics Fri, 16 May 2014 06:26:24 EDT news319440353 (Â鶹ÒùÔº) —Metamaterials, or materials that have had their matter rearranged so they interact with light in specific ways, could be key to making everything from super lenses for satellite surveillance to biosensors that can detect Alzheimer's disease—if they weren't so expensive to fabricate. A one-millimeter-square sample can take up to two weeks to produce. /news/2014-04-scalable-methods-metamaterials.html Condensed Matter Fri, 18 Apr 2014 08:20:02 EDT news317025421 (Â鶹ÒùÔº) —In chemical reactions, left and right can make a big difference. A "left-handed" molecule of a particular chemical composition could be an effective drug, while its mirror-image "right-handed" counterpart could be completely inactive. That's because, in biology, "left" and "right" molecular designs are crucial: Living organisms are made only from left-handed amino acids. So telling the two apart is important—but difficult. /news/2013-06-tiny-nanocubes-scientists-left.html Nanophysics Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:40:04 EDT news291541790 In the human body genetic information is encoded in double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid building blocks, the so-called DNA. Using artificial DNA molecules, an international team of scientists headed by the Cluster of Excellence Nanosystems Initiative Munich has produced nanostructured materials that can be used to modify visible light by specification. The researchers present their results in the current issue of the renowned scientific journal Nature. /news/2012-03-tailored-optical-material-dna-nano.html Nanomaterials Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:00:03 EDT news250952284 (Â鶹ÒùÔºOrg.com) -- Sensors, communications devices and imaging equipment that use a prism and a special form of light -- a surface plasmon-polariton -- may incorporate multiple channels or redundant applications if manufacturers use sculptured thin films. /news/2009-11-sculptured-materials-multiple-channel-plasmonic.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:42:05 EST news177086474