Category Archives: MRS Bulletin

Conductive polymer substrate creates platform for biosensing applications

Posted on October 21, 2016 by rberkowitz

If you want to know how a living cell exchanges information with its surroundings, you have to understand how materials pass through the cell wall. Now, researchers have synthesized lipid bilayers on a flexible, conductive substrate that allows signals to transduce the model membrane. Continue reading →

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LIGO optical coatings pose new challenges in materials research

Posted on October 12, 2016 by rberkowitz

Not only has the detection of gravitational waves opened a new era of astronomy, it has also unveiled new horizons for optical and materials sciences. Continue reading →

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Metal migration damages perovskite solar cells

Posted on June 30, 2016 by rberkowitz

Heat-induced migration of metal contacts is one culprit behind the degradation that plagues otherwise efficient perovskite solar cells. Continue reading →

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Plasma oxidation technique yields precise control over mixed metal oxide composition

Posted on April 28, 2016 by rberkowitz

Mixed metal oxide alloys play an important role as substrates and catalysts for many energy conversion and storage applications. Until now, making multi-element solid solutions with precise compositions has eluded current synthesis techniques. Continue reading →

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Directional freeze-casting method produces highly structured metal foams by ice-templating

Posted on March 31, 2016 by rberkowitz

The key to producing an anisotropic tungsten metal foam is starting with a non-metallic oxide powder, and reducing it to metal before densifying the final structure. Continue reading →

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Fluorescent Colloidal Nanomaterial Rapidly Internalized into Living Cells

Posted on January 26, 2016 by rberkowitz

Researchers have successfully incorporated colloidal nanoplatelets, a disc-like variation on spherical quantum dots, in a biological system. The new “lipoprotein nanoplatelets” were found to be rapidly internalized into living cells while retaining their fluorescence, making them uniquely valuable in live-cell imaging and labelling. Continue reading →

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Simple Technique Produces Pure, High-Quality Nanodiamonds

Posted on January 13, 2016 by rberkowitz

Nanodiamonds, or pure diamonds with a length scale less than a micrometer, are a materials scientist’s best friend in areas such as imaging, spintronics, and quantum computing. Now, researchers have overcome key challenges and developed a straightforward way of producing extremely … Continue reading →

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MRS Bulletin: Photonic Crystal Nanolasers

Posted on January 8, 2016 by rberkowitz

‘Photonic-crystal nanolasers shown to be highly sensitive biosensors’ printed in Materials News section of January 2016 MRS Bulletin. Continue reading →

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Photonic Crystal Nanolasers Shown to be Highly Sensitive Biosensors

Posted on December 9, 2015 by rberkowitz

Move over, ELISA. While the Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay has long been one of the most popular ways of detecting and quantifying the presence of antibodies or antigens in solution, nanolasers may be poised to share the spotlight on the biosensor stage. Continue reading →

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