Technology and techniques that use molecule-sized components or components smaller than a single cell
Scars are the body’s response to skin injury. Sometimes too much of the protein collagen is produced at the site of the injury, resulting in excessively large thick scars that can be disfiguring, uncomfortable, and compromise function by restricting mobility. These can either be hypertrophic scars, which are thickened but limited to the injured area, … Read more
One of the challenges to building artificial organs is finding or creating suitable materials for use in such devices. If the device contains living cells, then those cells need to receive nutrients from, exchange gases with, and send cellular waste products into blood. In addition, the cells should also respond appropriately to circulating regulatory signals, … Read more
Spasers are energy-absorbing particles that release light. Spaser stands for “surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.” These tiny particles are a type of plasmonic nanoparticle. Lasers activate spasers, which can be targeted to cancer cells. Once internalized by cancer cells, spasers can selectively kill them. Galanzha and colleagues generated and tested spasers of … Read more