New nanomaterial freshens air, repels bugs, delivers drugs . . . and removes barnacles
Talk about a product that can do it all . . .
A chemist at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a remarkable nanostructured material that can repel pests, sweeten the air, and some day might even be used as a timed drug delivery system – as a nasal spray, for instance – says a Washington University press release.
Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D., (pictured, left), Washington University James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, has taken the same materials that she developed more than four years ago as marine "antifouling" coatings that inhibit marine organisms such as barnacles from attaching to ship hulls to now capture fragrance molecules and release them at room temperature.
Wooley mixes two normally incompatible polymers – a hyperbranched fluoropolymer and a linear polyethylene glycol – and lets them phase-separate into distinct domains, one interspersed in the other. A chemical process called crosslinking then solidifies the mixture, thus creating a heterogeneous coating that, upon close examination, reveals treacherous nanometer-sized terrain composed of mountains and valleys, ranging from hard to soft, hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The complex surface that is created makes it difficult for marine organisms to establish a toehold. Her laboratory has produced these novel materials and they are being used around the world
"We looked at the roughness and complexity of the surface and thought that the surface might provide interesting entrance and exit ports for small molecule guests," Wooley explained. "So, our material would be a host that would act like a sponge, because we have this complex subsurface morphology, and we thought of it as being domains that might be like holes in sponges and other domains that might be like sponge material."
"This material could be very useful as something to promote the release of a volatile agent," she said, "maybe for some kind of nasal inhalation-based delivery of drugs. Or maybe something as simple as a room-temperature release of a fragrance." (photo David Kilper/WUSTL)
Nanotechnology is expected to contribute to scientific and technological advances in a wide range of fields, including energy, electronics, materials, and medicine. Many of the benefits of nanotechnology arise from the fact that nanomaterials exhibit properties and behavior different from those of materials at larger scales. At the nanoscale, material properties vary as the function of size, which not only enables new benefits, but also may lead to health and environmental risks.
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:48 pmIt has been discovered that like DEET, IBI-246 repels insects effectively and, on the scale used by the EPA to gauge toxicity, is considered slightly safer.Also, they have found that it not only repelled mosquitoes, but ticks as well.Subsequent testing has shown that the substance also repels fleas, cockroaches, ants and biting flies, as well as insects that are agricultural pests such as aphids and thrips.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:40 pmNanotechnology is expected to contribute to scientific and technological advances in a wide range of fields, including energy, electronics, materials, and medicine. Many of the benefits of nanotechnology arise from the fact that nanomaterials exhibit properties and behavior different from those of materials at larger scales. At the nanoscale, material properties vary as the function of size, which not only enables new benefits, but also may lead to health and environmental risks.
May 29th, 2007 at 5:52 amActually,I’m a bit reserved about every “multy-action” solutions. As usual, this kind of stuff have many pretty good results but none of them is the best.So, I remain faithful to stuff designed for one good purpose.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:03 am