2008 AUG 18 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to recent research published in the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, "In the present paper, we have investigated structural, optical as well as electronic properties of electron beam evaporated Ge thin films having layer thicknesses ranging from ultra-thin (5 nm) to thick (200 nm). The Raman spectra show that all peaks are shifted towards lower wave number as compared to their bulk counterparts and are considered as a signature of nanostructure formation and quantum confinement effect. ...read more

  2008 AUG 18 - (VerticalNews.com) -- "Features of nanoscratching processes with a diamond 90 degrees cube corner tip in semiconductor materials have been studied with different tip orientations and scratch procedures: constant and linearly increasing normal load during scratching, multi-scratching and the direct analysis of the generated scratch by re-scanning the scratch with a strongly reduced normal load. These scratch functions allowed a detailed investigation of the materials response due to the mechanical deformation process," investigators in Wildau, Germany report ...read more

  2008 AUG 18 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from Calgary, Canada, "The relationship between a model pulmonary surfactant system and various sized nanoparticles was investigated in this study. Diplamitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) is the main lipid constituent of lung surfactant and has the ability to reach very high surface pressures (around 70 mN/m) upon compression."

  "Due to these properties it was used as a model to simulate the lung surfactant film in vitro. The first objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between DPPC and various sized nanoparticles within the subphase through surface pressure-area isotherms. The second objective was to measure the surface potential of the different preparations (conducted on a mini-Langmuir trough) and to determine if an optimal nanoparticle size exists possessing a greater affinity for the DPPC film compared to other sizes. The results from the pressure area isotherms indicate that the interaction between DPPC and the nanoparticles is stable and that the 235 nm particles may represent an optimal size. Furthermore, the results from the surface potential experiments confirm that an interaction of the nanoparticles with the monolayer exists as indicated by surface-pressure area isotherms. Any even moderate interaction between nanoparticles and lung surfactant film might reduce or increase the surface potential of the surfactant film, and this might impact the deposition of the nanoparticles or other ligands which may be positively or negatively charged drugs within the surfactant film," wrote T. Ku and colleagues, University of Calgary ...read more