Space: Technology

Lab on a chip

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:52:08 GMT

Free public access From Nature. It contains several nice review articles on 'lab-on-a-chip', a promising future in many fields such as chemical synthesis, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals etc.

Insight: Lab on a chip

Vol. 442, No. 7101 pp367-418

The ability to perform laboratory operations on small scales using miniaturized (lab-on-a-chip) devices has many benefits. Designing and fabricating such systems is extremely challenging, but physicists and engineers are beginning to construct highly integrated and compact labs on chips with exciting functionality as outlined in this Insight. The collection also highlights recent advances in the application of microfluidic-chip-based technologies such as chemical synthesis, the study of complex cellular processes and medical diagnostics.

Reviews

Scaling and the design of miniaturized chemical-analysis systems

Dirk Janasek, Joachim Franzke and Andreas Manz

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (559KB)

Developing optofluidic technology through the fusion of microfluidics and optics

Demetri Psaltis, Stephen R. Quake and Changhuei Yang

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (859KB)

Future lab-on-a-chip technologies for interrogating individual molecules

Harold Craighead

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (759KB)

Control and detection of chemical reactions in microfluidic systems

Andrew J. deMello

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1179KB)

Cells on chips

Jamil El-Ali, Peter K. Sorger and Klavs F. Jensen

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1459KB)

Microfluidic diagnostic technologies for global public health

Paul Yager, Thayne Edwards, Elain Fu, Kristen Helton, Kjell Nelson, Milton R. Tam and Bernhard H. Weigl

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (636KB)

Science & Technology Week of 7 May 2006

Thu, 11 May 2006 20:27:56 GMT

Chemists at the University of Sao Paulo reported an electrochemical cell that functions as a logic gate, which produces electrical output signals in response to light inputs with 350nm and 420nm wavelengths. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 3143.

Goldman, Brookhart and co-workers described in Science (Science 312, 257–261, 2006) a novel combination of two catalytic reactions that can transform the reactivity of inert hydrocarbons. With the ability to manipulate the lengths of the resulting carbon chains, this development opens up fresh vistas such as in processing saturated hydrocarbon sources for fuel and chemical uses.

Scattering experiments and computer simulations reveal the characteristic size of the critical cluster size during first order phase transitions. Structure factors obtained in neutron-scattering experiments on phase-separating polyolefin blends merge at a critical scattering vector. Similar qualitative results are obtained from computer simulations. Nature 441, 168-169, J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 3692–3696 (2006).

DuPont claims that it has made a significant breakthrough in the development of flat panel, organic light-emitting-diode displays (OLED), saying that the cost of OLED can be 30% less than that of liquid crystal displays (LCD).

Encryption Using Chaos. Researchers are using lasers with chaotically fluctuating signals to add an extra layer of privacy to messages sent over fiber-optic lines. By slipping a message into such a laser beam, decrypting the message requires a nearly identical laser to receive it – a process that's not readily accessible to most people. Lasers that "hide" messages could mean more foolproof security. It is estimated that using lasers to keep information private is roughly five years away from commercial viability. Technology Reviews.

spectroscopynow.com is a free resource for spectroscopists coving atomic, IR, MS, Raman, NMR, UV, X-ray, MRI as well as chemometrics and proteomics. It gives news, features, links and various links, and much more.

Pharmaceutical substances is a structure searchable online reference that provides a compendium of more than 2,400 active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). It includes synthetic routes and intermediate for newly approved drugs with information collected from literature and patents.

Pay phones --- What’s new in your wallet in the future?

Thu, 04 May 2006 19:16:57 GMT

It is estimated (Fortune, May 15 2006) that in 2011 twenty-five million of cellphone subscribers may ‘swipe’ their phones to make payments in stead of using traditional payment methods such as using cash or credit cards. This kind of phone-based wallet may also substitute membership cards and other forms of ID.

Online payment specialist PayPal has already introduced PayPal Mobile to North America (CNET news, link), which enables users to make purchases and make payments using their phones. Transactions are conducted by secure text message.

On the hardware side, Samsung and Koninklijke Philips (link) have teamed up to incorporate Near-Field Communication technology into future cell-phone models and enable payment through the cellphones.