PanaceaNano has launched a line of anti-aging skincare products under the brand NOBLE. NOBLE features the company’s patented technology, organic nano-cubes, biodegradable materials that release active ingredients onto skin over time. Anti-aging eye cream, anti-wrinkle repair night cream and skin rejuvenation serum are the products currently offered, ranging in price from $249 to $524. PanaceaNano is also developing flexible batteries and solar cells.
NTS Innovations (also known as Nanotube Solutions) has licensed patent-pending graphene technology from the University of Arkansas and plans to use it to fabricate devices and systems that produce energy without consuming fuel or creating pollution.
Researchers from West Virginia University (WVU) will partner with colleagues from Southern California Gas Company and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on technology that converts natural gas to hydrogen and value-added forms of carbon. The Hu group at WVU recently reported a promising new catalyst innovation for non-oxidative thermochemical conversion of methane to CO2-free hydrogen and solid carbon nanotubes. The catalysis promotes “base growth” carbon nanotube formation rather than the current “tip growth” technology. Base growth formation enables the catalyst to regenerate while also creating a highly pure and crystalline carbon product. The reaction conditions can be optimized to tune the diameter and length of the CNTs produced.
Researchers at MIT have developed a new process to make nanowire-based fabrics that are stronger than Kevlar. The new process is called gel electrospinning, Compared to carbon fibers and ceramic fibers, which are widely used in composite materials, the new gel-electrospun polyethylene fibers have similar degrees of strength but are much tougher and have lower density.
A Purdue University startup has received funding from the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund. LoDos Theranostics is developing a unique nanoparticle ultraviolet radiation technology that could enhance cancer cell killing effects of radiation treatment, thus reducing radiation doses and patient side effects. You-Yeon Won, a professor in Purdue’s School of Chemical Engineering, and Rachel Kim, an MBA graduate from MIT Sloan, co-founded the company.
Hisense has introduced a full lineup of televisions that run the high-tech gamut, including models with full-array local dimming, quantum dot color technology and compatibility with Alexa voice control.
In the latest example of graphene finding its way into sporting goods, Callaway Golf Company, U.S-based maker of golf equipment, has unveiled new graphene-enhanced golf balls called Callaway Chrome Soft golf and Chrome Soft X golf balls.
SolCold has developed a nanotech enabled light-filtering paint that can help actively cool buildings using laser cooling properties adapted for sunlight. “It’s like putting a layer of ice on your rooftop which is thicker when there is more sun,” said Yaron Shenhav, who developed the paint with his colleagues at SolCold.
The Israel-based startup is raising funds and plans to begin trials within 18 months of closing the Series A round in the first quarter of 2018. Two commercial and one residential building in Israel and Cyprus are waiting to get the trial SolCold treatment. The technology is based on the counterintuitive principle of laser cooling, in which hitting specially designed materials with a laser can cool them by up to 150°C.
Ocisal is currently the leading global single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) producer and its materials have recently been used in scooter tires to contribute to lightweighting. The company’s Tuball SWNTs have been used in the Ujet electric scooter. According to the company they are lightest tires in their class and offer grip improvements in both wet and dry conditions and better abrasion resistance. The use of advanced materials is important for manufacturers to meet regulatory requirements in transportation. Provisional pricing for the scooter is US$8,900 for the 43-mile version and $9,900 for the 93-mile model. Further information at https://www.ujet.com/en/
Researchers at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) have used nanotechnology-enhanced acupuncture needles to treat cancer. In this study, a team of researchers led by Professor In Su-Il of DGIST developed nanoporous needles with microscopic holes on the surface of the needles, ranging from nanometer to micrometers. The needles were created relatively simply using electrochemical nanotechnology. By increasing the surface area of the needle by a factor of ten, the nanoporous needles doubled the electrophysiological signal generated by needle stimulus. Read more at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11213-0
Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd has developed a high-thermal-conductive carbon nanotube sheet with the world’s top heat dissipation performance. The sheet is composed of pure carbon nanotubes, oriented perpendicularly, resulting in exceptional thermal conductivity and heat resistance. The company plans for the technology to be used in automotive heat-dissipation materials from fiscal 2020, and is considering to expand business into new areas, such as in applications for next-generation high-performance computing and telecommunications equipment.
