Nano Valve - A Switchable Molecular Trap
UCLA chemists have created a nano valve that can be opened and closed at will to trap and release molecules. The discovery was federally funded by the National Science Foundation. "This paper demonstrates unequivocally that the machine works," said Jeffrey I. Zink, a UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, and a member of the research team. "With the nano valve, we can trap and release molecules on demand. We are able to control molecules at the nano scale. "A nano valve potentially could be used as a drug delivery system," Zink said. "The valve is like a mechanical system that we can control like a water faucet," said UCLA graduate student Thoi Nguyen, lead author on the paper. "Trapping the molecule inside and shutting the valve tightly was a challenge." See more here or read the manuscript at PNAS.
The University of Minnesota is hosting the 2nd International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Occupational Health, a multinational meeting addressing the potential implications and applications of nanotechnologies in the workplace. This conference intends to provide a multi-stakeholder forum for presenting, assimilating, and discussing the latest breakthroughs and activities in addressing nanotechnology and worker safety and health. Seminars include Neuronal Translocation of Inhaled Nanoparticles to the Brain: Cause for Concern? by Gunter Oberdörster, University of Rochester and The Effects of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes on Cells that Clear Particles from the Body by David Brown, Napier University, among many others. The conference is being held in Minneapolis, MN, October 3-6, 2005. 
