{"id":2396,"date":"2011-05-12T13:06:32","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T06:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nano2.toolsmkt.com\/?p=2396"},"modified":"2011-05-12T13:06:32","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T06:06:32","slug":"finding-a-needle-in-a-haystack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nanotec.or.th\/en\/finding-a-needle-in-a-haystack\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding a Needle in a Haystack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, have created sensors comprised of carbon nanotubes coated with protein fragments found in bee venom that are so sensitive they can pick up a single molecule of an explosive such as TNT.\u00a0 <!--more-->The new sensors, if developed into commercial devices, would be far more sensitive than existing explosives detectors, such as those used at airports.\u00a0 The sensor takes advantage of carbon nanotubes\u2019 natural fluorescence, by changing the fluorescent light\u2019s wavelength, instead of its intensity, when the target binds to the bee-venom proteins coating the nanotubes.\u00a0 A new type of microscope can detect the change in wavelength.\u00a0 By coating several different nanotubes in different bombolitins \u2013 the bee venom proteins \u2013 the researchers can identify a unique \u201cfingerprint\u201d for each explosive they might want to detect.\u00a0 According to Michael Strano, an associate professor of chemical engineering,\u00a0 \u201cCompounds such as TNT decompose in the environment, creating other molecule types, and those derivatives could also be identified with this type of sensor.\u00a0 Because molecules in the environment are constantly changing into other chemicals, we need sensor platforms that can detect the entire network and classes of chemicals, instead of just one type.\u201d\u00a0 The sensor needs to be coupled with a commercially available concentrator that would bring molecules floating in the air in contact with the carbon nanotubes before it can be practical for widespread use.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that we are ready to put these onto a subway and detect explosives immediately. But it does mean that now the sensor itself is no longer the bottleneck,\u201d Strano says. \u201cIf there\u2019s one molecule in a sample, and if you can get it to the sensor, you can now detect and quantify it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2011\/explosive-detection-0510.html\">http:\/\/web.mit.edu\/newsoffice\/2011\/explosive-detection-0510.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, have created sensors comprised of carbon nanotubes coated with protein [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology-update"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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