'Nanoparticle taxicab' materials can identify, collect and transport debris on surfaces
Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - 11:01
in Physics & Chemistry
Inspired by proteins that can recognize dangerous microbes and debris, then engulf such material to get rid of it, polymer scientists led by Todd Emrick at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed new polymer-stabilized droplet carriers that can identify and encapsulate nanoparticles for transport in a cell, a kind of "pick up and drop off" service that represents the first successful translation of this biological process in a materials context.