The Alchemist Newsletter: July 28, 2010

Carbon conflagration

Graphite oxide could be made a lot less flammable if a common contaminant were removed prior to use. Oxidizing and exfoliating graphite with concentrated acids and potent oxidizers such as potassium permanganate is well-known step in the production of the popular experimental material graphene. In contrast, graphene-type products made from graphite oxide - reduced graphite oxide and chemically modified graphene - are highly flame resistant. Now, while studying graphite oxide’s exothermic properties, Northwestern University materials scientists Franklin Kim, Jiayan Luo, Jiaxing Huang, and colleagues have discovered that in the solid state, the material can undergo self-sustaining deoxygenation that propagates throughout the entire sample. Potassium salt residues are to blame the team has found.

Graphite Oxide's Flammability Explained

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Prostate gel

A hydrogel capsule could improve diagnosis of prostate cancer, according to Japanese researchers. Itaru Hamachi and colleagues at Kyoto University, have developed a robust hydrogel that can selectively detect prostate cancer cells as well as releasing a fluorescent drug into those cells upon binding. The mode of action is based on cleavage of the hydrogel capsule by an enzyme produced only by the cancerous tissue. Prostate cancer is a slow-developing disease that remains symptom-free in the early stages. Current diagnostics are not considered entirely reliable. The hydrogel has advantages over conventional polymer capsules because it is biodegradable and so holds much greater promise as a potential diagnostic and drug delivery vehicle.

Gel targets prostate cancer

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Iodine in milk

A simple, precise and accurate automatic technique based on indirect atomic absorption spectrometry can determine total iodine concentration in milk products and so might be used in improving quality control for infant formula milk, for instance, as well as in studies of this essential micronutrient. Researchers at the University of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, have demonstrated iodine determination in the concentration range 0.011 to 0.35 micrograms per milliliter at a rate of seventeen samples per hour.

Milking AAS for iodine content

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Sunshine award

Qiquan Qiao of South Dakota State University’s Center for Advanced Photovoltaics is to receive $400,000 over the next five years to help in the development of less expensive and more efficient solar cells. The National Science Foundation CAREER award will help Qiao to develop organic photovoltaic materials, which he hopes could one day reach 10 to 15 percent efficiency. Specifically, Qiao will focus on novel polymers that have a long excited state lifetime.

Award Will Help Researcher Build Efficient Organic Solar Cells

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