World's Tiniest Corks
Scientists at the University of Florida have found a way to "cork" nanotubes only 80 billionths of a meter in diameter.
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Scientists at the University of Florida have found a way to "cork" nanotubes only 80 billionths of a meter in diameter. Eventually these tiny test tubes could be used to deliver drugs to diseased or cancerous cells within the body, bypassing healthy tissue and reducing unpleasant side effects. By employing amino-aldehyde bonds to hold the corks in place, researchers have overcome the problem of keeping drug molecules inside the tubes until they reach their destination. The next challenge: unscrewing the corks when the tubes hit their target. The research is detailed in the April issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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