Tag: chemistry
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Mercury Found in Soil Near Central Indiana Coal Power Plants
A study by researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis found that measurable amounts of mercury emitted by coal-fired power plants are deposited in central Indiana soil and can subsequently enter regional watersheds. The findings by earth scientists Carrie Lynne Hatcher (now at University of Toronto) and Gabriel Filippelli appear in the journal Water, Air, and…
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Quick Color-Change Lens Technology Leads to New Company
A professor of chemistry and colleagues at University of Connecticut in Storrs have devised a process for quick-changing, variable colors in films and displays, such as sunglasses. Greg Sotzing and one of his colleagues started a company called Alphachromics Inc. to commercialize the technology for consumer sunglasses lenses and military goggles. Transition lenses normally use…
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Challenge Seeks Method to Estimate Powder Flow
InnoCentive, in Waltham. Massachusetts, that conducts crowdsourcing contests for sponsoring companies, has posted a new challenge seeking a method to estimate the “flowability” of powder blends based on the physical properties of the mixture. The challenge has a prize of $20,000 and a deadline of 7 September 2011. Powders can be difficult materials for which…
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Compartmented Gel Capsule Developed for Multi-Drug Delivery
U.S. and Chinese researchers have designed a multiple-compartment gel capsule that could simultaneously deliver drugs of different types. A description of their research is published online in the journal Macromolecular Rapid Communications (paid subscription required). L. Andrew Lyon, a chemistry professor at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and Xiaobo Hu, a former visiting scholar…
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Prof. Develops Anti-Microbial Technology for Fabrics
A University of Georgia researcher has invented an anti-microbial technology that can turn medical linens and clothing germ-free. Jason Locklin (right), a member of the chemistry and engineering faculties at the university’s Athens campus, published results of his and colleagues’ research last month in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces; paid subscription required. Locklin’s discovery…
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Researchers Find New Properties in an Old Material
Researchers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg have devised a way to measure and manipulate the internal structure of Nafion, a common polymer, to expand the material’s applications. The research chemists’ results are published in the 19 June issue of the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription required). Nafion was developed in the 1960s by DuPont, and…
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Simple, Safer Process Developed to Synthesize Graphene
Scientists at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb say they have discovered a simple method for producing high yields of graphene, a carbon nanostructure with advanced capabilities, including as a potential platform for the next generation of integrated circuits. The NIU team’s findings appear online in the Journal of Materials Chemistry (free subscription required). Graphene is…
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Pain Killer with Built-in Abuse Deterrence Gets FDA Clearance
A prescription pain killing drug developed by Pfizer Inc. in New York and Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Palatine, Illinois has received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Oxecta, an opioid analgesic tablet made from oxycodone hydrochloride (HCl), contains ingredients developed by Acura Pharmaceuticals to deter tampering that leads to misuse or abuse…
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Self-Repairing Structural Stress Sensor Developed
A research team at North Carolina State University in Raleigh has built a sensor to measure the strain in structural materials and that can fix itself if broken. NCSU mechanical engineering student Young Song and faculty member Kara Peters published their findings in the June issue of the journal Smart Materials And Structures (paid subscription…
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Company, University Partner on Steel Manufacturing Process
A materials science lab at Ohio State University in Columbus is working with a manufacturer in Detroit to better understand the science behind the small company’s high-performance steel product. The researchers and the company’s president reported their findings last month in the journal Materials Science and Technology (paid subscription required). Gary Cola, founder of the…