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Thursday, 5th November 2009 (472 views)

Gold nanoparticles have been employed in the development of "nanomembranes".

Writing on AZnano, Dr Dusan Losic, a senior research fellow at the University of South Australia's Ian Wark Research Institute in Adelaide, said membranes are already used in an array of industries, from health and energy to water treatment and agri-business.

In addition to this existing $10 billion (£6 billion) market, there are also a number of emerging areas where membranes could be used, such as air pollution control, food processing, drug delivery, fuel cells and catalysis.

Nanotechnology can play a crucial role in improving conventional products and delivering new membrane technologies, he added.

Dr Losic's research team has engineered a number of composite nanomembranes by combining gold nanoparticles with nickel, carbon and polymers.

The pore diameters of these nanoscale membranes can be precisely controlled down to a few nanometres.

Dr Losic said they offer "excellent potential" for use in biomedical diagnostics and implantable drug delivery systems.

Founded in 1994, the Ian Wark Research Institute specialises in solving industrial problems through science and technology.

 

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