Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Team led by SU professor discovers new technique to engineer nanoscale templates

Thursday, March 25, 2010, By Kelly Homan Rodoski
Share
Research and Creative

A critical challenge in nanotechnology is developing means to routinely manipulate material structure and morphology at the nanoscale. Often, scientists use templates that render shape, form and structure to the final product.

A team led by Syracuse University researcher Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and professor of physics in The College of Arts and Sciences, has discovered a new and broadly applicable technique to engineer nanoscale templates.

This technique, reported in the March 21 issue of the journal Nature Materials (http://dx.doi.org//10.1038/NMAT2724), does not rely on complicated and laborious chemical synthesis. Simply put, it is a “flow and gel” technique. Specifically, Sureshkumar and his fellow researchers discovered that when translucent suspensions of nano-rods, made up of ubiquitous “soapy” molecules or “surfactants,” flow through microfluidic channels, i.e., channels with width and height comparable to one-tenth the size of a human hair, the rods spontaneously self-assemble into highly stable networks, thereby causing the fluid to form soft gels.

“Such networks offer tremendous potential to be functionalized to produce nanomaterials useful for molecular detection (sensors), cellular delivery of therapeutics, catalysis and photonics, including efficient harvesting of solar energy,” says Sureshkumar.

Surfactants are present in almost every walk of life and technology—laundry detergents and shampoos, emulsions, therapeutics, cosmetics, fire-fighting chemicals, fluid mixtures used in enhanced oil recovery, and even in our lungs to ensure normal alveolar function.

“Hence, one can envision numerous exciting applications of the ‘flow and gel’ process,” says Sureshkumar. “Further, it is a continuous and non-caustic process that can be scaled up. Functionalizing the nanogel could be done by integrating a second flow stream containing the desired active agent, such as nanoparticles or therapeutic molecules, into the flow system.”

The discovery team consists of Sureshkumar’s former graduate student Mukund Vasudevan at Washington University in St. Louis (now at Cytec Industries, Stamford, Conn.), undergraduate researcher Eric Buse and graduate student Hare Krishna at Washington University in St. Louis, postdoctoral fellow Donglai Lu and professor Amy Shen at the University of Washington, Seattle, and professors Bamin Khomami and Ramki Kalyanaraman of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Sureshkumar’s research group is now exploring robust means to modify the “flow and gel” process to incorporate optically active nanoparticles into the surfactant templates in an effort to make broadband antennas for efficiently harnessing the sun’s energy. Another focus of his research is to understand the fundamental mechanisms of flow-induced self-assembly by utilizing large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. These efforts are supported in part by the National Science Foundation.

  • Author

Kelly Rodoski

  • Recent
  • DPS Earns Accreditation From International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
    Friday, June 6, 2025, By Kiana Racha
  • Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By News Staff
  • Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’
    Wednesday, June 4, 2025, By Joanna Penalva

More In STEM

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Detecting single photons—the smallest unit of light—is crucial for advanced quantum technologies such as optical quantum computing, communication and ultra-sensitive imaging. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the most efficient means of detecting single photons and these detectors can count…

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question, “How did we get here?” These moments also shed light on the question, “Where are we going?,” offering scientists deeper insight into how organisms adapt to physical and…

What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?

Climate change is reshaping the global water cycle, disrupting rainfall patterns and putting growing pressure on cities and ecosystems. Some regions are grappling with heavier rainfall and flooding, while others face prolonged droughts that threaten public health, disrupt economies and…

University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and Ireland’s BiOrbic Sign MOU to Advance Markets for the Biobased Economy

This month at the All Island Bioeconomy Summit held in Co. Meath, Ireland, it was announced that BiOrbic, Research Ireland Centre for Bioeconomy, comprising 12 leading Irish research universities in Ireland, signed a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Dynamic Sustainability…

Professor Bing Dong Named as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The College of Engineering and Computer Science has named Bing Dong as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This endowed professorship is made possible by a 1998 gift from the late Fritz Traugott H’98 and his wife, Frances….

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.