Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Researchers in Taiwan have developed a drug delivery plaster mimicking the wet adhesion of beetle feet.

The micropillar patch sticks to test surfaces and releases anti-inflammatory drugs in a controlled manner. Drug delivery patches are already is use for medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and helping people to quit smoking.

Want to know what Daniel Nocera thinks about wirelessly beaming energy from space? Over the coming weekend, the BBC World Service will be broadcasting an episode of The Forum, which was recorded at the RSC’s ISACS12 conference last week entitled “Challenges in Chemical Renewable Energy”.

Quentin Cooper hosts the programme in which Daniel Nocera of Harvard University, Clare Grey of the University of Cambridge, Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz of the State University of Campinas and Jim Watson of the UK Energy Research Council discuss the work in their areas of expertise and future challenges for renewable energy as a whole.

The programme will be broadcast at 23.06 GMT on Saturday 14^th September, 10.06 GMT on Sunday 15^th September and 2.06 GMT on Monday 16^th September. Find out when this is in your local time at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmeguide/.

It will also be available to listen on the iPlayer shortly after the broadcasts have finished and you will be able to hear it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01g94yj.

– Written by Yuandi Li, RSC Science Executive

Researchers in Singapore have shown a peptide in wasp venom could be used to stop bacteria colonising materials implanted in the body.

Our increasing reliance on implantable devices such as catheters and stents, combined with the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria has created a challenge for the medical community.

Chemistry World Content Editor Jennifer Newton interviewed Cafer Yavuz from KAIST about his career in Chemistry including his exciting research on materials for carbon dioxide capture.

Read the interview in Chemistry World here.

Read Yavuz’s recent article in Journal of Materials Chemistry:

High capacity carbon dioxide adsorption by inexpensive covalent organic polymers
Hasmukh A. Patel, Ferdi Karadas, Ali Canlier, Joonho Park, Erhan Deniz, Yousung Jung, Mert Atilhan and Cafer T. Yavuz
J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 8431-8437
DOI: 10.1039/C2JM30761H

We are delighted to announce Professor Xinliang Feng has won the 2013 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship.

Professor Feng is the fourth winner of the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship. The Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board chose Professor Feng in recognition of the contribution he has made to the materials chemistry field.

Professor Feng will present the lectureship at ICMAT 2013 later this year and will be presented with the award by the Managing Editor of the journals Dr Liz Dunn.

Profesor Feng received his Bachelor’s degree in analytic chemistry from the China University of Geosciences in 2001. Then he obtained his Master’s degree in organic chemistry from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in March 2004, where he worked on the synthesis of fluorinated ion-exchange resins and polymer-supported organic catalysts. Later on he moved to Professor Herbert Mayr’s group at the University of Munich in April 2004 for a short period to conduct research on the nucelofugality and electrofugality in organic solvolysis. In September 2004, he joined the group of Professor Klaus Mullen at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research for a PhD thesis on the synthesis and supramolecular chemistry of novel polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, where he obtained his PhD degree in April 2008.

In December 2007, he was appointed as project leader at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. And since 2011, he became an adjunct distinguished professor at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and was appointed as the director for the Institute of Advanced Organic Materials.

His current scientific interests include the synthesis and self-organization of extended graphene molecules, novel conjugated oligomers and polymers, and testing for applications in organic electronic devices, processable graphene sheets for transparent electrodes and organic electronics, functional organic nanomaterials for energy oriented application, graphene-based 2D nanomaterials and low-dimensional nanostructured functional carbon-rich as well as hybrid materials for energy storage and conversion, 2D conjugated and supramolecular polymers for opto-electronic applications.

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It is estimated that less than 1% of the world’s macroalgae biomass is currently utilised but UK scientists have found a use for some of it – in the preparation of highly mesoporous materials.

Mesoporous materials have a variety of applications including catalysts and drug delivery systems. Previously, other biomass sources, such as peas, potatoes and corn, have been considered for use in the production of mesoporous materials. However, by using seaweed as the biomass source, James Clark, and co-workers, at the University of York, UK, managed to form mesoporous material, without the need for costly processes, such as supercritical carbon dioxide drying.

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Shaped mesoporous materials from fresh macroalgae
J. R. Dodson ,  V. L. Budarin ,  A. J. Hunt ,  P. S. Shuttleworth and J. H. Clark
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 5203-5207
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA10568G

Scientists in the US have designed an ingestible electronic device that is composed entirely of edible materials and produces its own electric current.

Since 2008, Christopher Bettinger and colleagues from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have been working on biodegradable electronics for medical devices. The team’s overarching goal is to develop electronically-active medical devices that can be implanted, are functional and break-down in the body. ‘Two issues that seem to keep coming up along the way are how will these devices be powered and how can we integrate devices with the body in a non-invasive manner?’ says Bettinger. ‘The idea of edible current sources is to serve as power supplies for medical devices that can be taken orally – so they’re non-invasive – using materials that are ingested in common diets.’

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Self-deployable current sources fabricated from edible materials
Young Jo Kim ,  Sang-Eun Chun ,  Jay Whitacre and Christopher J. Bettinger
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB20183J