Close Menu
  • News
  • Medical
  • Technology
  • Nanomaterials
  • Research
  • Blog
    • Nasiol.com
  • Contact
    • Tech7685@gmail.com
What's Hot

A new molecular model of bilayer graphene with higher semiconducting properties

May 31, 2025

5 Nanomaterial Innovations That Didn’t Deliver (Yet)

May 30, 2025

Scientists identify new 2D copper boride material with unique atomic structure

May 30, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily
  • News
  • Medical
  • Technology
  • Nanomaterials
  • Research
  • Blog
    • Nasiol.com
  • Contact
    • Tech7685@gmail.com
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily
Home»Nanomaterials»Nanoparticles enhance locusts’ sense of smell
Nanomaterials

Nanoparticles enhance locusts’ sense of smell

February 21, 2024No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Nanoparticles enhance locusts’ sense of smell
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Telegram Email

Illustration showing nanoparticles in a locust
Hot spots: this photo composition has a locust (centre) showing the location of the nanoparticles (left), which are illuminated by near-infrared light (illustrated in red). (Courtesy: Singamaneni Lab/Washington University)

Using specially engineered nanoparticles, a team of US researchers has artificially enhanced the sense of smell in locusts. Led by Srikanth Singamaneni and Barani Raman at Washington University in St Louis, the researchers’ approach could lead to a new type of biological chemical sensors.

Many different animals have evolved a sense of smell that vastly outperforms our own. Even today, the latest designs of chemical sensor have yet to catch up with the sensitivity of biological olfactory systems, as well as their ability to distinguish between subtly different substances.

Recently, researchers have attempted to harness these abilities in biological chemical sensors. Initially, Singamaneni’s team planned to do this with locusts, which carry their olfactory apparatus in their antennae.

Biology does the hard work

“We let the biology do the harder job of converting information about vaporous chemicals into an electrical neural signal,” explains Raman. “These signals are detected in the insect antennae and are transmitted to the brain. We can place electrodes in the brain, measure the locusts’ neural response to odours, and use them as fingerprints to distinguish between chemicals.”

This approach quickly ran into difficulties, however. Without harming the insects, Singamaneni’s team found they were strictly limited both in the number of electrodes they could use, and in the regions where they could be placed. Ultimately, this meant that the neural signals they detected were far too weak for the system to act as a reliable chemical sensor.

To overcome this challenge, the researchers have explored how the locusts’ neural signals could be enhanced with the help of photothermal nanoparticles, which are extremely efficient at converting light into heat. “Heat affects diffusion – imagine adding cold milk to hot coffee,” Raman says. “The idea is to use the heat generated by nanostructures to locally heat and enhance neural activity.”

See also  Twisted bowties created with continuous chirality

In this case, the team examined how locally applied heat could be used to control the release of neurotransmitters. These are the molecules responsible for conveying electrical signals between neurons in the brain.

Melting wax

To achieve this, they started by encasing photothermal polydopamine nanoparticles in a porous silica coating. They then mixed the structure with a dye containing 1-tetradecanol. The latter is a waxy solid at room temperature, but melts at just 38 °C. Finally, they loaded the nanostructures with a neurotransmitter “cargo” and injected them into locust brains.

To test their approach, the team placed random arrays of electrodes on the locusts’ heads, and monitored their neural signals when they exposed them to different odours. When they detected neural signals, the team then fired a near-infrared laser in the place where the signals appeared.

The photothermal nanoparticles absorbed the near-infrared light and this heated the surrounding 1-tetradecanol above its melting point – releasing the structure’s neurotransmitter cargo into its immediate surroundings.

Enhanced sense of smell

With the temporary abundance of neurotransmitters, the locusts’ neural signals were temporarily amplified by a factor of 10. This improved the insects’ sense of smell and also boosted the locusts’ neural activity to levels that could be measured far more accurately by the team’s electrode arrays. This was the case even when they nanoparticles were not placed in optimal positions.

“Our study presents a generic strategy to reversibly enhance neural signals at the brain site where we place the electrodes,” Raman explains. When signal amplification was no longer required, the excess neurotransmitter molecules were simply broken down by natural enzymes. In the long term, the nanostructures will biodegrade, leaving the locusts unharmed.

See also  Blocking electromagnetic interference opens channels for optical communications

The researchers are confident that their approach could be a promising step towards a new generation of biological chemical sensors.

“It would change an existing passive approach – where information is simply read – into an active one, where the capabilities of neural circuits as a basis for information processing are fully used,” Raman explains. If achieved, this would both boost the sensitivity of chemical sensors, and improve their ability to differentiate between different chemicals.

The research is described in Nature Nanotechnology.

Source link

Enhance Locusts nanoparticles sense smell
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

New contact lenses allow wearers to see in the near-infrared

May 30, 2025

Drug-loaded nanoparticles can enhance precision and safety of ultrasound tumor treatment

May 27, 2025

Targeted nanoparticles show promise for more effective antifungal treatments

May 23, 2025

Silver nanoparticles produced by fungus could be used to prevent and treat COVID-19

May 14, 2025

Ultrasound-activated nanoparticles wipe out biofilm infections in lab tests

May 1, 2025

How gold nanoparticles may one day help to restore people’s vision

April 26, 2025

Comments are closed.

Top Articles
News

New method captures the stochastic dynamics in coherent X-ray imaging at the nanoscale

News

New blood test evaluates nanomedicines for safer, personalized cancer treatment

Lab-spun sponges form perfect scaffolds for growing skin cells to heal wounds

Editors Picks

A new molecular model of bilayer graphene with higher semiconducting properties

May 31, 2025

5 Nanomaterial Innovations That Didn’t Deliver (Yet)

May 30, 2025

Scientists identify new 2D copper boride material with unique atomic structure

May 30, 2025

New contact lenses allow wearers to see in the near-infrared

May 30, 2025
About Us
About Us

Your go-to source for the latest nanotechnology breakthroughs. Explore innovations, applications, and implications shaping the future at the molecular level. Stay informed, embrace the nano-revolution.

We're accepting new partnerships right now.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
Our Picks

Tissue-integrated sensitive glucose nanosenor uses inactive glucose oxidase enzyme for continuous monitoring

January 9, 2024

System assists with making nanoparticle measurements to speed up research

February 21, 2025

Hybrid surface combines hydrophobic nanowires and hydrophilic channels to prevent condensation flooding

April 29, 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative Nano Tech news from Elnano.com

© 2025 Elnano.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Cleantalk Pixel