The nano world keeps getting bigger. Perhaps not literally, but certainly more diverse. After the discovery of buckyballs and nanotubes, there seems to be no end to the ways scientists can assemble molecules in chains.

The most recent twist on the nanotube theme is customization. Scientists at Purdue University have found that there are far more than one way to spin a tube of molecules. By starting with synthetic organic molecules -- as opposed to boring old carbon -- they've learned to spin tubes with a wide variety of never-before-seen properties.

Using one of these organic nanotubes as a base other molecules can be strung along the outside of the tube, rather like insulation around a wire. The resulting layered tube then takes on the properties of the encapsulating molecules. For instance, a nanotube with a layer of nylon molecules strung along the outside functionally acts as super-strong nylon.

Now, if your first thought is "well, who needs bullet-proof socks?" you're at least starting to get the idea. In a case like nanotube-reinforced nylon, super-strength also means super-light. So how about if you could fold up the space shuttle's external fuel tank like a parachute?

Other new ways of manipulating nanotubes came out of the experiments, including twisting the molecules the "wrong" way. Nature only makes twisty molecules like DNA that curl left to right. Right-to-left spun nanotube molecules could conceivably lead to new drugs that plug up bacteria and virii in ways not possible before.

http://www.chem.purdue.edu/plcn

-- Robert Myers