2D Monolayer Membrane Developed Using Metal Nanoparticles; New Nanotechnology That Can Detect Antibiotics in Water

An international research team recently developed a new type of robust and elastic 2D or two-dimensional membrane that could be useful in detecting residues of antibiotics from water.

As specified in a Phys.org report, 2D materials are ultrathin and composed of either one- or few-layer atoms.

Recently, nanoparticle-based 2D materials have attracted immense interest among researchers and industry because of their mechanical strength, flexibility, and optical and electrical properties.

More so, such materials could make the main components, for example, optoelectronic devices, sensors, and non-generation computing technologies.

Thus far, no commercial applications are present because of problems with scalability and acquiring uniform products from one batch to another.

2D Monolayer Membrane

A team of researchers led by associate professor Nonappa from Tampere University and an adjunct professor at Aalto University has now been able to simulate a massive 2D monolayer membrane through metal nanoparticles that surpasses some of the problems.

The professor explained these membranes are mechanically sturdy and can be transferred to any substrate of interest for preferred applications.

In this study published in the Small journal, the team's method allows the large-area ultrathin membrane's rapid, scalable, and efficient fabrication. Unlike routinely utilized nanoparticles, the researchers used silver nanoparticles with an accurately defined molecular structure.

According to Alessandra Griffo, a postdoctoral researcher from Saarland University, the membranes exhibit elastic behavior, making them possibly useful, for instance, in flexible transistors and memory devices in wearable electronics and displays.

Identifying Antibiotics in Water

Griffo also said that the experimental outcomes o their mechanical properties are highly reproductive, not to mention dependable.

The researchers have explored, too, the suitability of the newly-developed membranes as substrates for identifying antibiotics in water.

With the increased application of pharmaceuticals and resulting contamination of surface and groundwater with antibiotics, there is an urgent requirement for fast and dependable detection.

Anirban Som, a postdoctoral researcher Anirban Som from Aalto University, explained that they could detect very low amounts of antibiotics dissolved in water that have a high degree of reproducibility.

In the future, the researchers will focus on adjusting the membrane fabrication approaches to other nanoparticle types, using them as components in flexible memory devices, such as intelligent e-skin applications.

Nanoparticles in Medicine

This is not the first and only time when nanoparticles are used in medicine. In fact, the term "nanomedicines" is defined in a Medica Device Network report as a "combination of nanotechnology with the drug itself," and is needed to pass standard regulatory milestones.

Such standard includes proven safety and effectiveness based on pre-clinical and clinical trials. Enhancing the ability of nanotechnologies to target certain cells or tissues is of great interest to companies that produce nanomedicines.

This study involves attaching nanoparticles onto liposomes or drugs to increase specific localizations.

Since different types of cells have distinctive properties, nanotechnology can be applied to recognize cells of interest.

This enables associated drugs and treatments to reach diseased tissue while evading healthy cells. While nanomedicine is a promising area of study, very few nanomedicines exist that successfully use nanotechnology in this manner.

This is because ill-defined parameters are linked to pairing the correct ratio or integrating nanoparticles with the drug of interest.

Related information about nanoparticle-based drug delivery is shown on the Institute for Molecular Bioscience's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Nanoparticles in Science Times.