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Nanopurification of water and soil

08.08.2015

Chemical pollutants often turn out to be elusive and difficult to destroy - the molecules of many pesticides and, for example, bisphenol A, used in the production of plastics, are very resistant to decomposition under normal conditions, so that cleaning water and soil from such substances becomes a very expensive and time-consuming matter: after all, here it is necessary to somehow catch pollutants from the environment in order to destroy them later by special methods.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created special nanoparticles that could greatly simplify the fight against such pollutants. Ferdinand Brandl (Ferdinand Brandl), Nicolas Bertrand (Nicolas Bertrand) and their colleagues synthesized a polymer substance from polyethylene glycol and polyactic acid - the first is part of eye drops, toothpastes, laxatives, etc., and, therefore, is harmless, and the second serves as one of the main components of biodegradable plastic. Nanoparticles made of such a polymer consist of a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell; due to molecular forces, hydrophobic contaminants, trying to get to the inner layer of the nanoparticle, will stick to its surface.

But in this form, the pollutant will remain in solution, even if it sticks to the nanoparticles. The trick is that the polymer from which the particles are made is destroyed under the action of ultraviolet radiation so that the hydrophilic shell disappears, and the hydrophobic core unfolds, "explodes" - it is no longer stabilized by the hydrophilic shell, which, due to interaction with water, kept the interior of the particle in a compact condition. Expanded particles with adhering pollutant molecules stick together, and as a result, a rather large supramolecular aggregate is obtained. Only, unlike individual harmful molecules and individual particles, such aggregates are easy to collect: they can be precipitated by centrifugation or, for example, simply filtered.

Using these nanoparticles, scientists have been able to purify solutions containing phthalates and bisphenol A, which interfere with hormonal signaling pathways; the particles also proved to be effective in cleaning the soil from aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons, which are formed during the incomplete combustion of various types of fuel and which, as is known, can be strong carcinogens. The unfolded polymer cannot fold back into a nanoparticle, and if for some reason the polymer microlump does not settle and filter out, then, made of biodegradable material, it will collapse itself over time, that is, there will be no additional pollution.

A huge plus of the method is its simplicity: the substance of nanoparticles is synthesized at room temperature, there is no need to modify them (they snatch substances from the solution non-specifically and are suitable for any hydrophobic chemicals), purification occurs without complex multi-stage procedures.

In addition, a sufficiently large ratio of surface area to volume allows a small number of nanoparticles to capture many harmful molecules. According to the initial thought of the authors of the work, such particles were supposed to deliver the drug to cancer cells, but the stumbling block was the need for ultraviolet light, which, firstly, does not pass well through the skin, and secondly, damages DNA in those cells, including healthy ones. which he did get to.

And yet, the method can find application not only in cleaning the environment from pollutants, but also in medicine, pharmacology, analytical chemistry, and even in the food industry: for example, using unfolding and sticking nanoparticles, it is possible to remove caffeine when preparing decaffeinated coffee.

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Communication with sleepers 01.03.2021

New scientific experiments have demonstrated the ability to ask questions to a person in a lucid dream - and even get the right answers to them.

Some special techniques and mental states allow you to experience lucid dreams, in which a person understands that he is in a dream, and can even control its content. This is a very curious phenomenon that opens up completely unique possibilities for studying sleep. Scientists have been able to demonstrate that a connection can be established between a lucid dreamer and the real world.

Until now, such contacts have remained one-way: having plunged into a lucid dream, people could communicate this with eye movements or perform a prearranged task. But recently a connection has been shown in both directions: people heard the questions of the experimenters and answered them while remaining in a dream.

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Electrodes attached to the head, cheeks and near the eyes made it possible to register the onset of the REM (paradoxical) sleep phase, during which dreams come. Commands were transmitted to the experimental subjects using voice, and eye movements and facial expressions served as feedback, which the sleepers could partially control. For example, they were asked to subtract six from eight - and the subjects answered "two", moving their eyes twice from left to right.

In most cases (approximately 60 per cent), contact could not be made. In 20 percent of the experiments, the answers obtained were incorrect or unclear. However, about 18 percent accounted for certain and reliable communications with sleepers. Moreover, when they woke up, they often remembered the experience. According to the volunteers, the questions sounded in a dream, like a voiceover. However, they did not always reproduce what happened exactly and sometimes they did not name the questions that they were asked.

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