The Perfect Nanocubo

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST) in the U.S. have developed a simple process to produce nanocrystals that will enable studies of certain physical and chemical properties that affect how nanoparticles interact with the world around them. This is to understand the environmental risks, health and safety of these particles.

Because nanoparticles behave differently from samples of the same material mass, it must develop new tests to understand how they affect biological systems. Precisely NIST scientists describe a one-step process that allows them to control the size, shape and composition of nanocrystalline gold-copper alloy to create nanocubos with perfect edges as small as 3.4 nanometers.

The researchers combined and heated precursors of gold and copper with other chemicals to produce nanocubos highly crystalline, homogeneous and perfect with abundant production. To study the process of formation, samples were collected 1 hour, 1.5 hours, 5 hours and 24 hours and found that only five hours were needed to produce perfectly cubic nanoparticles of uniform size. By adjusting the proportions of chemicals in the original solution and the reaction time, were able to precisely control the size, shape and composition of nanocubos.

The process developed by NIST for the creation of these nanocubos allow toxicologists systematically alter the characteristics of nanocubos and see how the change affects the biological response.