Two young researchers on their way to becoming entrepreneurs

Start-ups for environmentally friendly batteries and nanoparticles for cancer therapy in planning

27-Mar-2023 - Two young Empa scientists each receive an Empa Entrepreneur Fellowship to develop innovative products based on their research. Abdessalem Aribia is developing environmentally friendly and safe batteries, while Subas Scheibler is working on nanoparticles for cancer therapy. The Empa Entrepreneur ...

Graphene dust not harmful, study finds

Analysis of health risks associated with graphene-containing particles

17-Jun-2022 - Graphene-based particles released from polymer composites after abrasion induce negligible health effects. Under the leadership of Empa, an international research team of the Graphene Flagship project conducted a study on the health risks of graphene-containing nanoparticles and recently ...

Fighting harmful bacteria with nanoparticles

New weapons against antibiotic resistance

26-Apr-2021 - Multi-resistant pathogens are a serious and increasing problem in today's medicine. Where antibiotics are ineffective, these bacteria can cause life-threatening infections. Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich are currently developing nanoparticles that can be used to detect and kill ...

Biofuels and sophisticated materials cycles thanks to bio-templating

Mini power plants from coated blue-green algae

31-Aug-2020 - Blue-green algae are among the oldest living creatures on Earth and have perfected the use of sunlight over billions of years. Empa scientists have now equipped these humble unicellular organisms with semiconductor coatings to create mini power plants, which supply biofuels and are ...

Nanosafety research without animal experiments

Risk analyses for nanoparticles

23-Jun-2020 - In order to reduce the number of animal experiments in research, alternative methods are being sought. This is a particular challenge if the safety of substances that have hardly been studied is to be ensured, for instance, the completely new class of nanomaterials. To accomplish just that, Empa ...

Tiny pharmaceuticals in the environment

09-Jan-2020 - Nanomedicine is making headways. However, the tiny nanoparticles that are being used as carriers for drugs could find their way into water, soil and air. Empa researchers are investigating potential risks. Fear is a bad counselor. In the comic book series "Asterix", the Gaul chief Vitalstatistix ...

Sticking instead of stitching

Nanoparticles that stick wounds together

10-Oct-2017 - In spite of medical advances, wound-related complications arising after operations can still be life-threatening. In order to avoid these complications in the future, a new nanoparticle-based tissue glue has been developed by researchers at Empa. There are internal and external areas of the body ...

Medication for the unborn baby

New 3D model of the human placental barrier

10-Aug-2017 - An Empa team has succeeded in developing a new three-dimensional cell model of the human placental barrier. The "model organ" can quickly and reliably deliver new information on the intake of substances, such as nano-particles, by the placental barrier and on any possible toxic effects for the ...

No nano-dust danger from façade paint

15-Jan-2014 - After 42 months the EU research project «NanoHouse» has ended, and the verdict is a cautious "all clear" – nanoparticles in the paint used on building façades do not represent a particular health risk. In the course of a «Technology Briefing» Empa researchers discussed these results with ...

Empa researchers «design» therapeutic coatings of silver

09-Jul-2010 - Empa researchers have demonstrated how they can adjust process conditions to influence the properties of novel plasma polymer coatings containing silver nanoparticles. Tailor-made films can be generated through a one-step plasma process. The scientists developed these new coatings, which kill ...