Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea

Shedding New Light on Cells: Nanoluminescent Tags

Biologists have any number of reasons to be interested in the movements of particular groups of cells and other structures as they move through the body or even through a sample in a dish. Tracking movement can help them to determine how well drugs are being distributed and how substances are metabolized. But tracking a small group of cells as they move through the body is an essentially impossible task. A needle in a haystack is at least a chunk of dense metal in a mound of light biomass; you can find it by sifting or by using a metal detector. Cells have no significant material differences from one another and are typically of similar size and shape to other cells of their type. Unless you can ...