Chemists Devise Self-Assembling 'Organic Wires'

From pacemakers constructed of materials that so closely mimic human tissues that a patient's body can't discern the difference to devices that bypass injured spinal cords to restore movement to paralyzed limbs, the possibilities presented by organic electronics read like something from a science fiction novel.

Derived from carbon-based compounds (hence the term "organic"), these "soft" electronic materials are valued as lightweight, flexible, easily processed alternatives to "hard" electronics components such as metal wires or silicon semiconductors. And just as the semiconductor industry is actively developing smaller and smaller transistors, so, too, are those involved with organic electronics devising ways to shrink the features of their materials, so they can be better utilized in bioelectronic applications such as those above.

To this end, a team of chemists at The Johns Hopkins University has created water-soluble electronic materials that spontaneously assemble themselves into "wires" much narrower than a human hair. An article about their work was published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

"What's exciting about our materials is that they are of size and scale that cells can intimately associate with, meaning that they may have built-in potential for biomedical applications," says John Tovar, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. "Can we use these materials to guide electrical current at the nanoscale? Can we use them to regulate cell-to-cell communication as a prelude to re-engineering neural networks or damaged spinal cords? These are the kinds of questions we are looking forward to being able to address and answer in the coming years."

The team used the self-assembly principles that underlie the formation of beta-amyloid plaques, which are the protein deposits often associated with Alzheimer's disease, as a model for their new material. This raises another possibility: that these new electronic materials may eventually prove useful for imaging the formation of these plaques.

"Of course, much research has been done and is still being done to understand how amyloids form and to prevent or reverse their formation," Tovar says. "But the process also represents a powerful new pathway to fabricate nanoscale materials."

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Baltimore's Makeover Could Use More Than 'Hairspray'

I first noticed something when I saw the sleek black limosines sliding their way along Charles Street. Once on the bus, I saw what was going on -- it was the Baltimore premiere of the new remake of the cult film Hairspray.

Fans and TV crews alike had mobbed the sidewalk and as the bus drove by, we passengers saw film co-star Amanda Bynes posing in very Hollywood fashion out on the sidewalk for the photographers.

So this is what passes for glamour here in Baltimore.

You see, Baltimore is caught up in a bit of an identity crisis. This city, which once had serious personality, now lives in the shadow of this other city just an hour south on I-95. Yes, you guessed it -- our nation's capital, Washington DC.

Washington is a living city. Whatever their political stripe, Washington attracts the best and the brightest who come from across the country -- and around the world -- just to change the world, and leave their mark on it, too.

You can feel that energy everyday in Washington, as I do working there.

At night I come home to the somnambulent-by-comparison Baltimore, which is caught between the quaint past as seen in Hairspray and a future not yet made or defined.

Baltimore is just not the magnet for people and energy that Washington proves to be every day.

Certainly, Baltimore is home to the world-famous Johns Hopkins University, as well as many fine colleges and universities. Yet, they all operate as islands and never achieve the critical mass that government, non-profits and all of the other associated enterprises of Washington DC can muster.

Baltimore's in the midst of a mayoral election and the top issue on everyone's lips is the city's high crime and soaring homicide rate.

The thing is, Washington also has crime, murder and all the other urban social ills of a modern city. And yet for all of that, smart people keep coming to Washington. People in Washington have a lot more to talk about than their murder rate.

It will be up to the next mayor of Baltimore to provide the city with more of the energy that is so common and infectious on the streets just an hour south. With its universities and other assets, Baltimore has what it takes. What needs is a vision to create that critical mass its neighbor down in Washington has. What DC has is the "people's business." Baltimore needs to find some new business of its own, as unique in its own way as you'll find in government in Washington.

It's time that people in Baltimore also have more to talk about than either their crime rate or the sweet nostalgia of Hairspray.

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Space Technology Benefits Medical Community

A small group of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab researchers, in collaboration with physicians from the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center in Baltimore, developed and recently completed initial trials for a miniature device to help physicians characterize Raynaud’s disease and measure treatment effectiveness.

“The Ambulatory Raynaud’s Monitor is a tiny, Band-Aid-like device that enables physicians to objectively characterize a patient’s condition, determine its severity and measure symptoms in real time,” says Frederick Wigley, director of the Hopkins Scleroderma Center and one of the country’s leading scleroderma experts, who asked the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Md., to develop the device after reading about APL’s work developing miniature devices for spacecraft. “Until now, Raynaud’s research has been crippled without such a device.”

The small, low-cost monitor wraps around a patient’s finger and is secured with a bandage or medical tape. It contains two sensors that alternately record skin and ambient temperatures – indicators of surface blood flow – every 36 seconds. Interactive controls permit a patient to record the date and time of a suspected Raynaud’s attack. A week’s data is held by the monitor’s electronics and is retained even if the device’s power is unexpectedly interrupted.
Physicians can easily download data into a computer or PDA (personal digital assistant).

Software developed by APL enables physicians to quickly and easily display and plot data, which could be done during a patient’s appointment to provide real-time feedback. The monitoring system’s batteries store enough energy to operate for several months, and devices can be cleaned and reinitialized for use with multiple patients.

Triggered by cold temperatures or stress, Raynaud’s is characterized by numbness and coldness in the fingers, toes, ears and/or nose when blood vessels in those areas constrict during attacks. Insufficient blood flow near the skin’s surface also causes patients to experience skin color changes and varying levels of discomfort. Limited blood flow to the extremities can potentially lead to permanent loss of function. Raynaud’s can occur on its own, or be secondary to another condition, such as auto-immune disorders like scleroderma or lupus.

Field TrialsThe device recently underwent initial testing on patients with Raynaud’s being treated at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Patients wore a monitor for one week in their homes, pressing an “event button” on the device to indicate when a Raynaud’s event was occurring. The data – processed by APL engineers and evaluated by JHMI physicians – indicates Raynaud’s events can be successfully identified. Patients said the devices are comfortable and easy to use.

“The data from this preliminary study suggests that the monitor can help scientists and physicians learn more about Raynaud’s phenomenon and help investigators evaluate the effectiveness of drugs being developed to treat this disease,” says APL’s Binh Le, one of the inventors of the device.

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