Latest news with #InstituteofNanoScienceandTechnology
The Hindu
20-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Team makes powerful water filter with help from light, vibrations
Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) in Mohali, IIT-Dharwad, and IIT-Kharagpur have designed a cheap, reusable water filter. Industrial plants release dyes such as Congo Red and Methylene Blue into rivers and groundwater, from where they can cause stomach, skin, and breathing illnesses. Ozone, Fenton chemistry and other methods work to clean the water, but they burn through chemicals and electricity, expanding cost and the carbon footprint. The new filter has been designed to sidestep these and other problems. Its development was reported in a paper in the July edition of Nano Energy. The researchers first 3D printed thin, sponge-like sheets of polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic often used in compostable cups. PLA is naturally water-repelling, so the team soaked each sheet in a mild sodium-hydroxide solution to make it water-loving. Next, they made nanoparticles of bismuth ferrite (BFO) and dipped the prepared PLA sheets into a BFO ink. Treated sheets stayed strong through five reuse cycles, losing only about 3% of their cleaning power. Under visible light, the BFO acted like a solar-powered catalyst that split water molecules and created highly reactive radicals that shred organic dye molecules. And when shaken by ultrasound, BFO's piezoelectric nature generated an internal electric field that drove the same radical-making reactions even in the dark. Combining both light and vibration yielded piezo-photocatalysis, a process that worked day or night. During tests, when light and vibration were used together, the filter removed about 99% of Congo Red and 74% of Methylene Blue in 90 minutes. It also partially cleaned real wastewater collected from a textile plant. To understand its performance, the authors turned to machine-learning regression models. They fed the computer thousands of experimental data points, including dye concentration, catalyst amount, light intensity, and ultrasound frequency. Modern algorithms such as random forests, XGBoost, and an artificial neural network learned how these factors interacted. The best models closely matched the experimental results, which they hadn't seen, well enough to prove artificial intelligence could accurately forecast how fast the dyes vanished in different conditions. 'We are thinking of scaling up production and using the filter near treatment plants, where water bodies are regularly polluted,' Aviru Basu, INST scientist and corresponding author of the paper, said, adding that the team looks forward to its use in Jal Nigam and Namami Gange projects as well. 'Dr. Adreeja Basu, a plant biotechnologist and professor at Chandigarh University, is also helping us a lot in our efforts to make this product more sustainable using plant-derived products,' Dr. Aviru Basu added.
Indian Express
11-07-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
INST Mohali develops AI-powered solar filter to purify 99% toxic wastewater
In a significant breakthrough for Punjab's water pollution crisis, scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, have developed an AI-powered, solar-assisted filtration system capable of removing up to 99% of hazardous chemicals from wastewater. As the state continues to grapple with the discharge of 764 million litres of untreated industrial and domestic sewage daily into the Sutlej via Ludhiana's heavily polluted Buddha Nullah, the innovation offers a ray of hope. 'Our technique targets highly toxic industrial dyes like Congo Red (CR) and Methylene Blue (MB), commonly used in textile and pharmaceutical industries,' lead researcher Dr. Aviru Basu told The Indian Express. 'These dyes not only discolor water but also cause skin disorders, respiratory problems, and long-term health issues.' The filtration system uses a hybrid 3D-printed scaffold made from biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA), coated with bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) — a solar-activated catalyst. 'Unlike traditional wastewater treatments like electrochemical or ozone processes, which are expensive and energy-intensive, our technology is low-cost, eco-friendly, reusable, and powered by renewable energy,' said Dr. Basu. The innovation, called Piezo-Photocatalysis, activates the catalyst using a combination of solar light and gentle vibrations, allowing it to function effectively even under changing weather conditions. Lab results showed a 98.9% removal of Congo Red and 74.3% of Methylene Blue, surpassing many existing advanced water treatment methods. The system was successfully tested on real wastewater samples collected from a large industrial drainage point in Jaipur, where over 100 factories discharge effluents. 'The results were very satisfactory,' said Dr. Basu. To boost performance further, the team integrated Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) — a machine learning model — to accurately predict how the system would behave under different environmental and pollutant conditions. 'Our AI model has up to 99% prediction accuracy,' Dr. Basu added. INST is now collaborating with plant biotechnologist Dr. Adriza Basu of Chandigarh University to improve the system's long-term sustainability. The project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has been published in Nano Energy, a journal by Elsevier. Dr. Basu believes the scalable technology could be a game-changer for rural and peri-urban areas. 'If the Punjab government adopts this, we could safely discharge treated water into the Sutlej. It would be a giant leap toward cleaning Buddha Nullah and addressing the state's toxic water crisis,' he said.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Indian scientists develop nano-cups to zap cancer with heat
Illustration of semi-shell formation using rhombic dodecahedron (RD) shaped ZIF-8 as a sacrificial template and its PEGylation-assisted blood compatibility, cryopreservation, systemic safety and on-demand reconstitution towards pronounced photothermal therapy of advanced cancer (Image credit: DST) BENGALURU: Indian scientists have developed a simplified, one-step method to synthesise nano-cups , minute, bowl-like particles, capable of destroying cancer tumours using heat. This innovation holds the potential to make photothermal therapy (PTT), a non-invasive cancer treatment technique, significantly more accessible and effective. 'The team, comprising researchers from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali; Advanced Centre for Treatment Research & Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Tata Memorial Centre; and the IIT-Bombay, has fabricated what are known as PEGylated semi-shells (SS) with a unique nano-cup morphology. These structures are partly coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG), which boosts their compatibility with biological systems,' the department of science and technology (DST) said. Traditionally, manufacturing such nano-cups involved cumbersome, multi-step procedures and harsh chemicals like hydrofluoric acid. The new method, published in Communications Chemistry, a journal from the Nature group, sidesteps those issues by using biocompatible materials and mild conditions. 'The process replaces complex etching with a clever use of ZIF-8, a metal-organic framework, as a sacrificial template. As the ZIF-8 dissolves, gold nanoparticles grow in its place, forming the semi-shells, all at room temperature, and using ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) as a gentle reducing agent,' DST said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Importantly, it added, the resulting nanoparticles strongly absorb and scatter light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This makes them highly effective for PTT, which involves using laser light to heat and destroy cancer cells. 'Further, PEG coating enhances the particles' shelf life, water stability, and compatibility with the bloodstream, making them suitable for safe intravenous delivery. In laboratory tests, these PEGylated SS showed high photothermal conversion efficiency and no toxicity,' DST said. The research team demonstrated that these nano-cups could successfully ablate metastatic breast tumours in preclinical mice models. The treatment not only shrank the tumours but also improved survival rates and reduced the chances of relapse. 'Beyond treating cancer, researchers suggest that the particles' unique optical properties could be harnessed for biosensing applications, such as surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS), and future studies will explore combining chemotherapy with photothermal therapy,' DST added.
