The first Alchemist sightings of 2013 see evolving glass, negative temperatures and steroid mass production. As festive celebrations fade into memory, we ponder novel nanotech applications for the Christmas tree and muse on what makes pink diamonds…well…pink. Finally, new year celebrations for a boron chemist to be honored by Obama.
via The Alchemist Newsletter:Jan 11, 2013 — Welcome to ChemWeb.
Borosulfate breaks through - Henning Höppe, together with a team from the University of Augsburg and Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg in Germany, have created potassium borosulfate - K5[B(SO4)4] - by heating potassium sulfate with boric and sulfuric acids. The compound they created comprises a boron atom linked through four oxygen atoms to four sulfate groups and carries a formal 5- charge. Reference: H A Höppe et al, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2012, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201109237
Boron-Nitride Nanotubes Show Potential in Cancer Treatment - A new study has shown that adding boron-nitride nanotubes to the surface of cancer cells can double the effectiveness of "Irreversible Electroporation," a minimally invasive treatment for soft tissue tumors in the liver, lung, prostate, head and neck, kidney and pancreas. Although this research is in the very early stages, it could one day lead to better therapies for cancer. Reference: K. W. Smith et al, 'BNNT-Mediated Irreversible Electroporation: Its Potential on Cancer Cells,' Technol Cancer Res Treat., 2012 March 28 [Epub ahead of print]
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