Researchers from Monash University discovered that graphene oxide flakes can spontaneously change their structure - to become liquid crystal droplets, in the presence of an external magnetic field. This could be very useful for applications such as drug delivery and disease detection.
It's common for current drug delivery systems to use magnetic particles - useful for drug release. But most magnetic particles are toxic in some conditions. Now the researchers hope that the new graphene discovery means it can be a better system than what's available today.
The researchers also hope that the same transformation can happen when graphene is exposed to certain toxins - which could mean a system for detection those toxins.
Posted: Aug 11,2014 by Ron Mertens