WATER gets weird when squeezed into tight spaces. Now a computer simulation of steam inside a carbon nanotube suggests these properties could be harnessed to deliver drugs.
Ice-like structures have previously been seen inside nanotubes at temperatures far higher than 0 掳C. The tight space means water molecules require more energy before they are able to move around enough to break free from each other and form a liquid.
Now and at the University of Rochester in New York have run a simulation of what happens to water when it is heated inside carbon nanotubes. This showed that it boiled at a higher temperature than normal, and when heated further the pressure of the steam increased faster than it would in a large container (ACS Nano, ).
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The researchers suggest using the rapid rise in pressure to 鈥減op鈥� open nanotube containers designed to smuggle drugs past the body鈥檚 defences. Infrared lasers could selectively heat the tubes from the outside, without harming the surrounding tissues, they say.
