Russian, South Korean scientists develop nanosprings with unique properties: FEFU

Scientists from the Russian Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), in cooperation with their South Korean colleagues, have developed unique helical nanosprings made from cobalt and iron that could later be used to create nanorobots and for cancer treatment thanks to their magnetic properties, the FEFU said in a statement.

The first nanosprings were invented just a few years ago, but no one has studied their magnetic properties until now, in particular, because such structures are incredibly difficult to synthesize due to their minuscule size, the statement said.

"Cobalt and iron nanosprings have been for the first time obtained by scientists of the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and Korea University (South Korea). Thanks to the combination of their magnetic properties and the ability to maintain elasticity, they can be used to create nanorobots, nanosensors, new types of memory and agents for targeted drug delivery, including in cancer therapy," the university's statement, published on its official website on Thursday, said.

The scientists examined the magnetic properties of the newly-developed nanosprings during their interaction with the magnetic field, and discovered that magnetization reversal processes were different in this case from the ones observed when using nanowires.

"This can be used to more effectively manipulate them [nanosprings] using magnetic fields. We have also seen that nanosprings have almost the same mechanical properties as macrosprings. All this offers broad opportunities for the use of nanosprings in nanotechnology," Alexander Samardak, lead researcher at the Laboratory of Thin Film Technologies at the Far Eastern Federal University, was quoted as saying by the statement.

The results of the joint work of Russian and South Korean scientists were published in the Nanoscale scientific journal.

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