Gaya, Aug. 19: Scientists in Bihar have developed an easier route to produce tiny nanoparticles with myriad potential applications — from the detection of explosives to the treatment of cancer.

Researchers at Magadh University and Patna University say the nanoparticles — so small that a million could fit on top of a pinhead — have electric and magnetic properties that could be used to make chemical and biological sensors.

The scientists have synthesized a range of nanoparticles from different materials, their sizes ranging from 8nm to 34 nm — where nm is a billionth of a metre — through a process that requires heating the raw materials only to 650 degrees Celsius, in contrast to conventional synthesis techniques that need 1,000 to 1,800 degrees Celsius.

The findings have appeared in the Journal of Thermal and Calorimetry.

The nanoparticles have been independently assessed for their properties with special equipment, including a scanning electron microscope, at the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, and other institutions in Mumbai and Chennai, Magadh University chemistry professor Ranjit Kumar Verma told The Telegraph.

Earlier, preparation of aluminate and chromite nanoparticles required heating mixtures of polymers and oxides up to 1,800 degrees Celsius, Verma said.

Nanoparticles have special properties that, some scientists say, may be exploited to fabricate sensors that detect explosives or drug-delivery systems that can ferry anti-cancer drugs to specifically kill cancer cells, while leaving other cells in the body untouched.

The researchers aim to further simplify the method and to prepare similar nanoparticles. But cost is involved behind the analysis.

There is a need for an inter-university consortium in Bihar or any clean laboratory. At present, the nearest place where such a laboratory is available is at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, which is closest from Gaya and Patna. The other similar laboratory is in Bangalore. There is no central Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratory in Bihar where research could be carried out. The Bihar government should motivate such research work within the state, Verma said.

The other collaborators of the research team include Professor Asheswar Yadav (former vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur), Amarendra Narayan (professor of physics at Patna University, Patna), Rakesh Kumar Singh (lecturer of physics at Patna Women’s College, Patna), Mukesh Chandra (former research scholar and chemist at Gaya Dairy, Gaya), Lata Verma (former research scholar of Magadh University, Bodhgaya) and Amrendra Singh (research scholar of Magadh University, Bodhgaya).