Directa Plus has launched Directa Textile Solutions (DTS), a new company set up to commercialize graphene-enhanced textile membranes for the growing market of smart textiles. This launch follows the €60,000 (US $64,555) acquisition of a 60% stake in textile membrane company Osmotek by Directa Plus.

Directa Plus has been working closely with Novaresin, a membrane production company with a factory in Italy, to develop graphene-enhanced textile membranes. The agreement stipulates that Directa Plus will supply graphene-based products to Novaresin, which will then produce the graphene-enhanced membranes to commercialize through DTS.

Israel-based graphene quantum-dots (GQD) developer Dotz Nano has successfully concluded its IPO and is now listed in the Australian stock exchange under the ticker ASX:DTZ.

The IPO was very successful - Dotz Nano raised $6 million AUD and the shares doubled in the first day of trading. Following the IPO, Dotz Nano signed a memorandum of understanding with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) to establish a graphene quantum dots application research center.

Italy-based Directa Plus announced its financial results for the first half of 2016. Revenues reached €440,000 (up from €270,000 in 1H2016) and a net loss of €2.3 million (up from €1.3 million in 1H 2015). The company had €13.1 million in cash and equivalents as of the end of July 2016.

Directa Plus also reported some interesting new business activities and milestones. The company now has over 10 active customers (up from only three in July 2015), and it delivered 1.8 tonnes of graphene materials. Directa Plus also signed a two-year joint development agreement with a global luxury accessories producer in order to develop an entire generation of graphene-enhanced spectacles.

Israeli audio pioneer Waves Audio is going to develop an innovative electrostatic speaker using a nanoscale active membrane based on graphene in collaboration with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The new speaker will hopefully achieve significant energy savings, and so Waves and the Virginia Polytechnic recieved funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructure. The funding was part of the BIRD Energy program. This was one of five projects that were together received $4 million funding.

Graphene 3D Lab, a leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of proprietary composites and coatings based on graphene and other advanced materials, recently unveiled a new product developed from the G6-Impact material while presenting at the Graphene Malaysia 2016 Conference.

The new Graphene/Carbon Fiber based FDM filament will be marketed as "G6-ImpactTM filament". The G6-Impact filament will feature semi-rigidness prints with outstanding vibration damping and shock absorbing properties. The G6-ImpactTM filament will be targeted towards engineers and professional 3D printing users interested in the areas of vibration damping, thermoformed parts, and printing models or prototypes for use in the automotive, construction, robotics, or aerospace industry.

Researchers at University of California, Irvine (UCI), along with collaborators at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, have created a graphene-based electronic method of monitoring changes in the cell's mitochondria that could indicate the start of the cell's self-annihilation process that may open the door to new ways of treating and destroying cancer cells.

The mitochondria, known as the cells' power plants, metabolize energy from carbohydrates and fats to create energy that the cells can use and store it as voltage across their surfaces. Their secondary role, however, is regulating a cell's life-death pathway. The researchers attached about 10,000 purified mitochondria, separated from their cells, to a graphene sensor via antibodies capable of recognizing a protein in their outer membranes. The graphene's qualities allowed it to function as a dual-mode sensor; its electrical sensitivity let researchers gauge fluctuations in the acidity levels surrounding the mitochondria, while its optical transparency enabled the use of fluorescent dyes for the staining and visualization of voltage across the inner mitochondrial membranes.

Graphenea launched a new graphene transfer procedure, which they call "Easy Transfer". The CVD graphene maker says this is the easiest way to transfer mono layer graphene onto any substrate. The Easy Transfer process avoids metal etching and any hazardous chemical handling, and the thin film manipulation is done at Graphenea's plant.

Easy Transfer is available in 1x1 cm and 1x1 inch sizes, and can be used to cut lead time and research work. Companies are welcome to send their substrates to Graphenea for coatings. The price for this process is $80 for 1x1cm and $120 for 1x1 inch.

The Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi recently launched a new in-ear headphones, called ‘Piston 3 Pro’, that according to reports from various websites and blogs makes use of a ‘graphene diaphragm’ that helps in producing more natural sounds. The use of graphene, however, was not mentioned in the Xiaomi official website.

We are quite skeptical about the presence of an actual graphene membrane that enhances the sound quality in this product; It seems possible that Xiaomi is using some form of graphene added to the product but we will wait to find a more formal explanation as to what its role actually is, if any.

Graphenea, the Spain-based graphene producer, has teamed up with scientists from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands to design graphene-based "mechanical pixels" that could, among other applications, be someday used as colored pixels in e-readers and other low-powered screens.

In these "graphene balloons", a double layer of graphene (two atoms thick) is deposited on top of circular indents cut into silicon. The graphene membranes enclose air inside the cavities, and the position of the membranes can be changed by applying a pressure difference between the inside and the outside. When the membranes are closer to the silicon they appear blue; when the membranes are pushed away they appear red.

Group NanoXplore, a Montreal-based company specializing in the production and application of graphene and its derivative materials, has announced that it has raised $2.255 million CAD (around $1.64 USD) of equity financing. Participants in this financing raise included existing shareholders, notably Mason Graphite, as well as new Quebec-based investors.

This announcement follows the September 2016 announcement of closing a $28.8 million private placement by Mason, with around $1 million CAD that was to be used to increase Mason's equity in Group NanoXplore.