Volume 11 Issue 4, April 2016

There is no unique definition of nanotechnology because its breadth and complexity mean that people with different backgrounds and interests have their own view of the subject, explains Chris Toumey.

Metal coordination and π–π stacking interactions drive the assembly of dipeptides into nanostructures with superior optical properties.

Poly(ethylene glycol) helps nanomaterials evade the immune system by modifying the composition of proteins that are adsorbed on the surface of the materials.

This Review discusses the integration of self-assembly, self-organization and reaction–diffusion processes for the creation of nanoscale synthetic systems inspired by living systems.

A nanophotonic radiation interference system transforms a tungsten filament into a highly efficient thermal emitter for lighting applications.

Pulsed laser light locally melts nanostructured elements of a plasmonic metasurface to create coloured pixels with a resolution up to 127,000 dots per inch (DPI).

The electron spins in a linear array of three quantum dots can be manipulated, shuttled and read out individually with high fidelity, resembling the functioning principle of a CCD (charge-coupled device).

Bolometers with high responsivity and low electrical noise can be fabricated exploiting the conductance gap induced in graphene quantum dots by quantum confinement and their interaction with the substrate.

Superconductivity can be induced in a two-dimensional material down to the single-layer limit by ionic liquid gating.

Conductance oscillations periodic in Fermi energy and in magnetic flux measured in topological insulator nanoribbons reveal characteristic topological transport with quantized topological surface state subbands.

Electric field control of spin–orbit torque and magnetization switching can be achieved in a Cr-doped topological insulator thin film incorporated in a field-effect transistor structure, promising gate-controlled spintronic applications.

The spin transfer-induced resonant expulsion of the vortex core in magnetic tunnel junctions forms the basis of a novel integrated high-frequency threshold detector.

Hybrid membranes made from protein amyloid fibrils and activated porous carbon can be used to remove heavy metal ions and radioactive waste from water.

In addition to reducing protein adsorption, modifying polymer nanocarriers with poly(ethylene glycol) or poly(ethyl ethylene phosphate) can alter the type and amount of plasma proteins that do get adsorbed, offering new insights on how the stealth effect is defined.

A photoactivatable nanoliposome carrying multikinase inhibitors tackles tumours by killing cancer cells through photodynamic therapy and simultaneously shutting down signalling pathways that allow cancerous cells to metastasize and escape treatment, offering a way to maximize the therapeutic efficacy of each treatment cycle.

π–π stacking and metal coordination allows the fluorescence properties of a tryptophan–phenylalanine dipeptide to be tuned from ultraviolet to visible as they self-assemble into nanoparticles, offering a durable and biocompatible imaging probe.

Sharing progress in nanotechnology education is as important as developing the research programmes themselves, as Kurt Winkelmann explains.