Classical ionic conduction through an inorganic monolayer nanopore is analogous to the quantum-mechanical phenomenon of electronic Coulomb blockade in quantum dots.

By taking advantage of the thermal gradient that is generated in plasmonic systems and by using an a.c. field, plasmonic tweezers can have a large radius of action and can trap and manipulate single nano-objects.

The propagation direction of surface plasmon wakes can be controlled by exciting a series of dipoles with different phases along a one-dimensional metamaterial.

Water desalination membranes can be created by etching nanometre-sized pores in a single layer of graphene.

Nanoscale gas bubbles can act as selective membranes and be used to estimate the condensation coefficient of water.