Applied Sciences

Every area of science can contribute to the changes that are required for a sustainable future through the application of its fundamental discoveries. While some fields have clear paths to application, Nature Communications believes that there is great potential for utility and application to be found in, and across, all of  the different disciplines that we publish.

The process of patenting inventions may be complex. Academic researchers whose primary goal is getting their work published in scientific journals often face daunting doubts when it comes to understanding the interplay between publishing and patenting their findings. We asked Prof Frank Tietze questions from the perspective of academic researchers who wish to understand how the patenting process works and—most importantly—the relation between patenting and publishing.

Partnerships between academic investigators and industry can accelerate the translation of research findings into life-saving products. The healthcare industry has witnessed heightened interest from universities in capitalizing on the discoveries made by faculty to create intellectual property, form new companies and seek investments. However, academic investigators and even Biotechnology start-ups may be unfamiliar with how industry sources and evaluates these opportunities. In this Comment, we share the approaches and principles by which a large healthcare company sources innovation and assesses opportunities to serve as a guide to better deal making with the goal of improving health for humanity.

We spoke to Professor Kylie Vincent – professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Oxford, co-founder of HydRegen Ltd, and Academic Champion for Women in Entrepreneurship – about turning academic research into industrial products.

This Q&A about technology transfer is intended as a useful resource to the Nature Communications readership, particularly academic scientists working in the life and physical sciences who have an interest in commercializing their research. We spoke to Dr. Andrea Crottini, Head of the Technology Transfer Office at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, who provided insights into the possible avenues to pursue.

In the field of lithium-based batteries, there is often a divide between academic research and industrial needs. Here, the authors present a view on applied research to help bridge academia and industry, focusing on metrics and challenges to be considered for the development of practical batteries.

While passive solar-driven evaporative systems promise higher economic and environmental sustainability in water treatment, many challenges remain for their effective adoption. Here, the author identifies three main pillars and corresponding issues which future research should focus on to bring these technologies to the next maturity level.

Research activities are crucial for the advancement of energy storage technologies. However, not all the research lead to practical innovation. Here the author, focusing on supercapacitor devices, discusses the most challenging aspects to be considered to deliver practical innovation from fundamental research.

Smart windows offer more efficient sunlight modulation and heat management. Here, the authors propose a co-assembly strategy to produce smart windows that combine electrochromic and thermochromic functions with tunable components and ordered structures for dynamic solar radiation regulation.

Most NIR radiation absorbers used in multi jet fusion 3D printing have an intrinsic dark color which prevents printing parts with variable colors. Here, the authors design an activating fusing agent containing a strong NIR absorbing dye that turns colorless after harvesting irradiation energy during the 3D printing process and provide a bright colored part when working with other color agents.

While facemasks are recommended to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, potential adverse effects may occur upon prolonged usage. Here the authors develop and evaluate an opto-chemical sensor incorporated into a smart FFP2-type facemask for wireless, real-time CO2 monitoring.

Grignard reagents have widespread utility in organic chemistry, but their preparation is limited by several drawbacks, such as the use of dry organic solvents and long reaction times. Here, the authors report a general mechanochemical synthesis of Grignard reagents in paste form in air, using a ball milling technique.

Extracting atmospheric water is a sustainable strategy to enable decentralized access to safely managed water but remains impractical due to its limited daily water output at low relative humidity. Here, the authors demonstrate a hygroscopic polymer composed of renewable biomass which allows high water uptake at low relative humidity

Biomass conversion holds promise as a more sustainable source of platform chemicals, but limitations in the ways in which lignin can be broken down is a current bottleneck. Here the authors report an electrocatalytic hydrogenolysis over skeletal Ni that cleaves diaryl ethers, chemically resistant moieties in both renewable carbon sources and persistent organic pollutants.

While obtaining H₂ from water splitting offers a promising strategy for renewable fuel production, current technologies rely on liquid freshwater. Here, authors use a hygroscopic electrolyte to achieve electrocatalytic water vapor splitting driven by renewable resources without liquid water.

Metal-organic framework adsorbents are promising materials for gas separation and purification. Herein, the authors present a metal-organic framework that selectively captures CO₂ over small hydrocarbons; this separation is relevant for the purification of natural gas and industrial feedstocks.

Human-operated optimization of non-aqueous Li-ion battery liquid electrolytes is a time-consuming process. Here, the authors propose an automated workflow that couples robotic experiments with machine learning to optimize liquid electrolyte formulations without human intervention.

The separation of butane isomers, raw materials in petrochemical industry, is challenging. Here the authors report the separation of n-butane and isobutane using a metal-organic framework slurry; the separation can be performed at large scale in a pilot-scale separation tower.

Defects induced by process instabilities in metal additive manufacturing limit its applications. Here, the authors report controlling laser-powder bed interaction instabilities by nanoparticles leads to defect lean metal additive manufacturing.

3D printed composites with hierarchically arranged fillers have been challenging to fabricate. Here, the authors make use of magnetically assisted droplet-based printing to 3D print voxelated structures with high filler content, localized control of filler material, and orientation.

Conventional wet chemistry method represents an inefficient way for bulk crystal synthesis. Here, the authors report a universal approach using electrical and mechanical field-assisted sintering technique to generate halide perovskites from solid precursors into large bulk crystal within minutes.

The effective acquisition of clean water from atmospheric water offers a potential sustainable solution for increasing global water shortages. Here, authors developed a bioinspired asymmetric amphiphilic surface incorporating self-driven triboelectric adsorption to obtain clean water.

The high production cost and poor electrochemical performance of polyanionic cathode hinders their industrial application. Here, the authors report large-scale fabrication of sodium vanadium fluorophosphates and in situ construction of their carbon nanocomposites via a mechanochemical protocol.

Nature-inspired design motifs have contributed to the development of advanced materials. Here the authors present a segmental design motif to realize a compression-resisting lightweight mechanical metamaterial with a progressive failure behavior and rotational degree of freedom.

Decatungstate-enabled Hydrogen Atom Transfer (HAT) photocatalysis of hydrocarbon scaffolds enabled rapid access to new C(sp3)-enriched chemical space. Here, the authors present in-line TBADT recovery with organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) as an answer to the concerns surrounding the scale-up of decatungstate HAT reactions, i.e., catalyst loading and cost.

Accurate capacity estimation is crucial for lithium-ion batteries' reliable and safe operation. Here, the authors propose an approach exploiting features from the relaxation voltage curve for battery capacity estimation without requiring other previous cycling information.

Water electrolysis offers a promising means for green hydrogen production, however current electrolysers do not provide a competitive edge over fossil fuels. Here, authors develop a capillary-fed electrolyser setup that avoids bubble formation to achieve a high-performance, cost-competitive device.

Precious metals recovery from electronics wastes, termed urban mining, is significant for a circular economy. Here, the authors reported a solvent-free and ultrafast process based on flash Joule heating to recover precious metals and remove toxic heavy metals in electronic wastes.

In contrast to chemical industry, biotechnology is still not competitive for the production of chemicals, materials, and biofuels. Here, the authors discuss the underlying reasons and propose to address the problem through regulatory changes and risk management.

By the end of this century, a 50% increase in agricultural productivity is required to feed the world. Recent studies have demonstrated de novo domestication of wild plants as a new crop breeding strategy to meet future food challenges.

Mammalian cell-based cultured meat has mostly been unstructured, leaving a demand for artificial steak-like meat. Here the authors present an assembled steak-like tissue of bovine skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and blood capillary tissue fabricated by tendon-gel integrated printing technology.

Here, the authors report the development of a versatile academic, SARSCoV-2 RT-qPCR molecular diagnostic test that uses 3D printed technology for sample collection, is implemented in rural setting in the US state of Virginia and validated in its population.

Dog vaccination is an effective rabies prevention measure, but widespread vaccination campaigns are challenging in settings like India with large free-roaming dog populations. Here, the authors describe a One Health campaign in Goa state which led to a large reduction of cases in dogs and elimination in humans.

The crucial first step in the biodegradation of polyethylene plastic is oxidation of the polymer. This has traditionally required abiotic pre-treatment, but now Bertocchini and colleagues report two wax worm enzymes capable of catalyzing this oxidation and subsequent degradation at room temperature.

Liquid handling and pipetting tools can automate repetitive tasks but are far from universally used. Here the authors report the Pipetting Helper Imaging Lid (PHIL), an open-source liquid handling robot designed for inexperienced users, that they use for automated pipetting.

Air surveillance offers a potential means of monitoring airborne pathogens without the need for individual sampling. Here, the authors perform continuous air sampling in 15 community settings in the US for 29 weeks and demonstrate its feasibility for routine detection of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens.

The newly recognized Fusarium wilt pathogen tropical race 4 is threatening worldwide banana production. Here, the authors transform Cavendish bananas with a resistance gene, RGA2, from diploid banana or a nematode-derived gene, Ced9, and confer resistance to natural infection under field conditions.

Synthetic biology circuits are finding application in a wide range of computational devices, such as contaminant detection. Here, the authors design 2D paper circuits in which the spatial orientation of the cellular components specifies function.

Getting synthetic biology circuit-based sensors into field applications is still a challenge. Here the authors combine a circuit sensor with a glucose meter for small analyte and nucleic acid detection.

Large volumes of true random numbers are needed for increasing requirements of secure data encryption. Here the authors use the stochastic nature of DNA synthesis to obtain millions of gigabytes of unbiased randomness.

Finding durable, high-density media for data storage is necessary to support the ever-expanding generation of digital data. Here, the authors use peptide sequences to store digital data and retrieve them using tandem mass spectrometry, proving that peptides can be used as a storage medium.

While facemasks are recommended to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, potential adverse effects may occur upon prolonged usage. Here the authors develop and evaluate an opto-chemical sensor incorporated into a smart FFP2-type facemask for wireless, real-time CO2 monitoring.

Open standard microscopy is urgently needed to give low-cost solutions to researchers and to overcome the reproducibility crisis in science. Here the authors present a 3D-printed, open-source modular microscopy toolbox UC2 (You. See. Too.) for a few hundred Euros.

Fast, low-cost and multiplexed nucleic acid detection is challenging. Here the authors report a strategy that couples microfluidic space coding, CRISPRCas12a, and multiplex RPA for the rapid detection of up to 30 targets with only one fluorescent probe.

CRISPR diagnostics are routinely used for the detecting nucleic acids, but rarely for clinically important proteins. Here, by translating a CRISPR-based DNA test into an ultrasensitive assay for antibodies, the authors achieve antibody detection from serum samples at attomolar concentrations.

Cost-effective methods for long-term storage of DNA are desired. Here the authors present a method for in situ cryosilicification of whole blood cells, allowing long-term and room temperature preservation of genomic information for only approximately $0.5 per sample.

The SpyCatcher-SpyTag system allows protein anchoring and nanoassembly. Here, the authors engineer SpySwitch, a dually switchable Catcher which allows gentle purification of SpyTagged proteins prior to downstream applications such as the assembly of virus-like particles.

Differential sensing aims to mimic senses such as taste and smell through the use of synthetic receptors. Here, the authors show that arrays of de novo designed peptide assemblies can be used as sensor components to distinguish various analytes and complex mixtures.

Graphene and related two-dimensional (2D) materials have remained an active field of research in science and engineering for over fifteen years. Here, the authors investigate why the transition from laboratories to fabrication plants appears to lag behind expectations, and summarize the main challenges and opportunities that have thus far prevented the commercialisation of these materials.

Lockdowns due to the pandemic in the last two years forced a critical number of chip-making facilities across the world to shut down, giving rise to the chip shortage issues. Prof. Meng-Fan (Marvin) Chang (National Tsing Hua University, TSMC—Taiwan), Prof. Huaqiang Wu (Tsinghua University—China), Dr. Elisa Vianello (CEA-Leti—France), Dr. Sang Joon Kim (Samsung Electronics—South Korea) and Dr. Mirko Prezioso (Mentium Techn.—US) talked to Nature Communications to better understand whether and to what extent this crisis has impacted the development of in-memory/neuromorphic chips, an emerging technology for future computing.

Theoretical models and structures recovered from measured data serve for analysis of complex networks. The authors discuss here existing gaps between theoretical methods and real-world applied networks, and potential ways to improve the interplay between theory and applications.

The development of machine learning systems has to ensure their robustness and reliability. The authors introduce a framework that defines a principled process of machine learning system formation, from research to production, for various domains and data scenarios.

A challenge in making a flexible mold stamp using roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography is to increase area while minimizing perceptible seams. Here, based on Fourier spectral analysis of moiré patterns resulting from superposed identical patterns, a method that enables the fabrication of scalable, quasi-seamless functional surfaces without the use of alignment marks is proposed.

What is an optimal parameter landscape and geometric layout for a quantum processor so that its qubits are sufficiently protected for idling and simultaneously responsive enough for fast entangling gates? Quantum engineers pondering the dilemma might want to take a look on tools developed for many-body localization.

The authors present an approach to underwater imaging, which does not require tethering or batteries. The low-power camera uses power from harvested acoustic energy and communicates colour images wirelessly via acoustic backscatter.

Here, the authors fabricate large area and highly aligned polymer semiconductor sub-microwires arrays via coaxial focused electrohydrodynamic jet printing technology, achieving high on/off ratio and average mobility that is 5x higher than that of thin film based organic field effect transistors.

Accessibility into the distal vascular systems to treat various diseases remains challenging using medical catheters. Here, Wang et al. demonstrate that a stent-shaped wireless magnetic soft robot enables adaptive locomotion and medical functions into these distal vascular regions.

Towards further integration and miniaturization of e-textiles, in this work, authors demonstrate an integrated electronic fibre platform by fabricating multiple electronic components such as transistors, inverters, ring oscillators, and thermocouples onto the outer surface of a microfibre substrate.

Droplet generators convert mechanical movements of droplets into small-scale electricity. Here, Tang et al. report a humidity-driven power generator by utilizing daily humidity fluctuation in atmosphere enabling continuous generation of electricity upon moisture absorption and desorption cycles.

Salvinia molesta plant has the ability to maintain a stable air layer when submerged underwater due to its specific form. The authors propose here a soft lithography fabrication method of artificial Salvinia leaf assisted with capillary-force induced clustering of micropillar array, for hydrodynamic drag reduction.

Wireless millirobots are promising as minimally invasive biomedical devices. Here, the authors design a magnetically actuated amphibious millirobot that integrates spinning-enabled locomotion, targeted drug delivery, and cargo transportation by utilizing geometrical features and folding/unfolding capability of the Kresling origami.

Dark-field X-ray imaging is sensitive to the microstructure of a material. Here, the authors combine this with a neural network algorithm to provide efficient material discrimination, e.g., of explosives vs non-threat materials.

Solar evaporation is promising for sustainable freshwater production but typically limited by salt accumulation. Here, by manipulating natural convection, authors develop a wick-free confined water layer that enables highly efficient and salt rejecting solar evaporation.

Conventional salt-rejection evaporators typically exhibit low evaporation rate due to large heat loss. Here, authors demonstrate a solar evaporator featuring vertically aligned mass transfer bridges that takes advantage of the conductive heat to enable optimized water transport and salt backflow.

Lab-on-a-chip systems have been widely used in microscale liquid manipulation and greatly benefit from automation. Durrer et al. show a robot-assisted acoustofluidic end effector system, comprising a robotic arm and an acoustofluidic device, that combines both robotic and microfluidic functionalities.

Lip-language decoding systems are a promising technology to help people lacking a voice live a convenient life with barrier-free communication. Here, authors propose a concept of such system integrating self-powered triboelectric sensors and a well-trained dilated RNN model based on prototype learning.