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Advances in the functionality of multifunctional nanoparticles push their potential for the remote detection and treatment of cancer nearer to real-life patient care.
Spray-coating of multilayer films on fibre mats yields conformal coatings, opening up new possibilities for the fabrication of protective clothing and reactive membranes.
By using light to control the degradation of hydrogel components in space and time, researchers have generated a tool to help them reconstruct functional biological tissues in a culture dish.
One-dimensional islands that grow during ice nucleation at low temperatures on a copper(110) surface are identified as chains of water-molecule pentagons. This unexpected molecular arrangement optimizes oxygen-atom proximity to preferred bonding sites on the metal, while minimizing strain in the hydrogen-bond network.
It's been possible for some time to create proteins synthetically, but cell-free gels that can produce proteins up to 300 times as efficiently as solution processes could provide new directions and greater complexity in synthetic biology.
Solution-based syntheses of nanoclusters typically produce a broad range of species. A step-by-step process using DNA-encoded nanoparticles assembled on a solid support aids in the design and production of specific self-assembled nanoclusters in high yields.
Ultrapure, isotopically engineered diamonds show record spin coherence times. The ideal spin-free material for quantum information processing and magnetometry is one step closer.
Theoretical advances demonstrating an improved dielectric response in nanocapacitor structures will lead to advanced electronics with greatly increased memory densities.
A large modulation of magnetic moments in superconductor/ferromagnet superlattices raises intriguing questions about the interaction between these competing states.
Anisotropic assembly of isotropic nanoparticles is observed in a polymer nanocomposite system and leads to considerable improvements in mechanical properties. The relatively simple sample preparation process means the approach could be used for large-scale manufacture of nanocomposites.
Non-toxicity in multifunctional inorganic nanoparticles is rare. However, with careful engineering of silicon-based nanoparticles they can be used in vivo as imaging and drug-delivery agents and later degraded and cleared without toxic effects.
Muon and neutron experiments on the new FeAs-based superconductors reveal phase diagrams and spin excitation modes with striking similarities to a wide range of other unconventional superconductors.
