The Review discusses the state-of-the-art polymer nanocomposites from three key aspects: dipole activity, breakdown resistance and heat tolerance for capacitive energy storage applications.

Nanoparticles naturally accumulate in the liver; this can be a major limitation to any therapy needing delivery to other organs or tissues. Here the authors review the reason for predominant liver uptake and explore different strategies used to target non-viral gene delivery nanoparticles to other organs and tissues.

This Review aims to spur developments in next-generation functional materials by highlighting design rules to interconnect length and timescales.

The Review discusses epitaxial quantum dot devices emitting in the telecom bands for quantum network devices.

In vivo positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) remains a challenge due to the lack of single-particle tracers. Here a sub-micrometre silica particle has been radiolabelled and isolated with high specific activity, allowing the dynamic tracing of a single particle in vivo using PEPT in mice.

Resolving interactions of negligibly charged or neutral small molecules with their binding partners in a label-free manner is challenging. Here the authors present a single-molecule carbon-nanotube biosensor device for capturing aptamer–neurotransmitter kinetics at high temporal resolution, uncovering four-state structural transitions.

Proteins absorbed on nanomaterials often lose function due to denaturation. A poly(propylene sulfone) nanoparticle with site-specific dipole relaxation has been reported, which allows proteins to anchor to the nanoparticle without disrupting the hydrogen bonding or structure maintaining the protein functionality.

A hybrid valley-centre tandem optical structure that combines perovskites and organic light-emitting diodes is demonstrated to obtain an efficient emitting device, showing the commercial potential of perovskite displays.

Bladder cancer treatment suffers from low therapeutic efficacy. Here the authors present radioactive ¹³¹I-labelled urease-powered nanobots that exhibit enhanced accumulation at the tumour site, enabling effective radionuclide therapy at low doses as an alternative treatment option for bladder cancer.

A soft artificial retina with flexible phototransistors and three-dimensional liquid-metal microelectrodes is used to enhance proximity to retinal ganglion cells and minimize damage to soft tissue as well as improve charge injection for vision restoration in retinal degenerative in vivo models.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognizes a milestone for the entire nanotechnology field.

Professor Louis Brus of Columbia University tells Nature Nanotechnology about his first encounter with the world of colloidal quantum dots, the beginning of a journey that has earned him this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry (together with Aleksey Yekimov and Moungi Bawendi). He also offers insightful advice to young scientists along the way.

Adopting a nanoscale approach to developing materials and designing experiments benefits research on batteries, supercapacitors and hybrid devices at all technology readiness levels.

As researchers, developers, policymakers and others grapple with navigating socially beneficial advanced technology transitions — especially those associated with artificial intelligence, DNA-based technologies, and quantum technologies — there are valuable lessons to be drawn from nanotechnology. These lessons underscore an urgent need to foster collaboration, engagement and partnerships across disciplines and sectors, together with bringing together people, communities, and organizations with diverse expertise, as they work together to realize the long-term benefits of transformative technologies.

The largest nanoscience and nanotechnology conference in the world took place again after a four-year hiatus.

Reducing cancer-related deaths can only happen with a better understanding of cancer biology and the development of improved, new therapeutics and delivery mechanisms. Nearly all cancer research is dependent upon the models being used, the model’s accuracy, and appropriate validation and benchmarking. Here the need for such considerations is discussed in line with the goal of the Cancer Moonshot.