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Understanding the fundamental nano–bio interactions of nanomaterials intended for biomedical use might unlock potential alternative applications. Here the authors reveal a tumoricidal mechanism of black phosphorus nanomaterials where these nanomaterials directly affect the mitotic centrosome machinery by suppressing polo-like kinase 1, suggesting that nanomaterials can be applied in targeted cancer therapy with their intrinsic nano–bio properties.
Non-trivial topological magnetic textures, such as skyrmions, merons or vortices, possess topological charges Q with absolute values smaller or equal to one. Now, skyrmion bundles, multi-Q three-dimensional skyrmionic textures, are observed and their current-driven dynamics are studied.
A correlated structural and chemical evolution of silicon and the solid–electrolyte interphase was unveiled in three dimensions by integrating sensitive elemental tomography, an advanced algorithm and cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy.
Voltage control of magnetic order is one of the keys to energy-efficient spintronic applications. Voltage gating using a solid-state hydrogen pump now allows for reversible control of ferrimagnetic order, external-field-free 180° magnetic switching and ferrimagnetic spin texture writing.
Synergizing metal–support interactions and spatial confinement through atomic copper grippers boost the dynamics of highly loaded atomic nickel for high activity, high thermal/chemical stability and unprecedented coke inhibition in hydrogenation reactions.
Measuring the levels of circulating SARS-CoV-2 RNA in plasma might represent a more accurate way to detect lower respiratory tract and extrapulmonary infections, which classical COVID-19 detection assays based on nasopharyngeal swabs might miss. Here, the authors accurately detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in plasma-circulating extracellular vesicles using a CRISPR–Cas-based strategy that shows promising characteristics for potential clinical application.
Optomechanical effects enable the realization of optical metavehicles that can be manoeuvred across a surface in plane-wave illumination and steered by incident polarization.
A droplet falling on a non-wetting plane is expected to randomly roll. Tang et al. uncover that by interfacing piezoelectric crystal plane, droplets self-propel in a furcated direction, a motility fuelled by cross-scale thermo-piezoelectric coupling.
Kinetics-controlled van der Waals epitaxy in the near-equilibrium limit by metal–organic chemical vapour deposition enables precise layer-by-layer stacking of dissimilar transition metal dichalcogenides.
A study of molecular transport in various organic liquids under subnanometre confinement shows that the nature of the solvent can modulate solute diffusion across graphene nanopores, and that breakdown of continuum flow occurs when pore size approaches the solvent’s smallest molecular cross-section.
Continuous-time data representation and frequency multiplexing enable the implementation of a scalable massively parallel computing scheme in a nanoscale crossbar array for applications in intelligent edge devices.
A single or multilayer graphene veil grown by chemical vapour deposition can be used to protect artworks against colour fading, with a protection factor of up to 70%.
Nonlinear responses in transport measurements can unveil specific material properties not accessible with linear measurements. In thick Td-MoTe2 samples, a third-order nonlinear Hall effect dominates over lower-order contributions and is linked to the Berry-connection polarizability tensor.
Bacterial motility may be used as an important predictor of whether a particular bacteria strain can develop AgNP resistance and could inform design of nanoenabled antimicrobials that mechanistically target specific types of bacteria.
In this paper the authors show that nanovesicles coated with lung spheroid cell membranes expressing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 can bind the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, neutralizing the virus and preventing lung cell infections in murine and non-human primate models. The nanodecoys could represent a potential therapeutic agent to treat COVID-19.
While targeted lipid nanoparticles might allow partial delivery of genetic materials to non-hepatic cells, the selectivity of this approach is still unsatisfying. Here the authors functionalize their lipid nanoparticles with a targeting moiety that recognizes a protein conformation specific to gut-homing leukocytes, inducing gene silencing exclusively in this cellular subset and providing a potential therapeutic strategy for inflammatory bowel disease.
Bioelectronic interfacing with living tissues should match the biomechanical properties of biological materials to reduce damage to the tissues. Here, the authors present a fully viscoelastic microelectrode array composed of an alginate matrix and carbon-based nanomaterials encapsulated in a viscoelastic hydrogel for electrical stimulation and signal recording of heart and brain activities in vivo.
The application of stimulated-emission depletion (STED) microscopy for deep-tissue imaging in the near-infrared optical window is challenged by high cellular autofluorescence. Here the authors present a lanthanide nanoprobe whose electronic configuration enables long-term STED imaging with reduced background noise.
Persistent luminescence is a promising bioimaging technique that is not affected by background autofluorescence, but its in vivo application is challenged by the fact that the materials currently available are activated by high-energy light, with emission in the ultraviolet and visible spectral windows. In this paper the authors engineer X-ray activated, lanthanide-based nanoparticles with a tunable emission in the biologically relevant NIR-II spectral region, which allows high-contrast, multimodal in vivo deep-tissue organ imaging.