Volume 12 Issue 4, April 2017

Emerging 2D-material-based inks could find applications in next-generation printed electronics.

Chris Toumey reflects on the fun, and not only, provided by nanotechnology in the digital world, as illustrated by Colin Milburn in Mondo Nano.

A new approach for the formulation of 2D-nanomaterial dispersions in water with additives, which allows layers to be printed on top of one another with distinctive interfaces, can enable inkjet-printed complex circuits.

Understanding how complement proteins bind to nanoparticles and participate in their surface 'corona' can provide further insight into the relevance of the protein corona concept in medicine.

Autocatalytic nanoparticles activated and deactivated by DNA 'programs' can trigger through-space molecular communication and give rise to collective particle behaviours.

Triangulene, an elusive open-shell magnetic molecule, is synthesized and characterized by electron microscopy.

This Review Article examines the principles, advantages and limitations of emerging bioimaging modes of atomic force microscopy, including multiparametric, molecular recognition, multifrequency and high-speed imaging.

A combined scanning tunnelling and atomic force microscopy approach is used to generate and characterize triangulene on various surfaces.

DNA nanotubes can grow to connect two molecules attached to surfaces with arbitrary micron-scale separation.

Water evaporation from the surface of cheap carbon-black materials can be used to generate sustained voltages of up to 1 V under ambient conditions.

Tracking fluorescent nanodiamond inside branches of neurons is a sensitive method to measure the changes in intraneuronal transport due to genetic risk factors associated with brain diseases.

Monolayer semiconductors reveal their crystal quality and valleytronic properties in two-dimensional polarimetric imaging.

Dendritic spine voltages are recorded directly using quantum-dot-coated nanopipette electrodes under two-photon visualization, demonstrating that spines receive large synaptic potentials.

Device fabrication can be realized via inkjet printing of water-based 2D crystals.

Individual particles can be programmed to chemically communicate with their neighbours, giving rise to collective behaviours such as dynamic travelling fronts and spatial pattern creation.

The zeptolitre sensing volume of bilayer-coated solid-state nanopores can be used to determine the approximate shape, volume, charge, rotational diffusion coefficient, and dipole moment of individual proteins.

Nanosensor arrays based on single-walled carbon nanotubes can detect protein efflux from single, isolated microorganisms in real time, allowing the dynamics of genetic transfection and influence of reproduction to be measured.

Magnesium silicide nanoparticles can scavenge oxygen in the acidic tumour microenvironment and starve tumours by blocking oxygen and nutrient supply, offering a new avenue for cancer-starvation therapy.

Immune proteins bind to protein corona on core-shell nanoparticles and undergo dynamic exchange in vivo.

Passion for science and technology can be a powerful motivator to overcome hurdles, as Nader Engheta explains, recounting his own experience as an immigrant.