Volume 17 Issue 8, August 2022

Academic scientists who develop entrepreneurial capabilities can make strategic, path dependent decisions that enable university spin-offs to rapidly respond to global crises.

Nanoneedle start-ups are traversing the biotech valley of death — from fundamental university research into commercial development in advanced therapeutics and diagnostics. How can academics make the most of this opportunity?

Using our company’s CO₂ electrolysers as a model, we describe the challenges involved in incorporating nanomaterial catalysts into industrial-scale electrolysers and suggest ways to more efficiently realize the performance improvements of academic-scale novel nanomaterials at industrial scales.

Perovskite quantum dots have been proven promising for photonic and optoelectronic applications, particularly, as bright and narrow band emitters for display technology. Despite the advantageous properties, the stability issues have to be resolved to unleash the full industrial potential of perovskite quantum dots in display technology.

Pufin ID is a Danish start-up commercializing anti-counterfeiting technology based on nanoscale photophyics.

Intrinsically stretchable QD-based semiconducting nanocomposites enable the realization of electronic retina with multispectral response.

Catalytically active, self-propelled microrobots can trap and remove nanoplastics from water.

Superconducting diodes, which can operate without dissipation losses at low temperature, usually require a magnetic field to function. A well-designed multilayer device now shows a reversible, non-volatile superconducting diode effect.

Droplet GaAs quantum dots are interconnectable sources of single photons. Near-identical photons from remote GaAs quantum dots now show an interference visibility of 93% with quantum entanglement between the separate photon streams from the two sources.

Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures that hold potential for the development of post-von Neumann computing schemes. In coupled ferrimagnetic insulators, pinning effects and intentional distortions can lead to a ratchet-like current-driven motion of skyrmion bubbles.

A non-volatile silicon photonics switch based on phase-change materials actuated by graphene heaters shows a switching energy density that is within an order of magnitude of the fundamental thermodynamic limit.

Intrinsically stretchable quantum-dot-based semiconducting nanocomposites enable the realization of shape-tunable and colour-sensitive phototransistor arrays.

A metal–organic-framework-derived nanoporous carbon with intrinsically fast sorption kinetics and excellent photothermal properties enables high-yield, solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting in arid areas.

Self-adhesive bioimpedance graphene electronic tattoos enable accurate continuous blood pressure monitoring.

Cell heterogeneity might impact the delivery of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) and efficacy of messenger RNA-based therapies in vivo. Here, the authors propose an approach to measure how various LNPs deliver DNA barcodes and mRNA to cells using single-cell RNA sequencing, providing a correlation between LNP uptake and the expression of specific genes that characterize cellular subtypes.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) is an immune modulator that was suggested as a potential treatment for sepsis, but its in vivo benefits are contradictory and its low bioavailability as a free drug hampers potential clinical translation. Here the authors show that using a lipid-coated nanoparticle to deliver NAD⁺ to the cell cytosol can effectively replenish the intracellular content of NAD⁺ and reduce the extent of the inflammatory response in mouse models of sepsis.

Activation of the STING pathway in antigen-presenting cells has been proposed as a strategy to stimulate the adaptive immune response against tumours, but its clinical application is hampered by the instability, low specificity and low cytosolic entry of natural STING agonists. Here the authors present a platform for targeted ultrasound-mediated cytosolic delivery of STING agonists that shows efficacy in different animal tumour models and improves the response to checkpoint blockade therapies.