Volume 17 Issue 9, September 2022

A series of emergent electronic orders are observed in an antiparallel twisted WSe₂ bilayer. The discoveries provide a powerful platform for simulating quantum phenomena in strongly correlated materials.

Heterostructure of graphene and biaxial van der Waals crystal supports a species of plasmon-phonon-polaritons whose isofrequency dispersion contour can be manipulated while experiencing a topological transition.

A clever phononic crystal design produces a wide band gap for hypersonic phonons.

A ‘dual-ligand passivation system’ is designed and synthesized to functionalize colloidal quantum dots to realize ultra-high resolution patterns by direct photolithography.

Delivering light therapy using a remotely controlled bioelectronic device implanted above the brain might complement current glioblastoma therapies, reducing cancer recurrence and improving survival.

Virus-like nanoparticles encapsulating functional riboswitches lock-in toxic metabolites.

This critical Review discusses the molecular sieving behaviour of metal–organic framework and covalent organic framework membranes as thin supported layers and mixed-matrix membranes. This behaviour is different from that of classical zeolite membranes.

This Review discusses how a comprehensive system for defining nanomaterial descriptors can enable a safe-and-sustainable-by-design concept for engineered nanomaterials.

Twisted WSe₂ AB-homobilayers enable the realization of bilayer Hubbard models in the weak interlayer hopping limit.

Polaritonic topological transitions of the isofrequency dispersion contour are observed in a graphene/α-MoO₃ heterostructure by tuning the graphene doping level, which enables partial focusing at deep subwavelength.

Nanopatterned materials provide control over mechanical vibrations. This allows for the complete damping of vibrations over more than 5 GHz and for the propagation of hypersonic guided modes at room temperature.

A dual-ligand passivation system comprising photocrosslinkable ligands and dispersing ligands enables quantum dots to be universally compatible with solution-based patterning techniques.

NMR measurements show that the interface between the inorganic and organic components can be tailored to design a highly conducting hybrid solid electrolyte.

Ultrafine catalysts are desirable for the reduction of fuel cell costs but are intrinsically unstable. Here the authors report graphene-nanopocket-encaged PtCo catalysts with exceptional durability under the demanding ultralow-Pt-loading condition while delivering a satisfactory fuel cell performance.

A phenylboronic acid-modified hetero-octameric Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A nanopore can directly distinguish 11 types of nucleoside monophosphates with a 0.996 accuracy.

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction allows the real-time detection of nucleic acids in human samples, representing a gold standard for infection detection, but it cannot be easily converted into a point-of-care approach. Here a strategy is proposed to leverage plasmonic polymerase chain reaction to achieve multiplexed, fluorescence detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from human saliva and nasal specimen, showing promise as a point-of-care approach.

While vaccines have curbed the COVID-19 pandemic, effective therapeutic treatments are few, and might be challenged by SARS-CoV-2 variants. A biocompatible, antiviral two-dimensional nanomaterial is now reported that firmly adsorbs the virus by interaction with the spike protein, inducing the conformational changes that lead to inhibition of viral infection in vitro and in animal models.

While neutrophils are the first line of defence against infections and inflammation, their unrestricted recruitment and constant activation might result in prolonged inflammation and sharpening of specific pathological conditions. Here the authors develop a strategy to specifically target activated, pro-inflammatory neutrophils and neutrophil–platelet complexes to deliver therapeutics in the context of a murine model of venous thrombosis.

Current treatment of brain tumour entails open-skull tumour resection and follow-up X-ray radiation or chemotherapy, with surgery-associated risks and side-effects. Here a photothermal approach is presented that relies on wireless near-infrared stimulation for continuous, on-demand treatment of brain tumours in free-moving animals.