Nanofabrication and nanopatterning articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    In vivo surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) imaging allows non-invasive visualization of tumours for biomedical applications. Here, the authors report porous cubic AuAg alloy nanoshells exhibiting plasmonic properties and porosity-dependant SERS in the second window of the near-infrared for in vivo tumour detection.

    • Linhu Li
    • , Renting Jiang
    •  & Ming Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In this manuscript, an electric-field-assisted self-assembly technique that can allow controllable and scalable fabrication of 3-dimensional block copolymer (BCP)-based artificial cell membranes (3DBCPMs) immobilized on predefined locations is presented.

    Topographically and chemically structured microwell array templates facilitate uniform patterning of BCPs and serve as reactors for the effective growth of 3DBCPMs, which diverse shapes, sizes and stability can be tuned by modulating the BCP concentration and the amplitude/frequency of the electric field.

    The potential of 3DBCPMs for a variety of biological applications is highlighted by performance of in vitro protein-membrane assays and mimicking of human intestinal organs.

    • Dong-Hyun Kang
    • , Won Bae Han
    •  & Tae Song Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Reliable plasmonic biosensors with high throughput and ease of use are highly sought after. Here, the authors report a plasmon-enhanced fluorescence antibody-aptamer biosensor based on a gold nanoparticle array, and demonstrate its use for effective specific detection of a malaria marker, at femtomolar level, in whole blood.

    • Antonio Minopoli
    • , Bartolomeo Della Ventura
    •  & Raffaele Velotta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is not known whether the shape of a cell can regulate cellular phenotype independently. Here, the authors show that culturing kidney podocytes or smooth muscle cells on 3-D biomimetic surfaces results in phenotypic changes and that cell shape is sensed by integrin β3 in a tension-independent manner.

    • Amit Ron
    • , Evren U. Azeloglu
    •  & Ravi Iyengar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Forcing a DNA molecule into a nanoscale channel requires overcoming the free energy barrier associated with confinement. Here, the authors show that DNA injected through a funnel-shaped entrance more efficiently enters the nanochannel, thanks to facilitating forces generated by the nanofunnel geometry.

    • Jinsheng Zhou
    • , Yanqian Wang
    •  & J. Michael Ramsey

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Silk protein fibres are exceptionally strong, owing to their high β-sheet nanocrystal content. Here, the authors use an electron beam to guide silk β-sheet crystals through structural transitions, and visualize the changes by infrared near-field optics, achieving close to molecular-level resolution.

    • Nan Qin
    • , Shaoqing Zhang
    •  & Tiger H. Tao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Oxide nanosheets are of interest for a range of applications. Here the authors demonstrate a simple route combining gas evolution and exfoliation of hydrated chloride precursors for making large quantities of oxide nanosheets of various compositions.

    • Chunsong Zhao
    • , Haitian Zhang
    •  & Hui Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Integrating carbon nanotubes into electronic devices requires quick and non-invasive imaging of the nanostructures for precision positioning. Here, the authors use the base of the nanotubes to nucleate the growth of optically visible organic nanocrystals, which thus enables simple microscopy.

    • G. Zeevi
    • , M. Shlafman
    •  & Y. E. Yaish

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Shaping atomically thin materials in suspended structures may provide a viable platform for nanoscale mechanical oscillators. Here, the authors demonstrate wafer-scale, high-yield synthesis of suspended graphene nanoribbon arrays using a bottom-up approach and shed light into their growth dynamics.

    • Hiroo Suzuki
    • , Toshiro Kaneko
    •  & Toshiaki Kato

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Protein nanotechnology for the fabrication of protein-based nanoscale devices is gaining momentum but assembling well-defined three-dimensional shapes is still challenging. Here, the authors use an existing prefoldin assembled system to design a template for the construction of geometrically constrained structures.

    • Dominic J. Glover
    • , Lars Giger
    •  & Douglas S. Clark

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tissue engineering applications call for controllable micro-structural units as a platform, but their fabrication remains challenging. Here, Jeong et al. show a method that enables soft materials to self-organize into highly packed micro-honeycomb structures with aspect ratios up to 500, and tunable shapes.

    • Gi Seok Jeong
    • , Da Yoon No
    •  & Sang-Hoon Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microelectromechanical systems—micrometre-sized devices with movable parts—make highly sensitive transducers. Here, the authors fabricate an integrated gallium nitride microcantilever and heterojunction field effect transistor that uses piezoelectric effects to measure displacement at the femtoscale level.

    • Abdul Talukdar
    • , M. Faheem Khan
    •  & Goutam Koley

  • Article |

    Existing lithographic methods for the micropatterning of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are limited by mask production. Here, the authors fabricate fully 3D rGO microstructures in an aqueous nematic liquid crystal of two-dimensional GO flakes via a scalable, mask-free pulsed near-infrared laser approach.

    • Bohdan Senyuk
    • , Natnael Behabtu
    •  & Ivan I. Smalyukh

  • Article |

    Mouldable hydrogels find a variety of applications in the biomedical industry. Here, Appel et al. show a method to fabricate hydrogels through a self-assembly process based on the interaction between biopolymers and functional nanoparticles for multistage drug delivery in vivo.

    • Eric A. Appel
    • , Mark W. Tibbitt
    •  & Robert Langer

  • Article |

    Cracks in material are not always unwanted; sometimes, they can be manipulated to produce micro and nanoscale patterns. Here, Kim et al. report a cracking-assisted nanofabrication technique based on conventional photolithography process, which allows accurate control over the geometry of the nanopatterns in arbitrary shape.

    • Minseok Kim
    • , Dogyeong Ha
    •  & Taesung Kim

  • Article |

    Nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond have established themselves as excellent candidates for solid-state quantum memories due to their optical addressability and long coherence times. Here, the authors report on a diamond-nanocavity system with improved spin-photon interface performances.

    • Luozhou Li
    • , Tim Schröder
    •  & Dirk Englund

  • Article |

    Photonic methods can be greatly improved by metal nanoparticles, but biological targets such as cells prevent spatial control of particles, excluding key regions of interest. Here, the authors show laser light can control nanoparticle growth locations in the cell, and probe intracellular molecules.

    • Nicholas I. Smith
    • , Kentaro Mochizuki
    •  & Yutaro Kumagai

  • Article |

    Miniaturization of devices and machines requires advanced lithographic techniques, whilst the high cost and complexity are the bottlenecks. Li et al.now show an approach for direct, arbitrary nano-patterning using self-propelled nanomotors acting as mobile nanomasks and near-field lenses.

    • Jinxing Li
    • , Wei Gao
    •  & Joseph Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene’s properties are well known, but turning this atomically thin material into three-dimensional devices remains a challenge. Here, the authors report an assembly process for chemically modified graphene into three-dimensional cellular networks, with control over the physical properties of the resulting materials.

    • Suelen Barg
    • , Felipe Macul Perez
    •  & Eduardo Saiz

  • Article |

    Nucleic acids possess a number of properties that can be beneficial for the fabrication of nanomaterials. Here, the authors present an enzymatically synthesised RNA membrane, and show how its physical properties can be controlled by changes to base-pairing.

    • Daehoon Han
    • , Yongkuk Park
    •  & Jong Bum Lee

  • Article |

    Metallic particles are known to etch the surface layers of graphite by catalytic hydrogenation. Here, the authors report the sub-surface etching of graphite by Ni nanoparticles, revealing the formation of networks of tunnels, which are observed microscopically and could be modified for various applications.

    • Maya Lukas
    • , Velimir Meded
    •  & Ralph Krupke

  • Article |

    Energy harvesting through mechanical actions of nanosized components could be useful for powering mobile electronics. Here, the authors grow lead zirconate nanowire arrays at comparatively low temperature and use them to power a macroscopic laser diode.

    • Sheng Xu
    • , Benjamin J. Hansen
    •  & Zhong Lin Wang

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