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| Open AccessEnhancing in vivo cell and tissue targeting by modulation of polymer nanoparticles and macrophage decoys
Targeted drug delivery in vivo is a complex challenge, and understanding the characteristics that define the behavior of delivery vehicles in vivo is vital for advancing delivery vehicle design. Here the authors use a library of polymeric delivery vehicles and high-throughput tools to study the structure-function relationships guiding the physiological fate of nanomedicines.
- Alexandra S. Piotrowski-Daspit
- , Laura G. Bracaglia
- & W. Mark Saltzman
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Article
| Open AccessElectrically empowered microcomb laser
Here the authors demonstrate a laser system that can directly output soliton microcombs, with high power efficiency and reconfigurability, paving the way for communication, computing, and metrology based on integrated photonics.
- Jingwei Ling
- , Zhengdong Gao
- & Qiang Lin
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| Open AccessActive droplets through enzyme-free, dynamic phosphorylation
Despite the importance of dynamic phosphorylation in biology, enzyme-free, synthetic systems that use dynamic phosphorylation to regulate supramolecular processes are unexplored. Here, the authors report an enzyme-free chemical reaction cycle that can dynamically phosphorylate amino acids and peptides using simple phosphorylating agents and regulate supramolecular functions.
- Simone M. Poprawa
- , Michele Stasi
- & Job Boekhoven
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Article
| Open AccessPolyoxometalate-based plasmonic electron sponge membrane for nanofluidic osmotic energy conversion
Nanofluidic membranes have great potential in harvesting osmotic energy, but performance is hampered by insufficient permselectivity. Here, the authors solve this problem with a polyoxometalate-based nanofluidic plasmonic electron sponge membrane.
- Chengcheng Zhu
- , Li Xu
- & Chen Wang
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| Open AccessA scalable Li-Al-Cl stratified structure for stable all-solid-state lithium metal batteries
Sulfide electrolytes’ incompatibility with Li metal hinders their use in all-solid-state Li metal batteries. Here, the authors propose a scalable Li-Al-Cl stratified structure, formed via strain-activated phase separation, to effectively stabilize the negative electrode/electrolyte interface.
- Han Su
- , Jingru Li
- & Jiangping Tu
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Article
| Open AccessPara-selective nitrobenzene amination lead by C(sp2)-H/N-H oxidative cross-coupling through aminyl radical
Direct radical C–H amination strategies have exhibited innovation, but challenges remain with C–H amination of electron-poor nitroarenes due to the essence of the electron-deficient nitrogen radical. Herein, the authors report a transition metal-free dehydrogenative C(sp2)-H/N-H cross-coupling between electron-poor nitroarenes and amines.
- Zhen Zhang
- , Shusheng Yue
- & Hu Cai
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Article
| Open AccessMonosymmetric Fe-N4 sites enabling durable proton exchange membrane fuel cell cathode by chemical vapor modification
The limited durability of metal-nitrogen-carbon electrocatalysts hinders their use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells for the oxygen reduction reaction. Here the authors transform active sites from FeN4 to stable monosymmetric FeN2 + N’2 via chemical vapor modification, resulting in enhanced improving the durability of the catalyst.
- Jingsen Bai
- , Tuo Zhao
- & Wei Xing
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Article
| Open AccessTime-resolved THz Stark spectroscopy of molecules in solution
Stark spectroscopy of molecules in liquid solutions was once challenging due to orientation effects, solved by freezing but limiting ambient studies. Now, THz Stark spectroscopy with intense terahertz pulses enables dynamic analysis of molecules in both non-polar and polar solvents at any temperature, advancing conventional methods.
- Bong Joo Kang
- , Egmont J. Rohwer
- & Thomas Feurer
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Article
| Open AccessReduction of precious metal ions in aqueous solutions by contact-electro-catalysis
Currently, precious metal recovery from e-waste water is usually performed by liquid extraction or sorbent processes. Here, the authors show the untapped potential of dielectric insulators as catalysts for the 1-step selective recovery of gold in aqueous solutions by contact-electrocatalysis.
- Yusen Su
- , Andy Berbille
- & Zhong Lin Wang
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| Open AccessAdvancing interactive systems with liquid crystal network-based adaptive electronics
There is significant interest in developing electronic units that can perform sensing, signal processing, and actuation functions independently, similar to biological systems. Lyu et al. develop electronic units based on liquid crystal oligomer networks that exhibit adaptive behavior in response to environmental stimuli such as light and heat.
- Pengrong Lyu
- , Dirk J. Broer
- & Danqing Liu
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Article
| Open AccessLong-term relapse-free survival enabled by integrating targeted antibacteria in antitumor treatment
Tumor-resident intracellular microbiota (TRIM) could be a potential target for anticancer treatment. Here the authors report Au@Ag2Se nano-assemblies enabling bacterial killing, tumor inhibition and immune regulation in tumor microenvironment.
- Yuanlin Wang
- , Yaqian Han
- & Miao Yu
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Article
| Open AccessA reactive neural network framework for water-loaded acidic zeolites
Modelling of acidic zeolites, one of the key industrial catalysts, under realistic operating conditions is currently limited to specific cases. Here, the authors report a machine learning framework allowing for accurate high-throughput modelling.
- Andreas Erlebach
- , Martin Šípka
- & Lukáš Grajciar
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| Open AccessDisentangling the effects of structure and lone-pair electrons in the lattice dynamics of halide perovskites
By comparing CsSrBr3 and CsPbBr3 with close structural similarity but the latter lacking lone-pair electrons on the octahedral metal, the authors reveal the similar vibrational anharmonicities in the two perovskites, which disentangles the electronic properties and vibrational anharmonicities.
- Sebastián Caicedo-Dávila
- , Adi Cohen
- & David A. Egger
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Article
| Open AccessDynamically stable radiation pressure propulsion of flexible lightsails for interstellar exploration
Ultrathin laser-driven lightsails represent a unique vision for interstellar space exploration. Here, the authors show how spinning flexible membranes can be both shape- and trajectory-stable with multiphysics structural and nanophotonic engineering.
- Ramon Gao
- , Michael D. Kelzenberg
- & Harry A. Atwater
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| Open AccessUniversal scaling in real dimension
Universality of critical behaviour of O(N) field theories on regular homogeneous lattices is established, but open questions remain for more complex lattices. Bighin et al. study universality on a non-homogeneous graph showing that its scaling theory is controlled by a single parameter, the spectral dimension.
- Giacomo Bighin
- , Tilman Enss
- & Nicolò Defenu
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| Open AccessBioinformatics leading to conveniently accessible, helix enforcing, bicyclic ASX motif mimics (BAMMs)
Researchers mimic protein interface helices by stapling peptide side chains, or replacing hydrogen bonds with covalent ones, and synthetic helical mimics are heavily biased towards stapling. Here the authors describe bioinformatic discovery of hydrophobic triangles at helix N-termini, and rigid, bicyclic synthetic mimics of them.
- Tianxiong Mi
- , Duyen Nguyen
- & Kevin Burgess
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| Open AccessAccelerating reliable multiscale quantum refinement of protein–drug systems enabled by machine learning
Biomacromolecule structures are vital for drug design. Here, the authors integrate one or two machine learning potentials in an ONIOM-based quantum refinement method, achieving reliable drug structures at an QM level in proteins with high efficiency.
- Zeyin Yan
- , Dacong Wei
- & Lung Wa Chung
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Article
| Open AccessRemote epitaxy of single-crystal rhombohedral WS2 bilayers
Rhombohedral-stacked (R-stacked) transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers exhibit remarkable properties, but their large-area epitaxial growth remains challenging. Here, the authors report the remote epitaxy of centimetre-scale single-crystal R-stacked WS2 bilayer films on sapphire substrates.
- Chao Chang
- , Xiaowen Zhang
- & Xiaozhi Xu
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Article
| Open AccessSingle-zinc vacancy unlocks high-rate H2O2 electrosynthesis from mixed dioxygen beyond Le Chatelier principle
The principle of Le Chatelier is a fundamental concept in textbooks, serving as a guiding principle for controlling chemical and catalytic systems. In this study, the authors present an oxygen electroreduction system based on a single zinc vacancy catalyst, which operates in a manner that extends “beyond” Le Chatelier’s principle.
- Qi Huang
- , Baokai Xia
- & Sheng Chen
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| Open AccessEfficient multimode Wigner tomography
Standard ways of characterising quantum states incur exponential overhead. Here, the authors consider the task of reconstructing density matrices of multimode continuous variable systems, and demonstrate a method which scales polynomially with the system size, provided the state lies in a polynomial dimensional subspace.
- Kevin He
- , Ming Yuan
- & David I. Schuster
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| Open AccessSqueezed light from an oscillator measured at the rate of oscillation
The authors demonstrated an unprecedented level of polarization squeezing of light generated by an atomic ensemble, and a new regime of continuous quantum measurements on a macroscopic material oscillator.
- Christian Bærentsen
- , Sergey A. Fedorov
- & Eugene S. Polzik
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| Open AccessSustainable thermal regulation improves stability and efficiency in all-perovskite tandem solar cells
Mixed Sn-Pb perovskites have emerged as promising photovoltaic materials for both single- and multi-junction solar cells. Here, authors reveal the thermal degradation mechanism and incorporate carboranes for thermal regulation, resulting in stable all-perovskite tandems with efficiency of over 27%.
- Shuchen Tan
- , Chongwen Li
- & Zhongmin Zhou
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| Open AccessIon pair sites for efficient electrochemical extraction of uranium in real nuclear wastewater
Electrochemical uranium extraction from real nuclear wastewater is appealing but challenging. Herein, Lin et al develop a strategy of ion pair site for enhanced binding of dominant uranium fluoride species in real wastewater, achieving efficient recycling of uranium as powder product.
- Tao Lin
- , Tao Chen
- & Rong He
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Article
| Open AccessSpontaneously established reverse electric field to enhance the performance of triboelectric nanogenerators via improving Coulombic efficiency
Performance of triboelectric nanogenerators is limited by electrostatic breakdown. Here, the spontaneously established reverse electric field is introduced to restrict the side-discharge problem caused by electrostatic breakdown, leading to a high Coulombic efficiency and enhanced output power.
- Yikui Gao
- , Lixia He
- & Jie Wang
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| Open AccessDual-phase nano-glass-hydrides overcome the strength-ductility trade-off and magnetocaloric bottlenecks of rare earth based amorphous alloys
Metals often suffer from reduced strength and ductility after hydrogenation. Here, the authors show hydrogenation can lead to enhancement in strength and ductility accompanied by a large change in magnetic entropy, overcoming the bottlenecks of using amorphous alloys for magnetic refrigerants.
- Liliang Shao
- , Qiang Luo
- & Weihua Wang
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Article
| Open AccessE-cardiac patch to sense and repair infarcted myocardium
Infarted myocardium hampers the synchronous electroactivity of the cardiac tissue. Here, the authors showcase a battery-free conductive cardiac patch made of reduced graphene and its therapeutic efficacy for cardiac repair.
- Renjie Qiu
- , Xingying Zhang
- & Leyu Wang
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Article
| Open AccessDeterministic positioning and alignment of a single-molecule exciton in plasmonic nanodimer for strong coupling
Realising single molecule strong coupling with plasmons achieving both deterministic molecule positioning and dipole alignment with the mode field has proven challenging so far. Here, the authors fill this gap by placing a single molecular emitter in the gap centre of an Au nanodimer system.
- Renming Liu
- , Ming Geng
- & Lin Wu
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| Open AccessMechanical-scan-free multicolor super-resolution imaging with diffractive spot array illumination
Here, the authors use spot array illumination to enable mechanical-scan-free super-resolution microscopy with adjustable resolution and good effective field of view, demonstrating a platform for studying molecular interactions at the nanoscale.
- Ning Xu
- , Sarah E. Bohndiek
- & Qiaofeng Tan
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Article
| Open AccessCrossover from gas-like to liquid-like molecular diffusion in a simple supercritical fluid
Within the phase diagram of pure substances, the supercritical state is not fully understood. Here the authors experimentally observe a gas-like to liquid-like crossover in the self-dynamics of supercritical fluid methane upon pressure increase.
- Umbertoluca Ranieri
- , Ferdinando Formisano
- & Livia E. Bove
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| Open AccessHigh-performance piezoelectric energy harvesting in amorphous perovskite thin films deposited directly on a plastic substrate
Traditional methods to incorporate polycrystalline thin film into flexible systems are often complicated and limited by their sizes. Here, the authors introduce flexible amorphous thin film energy harvester, based on perovskite oxides, on a plastic substrate for electromechanical energy harvesting.
- Ju Han
- , Sung Hyun Park
- & Yong Soo Cho
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Article
| Open AccessDynamic microfluidic single-cell screening identifies pheno-tuning compounds to potentiate tuberculosis therapy
Tuberculosis is a major global health threat. Here, the authors develop a single-cell drug discovery approach and identify a compound that tunes bacterial phenotypic variation. This enhances the activity of anti-tubercular drugs against the pathogen.
- Maxime Mistretta
- , Mena Cimino
- & Giulia Manina
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Article
| Open AccessMechanically robust and personalized silk fibroin-magnesium composite scaffolds with water-responsive shape-memory for irregular bone regeneration
The regeneration of critical-size bone defects, especially those with irregular shapes, remains a clinical challenge. Here, the authors report a shape-memory, tailorable, self-adaptive and bioactive silk fibroin/magnesium composite scaffold that can quickly match irregular defects by simple trimming and lead to good interface integration.
- Zhinan Mao
- , Xuewei Bi
- & Yufeng Zheng
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| Open AccessZero-shot learning enables instant denoising and super-resolution in optical fluorescence microscopy
The authors introduce ZS-DeconvNet, an unsupervised computational super-resolution method for multiple types of microscopes, that enhances image resolution by more than 1.5 times over the diffraction limit with 10 times lower fluorescence than regular superresolution imaging conditions.
- Chang Qiao
- , Yunmin Zeng
- & Qionghai Dai
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Article
| Open AccessCarbon pricing and system reliability impacts on pathways to universal electricity access in Africa
This study investigates the role of off-grid solar in achieving SDG7 in Africa, focusing on understanding the impact of carbon pricing and supply reliability. It uses high-resolution spatial analysis and demand modelling to explore policy interventions for universal electricity access.
- Hamish Beath
- , Shivika Mittal
- & Ajay Gambhir
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| Open AccessBenchmarking of methods for DNA methylome deconvolution
Determining the different cell types that contribute to a mixture of DNA is key for research and diagnostic applications. Here, authors comprehensively benchmark DNA methylation-based deconvolution methods, evaluating their performance and robustness to technical bias.
- Kobe De Ridder
- , Huiwen Che
- & Bernard Thienpont
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| Open AccessIntroduction of the difluoromethyl group at the meta- or para-position of pyridines through regioselectivity switch
The direct C−H-difluoromethylation of pyridines represents a highly efficient economic way to access azines. However, the direct meta-difluoromethylation of pyridines remains elusive. Here, the authors demonstrate switchable meta- as well as para-C−H difluoromethylation of pyridines through radical processes by using oxazino pyridine intermediates.
- Pengwei Xu
- , Zhe Wang
- & Armido Studer
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| Open AccessRedox-induced controllable engineering of MnO2-MnxCo3-xO4 interface to boost catalytic oxidation of ethane
The exploration of heterogeneous interfaces between metal oxides has received limited attention. Here the authors demonstrated the creation of MnO2-MnxCo3-xO4 interfaces through controlled chemical reduction processes, effectively altering electron distribution and yielding a superior catalyst for ethane oxidation.
- Haiyan Wang
- , Shuang Wang
- & Xinwen Guo
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| Open AccessStretchable phosphorescent polymers by multiphase engineering
Stretchable phosphorescent materials have potential in applications such as wearable electronics, but achieving a suitable balance of emission and stretchability is challenging. Here, the authors report the use of microphase separation to show stretchability with emission lifetimes maintained.
- Nan Gan
- , Xin Zou
- & Wei Huang
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| Open AccessLate-stage benzenoid-to-troponoid skeletal modification of the cephalotanes exemplified by the total synthesis of harringtonolide
Many natural products exist as families of structurally similar molecules, and therefore developing skeletal modifications of common intermediates offers flexible and powerful approaches for target synthesis. Here, the authors report a single-atom insertion into the framework of the benzenoid subfamily, providing access to the troponoid congeners.
- Stefan Wiesler
- , Goh Sennari
- & Richmond Sarpong
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| Open AccessSwitchable supramolecular helices for asymmetric stereodivergent catalysis
Controlling multiple stereogenic centers in a single molecular scaffold represents a challenge for current switchable asymmetric catalysts. Here, the authors achieve asymmetric stereodivergency by means of a switchable supramolecular helical catalyst allowing all stereoisomers to be obtained with high and similar enantioselectivities.
- Ran Chen
- , Ahmad Hammoud
- & Matthieu Raynal
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Article
| Open AccessMolecular fingerprinting of biological nanoparticles with a label-free optofluidic platform
Biosensing tools to detect multiple analytes in a high-throughput manner are still hindered by many limitations. Here, the authors present a label-free optofluidic platform integrating digital holography and microfluidics for analyte detection, allowing for the fingerprinting of heterogenous biological samples.
- Alexia Stollmann
- , Jose Garcia-Guirado
- & Romain Quidant
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Article
| Open AccessThe origin of exceptionally large ductility in molybdenum alloys dispersed with irregular-shaped La2O3 nano-particles
Application of Molybdenum alloys is hindered by reduced ductility at lower temperatures. Here, the author shows improved ductility in a Mo alloy with irregular-shaped rare-earth La2O3 nanoparticles achieved via rotary-swaging, attributed to the amorphization of the oxide-matrix interface.
- Yujie Chen
- , Yan Fang
- & Qian Yu
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Article
| Open AccessTask-oriented machine learning surrogates for tipping points of agent-based models
Detecting tipping points and predicting extreme events from data remains a challenging problem in complex systems related to climate, ecology and finance. The authors propose a data-driven approach to estimate probabilities of rare events in complex systems, and detect tipping points/catastrophic shifts.
- Gianluca Fabiani
- , Nikolaos Evangelou
- & Ioannis G. Kevrekidis
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Article
| Open AccessExperimental demonstration of an on-chip p-bit core based on stochastic magnetic tunnel junctions and 2D MoS2 transistors
Probabilistic bits (p-bits) are the base units of probabilistic computing, a computing scheme offering a more efficient approach than conventional binary logic in various applications. Here, the authors report the realization of a p-bit core device by combining stochastic magnetic tunnel junctions and 2D MoS2 transistors on the same chip.
- John Daniel
- , Zheng Sun
- & Joerg Appenzeller
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Article
| Open AccessInverted device architecture for high efficiency single-layer organic light-emitting diodes with imbalanced charge transport
Efficient organic light-emitting diodes require a multilayer architecture to confine charge recombination to the emissive layer. Here, authors demonstrate efficient single-layer devices for emitters with imbalanced charge transport without the need of additional charge transport or blocking layers.
- Xiao Tan
- , Dehai Dou
- & Gert-Jan A. H. Wetzelaer
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| Open AccessA critical discussion of the current availability of lithium and zinc for use in batteries
Aqueous zinc batteries are currently being explored as potential alternatives to non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries. In this comment, the authors highlight zinc’s global supply chain resilience and lower material costs yet caution about its higher mass requirement for comparable charge storage.
- Alessandro Innocenti
- , Dominic Bresser
- & Stefano Passerini
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| Open AccessAsymmetric C–H Dehydrogenative Alkenylation via a Photo-induced Chiral α‑Imino Radical Intermediate
The direct alkenylation with simple alkenes stands out as the most ideal yet challenging strategy for obtaining high-valued desaturated alkanes. Herein, the authors present a direct asymmetric dehydrogenative α-C(sp3)-H alkenylation of carbonyls based on synergistic photoredox-cobalt-chiral primary amine catalysis under visible light.
- Zongbin Jia
- , Liang Cheng
- & Sanzhong Luo
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Article
| Open AccessTracking nuclear motion in single-molecule magnets using femtosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy
The authors use femtosecond K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy to follow nuclear motion in a manganese-based tri-nuclear single-molecule magnet, and resolve changes in bond lengths on the order of hundreds of ångströms and on sub-picosecond timescales.
- Kyle Barlow
- , Ryan Phelps
- & J. Olof Johansson
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Article
| Open AccessSustainable upcycling of mixed spent cathodes to a high-voltage polyanionic cathode material
Direct recycling of critical battery materials bring promise but a challenge for the mixed cathode chemistries. Here, the authors report a sustainable upcycling approach, transforming degraded LiFePO4 and Mn-rich cathodes into a high-voltage polyanionic material with an increased energy density and economic value.
- Guanjun Ji
- , Di Tang
- & Hui-Ming Cheng