Sensors articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chiral recognition of amino acids with luminescence, despite its advantages, is usually slow and lacks generality. Here, the authors demonstrate that L-phenylalanine derived benzamide can manifest the structural difference between the natural, left-handed amino acid and its right-handed counterpart via the difference in room-temperature phosphorescence, irrespective of the specific chemical structure.

    • Xiaoyu Chen
    • , Renlong Zhu
    •  & Guoqing Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accurate perception of flight parameters is critical for flight control of micro air vehicles. Here, authors present a flexible calorimetric flow sensor with vanadium oxide thermistor arrays for flight parameters estimation, such as angle of attack and sideslip, flight velocity, and wing vibration.

    • Zheng Gong
    • , Weicheng Di
    •  & Huawei Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A limitation of robotic platforms in chemistry is the lack of feedback loops to adjust the conditions in-operando. Here the authors present a dynamically programmable robotic system that uses sensors for real-time adaptation, achieving yield improvements in syntheses and discovering new molecules.

    • Artem I. Leonov
    • , Alexander J. S. Hammer
    •  & Leroy Cronin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fluorescence analysis is a fast and sensitive method for the trace detection of environmental toxins, but it remains challenging to develop a fluorescence method for detecting nonfluorescent toxins. Here, the authors report an indirect fluorescent sensing strategy for the rapid, selective and sensitive detection of the non-fluorescent microcystin as a model target.

    • Bowei Li
    • , Ji Qi
    •  & Lingxin Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Capillary breakup in multimaterial fibers is explored for the self-assembly of optoelectronic systems. However, its insights primarily stem from numerical simulations, qualitative at best. The authors formulate an analytical model of such breakup, obtaining a window in the governing parameters where the generally chaotic breakup becomes predictable and thus engineerable.

    • Camila Faccini de Lima
    • , Fan Wang
    •  & Alexander Gumennik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cells contain isolated compartments that spatially confine different enzymes, enabling high-efficiency enzymatic cascade reactions. Herein, the authors report a cell-inspired design of biomimetic cascade catalysis system by immobilizing Fe single atoms and Au nanoparticles on the inner and outer layers of three-dimensional nanocapsules, respectively, to enable highly selective colorimetric glucose detection.

    • Qiuping Wang
    • , Kui Chen
    •  & Yuen Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Infrared polarization-sensitive photodetectors are attractive owing to their widespread applications. Here, the authors report a long-wave infrared photodetector with an ultrahigh polarization sensitivity by leveraging the 1D geometry of Tellurium nanoribbon and the finite-size effect of a perfect plasmonic absorber.

    • Mingjin Dai
    • , Chongwu Wang
    •  & Qi Jie Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Norepinephrine (NE) is a key neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of organisms however specifically tracking the transient NE dynamics with high spatiotemporal resolution in living systems remains a great challenge. Herein, the authors developed a small molecular fluorescent probe that can precisely anchor on neuronal cytomembranes and specifically respond to NE on a 100-ms timescale.

    • Leiwen Mao
    • , Yujie Han
    •  & Yang Tian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Various applications would benefit from the ability to continuously measure biomolecules. Here the authors describe a biosensing technology based on the free diffusion of biofunctionalized particles hovering over a sensor surface, which enables monitoring of analytes (pM-µM) over long timespans.

    • Alissa D. Buskermolen
    • , Yu-Ting Lin
    •  & Menno W. J. Prins

  • Article
    | Open Access

    3D depth sensing with structured light enables simultaneous imaging of multiple objects, but has limited field of view and low efficiency. Here, the authors demonstrate 3D imaging with scattered light from a metasurface composed of periodic supercells, covering a 180° field of view with a high-density dot array.

    • Gyeongtae Kim
    • , Yeseul Kim
    •  & Junsuk Rho

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Self-powered sensors are of interest in wearable technology and other applications. Here, the authors report on the creation of a metal-air redox reaction humidity sensor where the conductance and charge generated is influenced by the amount of absorbed water and demonstrate application in respiration monitoring.

    • Shuo Li
    • , Yong Zhang
    •  & Yingying Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Designing in-sensor computing systems remains a challenge. Here, the authors demonstrate artificial optical neurons based on the in-sensor computing architecture that fuses sensory and computing nodes into a single platform capable of reducing data transfer time and energy for encoding and classification.

    • Doeon Lee
    • , Minseong Park
    •  & Kyusang Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The high toxicity of nerve agents makes the development of fluorescence sensors with suitable limit of detection challenging. Here, the authors propose a sensor design based on a conjugated microporous polymer film for the detection of diethyl chlorophosphate, a substitute of Sarin, with low detection limit of 2.5 ppt.

    • Wanqi Mo
    • , Zihao Zhu
    •  & Bin Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The potential of 2D materials for biosensing applications is often limited by large device-to-device variation. Here, the authors report a calibration method and a machine learning approach leveraging the redundancy of a sensing platform based on 256 integrated graphene transistors to enhance the system accuracy in real-time ion classification.

    • Mantian Xue
    • , Charles Mackin
    •  & Tomás Palacios

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Miniaturized infrared spectrometers are required for imaging and remote sensing applications, but they are usually characterized by a cm-scale footprint. Here, the authors report the realization of near-infrared spectrometers based on Au-atom-intercalated ReS2/WSe2 heterostructures with an active footprint < 10 μm and electrically tunable photoresponse.

    • Wenjie Deng
    • , Zilong Zheng
    •  & Yongzhe Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mid-infrared polarization-sensitive photodetectors are desired for several applications, such as chemical analysis and biomedical diagnosis. Here, the authors report on-chip polarimeters based on the combination of plasmonic chiral metamaterials and 2D thermoelectric materials, showing tunable full-Stokes detection of linearly and circularly polarized light at room temperature.

    • Mingjin Dai
    • , Chongwu Wang
    •  & Qi Jie Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In field, visual, chemical detection is of use for a wide range of possible applications. Here, the authors report on the creation of a host-guest liquid gating mechanism where detection of the target host triggers gate opening allowing for gas through the liquid gate, which can be used for visual detection.

    • Huimeng Wang
    • , Yi Fan
    •  & Xu Hou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors introduce an accurate, fast and efficient technique to analyze sensory data. They use a continuous wavelet transform concept to look for certain patterns in noisy raw data. The superiority of this approach is demonstrated with fluorescence signals from a chip-based, optofluidic single particle sensor.

    • Vahid Ganjalizadeh
    • , Gopikrishnan G. Meena
    •  & Holger Schmidt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Strain-induced piezoelectric polarization can be used to modulate the interface electrical transport. Here, the authors achieved a piezotronic tunneling strain sensor at device scale with optimized performance based on the structure of Ag/HfO2/n-ZnO.

    • Qiuhong Yu
    • , Rui Ge
    •  & Yong Qin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    What are the minimal hardware requirements for a given class of sensing problems? Here, authors investigate this while proposing a miniaturized near-infrared spectral sensor, based on an array of resonant-cavity enhanced photodetectors, and capable of operating without the need for spectral reconstruction.

    • Kaylee D. Hakkel
    • , Maurangelo Petruzzella
    •  & Andrea Fiore

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The stereoselective analysis of mixtures of chiral compounds typically requires time-consuming chromatography. Here, the authors combine reaction based chiroptical sensing and chemometric tools to directly determine the absolute configuration, enantiomeric composition and concentration of convoluted samples without physical separation.

    • Diandra S. Hassan
    •  & Christian Wolf

  • Article
    | Open Access

    NEMS devices, nano-electro-mechanical systems, by virtue of their minute size, offer ultra-high sensitivity, though at the expense of manufacturing complexity. Here, Stassi et al succeed in manufacturing high quality factor NEMS devices using high resolution 3D printing.

    • Stefano Stassi
    • , Ido Cooperstein
    •  & Carlo Ricciardi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Printed biosensors are important for health monitoring and research purposes. Here, the authors report on the development of a soft poroelastic silicone based sensor which can be easily printed and is resistant to mechanical strain hysteresis, allowing for more accurate electrophysiology readings and imaging.

    • Bongjoong Kim
    • , Arvin H. Soepriatna
    •  & Chi Hwan Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors present a method for quantifying molecular interactions on a glass surface, based on measuring surface refractive index changes via the reflectivity near the critical angle. They demonstrate tunable sensitivity and dynamic range, deep vertical sensing range, also for intracellular signals.

    • Guangzhong Ma
    • , Runli Liang
    •  & Shaopeng Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors characterize the spectroscopic and transport properties of heterojunctions composed of quasi-metallic and semiconducting graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with different widths, showing a predominant quantum tunnelling mechanism. The GNR heterojunctions can also be used to realize adsorbate sensors with high sensitivity.

    • Boris V. Senkovskiy
    • , Alexey V. Nenashev
    •  & Alexander Grüneis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Gauge factor (GF) enhancement in strain sensors remains a key challenge. Here the authors leverage the piezoelectric and photoelectric effects in a class of van der Waals materials to tune the GF, and obtain a record GF up to 3933 for a SnS2-based strain sensor.

    • Wenjie Yan
    • , Huei-Ru Fuh
    •  & Han-Chun Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Currently the most common method of COVID-19 diagnosis is by qRT-PCR which is slow and requires expensive instrumentation. Here the authors report an electrochemical biosensor based on isothermal rolling circle amplification for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples.

    • Thanyarat Chaibun
    • , Jiratchaya Puenpa
    •  & Benchaporn Lertanantawong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The NV center in diamond has been used extensively in sensing; however single shot readout of its spin remains challenging, requiring complex optical setups. Here, Irber et al. demonstrate a more robust scheme that achieves single-shot readout even when using inefficient detection optics.

    • Dominik M. Irber
    • , Francesco Poggiali
    •  & Friedemann Reinhard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Usually, quantum sensing protocols impose a trade-off between sensitivity and maximum range. Here, the authors demonstrate a non-adaptive algorithm for quantum sensors to measure AC fields with a large range for which the loss in sensitivity is negligible.

    • E. D. Herbschleb
    • , H. Kato
    •  & N. Mizuochi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Directly linked porphyrin dimers show intriguing electronic features but emphasis has been placed on planar monomeric units. Here, the authors report a Twisted-Planar-Twisted framework which can undergo a cis-trans transformation accompanied by a colour change in presence of methanol, making this framework applicable as a methanol sensor.

    • Qizhao Li
    • , Chengjie Li
    •  & Yongshu Xie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Protein identification at the single-molecule level is the ultimate goal for biological research and disease diagnosis. Here, the authors identify the size, charge, mobility, and binding of individual protein molecules by measuring the optical and electrical responses of each protein molecule tethered to a surface.

    • Guangzhong Ma
    • , Zijian Wan
    •  & Nongjian Tao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The development of high-performance magnetic field sensors is important for magnetic sensing and imaging. Here, the authors fabricate Hall sensors from graphene encapsulated in hBN and few-layer graphite, demonstrating high performance over a wide range of temperature and background magnetic field.

    • Brian T. Schaefer
    • , Lei Wang
    •  & Katja C. Nowack

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Creating micro/nanostructures on fibers is beneficial to many fiber-based devices, which remains a challenge in large-scale fabrication due to elongation and reflow. Here, the authors demonstrate a method for generating high-resolution, arbitrarily designed surface patterns on fiber during the thermal drawing process.

    • Zhe Wang
    • , Tingting Wu
    •  & Lei Wei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors demonstrate wafer-scale, graphene-based ion sensitive field effect transistors arrays for simultaneous concentration measurement of K+, Na+, NH4+, NO3−, SO42−, HPO42− and Cl−, and use their technology for real-time ion concentration measurements in an aquarium with lemnoideae lemna over a period of three weeks.

    • Ibrahim Fakih
    • , Oliver Durnan
    •  & Thomas Szkopek

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a leading technique in biosensing. Here the authors identify an ECL generation mechanism near the electrode surface, which they exploit in combination with the use of branched amine coreactants to improve the ECL signal beyond the state-of-the-art immunoassays.

    • Alessandra Zanut
    • , Andrea Fiorani
    •  & Francesco Paolucci

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-term stability and broad spectral response are highly desired features of absorbers. Here, the authors report impedance matched absorbers based on 2 nm thick gold layer operating within the mid-infrared range from 2 to 20 μm, enabling stable long term absorptivity of 47(3) % which is mostly wavelength independent.

    • Niklas Luhmann
    • , Dennis Høj
    •  & Silvan Schmid

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