Search

The production of higher alcohols is very valuable because of their high volumetric energy density. Now, Sargent, Sinton and co-workers report the design of copper nanoparticles with tailored nanocavities that promote n-propanol formation by the coupling of C2 and C1 intermediates inside the cavity.

Metal nanoparticles can be prepared with good control of particle size and shape by solution-state chemistry, but controlling their physicochemical properties remains a challenge. A generic protocol for transferring metal ions from water to an organic medium is now used to synthesize a range of metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles having multiple functionalities.

The miniaturization of electronic circuitry requires the reproducible fabrication of electrodes with nanoscale separations. Here, the authors present a robust manufacturing technology that enables programmably placed nanoscale three-dimensional nanogaps on an integrated circuit.

Reliable and consistent measurement of the carrier diffusion length in metal halide perovskite single crystals has proven difficult. Here Gong, Huang et al. systematically included very dilute quantum dot quenchers into perovskite crystals and develop a contactless and self-consistent method for the task.

Point-of-care analytical devices are of interest for diagnostic applications where larger scale laboratory instruments are not feasible or available. Here, the authors present a direct read-out colorimetric sensor which uses catalytic gas production to visualize picomolar concentrations of DNA.

Exosomal PD-L1 (exoPD-L1) is a biomarker predicting immunotherapeutic responses. Here the authors report NanoEPIC, a nanoscale cytometry platform that enables phenotypic sorting and exoPD-L1 profiling from blood plasma by using magnetic-activated ranking to differentiate exosomal subpopulations.

Immunomagnetic cell sorting implemented in a microfluidic chip can perform loss-of-function CRISPR–Cas9-mediated phenotypic screening at higher throughput than fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

Generating aptamers for use as affinity reagents in analytical applications is important, but SELEX, the standard method for aptamer generation, is unable to select for pre-defined binding affinities. Now, by combining efficient particle display, high-performance microfluidic sorting and high-content bioinformatics, the method ‘Pro-SELEX’ can afford the quantitative generation of aptamers with programmable binding affinities.

This Review discusses how microfluidic and other fluidic devices can be leveraged at each stage of cell manufacturing for enhancing the potency, predictability and affordability of adoptive cell therapies.

Creating fine nanostructures on sensing electrodes can improve and expand the detection sensitivities of biosensors for nucleic acids

A high-throughput microfluidic method for the analysis of the secretion levels of large populations of immune cells allows for the identification of kinase-coding genes regulating interferon-gamma secretion by CD4⁺ T cells.

Microfluidic quantitative immunomagnetic cell sorting efficiently recovers potent tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes from solid tumours by leveraging specific expression levels of target cell-surface markers.

Rapid, highly multiplexed molecular detection platforms may enable more specific and effective disease diagnosis. Here, a solution-based circuit is reported that enables the analysis of samples for panels of pathogens and antibiotic-resistance profiles at clinically relevant levels in less than 2 min.

Potent circulating tumour-reactive lymphocytes can be isolated from peripheral blood at high yield and purity via microfluidic immunomagnetic cell sorting.

A reagentless method for detecting analytes based on the motion of an inverted molecular pendulum has now been developed. The sensor is capable of detecting important physiological markers of stress, allergy, cardiovascular health, inflammation and cancer and works in blood, saliva, urine, tears and sweat. The sensor is also capable of collecting data in living animals.

The development of nanomaterials for imaging and drug delivery has been of great interest to the field. Here, the authors synthesized multifunctional enzyme-responsive hydrogels with self-assembling quantum dots for nucleic acid and drug delivery as well as having imaging capability.

Cell-to-cell variation in gene expression creates a need for techniques that characterize expression at the level of individual cells. Now, a technique for characterizing mRNA expression has been developed. The technique uses the intracellular self-assembly of magnetic nanoparticles to quantitate RNA levels at the single-cell level.

A universal detector of small molecules, proteins and nucleic acids is described that relies on the displacement of a neutralizer molecule from a sensor surface. When the neutralizer is displaced by an analyte, an electrochemical signal is generated. Ultrasensitive limits of detection are achieved, and a new record for the electrochemical detection of bacteria (0.15 colony-forming units per microlitre) is reported.

An siRNA screen of cells treated with a mitochondrial-targeted DNA oxidizing agent identifies proteins such as RAD23A, XRCC4, and POLθ that mediate mitochondrial DNA repair and replication.

Gene-circuit-based sensors have, to date, largely relied on optical proteins (such as green fluorescent protein) to report the output, which limits the signalling bandwidth. Now, an electrochemical output has been developed and integrated with cell-free gene circuits. This approach enables multiplexing of sensors and introduces the possibility of electronic-based logic, memory and response elements to synthetic biology.

The analysis of circulating cell-free nucleic acids (cfNA) in the blood of cancer patients permits the analysis of tumour mutations without requiring invasive sampling of tissue. Now, the development of an electrochemical assay that uses a collection of clamp molecules to sequester interfering cfNAs enables the accurate detection of mutated sequences in serum collected from people with lung cancer or melanoma.

The expression of therapeutic protein targets in circulating tumour cells isolated from blood samples of patients with cancer can be tracked at the single-cell level by antibody-mediated magnetic labelling and microfluidic sorting.

Nucleic acid sensing involving CRISPR technologies is powerful but has certain limitations, such as PAM sequence requirements and limited multiplexing. Here, authors report a CRISPR-based barcoding technology which enables multiple outputs from any target sequence, based on cis- and trans-cleavage.

The phenotypes of circulating tumour cells are profiled in whole blood by exploiting a microfluidic chip based on magnetic nanoparticles, leading to single-cell resolution.

Remnant tensile strain in the perovskite films induced in the thermal annealing step is a known source of material and device instabilities. Here Xue et al. use a thermal expandable hole transporting layer to compensate the strain and result in most stable wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells so far.

A universal ‘add-on’ method based on the ultrafast and localized deposition of polydopamine amplifies the sensitivity of a variety of bioassays for clinical diagnostics.

Semiconductor nanocrystals capped with DNA can be used to make a variety of rationally designed assemblies with switchable optical properties.

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals are widely used in biological imaging, but existing synthesis techniques are difficult and require specialized expertise. Here it is shown that the use of DNA as a ligand allows a simpler synthetic protocol to be used, producing biofunctionalized nanocrystals that exhibit strong optical emission in the visible spectrum, minimal toxicity and small hydrodynamic diameter.

Catalysts that can selectively reduce carbon dioxide to C2+ products are attractive for the generation of more complex and useful chemicals. Here, an electro-redeposited copper catalyst is shown to provide excellent selectivity and high current density for ethylene formation. Detailed characterization and theory link the performance to the catalyst morphology.

Drug efflux through ABC transporters is a common mechanism leading to chemoresistance in cancer. Here, the authors show that mitochondrial respiration provides ATP to allow ABC transporters activity so mitochondrial respiration inhibition overcomes chemoresistance in preclinical cancer models.

Catalysts for CO electroreduction have focused on Cu, and their main products have been C₂ chemicals. Here authors use the concept of asymmetric active sites to develop a class of doped Cu catalysts for C-C coupling, delivering record selectivity to n-propanol.

Solution processed colloidal quantum dots are emerging photovoltaic materials with tuneable infrared bandgaps. Here, Yang et al. create a class of quantum dot bulk heterojunction solar cell via ligand design, enabling longer photocarrier diffusion lengths for greater photocurrent and performance.

Colloidal quantum dots and organics have complementary properties apt for photovoltaics, yet their combination has led to poor charge collection. Here, Baek et al. introduce small molecules that act as a bridge between quantum dots and polymers, thus improving device efficiency and stability.

It is challenging to realize doping and surface passivation simultaneously in colloidal quantum dot inks. Here Choi et al. employ a cascade surface modification approach to solve the problem and obtain record high efficiency of 13.3% for bulk homojunction solar cells based on these inks.

The electroreduction of CO₂ to ethanol could enable the clean production of fuels using renewable power. This study shows how confinement effects from nitrogen-doped carbon layers on copper catalysts enable selective ethanol production from CO₂ with a Faradaic efficiency of up to 52%.

Many best-performing perovskite photovoltaics use 2D/3D interfaces to improve efficiency and stability, yet the mechanism of interface assembly is unclear. Here, Proppe et al. use in-situ GIWAXS to resolve this transformation, observing progressive dimensional reduction from 3D to 2D perovskites.

Methylammonium is shown to influence the crystallization process in hybrid lead halide perovskites, leading to a more homogeneous chemical distribution of caesium and formamidinium and improved charge transport between grains in multi-cation systems.

Efficient harvest of solar energy beyond the silicon absorption edge of 1100 nm by semiconductor solar cells remains a challenge. Here Sun et al. mix high multi-bandgap lead sulfide colloidal quantum dot ensembles to further increase both short circuit current and open circuit voltage.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to multicarbon products is useful for producing high-value chemicals and fuels. Here the authors present a strategy that is based on the in situ electrodeposition of copper under CO₂ reduction conditions that preferentially expose and maintain Cu(100) facets, which favour the formation of C₂₊ products.

Comprehensive integration of gene expression with epigenetic features is needed to understand the transition of kidney cells from health to injury. Here, the authors integrate dual single nucleus RNA expression and chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and histone modifications to decipher the chromatin landscape of the kidney in reference and adaptive injury cell states, identifying a transcription factor network of ELF3, KLF6, and KLF10 which regulates adaptive repair and maladaptive failed repair.

A systematic analysis is performed to reveal how deposition conditions and the use of cations and solvents affect the composition and orientation of 2D and quasi-2D metal halide perovskites in thin films.

Films of exfoliated crystals of two-dimensional hybrid metal halide perovskites with phenyl groups as organic cations show increased molecular rigidity, reduced electron–phonon interactions and blue emission with photoluminescence quantum yield approaching 80%.

Continuous monitoring of diverse biomolecular signatures has the potential to transform our understanding of personalized and preventative medicine. This Review Article discusses the emerging trends and pertinent considerations for the development of a new generation of body-based biomolecular sensors for in vivo measurement.

A double-buffer-layer engineering strategy enables the selective growth of magnetic materials at specific locations on a wide variety of semiconducting nanorods.