Volume 19 Issue 12, December 2024

The 50th anniversary of its discovery underscores surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as one of the oldest and most dynamic branches of nanoscience and nanotechnology. The time has come for nanostructure-based SERS to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) tools and overcome current commercialization challenges.

Scanning tunnelling microscopy experiments enable the realization of artificially built topological quantum magnets with titanium atoms and graphene goblets.

A DNA origami nanodevice presents its hidden death ligand pattern in the acidic tumour microenvironment to kill cancerous cells, opening opportunities for effective and safe cancer therapy.

A customized Ti-Nano resin is used to fabricate 3D photonic crystals with a complete bandgap in the visible spectrum through a nanoscale printing technique. The 3D printed and annealed titania photonic crystals show perfect reflectance within the wavelength range associated with this bandgap.

This Review explores how machine learning approaches can drive progress in nanotheranostics.

Atom manipulation in a scanning tunnelling microscope allows the fabrication of artificial topological quantum magnets. Single-atom electron spin resonance experiments probe the many-body topological modes of the quantum magnets and provide a visualization.

Scanning probe microscopy experiments realize the alternating-exchange spin-1/2 Heisenberg model via magnetic nanographene chains. They control odd- to even-Haldane phase transitions and monitor spin–spin correlations and triplon dispersion.

In situ evaporation of Eu and As onto InAs nanowires results in the mutual exchange of Eu from the shell with In from the core. This solid-state exchange reaction converts wurtzite InAs nanowires into Zintl Eu₃In₂As₄.

A dual-gradient metasurface is introduced that allows continuous control over light–matter coupling in the spectral and quality-factor parameter space. Used for molecular sensing, it achieves mode densities near the theoretical limit for metasurfaces.

A nanoscale printing method is developed to fabricate three-dimensional high-refractive index photonic crystals whose bandgap spans in the entire visible range.

This work employs nano- to microscale characterization to identify different structural change pathways associated with non-homogeneous reactions within the particles, and explores differences in the failure mechanisms of lithium-rich transition metal oxide materials at different current densities.

By inducing a transformation in a manganese-rich cation-disordered rocksalt, partially ordered spinels with nanomosaic domains of 3–7 nm in size can be obtained, which exhibit high energy density and rate capability at an average particle size of 3–5 µm.

Biodegradable glasses are a sustainable alternative to traditional glass. Here high-entropy cyclic peptide glasses are engineered, with enhanced crystallization resistance, mechanical properties and enzyme tolerance.

Creating precise morphogen gradients for tissue engineering is challenging. Here the authors present mechanically tunable DNA hydrogel-based microbeads for light-controlled morphogen release in retinal organoids for better tissue mimicry.

Researchers demonstrate that cholesterol-enriched exosomes can deliver siRNA directly into cancer cells, bypassing normal cellular barriers and significantly enhancing gene silencing. This offers a more effective method for gene therapy applications.

Delivering gene editing materials to the brain for glioblastoma therapy can boost the efficacy of chemotherapy. Here the authors reduce resistance to temozolomide using a reactive oxygen species-sensitive polymer-locking fusogenic liposome that can cross the blood–brain barrier and deliver short interfering RNA or CRISPR–Cas to glioblastoma with high specificity.

Orally administrable and glucose-responsive worm-like micelles have been developed to protect insulin in the gastrointestinal tract, enhance its intestinal absorption, accumulate in the liver and enable efficient and safe blood-glucose management.

Acquired radiation resistance in residual tumours impedes the therapeutic outcome of re-irradiation. This study reports a novel radiosensitization strategy that targets cuproptosis to overcome resistance and enhance antitumour effects.

Metal-ion-chelating phenylalanine nanostructures modulate ion influx and efflux in dendritic cells, activating them through the NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB pathway to remodel the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment for PD-L1-based immunotherapy.

Current CAR T cell manufacturing falls short of mimicking immunological synapses. A new graphene oxide antigen-presenting platform (GO-APP) addresses this issue, improving CAR T cell production while eliminating the need for interleukin-2 supplementation.