Volume 18 Issue 9, September 2023

Solution-processed, environmentally-benign quantum dots are able to emit stable streams of very pure single-photons with an optical coherence time reaching 250 picoseconds.

Magnetic domain walls can modulate spin-wave transport in perpendicularly magnetized channels, while magnon spin current can drive domain wall motion in the bi-doped yttrium iron garnet channel device.

Recent experiments demonstrate ultrafast-fluid-like propagation of excitons in monolayers of MoS₂.

Cholesterol levels in biological fluids are shown to change the composition of the protein corona affecting the biological fate of nanoparticles.

Certain proteins have been optimized over millennia to exhibit shock-absorbing capabilities. To harness these capabilities, synthetic biology was used to incorporate the mechanosensitive protein talin into a hydrogel. The resulting talin shock-absorbing material (TSAM) retains the mechanical properties of talin and can absorb the impact of, as well as capture, supersonic projectiles.

Intercellular calcium waves (ICW) are mechanosensitive signalling phenomena that coordinate cellular responses in key physiological processes. The force applied by light-activated molecular machines is shown to remotely stimulate ICW. The ICW induced by these molecular machines can be exploited to regulate downstream functions, such as muscle contraction, in vitro and in vivo.

This Review analyses the mechanisms of light extraction from perovskite light-emitting diodes and suggests new approaches towards ultrahigh electroluminescence efficiencies.

Colloidal quantum dots are a potential source of scalable single-photon emitters, but they typically exhibit broad emission linewidths. Proppe et al. show narrow-linewidth emission from heavy-metal-free InP/ZnSe/ZnS dots with coherence times of up to 250 ps.

Spin waves are excited in a thin film of bismuth-doped yttrium iron garnet using radio-frequency pulses and interact with magnetic domain walls. Pulses as short as 1 ns translate a domain wall over 15 µm distances, offering control over domain-wall dynamics.

A quest to resolve ultra-high vacuum synthesis of high-quality, single-crystalline metal oxide thin films containing hard-to-oxidize metals reveals a hidden role of epitaxial strain on the metal oxidation chemistry and resulting thin-film growth.

Evidence is provided for the formation of a collective state of short-lived excitons whose propagation resembles that of a classical liquid flows, with a speed reaching ~6% the speed of light.

Quantum emitters with strong and tunable coupling to breathing-mode phonons are observed in bilayer WSe₂. The emission of each single photon heralds the creation of a phonon Fock state in the atomic-scale excitonic–optomechanical system.

A laser printing approach generates physical unclonable fluorescent patterns, made from simple sugar. These environmentally friendly and ultraviolet-stable materials can be applied as anti-counterfeiting labels.

Atomically thin heterostructures function as optomemristors, which are used for biomimetic neural algorithms for performing winner-take-all tasks, such as competitive and cooperative learning.

A large array of ferroelectric field-effect transistors with record memory windows, ON/OFF ratios and ON-current density is presented at ~80 nm channel length.

Intercellular calcium waves drive numerous biological processes. Here light-activated molecular machines that—via nanomechanical action—stimulate ICW are reported, opening up avenues for the modulation of downstream biological processes using molecular-scale devices.

An engineered version of the mechanosensitive protein talin was used as a monomer in combination with a synthetic chemical crosslinker to form a hydrogel. This shock-absorbing material is shown to capture and preserve projectiles fired at 1.5 km s⁻¹.

Here the authors report that the metabolome profile is an unexploited factor impacting the targeting efficacy and safety of nanomedicines, using cholesterol as an example, showing a way and need to develop personalized nanomedicines by harnessing disease-related metabolites.

In single-molecule characterization, the near-infinite re-read capability on the same region of interest has the potential to unlock greater sensing capacity. A nanopore-based method, named scanning ion conductance spectroscopy, provides complete control over the translocation speed and nanopore position along a selected region and can detect a single 3 Å gap in a long strand of DNA.

An artificial ligament replacement is made from aligned carbon nanotubes formed into hierarchical helical fibres with nanometre and micrometre channels which are demonstrated for the replacement of anterior cruciate ligaments in both rabbit and ovine models, showing strong integration and functional recovery.

Creation of cell spheroids by using triggered d-peptide self-assembly is reported. Peptides are dephosphorylated by transcytosis in cells and intercellularly assembled to facilitate fibronectin fibrillogenesis and subsequent spheroid formation.

A lipid nanoparticle (LNP) component—an adjuvant lipidoid—is developed to enhance the adjuvanticity of LNPs, which significantly increases the innate and adaptive responses of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines with good tolerability in mice.