The remarkable ability of biological systems to sense and adapt to complex environmental conditions has inspired the design of next-generation electronics with advanced functionalities. This review focuses on emerging bio-inspired strategies for the development of flexible and stretchable electronics that can accommodate mechanical deformations and integrate seamlessly with biological systems. We will provide an overview of the practical considerations in the materials and structure designs of flexible and stretchable electronics. Recent progress in bio-inspired pressure/strain sensors, stretchable electrodes, mesh electronics, and flexible energy devices are then discussed, with an emphasis on their unconventional micro/nanostructure designs and advanced functionalities. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives are identified and discussed.
Two-dimensional nanosheet membranes with responsive nanochannels are appealing for controlled mass transfer/separation, but limited by everchanging thicknesses arising from unstable interfaces. Herein, an interfacially stable, thermo-responsive nanosheet membrane is assembled from twin-chain stabilized metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets, which function via two cyclic amide-bearing polymers, thermo-responsive poly(N-vinyl caprolactam) (PVCL) for adjusting channel size, and non-responsive polyvinylpyrrolidone for supporting constant interlayer distance. Owing to the microporosity of MOF nanosheets and controllable interface wettability, the hybrid membrane demonstrates both superior separation performance and stable thermo-responsiveness. Scattering and correlation spectroscopic analyses further corroborate the respective roles of the two polymers and reveal the microenvironment changes of nanochannels are motivated by the dehydration of PVCL chains.
Nanoparticles (NPs) which are innovation and research focus in drug delivery systems, still have some disadvantages limiting its application in clinical use, such as short circulation time, recognition and clearance by reticuloendothelial system (RES) and passive targeting in certain organs. However, the recent combination of natural components and nanotechnology has offered new solutions to address these problems. A novel biomimetic platform consisting of nanoparticle core and membrane shell, such as cell membrane, exosome or vesicle vastly improves properties of nanoparticles. These coated nanoparticles can replicate the unique functions of the membrane, such as prolonged blood circulation, active targeting capability and enhanced internalization. In this review, we focus on the newest development of biological-camouflaged nanoparticles and mainly introduce its application related to cancer therapy and toll-like receptor.
Ocular drug delivery remains a significant challenge that is limited by poor corneal retention and permeation, resulting in low ocular bioavailability (< 5%). Worse still, the most convenient and safe route of ocular drug administration, topical administration results in a drug bioavailability of less than 1%. iRGD modified drug delivery strategies have been developed for cancer therapy, however active targeting iRGD platforms for ocular drug delivery have yet to be explored. Herein, an iRGD modified liposomes was developed for ocular drug delivery via topical administration. The results indicated that iRGD modified liposomes could prolong the corneal retention time and enhance corneal permeability in an iRGD receptor mediated manner. These findings provided a novel strategy for topical ocular drug delivery for the treatment of posterior ocular diseases.
Oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)s (OPEs) end-capped with (alkynyl)bis(diphosphine)ruthenium and thiol/thiolate groups stabilize ca. 2 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The morphology, elemental composition and stability of the resultant organometallic OPE/AuNP hybrid materials have been defined using a combination of molecular- and nano-material chacterization techniques. The hybrids display long-term stability in solution (more than a month), good solubility in organic solvents, reversible ruthenium-centered oxidation, and transparency beyond 800 nm, and possess very strong nonlinear absorption activity at the first biological window, and unprecedented two-photon absorption activity in the second biological window (σ2 up to 38,000 GM at 1,050 nm).
DNA is a self-assembled, double stranded natural molecule that can chelate and align nickel ions between its base pairs. The fabrication of a DNA-guided nickel ion chain (Ni-DNA) device was successful, as indicated by the conducting currents exhibiting a Ni ion redox reaction-driven negative differential resistance effect, a property unique to mem-elements (1). The redox state of nickel ions in the Ni-DNA device is programmable by applying an external bias with different polarities and writing times (2). The multiple states of Ni-DNA-based memristive and memcapacitive systems were characterized (3). As such, the development of Ni-DNA nanowire device-based circuits in the near future is proposed.
Atomic non-noble metal materials show the potential to substitute noble metals in catalysis. Herein, melamine formaldehyde resin is developed to synthesize atomic iron on mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon. The triazine units with abundant nitrogen content and cavity can realize effectively anchoring of single metal atoms. The atomic iron with unique charge and coordination characteristics shows superior catalytic performance in dehydrogenation reaction. Various N-heterocycles compounds and amines can be efficiently dehydrogenated into the corresponding products at room temperature, which is the mildest of all reported reaction conditions even when noble metal catalysts are considered. Therefore, development of atomic non-noble metal catalysts with mesoporous structure may provide an effective way to realize the substitution for noble metals in heterogeneous catalysis.
A diverse range of remarkable boron nitride (BN) nanostructures subsuming nano-horns, nano-rods, nano-platelets, and clusters of hollow nanospheres (nano-onions, arguably of greatest applied and fundamental interest) have been produced exclusively from crystalline BN precursor powder via lamp ablation. The procedure is safe, devoid of toxic reagents, simple, rapid and scalable—generating some genres of nanoparticles that had previously proved elusive. Product structure and composition were unambiguously assessed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy.
We present a new scheme for visibly-opaque but near-infrared-transmitting filters involving 7 layers based on one-dimensional ternary photonic crystals, with capabilities in reaching nearly 100% transmission efficiency in the near-infrared region. Different decorative reflection colors can be created by adding additional three layers while maintaining the near-infrared transmission performance. In addition, our proposed structural colors show great angular insensitivity up to ±60° for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations, which are highly desired in various fields. The facile strategy described here involves a simple deposition method for the fabrication, thereby having great potential in diverse applications such as image sensors, anti-counterfeit tag, and optical measurement systems.
The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) as an energy-efficient approach for ammonia synthesis is hampered by the low ammonia yield and ambiguous reaction mechanism. Herein, phosphorus-doped carbon nanotube (P-CNTs) is developed as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for NRR with a remarkable NH3 yield of 24.4 μg·h−1·mg−1cat. and partial current density of 0.61 mA·cm−2. Such superior activity is found to be from P doping and highly conjugated CNTs substrate. Experimental and theoretical investigations discover that the electron-deficient phosphorus sites with Lewis acidity should be genuine active sites and NRR on P-CNTs follows the distal pathway. These findings provide insightful understanding on NRR processes on P-CNTs, opening up opportunities for the rational design of highly-active cost-effective metal-free catalysts for electrochemical ammonia synthesis.
The development of high-efficiency peroxidase mimetics is highly desirable in view of high cost and low stability of natural enzymes. From the perspective of mimicking active site microenvironment at low cost, we herein report a novel histidine-functionalized graphene quantum dot (His-GQD)/hemin complex, which exhibits the highest catalytic rate for the peroxidase-based chromogenic reaction among the hemin-containing mimetics reported so far. Also, our peroxidase mimetic shows excellent tolerance to strongly acidic conditions and can function in a wide temperature range. Lineweaver-Burk plots and comprehensive electron paramagnetic resonance analysis reveal a ping-pong type catalytic mechanism for this mimetic. In addition, His-GQD/hemin demonstrates high efficiency and accuracy in detecting H2O2 and blood glucose. Our work provides an effective design of artificial enzymes for practical applications.
The rapid development of solar cells based on lead halide perovskites (LHPs) has prompted very active research activities in other closely-related fields. Colloidal nanostructures of such materials display superior optoelectronic properties. Especially, one-dimensional (1D) LHPs nanowires show anisotropic optical properties when they are highly oriented. However, the ionic nature makes them very sensitive to external environment, limiting their large scale practical applications. Here, we introduce an amphiphilic block copolymer, polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-P4VP), to chemically modify the surface of colloidal CsPbBr3 nanowires. The resulting core-shell nanowires show enhanced photoluminescent emission and good colloidal stability against water. Taking advantage of the stability enhancement, we further applied a modified Langmuir-Blodgett technique to assemble monolayers of highly aligned nanowires, and studied their anisotropic optical properties.
Over the past decade, numerous studies have attempted to enhance the effectiveness of radiotherapy (external beam radiotherapy and internal radioisotope therapy) for cancer treatment. However, the low radiation absorption coefficient and radiation resistance of tumors remain major critical challenges for radiotherapy in the clinic. With the development of nanomedicine, nanomaterials in combination with radiotherapy offer the possibility to improve the efficiency of radiotherapy in tumors. Nanomaterials act not only as radiosensitizers to enhance radiation energy, but also as nanocarriers to deliver therapeutic units in combating radiation resistance. In this review, we discuss opportunities for a synergistic cancer therapy by combining radiotherapy based on nanomaterials designed for chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, gas therapy, genetic therapy, and immunotherapy. We highlight how nanomaterials can be utilized to amplify antitumor radiation responses and describe cooperative enhancement interactions among these synergistic therapies. Moreover, the potential challenges and future prospects of radio-based nanomedicine to maximize their synergistic efficiency for cancer treatment are identified.
Effective strategies in cardiac tissue engineering require matrices that recapitulate the mechanical, topographic and electrical cues present in the native extracellular matrix. In this review, we discuss recent efforts in materials science and nanotechnology to achieve functional three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds that modulate and monitor cardiac tissue function. We consider key design considerations, including choice of biopolymer matrix, cell sources, and delivery methods for eventual therapies. We then discuss how solid-state nanomaterials may be integrated within these systems to provide unique electrical and nanotopographic cues that improve electromechanical synchrony. We describe how these approaches may be extended to complex, spatially heterogeneous constructs using 3D bioprinting techniques. Finally, we describe how scaffold materials may be augmented with bioelectronic components to achieve hybrid myocardium that monitors or controls electrophysiological activity. Collectively, these approaches provide a framework for achieving cardiac tissues with tunable, rationally-designed functionalities. We discuss future prospects and remaining challenges for clinical translation.
DNA-based nanofabrication of inorganic nanostructures has potential application in electronics, catalysis, and plasmonics. Previous DNA metallization has generated conductive DNA-assembled nanostructures; however, the use of semiconductors and the development of well-connected nanoscale metal—semiconductor junctions on DNA nanostructures are still at an early stage. Herein, we report the first fabrication of multiple electrically connected metal—semiconductor junctions on individual DNA origami by location-specific binding of gold and tellurium nanorods. Nanorod attachment to DNA origami was via DNA hybridization for Au and by electrostatic interaction for Te. Electroless gold plating was used to create nanoscale metal—semiconductor interfaces by filling the gaps between Au and Te nanorods. Two-point electrical characterization indicated that the Au—Te—Au junctions were electrically connected, with current—voltage properties consistent with a Schottky junction. DNA-based nanofabrication of metal—semiconductor junctions opens up potential opportunities in nanoelectronics, demonstrating the power of this bottom-up approach.
With the slowing down of the Moore’s law and fundamental limitations due to the von-Neumann bottleneck, continued improvements in computing hardware performance become increasingly more challenging. Resistive switching (RS) devices are being extensively studied as promising candidates for next generation memory and computing applications due to their fast switching speed, excellent endurance and retention, and scaling and three-dimensional (3D) stacking capability. In particular, RS devices offer the potential to natively emulate the functions and structures of synapses and neurons, allowing them to efficiently implement neural networks (NNs) and other in-memory computing systems for data intensive applications such as machine learning tasks. In this review, we will examine the mechanisms of RS effects and discuss recent progresses in the application of RS devices for memory, deep learning accelerator, and more faithful brain-inspired computing tasks. Challenges and possible solutions at the device, algorithm, and system levels will also be discussed.