News & Views in 2023

Organic and inorganic nanoparticles have different clearance mechanisms from the brain resulting in different biological fates and retention times.

Electrochemical carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction in acid with a nano-structured tandem catalyst achieves high single-pass conversion efficiency and selectivity to useful C–C coupled products, bringing the process closer to commercial viability.

Conserved regions of the circular DNA sequence of the M13mp18 bacteriophage, which is used as a scaffold for DNA origami construction, are targeted with specific hybridization-chain-reaction probes. The probes enable sensitive detection of DNA origami nanostructures in cells, organoids and tissues to assess their biodistribution and stability.

A biohybrid, leaf-spring design of DNA origami functions as a pulsating nanoengine that exploits the DNA-templated RNA transcription mechanism while consuming nucleoside triphosphates as fuel. The nanoengine also drives a nanomechanical follower structure.

Directionality of nonlinear emission from a dielectric metasurface is controlled by fine-tuning the relative time delay and polarization of two pulsed pump beams.

Electric field tunable interlayer excitons in a van der Waals bilayer emit at an energy of twice the band gap.

Graphene multistacks with four or five layers show the signature of correlated electronic states both in and out of a magnetic field.

To determine the physiologically relevant oligomeric form of membrane proteins is extremely challenging. Now an elegant method of counting the oligomers in membrane proteins in near-native states is presented, using photobleaching and nanodiscs formed directly from cellular membranes.

A biohybrid nanoparticle formulation effectively treats rheumatoid arthritis by concurrently providing symptom relief and restoring proper immune function.

In a major advancement for synthetic biology, dynamin A has been identified as a minimal component enabling cell division in synthetic cells, moving us one step nearer to realizing the ambition of creating synthetic life forms.

The remarkable optical gain performance of bulk-size CdS colloidal nanocrystals shows promise for printable laser diodes.

Nanopore sequencing combined with DNA-barcoded probes enables multiplexed detection of diverse biomarkers in blood serum.

A modified nanopore enables enzyme-free threading of single polypeptides to detect post-translational modifications

Three-dimensional optical imaging during battery operation reveals lithium heterogeneity at multiple length scales, challenging the look-at-one-particle approach.

DNA-origami nanostructures self-assembled at milder physicochemical parameters in magnesium-free conditions achieve structural complexities akin to those formed by thermal annealing at elevated temperatures, and open a route to assembling DNA nanomachines in physiological conditions.

Terahertz emission spectroscopy reveals long-distance ballistic orbital-angular-momentum transport in tungsten.

By integrating a 3D nanopositioner with a solid-state nanopore and surface-tethered molecules, precise spatiotemporal control over single DNA strands is achieved, enabling numerous re-reads and raising the signal-to-noise ratio far beyond previous solid-state nanopore methods.

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