Nanoscale Horizons最新文献

Lipid nanoparticles are a burgeoning technology which has vast potential to improve chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy. This focused review provides an overview of CAR T cell therapy – highlighting its promises, limitations, and challenges – and describes ways in which lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) can be rationally designed to circumvent some of the challenges. Of particular note are antigen presenting cell-mimetic LNPs, which have the potential to streamline the CAR T cell production process by activating T cells and delivering the CAR transgene in a single step. Although the current clinical standard is ex vivo CAR T cell production, in vivo CAR T cell production represents a potentially transformative alternative. Recent innovations in each production method are described, with a particular emphasis on ways in which LNPs may enable in vivo CAR T cell production. The review concludes with a discussion of safety, immunogenicity, scalability, manufacturing, and regulatory factors which will be essential as LNP-based CAR T cell immunotherapies move toward clinical translation.

Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) have emerged as promising materials for optoelectronic applications, yet gaining control over their structural and electronic tunability remains a key challenge. In this study, we introduce 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DBCz) as a novel electroactive organic cation that enables the formation of two distinct low-dimensional hybrid metal halides: a conventional 2D perovskite structure, (DBCz)₂PbI₄, and a previously unreported layered perovskite analogue structure with edge-sharing octahedra, DBCzPbI₃. The edge-sharing phase represents a new structural motif within the hybrid metal halide family. Both materials exhibit a type-II band alignment, facilitating ultrafast photoinduced hole transfer from the inorganic to the organic layer. Using transient absorption spectroscopy, we identify the formation of DBCz-based hole polarons in both phases, and uniquely observe the charge-transfer-induced formation of triplet states and room-temperature coherent phonons for the perovskite analogue phase. These findings highlight the role of molecular design in controlling excited-state dynamics and exciton–lattice interactions in hybrid metal halides.

Correction for ‘Ultrathin DNA–copper nanosheets with antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity for treatment of infected wounds’ by Fangfang Chen et al., Nanoscale Horiz., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh00257e.

Several types of nanocellulose-derived carbon/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites are synthesized using three nanocellulose types: cellulose nanofibers (CNF), long cellulose nanocrystals (CNC-L), and short cellulose nanocrystals (CNC-S). The nanocomposites achieve a large surface area due to the small nanocellulose fibers acting as spacers. For the capacitive deionization (CDI) test, the CNC-L/rGO is selected and compared with the rGO prepared without nanocelluloses. It achieves a high sodium ion adsorption capacity of 45.67 mg g⁻¹ and a high salt adsorption capacity of 57.08 mg g⁻¹ at a NaCl concentration of 2000 mg L⁻¹. Excellent stability and performance are also confirmed across varying saline concentrations. These outstanding properties make the CNC-L/rGO a promising electrode material for efficient and sustainable water desalination.

Developing efficient and environmentally benign approaches for the remediation of antibiotic pollutants has become a paramount research imperative, since the extensive use of antibiotics has raised serious concerns due to their potential to induce antibiotic resistance and disrupt the ecological balance. In this work, we report the self-assembly of fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl-lysine (Fmoc-K) aggregates with natural calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) and Cu²⁺ to construct a catalyst that possesses copper-dependent active sites, mirroring the catalytic function of laccase, an oxidase known for its ability to degrade phenolic antibiotics. Structural characterization, including circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), indicates the association of Fmoc-K with DNA components, facilitating the coordination of Cu²⁺ to both. Kinetic studies revealed that the Fmoc-K/CT-DNA/Cu²⁺ complex exhibited over 13-fold higher catalytic efficiency than either CT-DNA/Cu²⁺ or Fmoc-K/Cu²⁺ alone. Notably, CT-DNA not only serves as a structural scaffold but also promotes the access of antibiotic substrates (including doxorubicin and tetracycline) to the copper center due to its binding affinity for these antibiotics, thereby facilitating efficient oxidative degradation. This work offers a promising strategy for constructing high-performance, environmentally responsive metalloenzyme mimics for pollutant remediation.

We all know the adage: work smarter, not harder. Yet, there are times when making things harder—deliberately—can be unexpectedly rewarding. In this reflection, we revisit our study published ten years ago in the inaugural issue of Nanoscale Horizons, where we showed—through simulations and analytical theory—that introducing obstacles in charging microporous electrodes can paradoxically enhance energy storage and break the conventional trade-off between stored energy density and charging speed in electrical double-layer capacitors (S. Kondrat and A. A. Kornyshev, Nanoscale Horiz., 2016, 1, 45–52, https://doi.org/10.1039/C5NH00004A). Herein, we reflect on those original findings and present further examples of the broader principle: that under certain conditions, hindering charging can lead to greater energy storage in systems with low-dimensional (microporous) electrode materials.

We hypothesise that the recent discovery of nanodomains at the air–water interface can be leveraged to nano-functionalize surfaces through casting with incorporated functional species. The interfacial self-assembly of the amphiphilic molecules, 18-methyleicosanoic acid 18-MEA and 4-(tetradecyl)benzene diazonium tetrafluoroborate TDDS, at the air–water interface and cast on silicon wafer has been investigated using Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) techniques and atomic force microscopy. The impact of composition and surface pressure (SP) on the formation of nanodomains and microstructures was examined. TDDS (which can be used to modify the electronic structure of graphene) behaves as a co-surfactant in the 18-MEA film at low concentrations, facilitating the formation of homogeneous nanodomains with functional capacity. At higher TDDS concentrations, there is evidence for phase separation in the domains, and the TDDS furthermore partitions to the aqueous phase at higher pressures. By manipulating the 18-MEA:TDDS ratio and SP, regular nano-patterns can be transitioned into novel 2D structures reminiscent of 3D water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) analogues (“cookie systems”), offering a versatile strategy for designing nanoarchitectures with potential applications in graphene patterning.

Topotaxy of 2D materials by reacting a van der Waals-material with a transition metal is a potential approach for accessing compositional 2D variants. Here, the synthesis of a 2D-NiPtTe₂ alloy is demonstrated by incorporating Ni into PtTe₂. The Pt-telluride system exhibits two 2D phases, a di-telluride (PtTe₂) and mono-telluride (Pt₂Te₂). By reacting PtTe₂ with Ni the system transforms into a NiPtTe₂, i.e. the monotelluride phase with two transition metals per unit cell in an ordered alloy structure. The samples are grown by molecular beam epitaxy and characterized by low energy electron diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy. Studies are performed on both multilayer PtTe₂ films as well as monolayer samples. On multilayers the transformation is more complex and different phases can coexist. In monolayers a phase separation into pure PtTe₂ and the Ni-modified NiPtTe₂ phase is observed, indicating that both are low energy configurations. The formation energy of various structures with different Ni-composition is also evaluated by density functional theory calculations confirming that the mixed NiPtTe₂ phase is favored over other configurations, particularly the intercalation of Ni in between PtTe₂ layers is shown to be less favorable.

Cellulose and chitin nanomaterials are promising sustainable materials that exhibit attractive mechanical, optical, thermal, and chemical properties. Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) have found applications to the field of packaging, reinforced composite or biomedical applications. Introducing charged functional groups onto these nanomaterials is a proven strategy to improve their dispersibility and processability, as well as their properties, such as adsorption capacity. The use of high energy defibrillators has remained necessary to access CNFs despite the introduction of surface charges prior to increase the efficiency of nanomaterial extraction. To date, there is no known synthesis of cationic CNFs (CCNFs) that is both energy efficient in the defibrillation, and chemically efficient in material modification. Herein we report a strategy to access CCNFs directly from once-dried wood pulp through mechanochemical and aging-based nucleophilic substitution, followed by a short sonication. This treatment introduces pH-responsive cationic diethylethylamine (DEEA) groups with a degree of substitution (DS) as high as 0.80 (amine content of 3.29 mmol g⁻¹) without the use of excess reagents. The combination of short mechanochemical treatment (10 min), with aging (3 h) and sonication (5 min) allows rapid access to high quality, 2-nm-wide, 1-μm-long CCNFs with high crystallinity of 56.6% and high ζ-potential of 68.10 ± 1.43 mV from sheets of pulp. The method was also applied to powder microcrystalline cellulose and chitin, to afford cationic nanocrystals of cellulose and chitin.

The strategic integration of anisotropic plasmonic nanostructures with two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors presents an emerging route for designing multifunctional hybrid systems with advanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) capabilities. In this work, we report the synthesis of a core–shell nanohybrid, Au nanobipyramid@MoS₂ (AuNBP@MoS₂), wherein gold nanobipyramids are uniformly encapsulated by few-layer MoS₂ nanosheets. This architecture promotes direct plasmon–semiconductor coupling under 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) excitation, enabling efficient hot electron generation, enhanced interfacial charge separation, and photothermal-assisted transport via localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). When immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode (AuNBP@MoS₂/GC), the hybrid device delivers exceptional PEC performance for both nonenzymatic biosensing and electrocatalysis. The sensor exhibits ultrasensitive detection of H₂O₂ and glucose with wide linear ranges (10 μM–30 mM and 100 μM–8 mM), low detection limits (7.25 μM and 5.95 μM), and high sensitivities (376.86 and 23.42 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²), accompanied by ∼11-fold photocurrent enhancement under LSPR. It further enables selective HeLa cancer cell detection via biomarker-triggered H₂O₂ release. In electrocatalysis, the hybrid electrode exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity, with a low onset potential (−0.18 V vs. RHE), an overpotential of −0.32 V at 10 mA cm⁻², and a Tafel slope of 92 mV dec⁻¹ under NIR illumination. Addition of ethanol as a sacrificial agent further reduces the overpotential to −0.316 V and enhances the exchange current density by ∼12-fold due to suppressed charge recombination and improved hot carrier utilization. Mechanistic investigations combining experimental and theoretical analyses attribute these enhancements to synergistic plasmonic effects, efficient hot electron injection, and photothermal contributions. This work underscores the immense potential of anisotropic plasmonic–semiconductor hybrids in driving next-generation technologies for biosensing, electrocatalysis, and sustainable energy applications.