Nanoscale Horizons最新文献

{"title":"AlphaFold 3 modeling of DNA nanomotifs: is it reliable?","authors":"Mauricio Cortes, Xindi Sun, Anusha, Emile Joseph Batchelder-Schwab, Jinyue Li, Naseem Siraj, Rishab Jampana, Yuchen Zhang, Yuntian Bai, Chengde Mao","doi":"10.1039/d5nh00059a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh00059a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Being able to accurately predict structures is highly desirable for nanoengineering with DNA and other biomolecules. The newly launched AlphaFold 3 (AF3) provides a potential platform for this purpose. In this work, we have used AF3 to model a list of commonly used DNA nanomotifs and compared the AF3 structures with the experimentally observed structures reported in the literature. For asymmetric motifs, AF3 structures are consistent with the experimental observations; but for symmetric motifs, AF3 structures are often substantially different from experimental observations. However, the fails can be rescued if the symmetric motifs are converted into corresponding asymmetric motifs by breaking DNA sequence symmetry while maintaining the backbone symmetry. This study suggests that while AF3 is immensely helpful, we as experimentalists should use it (as it currently stands) with caution. In addition, AF3 needs further development to incorporate the existing experimental data in the training dataset for AF3. At the current stage, a hybrid approach might be beneficial: theoretical modeling softwares calculate the detailed, 3D DNA structures based on secondary DNA structures inspired by experimental observations.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144148735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"TMB (TM = Cr, Fe) monolayers: a new type of room temperature antiferromagnetic topological nodal line semimetal.","authors":"Chenqian Yan, Yuqing Mao, Jie Li, Zijin Wang, Ailei He, Yuanyuan Duan, Xiuyun Zhang","doi":"10.1039/d5nh00224a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh00224a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Two-dimensional materials that combine magnetism and topology offer unique advantages in the fields of spintronics and quantum computing. However, the design of two-dimensional (2D) materials simultaneously integrating both properties remains a significant challenge. Through systematic first-principles calculations, we predict two highly stable two-dimensional transition metal borides (TMBs). Our results reveal that both structures are antiferromagnetic (AFM) Dirac nodal line semimetals (NLSMs) with multiple band crossings near the Fermi level. Under biaxial strain, FeB can be transformed into a ferromagnetic state under 2% tensile strain, which is further verified to possess Weyl nodal loops (Weyl NLs). This discovery provides novel insights for the regulation of magnetic topological materials and holds promising potential for applications in low-power-consumption spintronic devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144126346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PVP pre-intercalation engineering combined with the V⁴⁺/V⁵⁺ dual-valence modulation strategy for energy storage in aqueous zinc-ion batteries.","authors":"Wenhui Mi, Bosi Yin, Haixi Gu, Hanyu Wen, Zhibiao Wang, Hui Li, Ziqian Yuan, Siwen Zhang, Tianyi Ma","doi":"10.1039/d5nh00236b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh00236b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have become a potential energy storage technology due to their inherent safety, environmental compatibility, and cost-effectiveness. Vanadate compounds have demonstrated considerable potential for AZIB applications among various cathode materials. However, their practical implementation is significantly constrained by intrinsic limitations, including sluggish ion diffusion kinetics, structural instability, and vanadium framework collapse during cycling. To address these challenges, we developed a novel strategy involving polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) pre-intercalation into CaV₆O₁₆·3H₂O (CaVO), resulting in a phase transformation to Ca_0.24V₂O₅·H₂O (PVP-CaVO). The embedded PVP acts as a \"pillar\" between the interlayer spaces, stabilizing the structural stability and thereby enhancing cycling performance. Incorporating PVP introduces additional functional advantages through its amide groups, which possess strong polar characteristics. These groups serve as hydrogen bond acceptors, with nitrogen and oxygen atoms acting as coordination sites. This unique configuration facilitates chemical bond rearrangement and promotes partial reduction of vanadium from higher oxidation states (V⁵⁺) to lower ones (V⁴⁺), establishing a V⁴⁺/V⁵⁺ hybrid valence system. Such electronic structure modification not only enables multi-step redox reactions but also alleviates the strong polarization effect of Zn²⁺ ions. Benefiting from these synergistic effects, the PVP-CaVO cathode demonstrates remarkable electrochemical performance in AZIBs, delivering a specific capacity of 323 mA h g^-1 at 0.5 A g^-1 and maintaining a specific capacity of 169 mA h g^-1 at 10 A g^-1, coupled with excellent cycling stability. Comprehensive <i>ex situ</i> characterization studies further elucidated the energy storage processes, verifying a reversible Zn²⁺/H⁺ co-insertion mechanism. This innovative approach of structural and phase engineering through PVP intercalation provides a valuable approach for optimizing vanadate-based materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nucleation and arrangement of Abrikosov vortices in hybrid superconductor-ferromagnet nanostructures.","authors":"Sara Memarzadeh, Mateusz Gołębiewski, Maciej Krawczyk, Jarosław W Kłos","doi":"10.1039/d4nh00618f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4nh00618f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigates the nucleation, dynamics, and stationary configurations of Abrikosov vortices in hybrid superconductor-ferromagnet nanostructures subjected to inhomogeneous magnetic fields generated by a ferromagnetic nanodot. Employing the simulations based on time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau coupled with Maxwell's equations, we reveal the evolution of curved vortex structures that exhibit creep-like deformation before stabilizing. The interplay between vortices and currents confined within the superconducting nanoelement gives rise to unconventional stationary vortex arrangements, which evolve gradually with increasing magnetic field strength-a behavior absent in homogeneous fields. Our numerical results illustrate how the ferromagnetic element can control vortex configurations <i>via</i> a stray magnetic field-insights that are difficult to access experimentally or analytically. We demonstrate that the superconducting nanoelement can stabilize into distinct vortex states in response to even small system perturbations. This highlights the extreme sensitivity of the system and the richness of its dynamic behaviour, revealing complex pinning mechanisms and providing valuable insights into the optimisation of nanoscale superconducting systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144109173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"pH-Triggered delivery of pirarubicin-gemcitabine duo using polymeric nanoparticles for synergistic breast cancer therapy.","authors":"Priya Gupta, Harshdeep Kaur, Mohammad Anees, Sachchidanand Tiwari, Ankushi Bansal, Harpal Singh","doi":"10.1039/d4nh00654b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4nh00654b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Combination chemotherapy using nanocarriers presents a promising approach to overcome the restrictions associated with conventional chemotherapy, particularly by enhancing drug stability in the bloodstream, modulating pharmacokinetics to improve therapeutic efficacy and minimizing adverse side effects on the patient's health. In pursuit of an optical treatment approach for breast cancer, various chemotherapeutic drug combinations with advanced nanocarriers are being extensively explored. This study investigated the development of pirarubicin and gemcitabine co-loaded polymeric nanoparticles for synergistic activity against breast cancer cells. To enable sustained and site-specific delivery within the tumor microenvironment, both pirarubicin and gemcitabine were chemically conjugated to a polylactic acid-based block copolymer <i>via</i> a pH-responsive \"Schiff's base\" linkage. The synthesized polymer-drug conjugates were subsequently formulated into Pira-Gem co-loaded block copolymeric nanoparticles, demonstrating good stability and minimal toxicity towards non-cancerous cells. Pira-Gem co-loaded nanoparticles exhibited a significantly higher percentage of drug release under acidic pH conditions, (characteristic of tumor microenvironments) compared with physiological pH conditions. Furthermore, they showed superior cellular uptake on 2D adherent cancer cell lines relative to free drugs in <i>in vitro</i> studies. Both apoptotic analysis and cell proliferation inhibition studies revealed that the co-loaded nanoparticles exhibited a synergistic therapeutic effect across multiple breast cancer cell lines, surpassing the efficacy of Pira/Gem single drug-loaded nanoparticles and their free drug counterparts. These findings suggest that the Pira-Gem co-loaded nanoformulation holds considerable promise for breast cancer therapy and requires further exploration as a potential treatment strategy.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144109174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Layer-polarization-engineered ferroelectricity and anomalous valley hall effects in a van der Waals bilayer.","authors":"Nini Guo, Jie Li, Huijie Lian, Shu Wang, Yi Sun, Xiaojing Yao, Xiuyun Zhang","doi":"10.1039/d5nh00215j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh00215j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Layertronics, engineering the electronic properties through the layer degree of freedom, has attracted considerable attention due to its promising applications in next-generation spintronic technologies. Here, by coupling sliding ferroelectricity with A-type antiferromagnetism, we demonstrate a mechanism for layer-polarization-engineered electronic property through symmetry analysis based on the tight-binding (TB) model. It is found that breaking the inversion symmetry and time-inversion symmetry in the model gives rise to ferroelectricity and a layer-polarized anomalous valley Hall effect. Crucially, this valley polarization is ferroelectrically switchable, enabling non-volatile electrical control of the layer-resolved Berry curvature. Using first-principles calculations, this mechanism and phenomenon are verified in the multiferroic bilayer Janus RuClF. Our findings provide a promising platform for 2D bilayer materials, which hold great potential for applications in nanoelectronic and spintronic devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144109172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advancing green electronics: tunable piezoelectric enhancement in biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) PLLA films through thermal-strain engineering.","authors":"Youssif Merhi, Vincent Goumarre, Konstantin Romanyuk, Yasith Amarasinghe, Andrei Kholkin, Pernille Klarskov, Shweta Agarwala","doi":"10.1039/d5nh00142k","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh00142k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The rising interest in biodegradable polymers like PLLA is gaining attention for their potential in next-generation biomedical devices. One of the critical challenges in leveraging PLLA's full potential is enhancing its crystallinity, as it greatly influences mechanical, thermal, degradation, and piezoelectric properties, which are essential for various applications. Here, we use thermal annealing and strain engineering to transform the amorphous phase into a more ordered crystalline structure. Through various characterization techniques, we show that crystallinity increased progressively from 34.8% in unprocessed films to 57.4% at 100% strain. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy is employed to gain insights into the structural and dynamic properties where we study low-frequency molecular vibrations and anisotropic properties, enabling simultaneous evaluation of structural, such as crystallinity, and optical characteristics. Rotational analysis provides direct evidence of molecular orientation and birefringence induced by mechanical processing. These findings align strongly with the traditional characterization techniques (XRD, WAXS, DSC, and FTIR). Piezoresponse force microscopy shows that the VPFM signal increased from 0.65 ± 0.15 pm V^-1 in unprocessed films to 6.5 ± 1.5 pm V^-1 at 100% strain. The in-depth work is an important step in gaining a deeper understanding of how the crystalline regions form, evolve under different processing conditions, and influence PLLA's overall properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144092101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Superfluorescent upconversion nanoparticles as an emerging second generation quantum technology material.","authors":"Lewis E MacKenzie, Peter Kirton","doi":"10.1039/d4nh00651h","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d4nh00651h","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Superfluorescence (SF) in lanthanide doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) is a room-temperature quantum phenomenon, first discovered in 2022. In a SF process, the many emissive lanthanide ions within a single UCNP are coherently coupled by an ultra-short (ns or fs) high-power excitation laser pulse. This leads to a superposition of excited emissive states which decrease the emissive lifetime of the UCNP by a factor proportional to the square of the number of lanthanide ions which are coherently coupled. This results in a dramatic decrease in UCNP emission lifetime from the μs regime to the ns regime. Thus SF offers a tantalizing prospect to achieving superior upconversion photon flux in upconversion materials, with potential applications such as imaging and sensing. This perspective article contextualizes how SF-UCNPs can be regarded as a second generation quantum technology, and notes several challenges, opportunities, and open questions for the development of SF-UCNPs.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12087280/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144092104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"<i>Nanoscale Horizons</i> Emerging Investigator Series: Dr Mindaugas Juodėnas, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania.","authors":"","doi":"10.1039/d5nh90027a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh90027a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Our Emerging Investigator Series features exceptional work by early-career nanoscience and nanotechnology researchers. Read Mindaugas Juodėnas's Emerging Investigator Series article 'Lasing in an assembled array of silver nanocubes' (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NH00263F) and read more about him in the interview below.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144092098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent progress in the electrocatalytic applications of thiolate-protected metal nanoclusters.","authors":"Yuting Ye, Qing Tang","doi":"10.1039/d5nh00153f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nh00153f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ultrasmall metal nanoclusters (NCs) with atomic precision possess a size range between individual atoms and plasmonic nanomaterials. These atomically precise materials represent an emerging class of nanocatalysts, offering unique opportunities to explore electrocatalytic properties and establish precise structure-property correlations at the atomic scale. Among the large number of metal NCs that are stabilized by various ligands, thiolate-protected metal NCs are a particularly prominent class for electrocatalytic investigations. Recent experimental and theoretical studies have demonstrated the significant potential of these materials in enhancing various electrocatalytic reactions, including hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction and CO₂ reduction reactions. However, comprehensive and in-depth discussions regarding their catalytic properties, particularly from a theoretical standpoint, are limited and require further explorations. In this review, we focus on the recent progress in thiolate-protected metal NCs in the field of electrocatalysis. The influences of structure, ligand, doping and interface control on their electrocatalytic activity/selectivity and the reaction mechanisms are discussed. Importantly, the perspectives we propose regarding future research endeavors are expected to offer valuable references for subsequent investigations in this area.</p>","PeriodicalId":93,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144075110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}