nanotechnology research papers topics

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In our November 2024 issue

Programmable RNA condensates, DNA Computing, Thermal metasurfaces, Transition metal oxide cathodes, Coupled nanopores, the DELIVER framework—translating nanomedicines to the clinic and more...

Harnessing extracellular vesicle heterogeneity for diagnostic and therapeutic applications

This Review presents a path to strategically overcoming extracellular vesicle heterogeneity and assay standardization, and offers solutions for realizing the clinical translation of extracellular vesicles for diagnostics and nanotherapeutics.

• Randy P. Carney
• Rachel R. Mizenko
• Steven C. George

Designing nanotheranostics with machine learning

This Review explores how machine learning approaches can drive progress in nanotheranostics.

• Xiaoyuan Chen

A translational framework to DELIVER nanomedicines to the clinic

The authors propose a framework to be followed during preclinical investigation of nanomedicines to increase their translatability potential.

• Christine J. Allen
• Hélder A. Santos

Bottom-up synthetic immunology

This Perspective highlights bottom-up molecular engineering and modular nanobiotechnological approaches for developing effective immunotherapeutics and their potential in personalized medicine.

• Kerstin Göpfrich
• Michael Platten
• Oliver T. Fackler

Current issue

Silk protein connecting water and nanofabrication.

• Sunghwan Kim

DNA origami force probes illuminate T cell receptor forces at the immune synapse

• Tram Thi Hong Le
• Byoung Choul Kim

A photo-controlled charge regulator improves cancer theranostics

Bolometric detection of josephson radiation.

• Bayan Karimi
• Gorm Ole Steffensen
• Jukka P. Pekola

Announcements

Focus: 2D Semiconductors

Two-dimensional (2D) materials show great potential for pushing semiconductor device performance and functionality. In this Focus, we highlight advances in 2D semiconductors, leveraging nanoscale insights for materials growth, novel devices, boosted performance, and integrated systems.

Nature Conference: CO2 Conversion by Renewable Energy

Reducing atmospheric CO2 levels is one of the grand global challenges of our generation. This conference will bring together scientists and engineers, drawing inspiration from both physical and life sciences, with the shared goal of utilizing renewable energy and CO2 as feedstocks for a sustainable future. The sessions will range from fundamental mechanistic understanding to practical devices.

Nature Nano Talks

In 2020 and 2021, Nature Nanotechnology hosted several panel discussions on exciting topics in nanotechnology. See the recordings here.

Nature Nanotechnology is a Transformative Journal ; authors can publish using the traditional publishing route OR via immediate gold Open Access.

Our Open Access option complies with funder and institutional requirements .

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Latest Research articles

A cascade X-ray energy converting approach toward radio-afterglow cancer theranostics

Here, the authors present the design, molecular assembly and mechanistic insights into an organic, biomarker-activatable radiotheranostic nanoprobe for image-guided precision cancer radiotherapy with sensitivity up to a depth of 15 cm in thick tissues.

Layer-dependent evolution of electronic structures and correlations in rhombohedral multilayer graphene

By using scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, researchers observe layer-dependent electronic correlations in rhombohedral graphene multilayers at 77 K, revealing the layer-enhanced low-energy flat bands and interlayer interactions.

• Yue-Ying Zhou
• Long-Jing Yin

Full on-device manipulation of olefin metathesis for precise manufacturing

Single-molecule electrical detections clarify both productive and hidden degenerate pathways of ring-closing metathesis, and enable precise on-device synthesis of a single polymer with single-monomer-insertion-event resolution.

• Xuefeng Guo

Fully integrated multi-mode optoelectronic memristor array for diversified in-sensor computing

This study reports a fully integrated 128 × 8 optoelectronic memristor array with Si complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor circuits, featuring configurable multi-mode functionality. It demonstrates diversified in-sensor computing tasks and consumes 20 times less energy than GPUs.

• Xiangpeng Liang
• Huaqiang Wu

Engineering modular and tunable single-molecule sensors by decoupling sensing from signal output

The study presents a modular DNA origami-based single-molecule nanosensor that separates sensing from the signal output. It achieves high fluorescence resonance energy transfer contrast and enables tuning of the response window for improved sensor specificity, multiplexing and logic sensing.

• Lennart Grabenhorst
• Martina Pfeiffer
• Viktorija Glembockyte

Targeted intervention in nerve–cancer crosstalk enhances pancreatic cancer chemotherapy

This study presents the development of nanodrugs based on bacterial-derived outer membrane vesicles for targeted intervention in nerve–cancer crosstalk, which efficiently enhances pancreatic cancer chemotherapy.

• Jingjie Liu

Latest Reviews & Analysis

Organic radio-afterglow nanoprobes for cancer theranostics

Leveraging X-rays to induce prolonged luminescence (radio-afterglow) and radiodynamic effects from typically inorganic optical agents enables diagnosis and therapy at light-inaccessible tissue depths. Now, a cascade X-ray energy conversion approach is developed to increase the intrinsically low X-ray conversion efficiency of organic molecules for the construction of radio-afterglow nanoprobes for cancer theranostics.

Unravelling topological states in quantum spin chains

Scanning tunnelling microscopy experiments enable the realization of artificially built topological quantum magnets with titanium atoms and graphene goblets.

• Deung-Jang Choi
• Dario Bercioux

Small structural changes in siloxane-based lipidoids improve tissue-specific mRNA delivery

From a single library of siloxane-based lipidoids, siloxane-incorporated lipid nanoparticles (SiLNPs) involving minor alterations in lipid chemistry yield tissue-specific mRNA delivery to the liver, lung, or spleen. Upon enhanced intracellular delivery, these SiLNPs show clinical promise for protein replacement therapies, regenerative medicine, and CRISPR–Cas-based gene editing applications.

The amphiphilic silk fibroin is a natural surfactant. It influences interface interactions and enables wetting hydrophobic surfaces with aqueous solutions. This offers a sustainable route for fabricating water-processed nanodevices without prior surface modification.

Energy-efficient magnetization manipulation using picosecond current pulses

Playing electron ping-pong with the excited states of a single molecule.

• Harry Mönig

3D printed photonic crystals with a complete bandgap in the visible range

News & comment.

The climate crisis is a call for action for nanotechnology

The Nano4EARTH challenge, launched by the National Nanotechnology Initiative in the United States, has identified four strategic areas where nanotechnology can make the most impact in addressing the climate crisis.

Nanotechnology solutions for the climate crisis

Climate change is one of humankind’s biggest challenges, leading to more frequent and intense climate extremes, including heatwaves, wildfires, hurricanes, ocean acidification, and increased extinction rates. Nanotechnology already plays an important role in decarbonizing critical processes. Still, despite the technical advances seen in the last decades, the International Energy Agency has identified many sectors that are not on track to achieve the global climate mitigation goals by 2030. Here, a multi-stakeholder group of nanoscientists from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors discuss four high-potential application spaces where nanotechnologies could accelerate progress: batteries and energy storage; catalysis; coatings, lubricants, membranes, and other interface technology; and capture of greenhouse gases. This Comment highlights opportunities and current gaps for those working to minimize the climate crisis and provides a framework for the nanotechnology community to answer the call to action on this global issue.

• Maria Fernanda Campa
• Craig M. Brown
• James A. Warren

Nanomedicine pioneers awarded the Kavli Prize

The 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience is awarded to three nanomedicine pioneers who laid the foundation of controlled release, biomedical imaging and diagnostics.

Competing light extraction strategies in perovskite light-emitting diodes

Light extraction is a key factor determining the efficiency of light-emitting diodes. This becomes more pronounced in high-refractive-index perovskite light-emitting diodes according to the ray-optics model. Photon recycling and microcavity effect are important ways to break through the ray-optics efficiency limit. However, these two effects are competing, that is, strategies to optimize them are mutually exclusive. For a breakthrough in efficiency, we should favour one of them and inhibit the other.

• Guanding Mei
• Xiao Wei Sun

Reimagining computing with 2D semiconductors

We present a Focus issue on how the research community is continually pushing the device performance boundaries of 2D transistors and explore the pivotal role that these devices play in the future computing landscape.

The gap between academic research on proton exchange membrane water electrolysers and industrial demands

Driven by carbon neutral targets, proton exchange membrane water electrolysis is becoming a hot technology due to its capability to convert fluctuating power into green hydrogen. Unfortunately, despite tremendous resources invested in fundamental research, only very few research outcomes have successfully translated into the development of industrial-scale electrolysers.

• Hua Bing Tao
• Nanfeng Zheng

Trending - Altmetric

Synthetic syntrophy for adenine nucleotide cross-feeding between metabolically active nanoreactors

Mechanochemistry-mediated colloidal liquid metals for electronic device cooling at kilowatt levels

Viscous terahertz photoconductivity of hydrodynamic electrons in graphene

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Nanoscience and nanotechnology

Led by Nanoscale Research Letters, Nano-Micro Letters,  and Micro and Nano Systems Letters , our nano science journals offer homes for a wide range of nano science research and results. Ranging from the advanced imaging technologies and techniques underpinning nano science to nano biology, nano materials, and more, our journals include journals published with international partners as well as broad, comprehensive nano journals.

SpringerOpen celebrates National Nano Day 2017

We invite you to read our blog post about Nano Day; to listen to a mini-podcast from Wu Jiang, Deputy Editor of  Nanoscale Research Letters , and to visit the main Nano Day page at the National Nanotechnology Initiative . 

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Speed 34 days from submission to first decision 23 days from acceptance to publication

Citation Impact 1.039 - Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 0.862 - SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) 4.11 - CiteScore

Usage  30,869 downloads 884.0 Usage Factor

Social Media Impact 115 mentions

Speed 11 days from submission to first decision 14 days from acceptance to publication

Usage  24,294 downloads 886.0 Usage Factor

Social Media Impact 2 mentions

Speed 23 days from submission to first decision

Usage 125,300 downloads 736 Usage Factor 127 articles

Impact 4.849 2-year Impact Factor 3.641 5-year Impact Factor

Speed 29 days from submission to first decision 13 days from acceptance to publication

Usage  64,261 downloads 1076.5 Usage Factor

Social Media Impact 25 mentions

Nanoscale Research Letters

As a sample of what we publish, we’ve assembled a small selection of recent articles about TiO 2 here . 

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