Nanoparticles: tech trends in healthcare

Nanotechnology is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for various purposes. Nanotechnology field of application is very much diverse which includes surface science, organic chemistry, molecular biology, semiconductor physics, energy storage, engineering, microfabrication, and molecular engineering. Its medical application ranges from biological devices, nano-electronic biosensors, and to future biological machines. The main issue nowadays for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials. Lot more functionalities can be added to nanomaterials by interfacing them with biological structures. The size of nanomaterials is similar most biological molecules and so useful for both in vivo and in vitro biomedical research and applications. The integration of nanomaterials with biology had paved path to the development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools, physical therapy applications and drug delivery vehicles.

Molecular Engineering of Polymyxin B for Imaging and Treatment of Bacterial Infections

The emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria and the lack of novel antibiotics to combat them have led to the revival of polymyxin B, a previously abandoned antibiotic due to its potential nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity. To facilitate its widely clinical applications, increasing effort has been devoted to molecularly engineer polymyxin B for the targeted imaging and effective treatment of bacterial infections. Herein, the molecular engineering strategies will be summarized in this mini review, with selected recent advances for illustration. Perspective of the challenges and trends in this exciting and eagerly anticipated research area will also be provided in the end. We hope this mini review will inspire researchers from diverse fields to bring forward the next wave of exploiting molecular engineering approaches to propel the “old” polymyxin B to “new” clinical significance in combating bacterial infections.

The bright future of nanotechnology in lymphatic system imaging and imaging-guided surgery

Lymphatic system is identified the second vascular system after the blood circulation in mammalian species, however the research on lymphatic system has long been hampered by the lack of comprehensive imaging modality. Nanomaterials have shown the potential to enhance the quality of lymphatic imaging due to the unparalleled advantages such as the specific passive targeting and efficient co-delivery of cocktail to peripheral lymphatic system, ease molecular engineering for precise active targeting and prolonged retention in the lymphatic system of interest. Multimodal lymphatic imaging based on nanotechnology provides a complementary means to understand the kinetics of lymphoid tissues and quantify its function. In this review, we introduce the established approaches of lymphatic imaging used in clinic and summarize their strengths and weaknesses, and list the critical influence factors on lymphatic imaging. Meanwhile, the recent developments in the field of pre-clinical lymphatic imaging are discussed to shed new lights on the design of new imaging agents, the improvement of delivery methods and imaging-guided surgery strategies. Graphical Abstract

Surface modification strategy based on molecular engineering of organic cation toward spectrally stable deep-blue emission perovskites

All-inorganic perovskites (AIP) with three primary colors emission are all-important for AIP application in many field. However, poor spectral stability seriously hinders the development of blue-emission AIP. Here, we achieved...

Molecular Engineering of Ruthenium-based Photosensitizers with Superior Photovoltaic Performance in DSSC: Novel N-Alkyl 2-Phenylindole-based Ancillary Ligands

In this work, we report the design and successful synthesis of two new heteroleptic polypyridyl Ru(II) complexes (SD-5 and SD-6), by incorporating hetero-aromatic electron-donating N-alkyl-2-phenylindole moieties into the ancillary ligand....

A rhythmically pulsing leaf-spring nanoengine that drives a passive follower

Molecular engineering seeks to create functional entities for the modular use in the bottom-up design of nanoassemblies that can perform complex tasks. Such systems require fuel-consuming nanomotors that can actively drive downstream passive followers. Most molecular motors are driven by Brownian motion, but the generated forces are scattered and insufficient for efficient transfer to passive second-tier components, which is why nanoscale driver-follower systems have not been realized. Here, we describe bottom-up construction of a DNA-nanomachine that engages in an active, autonomous and rhythmical pulsing motion of two rigid DNA-origami arms, driven by chemical energy. We show the straightforward coupling of the active nanomachine to a passive follower unit, to which it then transmits its own motion, thus constituting a genuine driver-follower pair. Our work introduces a versatile fuel-consuming nanomachine that can be coupled with passive modules in nanoassemblies, the function of which depends on downstream sequences of motion.

Recent Advances in Green-Solvent-Processable Organic Photovoltaics

Over the last four years, tremendous progress has occurred in the field of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and the champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) under AM1.5G conditions, as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is currently 18.2%. However, these champion state-of-the-art devices were fabricated at lab-scale using highly toxic halogenated solvents which are harmful to human health and to the environment. The transition of OPVs from the lab to large-scale production and commercialization requires the transition from halogenated-solvent-processing to green-solvent-processing without compromising the device’s performance. This review focuses on the most recent research efforts, performed since the year 2018 onwards, in the development of green-solvent-processable OPVs and discusses the three main strategies that are being pursued to achieve the proposed goal, namely, (i) molecular engineering of novel donors and acceptors, (ii) solvent selection, and (iii) nanoparticle ink technology.