Phys.org Nanotechnology

• Engineered magnetic films follow graphene's equations for massless electron waves

  The electronic and magnetic properties of two-dimensional materials both have strong potential for technological applications. Researchers have long assumed that they are distinct phenomena, but Illinois Grainger engineers have demonstrated that they share a mathematical language.

• Toward practical laser-driven light sails using photonic crystals

  Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. These devices use radiation pressure—the force exerted when light reflects from a surface—to generate thrust. When driven by a powerful laser, a light sail can accelerate continuously without onboard propellant, enabling faster travel across the solar system.

• Chemically tuning nanographene into topological spin chains and why the ends matter

  When most people hear "polymer," they think of plastics. In our group, polymerization is a way to line up identical molecules like beads on a string and let quantum mechanics take over. Put magnetic building blocks in a one-dimensional row and the chain can behave as a single quantum object. Even more intriguing, the chain can hide its most useful properties at its ends.

• Real-time imaging of microplastics in the body improves understanding of health risks

  Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic fragments with sizes ranging from millimeters (

• Tracing extracellular vesicles' journey from cancer cells to urine

  Cancer cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) can travel from distant tumors through the bloodstream and kidneys and be excreted into urine, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Using sophisticated molecular tagging systems in mouse models of brain, lung and pancreatic cancer, the researchers directly traced sEVs from tumors to urine. They also revealed that the kidney's glomerular cells actively transport sEVs across the filtration barrier, supporting their use in emerging urine-based cancer diagnostics.

• Antibacterial coatings with short-term effect may fail over longer periods of time

  Researchers from the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology of the University of Tartu have shown in a recently published study that antibacterial coatings which initially appear highly effective at destroying bacteria, may lose their performance over time. Therefore, long-term testing is essential for developing the best antibacterial materials. The article describing the results of the study, "Artificial aging induced changes in ZnO- and TiO₂-based polyacrylic surface coatings," was published in the journal npj Materials Degradation.

• Using individual atoms to achieve fossil-free chemistry

  Every chemical reaction faces a barrier: For substances to react with one another, it is first necessary to supply energy. In many cases, this energy barrier is low—such as when striking a match. For many key reactions in industry, however, it is much larger—and increased energy requirements drive up production costs. To lower this barrier, chemists use "reaction helpers" known as catalysts. The best of these substances contain metals—including, in some cases, rare metals.

• 'Nano-origami' reshapes liquid droplets into six-pointed stars

  For the first time, researchers in France and Israel have observed how an emulsified liquid droplet can transform from a hexagon into a six-pointed star shape in response to rising temperature. Publishing their results in Physical Review Letters, a team led by Eli Sloutskin at Bar-Ilan University has shed new light on the mechanisms underlying this striking behavior, revealing a previously unseen form of "nano-origami," that could inspire future generations of self-assembling nanostructures.

• Nanoparticle vaccine approach takes on a new target: Hepatitis C virus

  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects an estimated 50 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, and remains a leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. While antiviral drugs can cure most infections, global access remains limited and these drugs do not stop reinfection.

• New 4D-STEM method isolates atomic structures from clustered nanocrystals

  Scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a new way to determine atomic structures from nanocrystals previously considered unusable, a breakthrough that could transform how researchers study materials too small or imperfect for conventional crystallography.

• Poking a nanostring: Scientists uncover energy cascades in tiny resonators

  Scientists at TU Delft have designed a nanostring that, when poked, doesn't lose its energy to the environment immediately. Instead, the energy leaks out within the string, triggering a cascade of distinct vibrational modes. For the first time, researchers have observed this cascade reaching all the way up to the fifth mode, while only actuating the first mode.

• Intermediate phases unlock faster nanoparticle crystallization

  Crystalline nanomaterials are valuable because their highly ordered structures give them useful properties for technologies such as data storage and optical devices. But forming nanoparticles from those orderly crystals is difficult because, instead of snapping into place, the particles often get stuck in arrangements that never become the intended crystal.

• From hyperbolic in-plane anisotropy to an optical chirality: A new route to nanoscale circular polarizers

  In recent years, van der Waals crystals have evolved from scientific curiosities into a versatile platform for exploring novel quantum phases and unconventional nanophotonic phenomena. Their layered nature allows stacking, twisting and interfacing with a remarkable atomic precision, enabling previously inaccessible electronic, optoelectronic and photonic functionalities at the nanoscale.

• Tiny flows, big insights: Microfluidics system boosts super-resolution microscopy

  Understanding how cells are organized and how their molecular components interact in a coordinated and cooperative manner is a central goal of modern life sciences. To answer these questions, researchers need to observe many structures inside the same cell at once and map how they are arranged and interact. This requires "multiplexed super-resolution microscopy"—an advanced imaging approach that reveals cellular details far beyond the limits of conventional light microscopes.

• Physicists discover long-predicted 'clock magnetism' in an atomically thin crystal

  Strange things happen to materials when you peel them down, layer by layer, from thick chunks all the way to sheets just an atom thick. Reporting in the journal Nature Materials, a team led by physicists at The University of Texas at Austin has experimentally demonstrated a sequence of exotic magnetic phases in an ultrathin material that fully realizes, for the first time, a theoretical model of two-dimensional magnetism first proposed in the 1970s. The researchers say the advance might inspire new ultracompact technologies.

• New 2D membrane reactor improves photocatalytic synthesis

  Chinese researchers have developed a photocatalytic membrane reactor that dramatically improves the synthesis of imines—a class of compounds essential to the production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and advanced synthetic materials. Characterized by their C=N bond, imines are critical precursors in the synthesis of various high-value compounds, including oxaziridines, cucurbiturils, and quinolines. However, traditional imine synthesis methods rely on condensation reactions between amines and carbonyl compounds that often require dehydrating agents, strong acids, or costly catalysts, posing significant challenges for sustainable manufacturing.

• Ultrasound-activated 'nanoagents' kill superbugs hiding in biofilms

  Scientists have designed nanoagents that act like smart drug-delivery capsules—carrying an antibiotic deep into bacterial infection sites and releasing it only when activated by gentle ultrasound. Delivering antibiotics locally, directly to the site of an infection, is important, because treating the whole body with high doses increases the chances of bacteria developing resistance. Nanoagents can carry drugs straight to the infected area providing localized therapy with minimal amount of drug, reducing the risks of antibiotic resistance.

• Catching light in air: Programmable Mie voids boost light matter interaction

  Atomically thin semiconductors such as tungsten disulfide (WS2) are promising materials for future photonic technologies. Despite being only a single layer of atoms thick, they host tightly bound excitons—pairs of electrons and holes that interact strongly with light—and can efficiently generate new colors of light through nonlinear optical processes such as second-harmonic generation.

• Water interactions reveal how surface coatings reshape nanoparticle drug delivery

  Researchers at Arizona State University have uncovered a key scientific principle that governs how what's coated on the surfaces of engineered nanoparticles may ultimately control how they work in our bodies. In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team directly measured how water interactions influence nanoparticle biological performance.

• Nanoparticles and AI can help researchers detect pollutants in water, soil and blood

  Across the U.S., hundreds of sites on land or in lakes and rivers are heavily contaminated with hazardous waste produced by human activity. Many of these places, designated as Superfund sites by the Environmental Protection Agency, can be found in Houston, Texas, the city where my colleagues and I live and work.

• Drug discovery bottleneck? Cell-free platform screens peptides faster, even in harsh conditions

  Many biological functions are regulated by the switching on and off of mechanisms triggered by the matching of a keyhole (receptor) formed by a protein's three-dimensional structure and a molecule (ligand) that fits perfectly into it. If this keyhole deforms (protein mutation) or if a false key is created, biological functions become disrupted, leading to disease. Drug discovery research involves a process called screening to find compounds that fit into these receptor lock-and-key sites.

• Nanoparticle system shows promise for delivering mRNA to prevent type 1 diabetes

  Research on preventing type 1 diabetes often focuses on limiting the autoimmune response that destroys the body's ability to produce its own insulin. A new technology developed by scientists at the University of Chicago takes a different approach, centered on preserving insulin-producing beta cells by giving them the ability to protect themselves.

• Most lab testing quietly inflates 2D transistor performance, research reveals

  For nearly two decades, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have been studied as a complement or possible successor to silicon transistors, promising smaller, faster and more energy-efficient processors. To ease their production and testing process, much of the field has been benchmarking the potential of 2D semiconductors using an architecture that causes a phenomenon called "contact gating."

• Size-shifting nanoparticles successfully deliver mRNA medicine to the pancreas

  In recent years, mRNA in lipid nanoparticles (mRNA–LNPs) has emerged as a promising strategy for treating numerous conditions, including COVID-19, various cancers and chronic genetic disorders. To date, this technology has not been successfully used for pancreatic diseases, but that could be about to change. In a paper published in Nature, scientists from China report the development of a new lipid nanoparticle drug-delivery system specifically designed for the pancreas.

• Molecular map reveals Andes hantavirus entry protein at the nanoscale

  Hantaviruses, transmitted from rodents to people, have a death rate approaching 40%. They're found around the world, and because there are no approved vaccines or treatments, they're among the pathogens of highest concern for future pandemics. They made news in the United States in 2025 when Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, died from a hantavirus infection in New Mexico in March.