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Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN, Wako-shi, Saitama, Japan.

Measurements of quantum systems inevitably involve disturbance in various forms. Within the limits imposed by quantum mechanics, there exists an ideal projective measurement that does not introduce a back action on the measured observable, known as a quantum non-demolition (QND) measurement. Here we demonstrate an all-electrical QND measurement of a single electron spin in a gate-defined quantum dot. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Nature Nanotechnology, .

In the version of this Research Highlight originally published, the text 'Now, Nishioka et al. have shown that carefully designed gemini amphiphiles can also form micelles' should have read 'Now, Nishioka et al. have shown that aromatic gemini amphiphiles can form monodisperse micelles'. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Laboratoire de Physique de l'École Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.

Recent advances in nanofluidics have allowed the exploration of ion transport down to molecular-scale confinement, yet artificial porins are still far from reaching the advanced functionalities of biological ion machinery. Achieving single ion transport that is tunable by an external gate-the ionic analogue of electronic Coulomb blockade-would open new avenues in this quest. However, an understanding of ionic Coulomb blockade beyond the electronic analogy is still lacking. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Department of Health Sciences & Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Water is a ubiquitous liquid with unique physicochemical properties, whose nature has shaped our planet and life as we know it. Water in restricted geometries has different properties than in bulk. Confinement can prevent low-temperature crystallization of the molecules into a hexagonal structure and thus create a state of amorphous water. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):299

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):306

Nature Nanotechnology, .

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):306

Nature Nanotechnology, .

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):306

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Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):306

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Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):300-301

Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Leipzig, Germany.

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):304-305

Center for Environmental Nanoscience and Risk, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):301-303

Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):307-308

Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 1. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Magnetic oxides exhibit rich fundamental physics and technologically desirable properties for spin-based memory, logic and signal transmission. Recently, spin-orbit-induced spin transport phenomena have been realized in insulating magnetic oxides by using proximate heavy metal layers such as platinum. In their metallic ferromagnet counterparts, such interfaces also give rise to a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction that can stabilize homochiral domain walls and skyrmions with efficient current-driven dynamics. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China.

In the version of this Article originally published, incorrect images were used for columns 4-6 in Fig. 4a. Also, the fluorescent scale of columns 1-3 was inconsistent with the others, and the scale bar was missing. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.

Acute myeloid leukaemia is a fatal disease for most patients. We have found that ferumoxytol (Feraheme), an FDA-approved iron oxide nanoparticle for iron deficiency treatment, demonstrates an anti-leukaemia effect in vitro and in vivo. Using leukaemia cell lines and primary acute myeloid leukaemia patient samples, we show that low expression of the iron exporter ferroportin results in a susceptibility of these cells via an increase in intracellular iron from ferumoxytol. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA.

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Institute of Nanoscience of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China.

Two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures assembled via van der Waals (vdW) interactions have sparked immense interest in fields from physics to electronics. Understanding the vdW interaction at these heterointerfaces is critical for the sophisticated construction and manipulation of these 2D heterostructures. However, previous experimental research has mainly focused on the interlayer interactions in homogeneous graphite crystals and the interactions between graphene and substrates. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Physics of Nanosystems, Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Until now, organic semiconductors have failed to achieve high performance in highly integrated, sub-100 nm transistors. Consequently, single-crystalline materials such as single-walled carbon nanotubes, MoS or inorganic semiconductors are the materials of choice at the nanoscale. Here we show, using a vertical field-effect transistor design with a channel length of only 40 nm and a footprint of 2 × 80 × 80 nm, that high electrical performance with organic polymers can be realized when using electrolyte gating. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Overcrowded alkene-based light-driven molecular motors are able to perform large-amplitude repetitive unidirectional rotations. Their behaviour is well understood in solution. However, Brownian motion precludes the precise positioning at the nanoscale needed to harness cooperative action. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 11. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, SUPA, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.

Gate-tunable quantum-mechanical tunnelling of particles between a quantum confined state and a nearby Fermi reservoir of delocalized states has underpinned many advances in spintronics and solid-state quantum optics. The prototypical example is a semiconductor quantum dot separated from a gated contact by a tunnel barrier. This enables Coulomb blockade, the phenomenon whereby electrons or holes can be loaded one-by-one into a quantum dot. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 11. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.

A variety of physical phenomena associated with nanoscale electron transport often results in non-trivial spatial voltage and current patterns, particularly in nonlocal transport regimes. While numerous techniques have been devised to image electron flows, the need remains for a nanoscale probe capable of simultaneously imaging current and voltage distributions with high sensitivity and minimal invasiveness, in a magnetic field, across a broad range of temperatures and beneath an insulating surface. Here we present a technique for spatially mapping electron flows based on a nanotube single-electron transistor, which achieves high sensitivity for both voltage and current imaging. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 11. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Electron spins in silicon quantum dots provide a promising route towards realizing the large number of coupled qubits required for a useful quantum processor. For the implementation of quantum algorithms and error detection, qubit measurements are ideally performed in a single shot, which is presently achieved using on-chip charge sensors, capacitively coupled to the quantum dots. However, as the number of qubits is increased, this approach becomes impractical due to the footprint and complexity of the charge sensors, combined with the required proximity to the quantum dots. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 11. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Department of Physics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Coulomb interactions are crucial in determining the ground state of an ideal two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the limit of low electron densities. In this regime, Coulomb interactions dominate over single-particle phase-space filling. In silicon and gallium arsenide, electrons are typically localized at these low densities. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar;14(3):194

Nature Nanotechnology, .

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar;14(3):194

Nature Nanotechnology, .

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar;14(3):194

Nature Nanotechnology, .

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar;14(3):194

Nature Nanotechnology, .

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar;14(3):193

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 5;14(3):208-216. Epub 2019 Mar 5.

University of Vienna, Research Platform Nano-Norms-Nature, Vienna, Austria.

The European Union (EU) has adopted nano-specific provisions for cosmetics, food and biocides, among others, which include binding definitions of the term "nanomaterial". Here we take an interdisciplinary approach to analyse the respective definitions from a legal and practical perspective. Our assessment reveals that the definitions contain several ill-defined terms such as "insoluble" or "characteristic properties" and/or are missing thresholds. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 5. Epub 2019 Mar 5.

Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.

The Supplementary Information originally published with this Article was an older version, in which 'IFN-γ' was misspelled 'INF-γ' in Supplementary Fig. 9 and the β-Actin blot in Supplementary Fig. 13 was the wrong image. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 4;14(4):369-378. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Developing molecular communication platforms based on orthogonal communication channels is a crucial step towards engineering artificial multicellular systems. Here, we present a general and scalable platform entitled 'biomolecular implementation of protocellular communication' (BIO-PC) to engineer distributed multichannel molecular communication between populations of non-lipid semipermeable microcapsules. Our method leverages the modularity and scalability of enzyme-free DNA strand-displacement circuits to develop protocellular consortia that can sense, process and respond to DNA-based messages. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 4. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Control and manipulation of single charges and their internal degrees of freedom, such as spin, may enable applications in quantum information technology, spintronics and quantum sensing. Recently, atomically thin semiconductors with a direct bandgap such as group VI-B transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers have emerged as a platform for valleytronics-the study of the valley degree of freedom of charge carriers to store and control information. They offer optical, magnetic and electrical control of the valley index, which, with the spin, is locked into a robust spin-valley index. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 4. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.

In photoacoustic imaging, the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window is where tissue generates the least background signal. However, the large size of the few available contrast agents in this spectral range impedes their pharmacokinetics and decreases their thermal stability, leading to unreliable photoacoustic imaging. Here, we report the synthesis of miniaturized gold nanorods absorbing in the NIR-II that are 5-11 times smaller than regular-sized gold nanorods with a similar aspect ratio. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 4. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Electron microscopy has been instrumental in our understanding of complex biological systems. Although electron microscopy reveals cellular morphology with nanoscale resolution, it does not provide information on the location of different types of proteins. An electron-microscopy-based bioimaging technology capable of localizing individual proteins and resolving protein-protein interactions with respect to cellular ultrastructure would provide important insights into the molecular biology of a cell. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 4. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

Institute for Quantum Computing and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with peak efficiencies above 90% and unrivalled timing jitter (<30 ps) have emerged as a potent technology for quantum information and sensing applications. However, their high cost and cryogenic operation limit their widespread applicability. Here, we present an approach using tapered InP nanowire p-n junction arrays for high-efficiency, broadband and high-speed photodetection without the need for cryogenic cooling. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Feb 25. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Plant genetic engineering is an important tool used in current efforts in crop improvement, pharmaceutical product biosynthesis and sustainable agriculture. However, conventional genetic engineering techniques target the nuclear genome, prompting concerns about the proliferation of foreign genes to weedy relatives. Chloroplast transformation does not have this limitation, since the plastid genome is maternally inherited in most plants, motivating the need for organelle-specific and selective nanocarriers. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Feb 25. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.

Genetic engineering of plants is at the core of sustainability efforts, natural product synthesis and crop engineering. The plant cell wall is a barrier that limits the ease and throughput of exogenous biomolecule delivery to plants. Current delivery methods either suffer from host-range limitations, low transformation efficiencies, tissue damage or unavoidable DNA integration into the host genome. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 25;14(4):388-397. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.

TP53 is the most frequently mutated or deleted gene in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Both the loss of TP53 and the lack of targeted therapy are significantly correlated with poor clinical outcomes, making TNBC the only type of breast cancer that has no approved targeted therapies. Through in silico analysis, we identified POLR2A in the TP53-neighbouring region as a collateral vulnerability target in TNBC tumours, suggesting that its inhibition via small interfering RNA (siRNA) may be an amenable approach for TNBC targeted treatment. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 25;14(4):354-361. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, College of Engineering and BIC-ESAT, Peking University, Beijing, China.

The hydrogenation activity of noble metal, especially platinum (Pt), catalysts can be easily inhibited by the presence of a trace amount of carbon monoxide (CO) in the reaction feeds. Developing CO-resistant hydrogenation catalysts with both high activity and selectivity is of great economic interest for industry as it allows the use of cheap crude hydrogen and avoids costly product separation. Here we show that atomically dispersed Pt over α-molybdenum carbide (α-MoC) constitutes a highly CO-resistant catalyst for the chemoselective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene derivatives. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 25;14(4):328-333. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany.

Spin waves offer intriguing perspectives for computing and signal processing, because their damping can be lower than the ohmic losses in conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. Magnetic domain walls show considerable potential as magnonic waveguides for on-chip control of the spatial extent and propagation of spin waves. However, low-loss guidance of spin waves with nanoscale wavelengths and around angled tracks remains to be shown. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):398

Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

In the Supplementary Information file originally published with this Article, the Supplementary references 48-62 were missing; the amended file has now been uploaded. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):398

Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices Laboratory, Institute of Materials, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.

In the version of this Article originally published, the volume, article number and year of ref. 32 were incorrect; they should have read 31, 1802348 (2019). This has now been corrected. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr;14(4):311-312

University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 18;14(4):340-346. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Center for Nanostructured Graphene, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.

Two-dimensional materials such as graphene allow direct access to the entirety of atoms constituting the crystal. While this makes shaping by lithography particularly attractive as a tool for band structure engineering through quantum confinement effects, edge disorder and contamination have so far limited progress towards experimental realization. Here, we define a superlattice in graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride, by etching an array of holes through the heterostructure with minimum feature sizes of 12-15 nm. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 18;14(3):200-207. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA.

Batteries have shaped much of our modern world. This success is the result of intense collaboration between academia and industry over the past several decades, culminating with the advent of and improvements in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. As applications become more demanding, there is the risk that stunted growth in the performance of commercial batteries will slow the adoption of important technologies such as electric vehicles. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 18;14(4):334-339. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Kavli Nanoscience Institute and Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.

Recent technical developments in the fields of quantum electromechanics and optomechanics have spawned nanoscale mechanical transducers with the sensitivity to measure mechanical displacements at the femtometre scale and the ability to convert electromagnetic signals at the single photon level. A key challenge in this field is obtaining strong coupling between motion and electromagnetic fields without adding additional decoherence. Here we present an electromechanical transducer that integrates a high-frequency (0. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Mar 18;14(3):245-251. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

Highly active metal nanoparticles are desired to serve in high-temperature electrocatalysis, for example, in solid oxide electrochemical cells. Unfortunately, the low thermal stability of nanosized particles and the sophisticated interface requirement for electrode structures to support concurrent ionic and electronic transport make it hard to identify the exact catalytic role of nanoparticles embedded within complex electrode architectures. Here we present an accurate analysis of the reactivity of oxide electrodes boosted by metal nanoparticles, where all particles participate in the reaction. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2019 Apr 18;14(4):347-353. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, Strasbourg, France.

Organic light-emitting transistors are pivotal components for emerging opto- and nanoelectronics applications, such as logic circuitries and smart displays. Within this technology sector, the integration of multiple functionalities in a single electronic device remains the key challenge. Here we show optically switchable organic light-emitting transistors fabricated through a judicious combination of light-emitting semiconductors and photochromic molecules. Read More