Search

Metamaterials are emerging as an unconventional platform to perform computing abstractions in physical systems by processing environmental stimuli into information. While computation functions have been demonstrated in mechanical systems, they rely on compliant mechanisms to achieve predefined states, which impose inherent design restrictions that limit their miniaturization, deployment, reconfigurability, and functionality. Here, a metamaterial system is described based on responsive magnetoactive Janus particle (MAJP) swarms with multiple programmable functions. MAJPs are designed with tunable structure and properties in mind, that is, encoded swarming behavior and fully reversible switching mechanisms, to enable programmable dynamic display, non-volatile and semi-volatile memory, Boolean logic, and information encryption functions in soft, wearable devices. MAJPs and their unique swarming behavior open new functions for the design of multifunctional and reconfigurable display devices, and constitute a promising building block to develop the next generation of soft physical computing devices, with growing applications in security, defense, anti-counterfeiting, camouflage, soft robotics, and human-robot interaction., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Materials published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Protein nanoparticles are an attractive class of materials for nanomedicine applications due to the intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability, and intrinsic functionality of their constituent proteins. Despite the clinical success of select protein nanoparticles, this class of nanocarriers remains understudied and underdeveloped compared to lipid and polymer nanoparticles due to challenges related to formulation optimization, large design space, and their structural complexity. In this work, a modular strategy for protein nanoparticle preparation based on the concept of photoreactive jetting is introduced. The process relies on continuous ultraviolet irradiation during electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jetting of protein solutions that contain a homobifunctional photocrosslinker. Protein nanoparticles exhibit nanogel-like architectures comprised of proteins that are linked via synthetic moieties. Compared to conventional protein nanoparticles, this method reduces nanoparticle processing times to minutes, rather than hours to days. The inclusion of an emissive structural motif as the molecular scaffold of the photocrosslinker is used to study the supramolecular architecture of the stable nanoparticles via time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy., (© 2024 The Author(s). Macromolecular Rapid Communications published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Protein nanoparticles are a promising approach for nanotherapeutics, as proteins combine versatile chemical and biological function with controlled biodegradability. In this work, the development of an adaptable synthesis method is presented for synthetic protein nanoparticles (SPNPs) based on reactive electrojetting. In contrast to past work with electrohydrodynamic cojetting using inert polymers, the jetting solutions are comprised of proteins and chemically activated macromers, designed to react with each other during the processing step, to form insoluble nanogel particles. SPNPs made from a variety of different proteins, such as transferrin, insulin, or hemoglobin, are stable and uniform under physiological conditions and maintain monodisperse sizes of around 200 nm. SPNPs comprised of transferrin and a disulfide containing macromer are stimuli-responsive, and serve as markers of oxidative stress within HeLa cells. Beyond isotropic SPNPs, bicompartmental nanoparticles containing human serum albumin and transferrin in two distinct hemispheres are prepared via reactive electrojetting. This novel platform provides access to a novel class of versatile protein particles with nanoscale architectures that i) can be made from a variety of proteins and macromers, ii) have tunable biological responses, and iii) can be multicompartmental, a prerequisite for controlled release of multiple drugs., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Linearly arranged metal atoms that are embedded in discrete molecules have fascinated scientists across various disciplines for decades; this is attributed to their potential use in microelectronic devices on a submicroscopic scale. Luminescent oligonuclear Group 11 metal complexes are of particular interest for applications in molecular light-emitting devices. Herein, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a rare, homoleptic, and neutral linearly arranged tetranuclear Cu(I) complex that is helically bent, thus representing a molecular coil in the solid state. This tetracuprous arrangement dimerizes into a unique octanuclear assembly bearing a linear array of six Cu(I) centers with two additional bridging cuprous ions that constitute a central pseudo-rhombic Cu(I) 4 cluster. The crystal structure determinations of both complexes reveal close d(10) ⋅⋅⋅d(10) contacts between all cuprous ions that are adjacent to each other. The dynamic behavior in solution, DFT calculations, and the luminescence properties of these remarkable complexes are also discussed., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A facile polymerization of an allyl-functionalized N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) monomer is utilized to construct an A-B-A-type triblock structure containing β-sheet-rich oligomeric peptide segments tethered by a poly(ethylene oxide) chain, which are capable of dispersing and gelating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) noncovalently in organic solvents, resulting in significant enhancement of the mechanical properties of polypeptide-based organogels., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Nanocomposite polymers are prepared using a new sustainable materials synthesis process in which d-Limonene functions simultaneously both as a solvent for recycling polystyrene (PS) waste and as a monomer that undergoes UV-catalyzed thiol-ene polymerization reactions with polythiol comonomers to afford polymeric products composed of precipitated PS phases dispersed throughout elastomeric poly(thioether) networks. These blended networks exhibit mechanical properties that greatly exceed those of either polystyrene or the poly(thioether) network homopolymers alone., (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)