A Facile One-Step Approach for Constructing Multidimensional Ordered Nanowire Micropatterns via Fibrous Elastocapillary Coalescence

Flexible and Wearable Biosensors for Monitoring Health Conditions

Flexible and wearable biosensors have received tremendous attention over the past decade owing to their great potential applications in the field of health and medicine. Wearable biosensors serve as an ideal platform for real-time and continuous health monitoring, which exhibit unique properties such as self-powered, lightweight, low cost, high flexibility, detection convenience, and great conformability. This review introduces the recent research progress in wearable biosensors. First of all, the biological fluids often detected by wearable biosensors are proposed. Then, the existing micro-nanofabrication technologies and basic characteristics of wearable biosensors are summarized. Then, their application manners and information processing are also highlighted in the paper. Massive cutting-edge research examples are introduced such as wearable physiological pressure sensors, wearable sweat sensors, and wearable self-powered biosensors. As a significant content, the detection mechanism of these sensors was detailed with examples to help readers understand this area. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives are proposed to push this research area forward and expand practical applications in the future.

Self-assembly, alignment, and patterning of metal nanowires

Armed with the merits of one-dimensional nanostructures (flexibility, high aspect ratio, and anisotropy) and metals (high conductivity, plasmonic properties, and catalytic activity), metal nanowires (MNWs) have stood out as a new class of nanomaterials in the last two decades. They are envisaged to expedite significantly and even revolutionize a broad spectrum of applications related to display, sensing, energy, plasmonics, photonics, and catalysis. Compared with disordered MNWs, well-organized MNWs would not only enhance the intrinsic physical and chemical properties, but also create new functions and sophisticated architectures of optoelectronic devices. This paper presents a comprehensive review of assembly strategies of MNWs, including self-assembly for specific structures, alignment for anisotropic constructions, and patterning for precise configurations. The technical processes, underlying mechanisms, performance indicators, and representative applications of these strategies are described and discussed to inspire further innovation in assembly techniques and guide the fabrication of optoelectrical devices. Finally, a perspective on the critical challenges and future opportunities of MNW assembly is provided.

Stimuli-Responsive Plasmonic Assemblies and Their Biomedical Applications

Among the diverse development of stimuli-responsive assemblies, plasmonic nanoparticle (NP) assemblies functionalized with responsive molecules are of a major interest. In this review, we outline a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of recently reported studies on in vitro and in vivo assembly/disassembly and biomedical applications of plasmonic NPs, wherein stimuli such as enzymes, light, pH, redox potential, temperature, metal ions, magnetic or electric field, and/or multi-stimuli were involved. Stimuli-responsive assemblies have been applied in various biomedical fields including biosensors, surfaced-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), photoacoustic (PA) imaging, multimodal imaging, photo-activated therapy, enhanced X-ray therapy, drug release, stimuli-responsive aggregation-induced cancer therapy, and so on. The perspectives on the use of stimuli-responsive plasmonic assemblies are discussed by addressing future scientific challenges involving assembly/disassembly strategies and applications.

Crossing interfacial conduction in nanometer-sized graphitic carbon layers

Graphitic carbon layers (GCLs), exemplified by graphene, have been proposed for potential application in high-performance functional devices due to superior electrical properties, e.g., high electron mobility. In state-of-the-art electronics, it is required that GCLs are miniaturized to nanometer scales and incorporated into the integrated circuits to exhibit novel functions at nanometer scales. However, the implementation of nanometer-scale GCLs is suspended; the function in devices is deteriorated by increasing contact resistance in miniaturized GCL/electrode interfaces. In this study, nanometer-sized GCL/gold (Au) interfaces were fabricated via atomistic visualization of nanomanipulation, and simultaneously their contact resistance was measured. We showed that the contact resistivity of the interfaces was decreased to the order of 10^-10Ω cm², which was 10⁴ times smaller than that of micrometer-sized or larger GCL/metal interfaces. In addition, it was revealed that peculiar electrical conduction at the nanometer-sized GCL/Au interfaces emerged; current flows throughout the entire area of the interfaces unlike micrometer-sized or larger GCL/metal interfaces. These results directly contribute to actual application of GCLs in advanced nanodevices.