Perspectives

Although plasmonic enhancement has been widely studied in pigment–protein complexes – such as Photosystem I and light-harvesting complexes – its application to pigment-pigment self-assembled systems – which are promising candidates for the design of efficient artificial light-harvesting antennas for solar energy – remains largely unexplored. In this Perspective, the authors highlight recent advances in biomimetic light-harvesting design with chlorosome mimics, discussing the role of pigment-pigment interactions in facilitating efficient energy transfer and the potential for plasmonically-enhanced photophysics in these systems.

High-resolution 3D structural data are essential for drug discovery, yet X-ray crystallography has limitations in guiding medicinal chemistry. Here, the authors discuss the use of solution-state NMR spectroscopy with selective side-chain labeling and advanced computational workflows to produce accurate protein-ligand ensembles, enhancing structural insights for medicinal chemists and enabling high-throughput applications.

Mechanically interlocked metal–organic cages constitute a relatively new class of mechanically interlocked materials and are of interest for a range of potential applications in nanotechnology. Here, the author discusses recent progress in the field, with emphasis on their synthetic preparation and structure–function relationships.

Surface-adsorbed ligands are paramount to the applicability of semiconductor nanocrystals, but their experimental investigation is challenging. Here, the authors discuss the successes and challenges of computational and theoretical methods dedicated to ligand modeling, and their potential for advancing the simulation-guided inverse design of nanocrystalline materials.

Glycosyl cations are reactive sugar intermediates that govern the stereoselective formation of glycosidic bonds, however, studying glycosyl cations remains challenging due to their unstable and short-lived features. Here, the authors review the recent achievements in gas-phase research on glycosyl cations by mass spectrometry.

Autoclaves are widely used for the synthesis of upconversion nanoparticles, yet several key synthesis variables are widely unreported, hampering reproducibility. Here, the authors highlight several parameters that should be reported in autoclave synthesis as standard, and discuss key safety considerations surrounding autoclave reactors.

Aqueous zinc batteries are of great interest thanks to their intrinsic safety, potentially low cost, and eco-friendliness, but undesirable chemical reactions on both the anode and cathode sides significantly shorten their cycling life. Here, the authors discuss recent advancements in asymmetric electrolytes that show significant promise in suppressing side reactions at both the anode and cathode while maintaining electrochemical performance.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins can be considered an intermediate solubility regime between disperse solutions and solid fibers, relevant to both pathogenic and functional amyloids. Here, the authors review the evidence that links spider silk proteins (spidroins) and LLPS and its role in the spinning process.

Shock compression is a highly dynamic, useful tool for exploring the stability of novel alloys such as quasicrystals, but their formation conditions and the nucleation-growth mechanisms occurring during shock experiments remain largely elusive. Here, the authors provide a summary of quasicrystal shock-syntheses and discuss the advantages and difficulties caused by the experimental complexity.

The bottom-up reconstitution of natural filaments within simplified artificial cellular compartments, such as coacervates, offer a model to study, mimic, and potentially exploit cellular functions. Here, the authors summarize the latest developments towards assembling confined fibrillar networks inside coacervates and related compartments, including a selection of examples ranging from biological to fully synthetic building blocks.

Immune-cell reprogramming driven by mitochondria-derived reactive electrophilic immunometabolites (mt-REMs) is an emerging phenomenon of major biomedical importance. Here, the authors highlight the latest advances and overarching challenges in precision indexing of mt-REMs’ cellular responses with spatiotemporal intelligence and locale-specific function assignments.

Nucleic acids are key elements in numerous applications such as therapeutics and nanotechnology. However, the synthesis of long and modified oligonucleotides remains challenging and alternative, biocatalytic approaches are needed. Here, the authors discuss recent progress in the controlled enzymatic synthesis of oligonucleotides.

The electrochemical Leaf (e-Leaf) is an emerging technology that addresses complex enzyme cascades nanoconfined within a porous conducting material—exploiting efficient electron tunneling and local NADP(H) recycling to transduce catalysis and electricity. Here, the authors describe how the e-Leaf was discovered, the steps in its development so far, and the outlook for future research and applications.

Molecular complexes with single-molecule magnet or qubit properties are great candidates for quantum information storage and processing, however, device implementation requires controlled surface deposition and property retention, which is a challenge. This Perspective gives a brief overview of molecular properties on a surface relevant for magnetic molecules and how they are affected by surface deposition, pointing out possible ways of overcoming the problems encountered so far.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is one of the most important fluorescence mechanisms, with multi-step FRET systems enabling sequential energy transfer as seen in natural photosynthetic systems. Here, the authors review recent progress in exploiting discrete supramolecular assemblies to achieve multi-step FRET between donors and multiple acceptors.

Self-sustainable autonomous soft actuators have emerged as naturally evolving out-of-equilibrium systems that do not require human intervention. Here, the authors discuss recent advances in the field, with a focus on shape-morphing materials, motion characteristics, built-in negative feedback loops, and constant stimulus response patterns.

Shortwave UV photons and very low energy electrons (vLEEs) are thought to be unfavorable prebiotic conditions on early Earth which can destroy unstable molecules. Here, the authors propose that nucleobases in their complementary pairs can enhance and consolidate the intrinsic stability of nucleobases against shortwave UV photons and vLEEs and promote their proliferation.

Atomically precise metal nanoclusters display exciting optical and catalytic properties, but their long-term instability under ambient conditions hinders their practical application. Here, the authors review recent progress in creating nanohybrids from atomically precise nanoclusters and other more stable nanomaterials, forming hybrids with useful properties and improved stabilities.

Constructing crystalline materials with specific stimuli-responsive dynamics and controlled molecular motion affords opportunities for innovative functionality and applications. Here, the authors discuss recent developments in dynamic solid-state framework materials across a range of material classes, exploring key phenomena associated with such complex dynamics.

Two-dimensional colloidal nanoplatelets can assemble into materials with promising optical properties, and the influence of local curvature on these properties is an area of active interest. Here, the relationship between nanoplatelet geometry, self-assembly, and collective properties is reviewed.