Perspectives

This Perspective examines the technological landscape to bridge the gaps between CRISPR-based diagnostics and nanomaterials, proposing specific synergies that could catalyse their development and application.

This Perspective traces the evolution of fundamental and applied aspects of nanomotor research over the past 20 years, highlights current challenges and proposes design principles for developing the next generation of intelligent nanomotors.

This Perspective discusses some of the challenges that pharmaceutical companies face in the use of lipid excipients at each stage of development, and proposes recommendations on how to streamline regulatory expectations.

This Perspective highlights bottom-up molecular engineering and modular nanobiotechnological approaches for developing effective immunotherapeutics and their potential in personalized medicine.

This Perspective discusses the current understanding of extracellular vesicles within the context of their movement into and out of blood circulation, with an outlook on leveraging extracellular vesicle nanobiology for mechanistic insights as well as diagnostic and nanotherapeutic applications in both physiological and pathological contexts.

This Perspective highlights the role that nanotechnology might play in tackling the rise of new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

This Perspective suggests a characterization cascade for nanoparticle-based vaccines that takes into consideration the complexity of the materials and of their immunomodulatory responses, providing a roadmap for the preclinical validation of potential vaccine candidates.

This Perspective relates seemingly diverse examples of chemically driven non-equilibrium systems (dissipative assembly, self-replicators, molecular motors, oscillators) using a common conceptual framework, and discusses how catalytic cycles can be coupled to dynamic processes.

This perspective presents a framework with a tiered approach for human health risk assessment of nanopesticides that will facilitate informed decisions by regulators and industry.

This Perspective aims to place nanoplastics in the context of global plastic pollution by assessing its sources and risks, and by assessing commonalities nanoplastics may share with other nanosized objects in environmental systems.

This Perspective examines how the characteristics of nanoplastic impact environmental fate, potential effects on biota and human health, sampling and analysis in a different way from either microplastic or engineered nanomaterials.

Despite its high promise, there are still many challenges for CRISPR-mediated plant genetic engineering, yet nanotechnology can play an important role in lowering and possibly eliminating these challenges.

This Perspective reflects current understanding and future prospects of nanoscale biological recognition at the bio–nano interface and the opportunity that such insights provide for advancing nanoscale therapies. The authors describe the key mechanisms and propose a framework of principles that could guide future research efforts in the area.

This Perspective describes the key advances in nanocatalysts that have led to the impressive electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to useful products and provides benchmarks that others can use to compare their results.

Compared to cancer nanomedicine, cancer immune nanomedicine presents unique challenges stemming from the complexity of the tumour responses to immunotherapy. This Perspective describes some of the factors contributing to this complexity and offers thoughts on how nanomedicine researchers can include them in their experimental design.

Membranes with subnanometre pores have the potential to provide solute-to-solute selectivity. This Perspective explores challenges and provides guidelines for designing next-generation single-species selective membranes

The use of nanomedicine in cancer requires the adoption of specific strategies to optimize its potential. This perspective proposes four strategies including the identification of patients for clinical trials, investments in modular nanocarrier design, the integration in multimodal combination therapy regimes and the inclusion in immunotherapy studies

The development of nano-enabled agriculture will require proper safety regulations. This Perspective outlines the need for a combined approach to regulate health and environmental risks under the same framework.

Nanotechnology offers a range of opportunities for sustainable agriculture. Successful developments will need a systems approach to designing proposed nanotechnologies.

Legal inconsistencies and analytical limitations raise doubts about the possible enforcement of nanomaterial regulations.