Review Articles in 2025

Intrinsically soft electronics marry high-conductivity metallic nanomaterials and liquid metals with elastomeric/hydrogel matrices to deliver stretchable, durable, and biocompatible devices. This review synthesizes design principles from percolation-guided nanocomposites (0D/1D/2D fillers), liquid-metal patterning, and unconventional fabrication (printing, soft/photolithography, laser) to overcome fatigue and resolution limits of geometry-engineered rigid systems. We highlight applications spanning low-impedance electrodes and sensors, strain-invariant interconnects and circuits, optoelectronics, wireless components, energy storage/harvesting, and stretchable memory. Remaining challenges—long-term stability, scalable manufacturing, and safe biointegration—are outlined with prospects for closed-loop, AI-enabled systems and fully integrated soft platforms.

Microneedles (MNs) are an innovative and minimally invasive approach to ocular drug delivery. Unlike traditional methods such as eye drops or injections, MNs can directly target specific eye tissues, including the cornea and retina, allowing for more effective treatment and improved patient comfort. This review highlights recent advances in MN technology, including 3D printing for customized geometries and the use of smart materials for sustained and controlled drug release. These innovations underscore the potential of MNs to transform treatment strategies for chronic eye diseases.

Implantable neural probes have greatly advanced understanding of brain functions, facilitated treatments of neurological diseases, and enabled brain–computer interface. However, conventional neural probes made of rigid inorganic materials often have stiffness orders of magnitude higher than that of the brains, and feature sizes much larger than individual neurons. These mechanical and structural mismatches limit their capability for long-term brain interface. This review dives into the biological mechanisms underlying these limitations. It then summarizes recent advances in next-generation, long-term stable probe technologies driven by material and structural innovations. The review concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities for future research.

Single-atom perovskite materials are versatile substances capable of addressing various shortcomings that arise when used individually. These materials demonstrate enhanced catalytic performance, cost efficiency, electron transport capabilities, chemical stability, optical properties, and a tunable band gap. This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of recent synthesis methods, characterization techniques, applications, and future perspectives. Moreover, by sharing insights into the potential direction of single-atom perovskite materials, we aim to inspire ongoing research, ultimately positioning these materials at the forefront of innovation in materials science.