The upper layer of our skin, the stratum corneum (SC), is a versatile material that combines mechanical strength with efficient barrier function. In this paper, we discuss these macroscopic properties of SC in relation to recent findings on molecular responses and structural diversity in SC protein and lipids. We put particular focus on the intermediate (colloidal) length scale and how the different SC substructures are organized with respect to each other, including effects of non-equilibrium conditions in the skin with respect to the gradients in water and other components.

Nanoarchitectures based on the layer-by-layer self-assembly technique hold great potential for the availability and applicability of bio-inspired functional materials. The introduction of various specific functional building blocks onto the nanofibers of natural cellulose substances (e.g., commercial filter paper, cotton, etc.) through the self-assembly approach provides a facile strategy for the fabrication of artificial nanomaterials. This review summarizes a series of cellulose-based catalytic materials fabricated by utilizing the natural cellulose substance as the structural scaffolds or templates through the LbL self-assembly process. The unique three-dimensional network porous structures and high surface areas of the cellulose substances were maintained by the resultant cellulose-derived catalysts, while the excellent mechanical strength of the cellulose-based membrane catalysts was inherited from the initial cellulose substrates. When employed for the photodegradation of organic dyes, the photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting, and the antibiosis, these cellulose-based catalysts exhibited high activities and excellent cycling stabilities.

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The spread of antimicrobial resistance and lesser development of new antibiotics have intensified the search for new antimicrobial and diagnostic vehicles. Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs), which broadly include carbon dots, carbon nanotubes, and graphene/graphene oxide nanostructures, have emerged as promising theranostic materials exhibiting, in many instances, potent antibacterial activities and diagnostic capabilities. Ease of synthesis, tunable physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, and diverse modes of action make CNMs a powerful class of theranostic nanomaterials. This review discusses recent studies illuminating innovative new CNMs and their applications in bacterial theranostics. We particularly emphasize the relationship between the structural parameters and overall chemical properties of CNMs and their biological impact and utilization. Overall, the expanding work on the development and use of CNMs in therapeutic, sensing, and diagnostic applications in the microbial world underscores the considerable potential of these nanomaterials.

Lung surfactant (LS) is a membrane-based lipid-protein complex that lines the alveoli, reducing the surface tension at the air-liquid interface and thus minimizing the work of breathing. Besides this function, LS is also the first physical barrier between the outside air and the systemic circulation, therefore playing a key role in the defense against harmful particles and microorganisms.Viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs), and especially acute lower RTIs, are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. LS participates in the network of interactions between viruses and the immune system to prevent or lessen the effects of the infection, but it is also altered by these pathogens, which can potentially impair its function.The aim of this review is to provide an integrated multidisciplinary overview toward understanding the interplay between respiratory viruses and LS and its health impact on the respiratory system. The review is centered on the antiviral mechanisms of both LS proteins and lipids, and their different interactions that lead to varying outcomes. Finally, a summary of the clinical application of surfactant in the scene of lung viral infection is disclosed, including state-of-the-art approaches of the therapeutic use of surfactant components.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the most versatile and successful gene delivery systems, notably highlighted by their use in vaccines against COVID-19. LNPs have a well-defined core–shell structure, each region with its own distinctive compositions, suited for a wide range of in vivo delivery applications. Here, we discuss how a detailed knowledge of LNP structure can guide LNP formulation to improve the efficiency of delivery of their nucleic acid payload. Perspectives are detailed on how LNP structural design can guide more efficient nucleic acid transfection. Views on key physical characterization techniques needed for such developments are outlined including opinions on biophysical approaches both correlating structure with functionality in biological fluids and improving their ability to escape the endosome and deliver they payload.

The confinement of substrates inside the cavity of self-assembled capsules makes it possible to effectively catalyze organic reactions in a way that is analogous to how enzymes work in biological systems. Due to steric constraints, solvent exclusion, intermediates stabilization, and conformational control of substrates, chemical reactions taking place in a confined space may exhibit unique processes. As a result, the fundamental rules of organic reactivity are frequently broken. The hexameric capsule CR, an intriguing supramolecular assembly formed by six resorcinarene 1 macrocycles and eight water molecules, is the subject of this review. This assembly has proven to be effective at catalyzing several chemical reactions by controlling reactivity and selectivity in its confined space.

Water is the most sustainable solvent, making it the obvious choice to replace organic solvents in various synthesis techniques. However, its applications in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are often restricted by the low solubility of organic compounds in water. Essentially, the reactions of organic compounds in water are multiphase systems. Therefore, this review classifies aqueous-phase organic reactions into liquid–liquid, liquid–solid and gas–liquid–solid phase from the perspective of phase interfaces of multiphase reactions, and summarizes the research progress and breakthroughs in recent years, including the application of micellar catalysis, Pickering emulsion catalysis, micro-nanobubble/foam catalysis and “dry water” catalysis, as well as the unique advantages of using water as a medium. Finally, we point out the current challenges and future perspectives on multiphase catalysis in aqueous-phase reactions.

Molecular assembly offers a promising strategy to construct active systems by using biomolecules as building blocks. Such assembled systems simulate or regulate important biological activities and show great promise in wide bioapplications. In this short review, we focus on the recent progress in ATP-involved active self-assembled systems. ATP-generated active systems are constructed with hierarchical structures via molecular assembly to produce ATP by using various external influences to generate proton gradient. Further, we highlight present active supermolecular systems driven by ATP as chemical fuel. Finally, we discuss the key challenges and perspectives in the future research.

Lyotropic non-lamellar liquid crystalline (LLC) nano-self-assemblies (including cubosomes and hexosomes) are attractive versatile platforms for encapsulation and delivery of drugs and nutritional molecules. This is due to their unique structural features and architectural arrangements that afford loading of small molecules and macromolecules having different physicochemical properties with high efficiency. Considering the reported health promoting effects of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) and their precursors ω-3 PUFA monoacylglycerols, here we focus on physicochemical and biological properties of a new family of non-lamellar LLC nanoparticles assembled either from binary mixtures of phosphatidylglycerol and three types of ω-3 PUFAs, or from single ω-3 PUFA monoacylglycerols. We discuss recent progress in understanding their complexity, pH sensitivity, and structural tunability, and highlight their potential applications in health and medicine.

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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a powerful technique to probe the local environment of atoms bearing a nuclear spin. Interfaces in a rechargeable battery, within multi-component electrode or electrolytes or between the electrodes and the electrolyte, are key to its function and lifetime. NMR spectroscopy of the solid phases in the battery participate in the understanding of the processes at these interfaces. The solid-state NMR community is still highly active for ex situ measurements. Dynamic Nuclear Polarization attracted interest thanks to its enhanced sensitivity. In situ spectroscopy and imaging prospered in the context of metallic Li or Na deposition, either as an ageing process in conventional Li or Na batteries, or as the primary process in a metal battery.

Through biomineralization, calcareous composites are produced with exceptional properties, evolution-optimized for specific function. The bioinspired quest to understand how properties are controlled and enhanced is motivated by their fundamental and technological significance. The incorporation of small molecules and/or biopolymers as inter- and intra-crystalline additives in the CaCO3 matrix, is widely employed by organisms to achieve diverse functions. The interactions between the components during the early events within the precipitation medium, and when entrapped through precipitation-crystallization, are key players of process–property regulation. In addition to identifying the bulk matrices and the incorporated molecules, we show how solid-state NMR methods are tailored to directly report the chemical-structural details of the inorganic interface that surrounds an occlusion. Solid-state NMR is uniquely suited for that and is applicable to stable or spontaneously transforming lattices, crystalline or amorphous. Our findings are grouped to highlight the connection between the molecular level and tunability of macroscopic properties.

This review provides an overview of experimental and computational results on the interaction between nanocarriers of different natures and pulmonary surfactant models that have appeared in the literature in the last five years. The purpose is to highlight the changes in the nanoscopic structure and functionality of the pulmonary surfactant layer due to the interaction with nanocarriers and nanoparticles, which are inorganic, polymeric, or consist of biomolecules. The information gathered contributes to the development of carriers’ nanotechnology, thus allowing specific and controlled drug delivery while being minimally invasive by crossing pulmonary surfactant without altering its structure and function.

Colloidal properties of viruses largely define the stability, transport, and host interactions of viruses. Despite attempts to unravel the correlation between colloidal virus properties and their interactions outside and inside their host, an in-depth understanding is still missing. This knowledge gap is, to a great extent, caused by challenges associated with the capacity to probe these properties experimentally; thus, great efforts are being invested in developing new approaches or transforming existing ones to characterize the physical-chemical, i.e., colloidal, properties of viruses. Understanding the correlation between these properties and virus interactions is not only important from a scientific point of view but will also hopefully inspire the design of novel viral vectors and virus-like particles for biomedical applications. In this review, we cover the recent experimental advances in characterizing the colloidal properties of viruses with particular attention to virus hydrophobicity, genetic load, nanomechanical properties, and surface interaction forces with host cells.

Reaching a historic high of 36.3 gigatonnes in 2021, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion continue to increase at an alarming rate. CO2 removal technologies are part of the solution to tackle this crucial environmental challenge. Thus, the development of porous materials for storage and capture of gas molecules (in particular, carbon capture and storage) has attracted great interest both in academic and industrial communities due to its potential in mitigating atmospheric CO2 concentrations.Atomic-scale studies in porous materials are essential to stimulate progress in the design of better CO2-adsorbents by elucidating gas-sorption surface mechanisms.Spectroscopic techniques have the potential to shed light on the structural details of distinct materials' surfaces, including the type of chemical species formed upon CO2 adsorption. Herein, we review the last 5 years of scientific developments wherein solid-state NMR and computational studies have been explored to investigate at the atomic level the structure and molecular dynamics of CO2 species formed at porous surfaces.

The ongoing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic illustrates the need for sensitive and reliable tools to diagnose and monitor diseases. Traditional diagnostic approaches rely on centralized laboratory tests that result in long wait times to results and reduce the number of tests that can be given. Point-of-care tests (POCTs) are a group of technologies that miniaturize clinical assays into portable form factors that can be run both in clinical areas —in place of traditional tests— and outside of traditional clinical settings —to enable new testing paradigms. Hallmark examples of POCTs are the pregnancy test lateral flow assay and the blood glucose meter. Other uses for POCTs include diagnostic assays for diseases like COVID-19, HIV, and malaria but despite some successes, there are still unsolved challenges for fully translating these lower cost and more versatile solutions. To overcome these challenges, researchers have exploited innovations in colloid and interface science to develop various designs of POCTs for clinical applications. Herein, we provide a review of recent advancements in lateral flow assays, other paper based POCTs, protein microarray assays, microbead flow assays, and nucleic acid amplification assays. Features that are desirable to integrate into future POCTs, including simplified sample collection, end-to-end connectivity, and machine learning, are also discussed in this review.

Biopolymer hydrogel particles provide a wide range of advantages to food applications due to their highly hydrophilic nature, the ability to tailor micro-/macro-structure and their complex rheology as dispersions. In food, dispersions of crosslinked hydrogel particles are increasingly used to create unique appearances or textures, novel aroma experiences and/or for controlled release applications. Mastering food biopolymer particle dispersions requires understanding of biopolymer physicochemistry, controlled microstructure creation, understanding the particle interactions that govern flow behavior and the characterization techniques that give insight into the structure-function relationships across the different length scales. In the present review, recent progress in crosslinked food biopolymer hydrogels across these domains is presented with a particular focus on fluid gel dispersions and controlled release. We highlight how emerging technologies/techniques might enable new microstructural understanding or designer biopolymer sequences. Finally, we highlight how these developments help to fully unlock biopolymer hydrogel dispersions for food applications.

Microbubble dispersions are now commonly deployed in industrial applications ranging from bioprocesses to chemical reaction engineering, at full scale. There are five major classes of microbubble generation devices that are scalable. In recent years, some of these approaches have been explicitly studied for the influence of wetting properties on microbubble performance, for which the major proxy is the bubble-size distribution. In this piece, the methodologies for inferring bubble-size distribution are explored, with several recent advances as well as their potential pitfalls. Subsequently, studies where microbubble generation has been under investigation for wetting effects are assessed and in some cases, those that were not allowed the deduction that wetting is a significant factor. Two particular studies are highlighted: (i) systematic variation of wetting effects within a venturi with removable walls substituted with coated walls of known contact angle with hydrodynamic cavitation induced microbubbles and (ii) variation of ionic liquids with staged fluidic oscillation before steady flow. The first study shows that even in scenarios where high inertial effects would be expected to dominate, wetting influences are significant. The second study shows that transient effects are strongly influenced by both imbibition into pores and surface wetting but that viscous resistance is always a key factor. From the exploration of these recent studies, specific recommendations are made about how to assess the influence of wetting in those mechanisms/devices where it has not been explicitly studied, via deduction from those mechanisms/devices where the effects are demonstrably significant and indeed in some cases, controlling. In study (ii), which is the first to blow micro/bubbles into ionic liquids, wetting and transient effects are reasonable for between 25% and 50% reduction in average bubble size, although up to 70% reduction is observable when viscous effects are dominant, relative to the control of steady flow with the same pressure drop. Indeed, staging transient operations shows both bubble-size reduction and increased volumetric throughput are simultaneously possible.