The principal techniques adopted to yield novel nanostructured versions of familiar biomaterials, focusing particularly on metals, are reviewed. The image is a schematic representation of an optimal implant surface that is synergistically modified by nanostructuring and molecular functionalization. Cells (fluorescently labeled and not to scale) can benefit from both physico/chemical and molecular signaling to achieve better implant integration in host tissues.

Notch ligands presenting artificial 3D thymic microenvironments are created on ICC scaffolds utilizing a layer-by-layer molecular assembly technique (see image). A multicomponent LBL film substitutes the function of thymic stromal cells and successfully supports ex vivo T-cell differentiation of human hematopoietic stem cells.

A novel approach for the rapid fabrication of extended areas of micrometer-scaled patches of quasi-hexagonally ordered gold nanoparticle arrays (see image) is presented. The resulting substrates serve as templates for the site-specific immobilization of proteins to gold nanoparticles enabling nanoscopically and microscopically controlled protein deposition.

Line up! Aligned single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) films are formed from a lyotropic liquid-crystalline high-concentration SWNT/polymer composite (≈2 mg mL⁻¹) dispersion. Birefringence from cross-polarized microscopy is demonstrated as a uniaxial alignment of SWNTs (see images).

Arrays of V₂O₅ nanowires are grown on silicon substrates by a catalytic vapor–solid mechanism (see image). The obtained nanowires are single-crystalline and highly oriented with their lengths and substrate coverage controlled by the duration of the reaction, reaction temperature, and flow velocity. The growth of these nanowire arrays paves the way for the fabrication of novel battery architectures based on the charging/discharging of individual nanowires.

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii can be selectively targeted and photothermally destroyed by gold nanosphere/antibody conjugates (see image). The optical response of the nanospheres within the “tissue window” is shifted and enhanced by aggregation. Attachment of the conjugates alone, even without plasmonic heating, lowers the infectivity of the organism.

A mutant chaperonin originating from S. Shibatae is genetically engineered to bind water-soluble semiconductor quantum dots, forming a bioconjugate characterized by high stability, controlled stoichiometry, enhanced photostability, and brightness of the bound quantum dots (see image). This bioconjugate becomes a highly specific biosensor for biological targets when ligands are inserted at the protein solvent exposed side.

A simple technique is developed for the simultaneous fabrication of positive very high aspect ratio nanostructures together with micro-or millistructures. The combined technique involves the residual pattern of thin-film over-etching technique, thermal oxidation, and HF etching. As a demonstration, a simple positive Si nanofluidic master mold with feature dimensions varying continuously from 1 mm to 200 nm (aspect ratio 6.75) is fabricated (see image).

Single- and multicolor pixel arrays made of CHCl₃ inks based on polystyrene (PS) functionalized with differently sized CdSe@ZnS nanocrystals (NCs) are inkjet-printed (see image). The dispersibility of the highly luminescent colloidal NCs into CHCl₃ allows the selection of a solvent as a carrier for highly processable nanocomposite inks, which preserve the optical properties and processability of NCs and PS, thus providing reliable dispensing.

A physical model of memristive behavior in semiconductor thin films is presented. The model is based on numerical solutions of coupled drift-diffusion equations for electrons and ions with appropriate boundary conditions. Mobile ion distributions and current–voltage characteristics of the device for both steady-state bias conditions and for dynamical switching are examined to obtain physical insight into the transport processes (see image).

A top-down electron-beam lithography approach is combined with a bottom-up solvent annealing process to show that micellar arrays of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) block copolymers with a high degree of lateral order can be produced on a surface where sectoring is defined by the electron-beam patterning (see image).

A microwell array on a planar waveguide is designed to investigate protein–lipid membrane interactions (see image). Wells are treated with lipid vesicles and proteins using a pin and ring spotter capable of reaching picoliter precision. Deposition of stable lipid bilayers and assaying of annexin V, a model protein that binds in a calcium-dependent manner, is demonstrated in subnanoliter wells.