‘Better than graphene’ material development may improve implantable technology

Researchers at Penn State have made borophene, the atomically thin version of boron, potentially more useful by imparting chirality – or handedness – on it. Chirality refers to similar but not identical physicality, like left and right hands. The researchers found that certain amino acids, like cysteine, would bind to borophene in distinct locations, depending on their chiral handedness. Also, when the chiralized borophene was exposed to mammalian cells in a dish, their handedness changed how they interacted with cell membranes and entered cells.