News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that lipid nanoparticles can mediate more than 100-fold greater mRNA delivery to the placenta of pregnant mice with pre-eclampsia than a lipid nanoparticle formulation approved by the U.S. Food  and Drug Administration. These lipid nanoparticles can decrease high blood pressure and increase vasodilation in these pre-eclamptic pregnant mice.

These research results offer hope to develop a cure for pre-eclampsia in humans, a condition that arises due to insufficient blood flow to the placenta and results in high maternal blood pressure and restricted blood flow to the fetus. 

Researchers from Caltech, the University of Southern California, Santa Clara University, and the National University of Singapore have developed microrobots that decreased the size of bladder tumors in mice by delivering therapeutic drugs directly to the bladders. The microrobots incorporated magnetic nanoparticles and the therapeutic drug within the outer structure of the spheres. The magnetic nanoparticles allowed the scientists to direct the robots to a desired location using an external magnetic field. When the microrobots reached their targets, they remained in that spot, and the drug passively diffused out.

Proteins called photosystems are critical to photosynthesis – the process used by plants to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy. Combining one kind of these proteins, called photosystem I, with platinum nanoparticles, creates a biohybrid catalyst. Now, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Yale University have determined the structure of the photosystem I biohybrid solar fuel catalyst. Building on more than 13 years of research pioneered at Argonne, the team reports the first high-resolution view of a biohybrid structure. This advancement opens the door for researchers to develop biohybrid solar fuel systems with improved performance, which would provide a sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources.

Researchers from New York University and Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, have observed growth-induced self-organized stacking domains when three graphene layers are stacked and twisted with precision. The findings demonstrate how specific stacking arrangements in three-layer graphene systems emerge naturally – eliminating the need for complex, non-scalable techniques traditionally used in graphene twisting fabrication. The size and shape of these stacking domains are influenced by the interplay of strain and the geometry of the three-layer graphene regions. Some domains form as stripe-like structures, tens of nanometers wide and extending over microns.

Scientists at Rice University have made it possible to capture clear images of objects through hot windows. The core of this breakthrough lies in the design of nanoscale resonators, which work like miniature tuning forks trapping and enhancing electromagnetic waves within specific frequencies. The resonators are made from silicon and organized in a precise array that allows fine control over how the window emits and transmits thermal radiation. One immediate application is in chemical processing, in which chemical reactions inside high-temperature chambers need to be monitored.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky and the New York Blood Center in New York City have discovered that combining magnetic nanoparticles with ascorbic acid destroyed breast cancer cells, but only if the nanoparticles were added and went inside the cells first before the ascorbic acid was added. "This discovery underscores the significance of coordinating nanoparticles and ascorbic acid in cancer treatment,” said Sheng Tong, the scientist who led this study. The researchers also engineered a specific type of immune cell, called macrophages, to carry the nanoparticles to the tumor site. When loaded with magnetic nanoparticles, the macrophages can be guided to the tumor using an external magnetic field.

Researchers at Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas at Arlington, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul have discovered a way to enhance the sensitivity of nanopores for early detection of diseases. They integrated octahedral DNA origami structures with solid-state nanopores to significantly improve the detection of proteins, especially those that are present in low concentrations. Nanopores are tiny holes that can detect individual molecules as they pass through. The researchers determined that combining the precision of DNA origami with the robustness of solid-state nanopores could create a "hybrid nanopore" system, enabling more precise analysis. 

Materials that conduct electricity well, like metals, also tend to conduct heat. But researchers at Drexel University, Villanova University, Temple University, Bryn Mawr College, Rice University, and Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium have discovered that MXenes, a type of material known for its excellent electrical conductivity, actually have very low thermal conductivity. This discovery challenges the usual link between electrical and heat conduction and could lead to new developments in building materials, performance apparel, and energy storage solutions. "Thermal insulation of this magnitude … would simply have been unimaginable until now," said Yury Gogotsi, one of the scientists involved in this research. "This could change the way we insulate buildings and industrial equipment, and make thermal clothing, just to name a few exciting possibilities."

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a platform for studying how  nanoscale growing surfaces can impact cellular behavior. While previous studies have shown how surface structures can change cellular shape, little is known about their specific effects on cell metabolism. The research team found that cells grown on engineered nanopillar surfaces show dramatically different metabolic profiles than cells not grown on such surfaces. Also, the researchers found that growing cells on different engineered nanopillar surfaces could change how cells produce and modify lipids, the primary components of cell membranes.

Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Santa Cruz; Harvard University; the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom; and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, have conducted an experiment that confirms a theory first put forth 40 years ago stating that electrons confined in quantum space would move along common paths rather than producing a chaotic jumble of trajectories. To conduct this experiment, the scientists combined advanced imaging techniques and precise control over electron behavior within graphene, a two-dimensional material made of carbon atoms. The scientists used the finely tipped probe of a scanning tunneling microscope to first create a trap for electrons and then hover close to a graphene surface to detect electron movements without physically disturbing them.