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Category: nanotechnology

Physicists challenge a 200-year-old law of thermodynamics at the atomic scale

A long-standing law of thermodynamics turns out to have a loophole at the smallest scales. Researchers have shown that quantum engines made of correlated particles can exceed the traditional efficiency limit set by Carnot nearly 200 years ago. By tapping into quantum correlations, these engines can produce extra work beyond what heat alone allows. This could reshape how scientists design future nanoscale machines.

Two physicists at the University of Stuttgart have demonstrated that the Carnot principle, a foundational rule of thermodynamics, does not fully apply at the atomic scale when particles are physically linked (so-called correlated objects). Their findings suggest that this long-standing limit on efficiency breaks down for tiny systems governed by quantum effects. The work could help accelerate progress toward extremely small and energy-efficient quantum motors. The team published its mathematical proof in the journal Science Advances.

Traditional heat engines, such as internal combustion engines and steam turbines, operate by turning thermal energy into mechanical motion, or simply converting heat into movement. Over the past several years, advances in quantum mechanics have allowed researchers to shrink heat engines to microscopic dimensions.

New nanoparticles remove melanoma tumors in mice with low-power near-infrared laser

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed and tested in a mouse model a new type of nanoparticle that enables the removal of melanoma tumors with a low-power laser. After the systemically administered nanoparticles accumulate in cancerous tissue, exposure to near-infrared light causes them to heat up and destroy the melanoma cells, leaving healthy tissue unharmed.

The study led by Olena Taratula and Prem Singh of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy represents a huge step toward solving a persistent problem with using photothermal therapy to treat melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer: Conventional nanoparticles require lasers with power densities that are unsafe for the skin. Findings were published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Taratula, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, and Singh, a postdoctoral researcher in Taratula’s lab, based their new theranostic platform —it can be used for both treatment and diagnosis—on gold nanorods. The nanorods are coated with an iron-cobalt shell and tightly loaded with a dye that heats up upon exposure to near-infrared light—invisible, low-frequency radiation able to penetrate deeply into human tissue.

Laser‑written glass chip pushes quantum communication toward practical deployment

As quantum computers continue to advance, many of today’s encryption systems face the risk of becoming obsolete. A powerful alternative—quantum cryptography—offers security based on the laws of physics instead of computational difficulty. But to turn quantum communication into a practical technology, researchers need compact and reliable devices that can decode fragile quantum states carried by light.

A new study from teams at the University of Padua, Politecnico di Milano, and the CNR Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies shows how this goal can be approached using a simple material: borosilicate glass. As reported in Advanced Photonics, their work demonstrates a high-performance quantum coherent receiver fabricated directly inside glass using femtosecond laser writing. The approach provides low optical loss, stable operation, and broad compatibility with existing fiber-optic infrastructure—key factors for scaling quantum technologies beyond the laboratory.

Microfluidic method boosts control and separation of tiny particles—a promising tool for medical research

In nanoscale particle research, precise control and separation have long been a bottleneck in biotechnology. Researchers at the University of Oulu have now developed a new method that improves particle separation and purification. The promising technique could be applied, for example, in cancer research.

Separating nanosized particles remains a persistent challenge in biotechnology. Once particle size drops below a few hundred nanometers, their behavior becomes dominated by diffusion—the random walk of particles. This weakens the forces used to guide them, causing separation accuracy to collapse.

A microfluidics research group led by Professor Caglar Elbuken at the University of Oulu has developed a new solution to the problem. The method significantly improves the separation and purification of both small synthetic particles and nanoscale vesicles secreted by living cells.

3D ‘polar chiral bobbers’ identified in ferroelectric thin films

A novel type of three-dimensional (3D) polar topological structure, termed the “polar chiral bobber,” has been discovered in ferroelectric oxide thin films, demonstrating promising potential for high-density multistate non-volatile memory and logic devices. The result was achieved by a collaborative research team from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, and other institutions. The findings were published in Advanced Materials on January 30.

Topological polar textures in ferroelectrics, such as flux-closures, vortices, skyrmions, merons, Bloch points, and high-order radial vortices discovered in recent years, have attracted wide interest for future electronic applications. However, most known polar states possess limited configurational degrees of freedom, constraining their potential for multilevel data storage.

In this study, the researchers used phase-field simulations and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy to predict and experimentally confirm the existence of polar chiral bobbers in (111)-oriented ultrathin PbTiO₃ ferroelectric films. This 3D topological structure is characterized by a nanoscale domain with out-of-plane polarization opposite to its surroundings, which starts from the film surface and terminates at a Bloch point inside the film.

Quantum dots reveal entropy production, a key measure of nanoscale energy dissipation

In order to build the computers and devices of tomorrow, we have to understand how they use energy today. That’s harder than it sounds. Memory storage, information processing, and energy use in these technologies involve constant energy flow—systems never settle into thermodynamic balance. To complicate things further, one of the most precise ways to study these processes starts at the smallest scale: the quantum domain.

New Stanford research published in Nature Physics combines theory, experimentation, and machine learning to quantify energy costs during a non-equilibrium process with ultrahigh sensitivity. Researchers used extremely small nanocrystals called quantum dots, which have unique light-emitting properties that arise from quantum effects at the nanoscale.

They measured the entropy production of quantum dots—a quantity that describes how reversible a microscopic process is, and encodes information about memory, information loss, and energy costs. Such measurements can determine the ultimate speed limits for a device or how efficient it can be.

Understanding the physics at the anode of sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) are gaining traction as a next-generation technology to complement the widely used lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). NIBs offer clear advantages versus LIBs in terms of sustainability and cost, as they rely on sodium—an element that, unlike lithium, is abundant almost everywhere on Earth. However, for NIBs to achieve widespread adoption, they must reach energy densities comparable to LIBs.

State-of-the-art NIB designs use hard carbon (HC), a porous and amorphous type of carbon, as an anode material. Scientists believe that sodium ions aggregate into tiny quasi-metallic clusters within HC nano-pores, and this “pore filling” process remains as the main mechanism contributing to the extended reversible capacity of the HC anode.

Despite some computational studies on this topic, the fundamental processes governing sodium storage and transport in HC remain unclear. Specifically, researchers have struggled to explain how sodium ions can gather to form clusters inside HC pores at operational temperatures, and why the overall movement of sodium ions through the material is sluggish.

Enhanced Selenium Supplement Extends Lifespan and Delays Multi‐Organs Aging by Regulating the Sik1 Pathway Through Maintaining Calcium Homeostasis

In healthy aging strategies, nutritional supplements synergize with optimized dietary and lifestyle interventions by modulating aging-related molecular pathways.[ 8, 9 ] Notably, NMN exerts multi-organ anti-aging effects by elevating NAD+ levels to activate the SIRT1 pathway, thereby significantly enhancing mitochondrial function while reducing oxidative stress and DNA damage.[ 10 ] Similarly, curcumin delays aging and related diseases through pleiotropic mechanisms involving oxidative stress regulation, anti-inflammatory actions, telomere maintenance, and sirtuin protein modulation.[ 11 ] However, practical applications face significant challenges: bioactive compounds like resveratrol and curcumin suffer from limited bioavailability due to poor aqueous solubility and first-pass metabolism, while excessive supplementation of antioxidants such as vitamins C/E may disrupt reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling homeostasis, potentially inducing cellular toxicity or even increasing hemorrhagic risk.[ 12-14 ] Future development of anti-aging supplements should focus on: 1) innovative formulation strategies to enhance bioavailability; 2) optimized dosing regimens to minimize toxicity; and 3) long-term clinical studies to validate efficacy.

Selenium, an essential trace element with diverse biological activities, plays a critical role in healthy aging.[ 15-17 ] ≈1 billion people worldwide are affected by selenium deficiency, which is closely linked to neurological disorders, cardiovascular abnormalities, malignancies, and immune dysfunction.[ 18-20 ] Substantial evidence supports the anti-aging effects of selenium through multiple mechanisms: 1) Selenomethionine (SeMet) effectively suppresses Fe2+/H2O2- or Aβ-induced free radical generation, demonstrating therapeutic potential for Alzheimer’s disease characterized by oxidative stress;[ 21 ] 2) Selenium supplementation elevates serum GPx3 levels, a selenoprotein predominantly localized in the basement membrane of renal proximal tubules, modulating mitochondrial quality control pathways to mitigate heavy metal-induced renal aging;[ 22 ] and 3) Our recent findings reveal that selenium supplementation significantly attenuates age-related muscle atrophy by preserving redox homeostasis and regulating muscle protein metabolism.[ 23 ] Recent clinical trials in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) demonstrated that oral administration of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) as a dietary supplement (200 µg day−1) in combination with Bev+AP chemotherapy significantly enhanced therapeutic outcomes compared to chemotherapy alone. The SeNPs combination group showed remarkable tumor regression, with progression disease rates decreasing dramatically from 50% to 0% and partial response rates increasing to 83.3%, along with significantly improved objective response rate and disease control rate.[ 24 ] Importantly, this regimen maintained excellent safety profiles without triggering fluctuations in pro-inflammatory or immunosuppressive cytokines. These compelling findings not only establish SeNPs as a safe and effective adjuvant therapy for advanced NSCLC but also provide valuable clinical translation data for nano-selenium formulations in oncology. Despite selenium’s proven benefits in reducing oxidative damage, maintaining genomic stability, and delaying telomere shortening, its narrow therapeutic window, limited bioavailability, and specific mechanisms in multi-organ protection during natural aging require further investigation.

Nanodelivery carriers have emerged as a next-generation platform for gene and drug delivery, offering tunable physicochemical properties such as size, composition, and surface modifications.[ 25 ] Our team has developed organically-bridged mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) by incorporating functional diselenide bonds into the silica framework at the molecular level, addressing the critical challenge of poor biodegradability in conventional silica materials.[ 26 ] This nanocarrier exhibits unique dual redox-responsive properties, allowing for more precise maintenance of redox homeostasis compared to traditional antioxidants, aligning with the core goal of preserving organismal homeostasis in anti-aging research. Building on this breakthrough, a comprehensive research framework was established: first, this study constructed a natural aging mouse model with MSNs, disulfide-bridged MSNs (SMSNs), commercially available SeMet as controls and then compared the effects of diselenide-bridged MSNs (SeMSNs) on lifespan extension, frailty delay, and multi-organ anti-aging. Next, key pathways and targets were identified through multi-organ transcriptome sequencing, followed by in-depth mechanistic studies. Finally, clinical translation was integrated by analyzing the correlation between serum selenium levels and aging biomarkers in the elderly, and validating the clinical effects of SeMSNs using primary adipose precursor cells (APCs) models. This systematic approach provides a solid theoretical foundation and clinical evidence for the application of nano-selenium in anti-aging research.

Quantum defects in carbon nanotubes as single-photon sources

This Review surveys progress in the development of carbon nanotubes as single-photon sources for emerging quantum technologies, with a focus on chemical synthesis and quantum defect engineering, computational studies of structure-property relationships, and experimental investigations of quantum optical properties.

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