Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others

• Katsuhiko Ariga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1025–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.77

• nanoarchitectonics. As an overall conclusion, it is highly anticipated that soft materials nanoarchitectonics will continue to develop significantly in the future. Keywords: biomaterials; gel; liquid crystal; nanoarchitectonics; polymer; soft materials; Introduction The growing interest in soft and responsive

• materials nanoarchitectonics, spanning the fields of electronics and medicine. Gel nanoarchitectonics Gels are representative soft materials that exhibit flexibility and softness. They are soft and flexible substances comprising polymers and molecular aggregates that are predominantly solvated and

• integrated with the solvent [279][280][281]. Furthermore, gel materials with excellent stimuli responsiveness and biocompatibility have also been widely developed. As the nanoarchitectonics of the polymers and molecular aggregates that constitute gels evolve, the design and functionality of gels are becoming

A calix[4]arene-based supramolecular nanoassembly targeting cancer cells and triggering the release of nitric oxide with green light

• Cristina Parisi,
• Loredana Ferreri,
• Tassia J. Martins,
• Francesca Laneri,
• Samantha Sollima,
• Antonina Azzolina,
• Antonella Cusimano,
• Nicola D’Antona,
• Grazia M. L. Consoli and
• Salvatore Sortino

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1003–1013, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.75

• gel (Merck Kieselgel 60, 230–400 mesh ASTM). The progress of the reactions was followed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) on 5 × 20 cm plates with a layer thickness of 0.2 mm. UV–vis spectra were recorded with a Jasco V-560 spectrophotometer using quartz cuvettes with an optical path length of 1 cm

Structural and magnetic properties of microwave-synthesized reduced graphene oxide/VO₂/Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite

• Sumanta Sahoo,
• Ankur Sood and
• Sung Soo Han

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 921–932, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.70

• ternary NCs of graphene materials, several conventional approaches, such as sol–gel, hydrothermal/solvothermal, calcination/thermal annealing, chemical vapor deposition, liquid-phase exfoliation, and freeze-drying have been reported. However, the MW-assisted synthetic approaches are found to be superior

• phase change of this metal oxide is generally implemented through a few approaches, including annealing, sol–gel process, hydrothermal process, vapor transport method. However, such approaches are time consuming [26][27][28]. In this context, the ultrafast reduction of V2O5 to VO2 through the MW route

Ar⁺ implantation-induced tailoring of RF-sputtered ZnO films: structural, morphological, and optical properties

• Manu Bura,
• Divya Gupta,
• Arun Kumar and
• Sanjeev Aggarwal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 872–886, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.66

• displays [5], solar cells [6], and light-emitting diodes [7]. There are numerous methods for synthesizing ZnO films, including pulsed laser deposition, spray pyrolysis, radio frequency (RF) sputtering, and sol–gel techniques. Here RF sputtering is preferred over other methods because it provides high

Supramolecular hydration structure of graphene-based hydrogels: density functional theory, green chemistry and interface application

• Hon Nhien Le,
• Duy Khanh Nguyen,
• Minh Triet Dang,
• Huyen Trinh Nguyen,
• Thi Bang Tam Dao,
• Trung Do Nguyen,
• Chi Nhan Ha Thuc and
• Van Hieu Le

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 806–822, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.61

• graphene nanosheets in water-intercalated AB bilayer graphene structures. A layer of water molecules significantly decreases the intersheet van der Waals force. A novel hydrogel of graphene oxide–silica gel–zinc hydroxide (GO-SG-ZH) is experimentally synthesized to demonstrate the advantages of hydrated

• , bandgap energy, and formation energy of the molecular system of bilayer graphene intercalated with a water layer. In the experimental aspect, green chemistry methods were applied for synthesizing GO nanosheets, rice-husk-derived silica gel (SG), nanosilica–zinc hydroxide nanoparticles (SG-ZH), and

• filtration, a clear yellow solution of potassium silicate was obtained and neutralized with a 15% acetic acid solution. After that, the suspension of precipitated nanosilica was incubated overnight and then thoroughly washed with water. The obtained product of silica gel (SG) was used for subsequent

Morphology and properties of pyrite nanoparticles obtained by pulsed laser ablation in liquid and thin films for photodetection

• Akshana Parameswaran Sreekala,
• Bindu Krishnan,
• Rene Fabian Cienfuegos Pelaes,
• David Avellaneda Avellaneda,
• Josué Amílcar Aguilar-Martínez and
• Sadasivan Shaji

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 785–805, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.60

• ][27][28]. In previous reports on pyrite thin films produced by EPD, Duan et al. deposited pyrite powder created using the sol–gel hydrothermal technique onto ITO substrates [29]. There are no other reports on the deposition of pyrite films using electrophoretic deposition. Spin coating is another thin

Polyurethane/silk fibroin-based electrospun membranes for wound healing and skin substitute applications

• Iqra Zainab,
• Zohra Naseem,
• Syeda Rubab Batool,
• Muhammad Waqas,
• Ahsan Nazir and
• Muhammad Anwaar Nazeer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 591–612, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.46

• characteristics [165]. A dense membrane made of PU and an ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) was electrospun with a polycaprolactone/gelatin (PCL/Gel) scaffold. The PCL/Gel scaffold was employed as the sublayer to promote cell adhesion and proliferation, while the PU/EEP membrane was utilized as the top layer to

Retrieval of B1 phase from high-pressure B2 phase for CdO nanoparticles by electronic excitations in Cd_xZn_1−xO composite thin films

• Arkaprava Das,
• Marcin Zając and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 551–560, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.43

• Abstract This study investigates the recovery of the B1 phase from the high-pressure B2 phase, at atmospheric pressure, in cadmium oxide (CdO) nanoparticles incorporated within sol–gel synthesized CdxZn1−xO (x = 0.40) composite thin films. The recovery process is investigated using electronic excitations

• with 40% cadmium concentration in zinc oxide (ZnO) were synthesized using the sol–gel chemical route method, as detailed in our previous publication [1]. The irradiation experiments were performed using the 15 UD tandem Pelletron accelerators at the Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi

Synthetic-polymer-assisted antisense oligonucleotide delivery: targeted approaches for precision disease treatment

• Ana Cubillo Alvarez,
• Dylan Maguire and
• Ruairí P. Brannigan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 435–463, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.34

• G3139 to acute myeloid leukemic cells [113]. Agarose gel electrophoresis retardation essays revealed that both PEI and transferrin were critical to achieve nanocomplexes with long-term stability and optimal cargo protection under physiological conditions. Moreover, LPNs exhibited enhanced cellular

Engineered PEG–PCL nanoparticles enable sensitive and selective detection of sodium dodecyl sulfate: a qualitative and quantitative analysis

• Soni Prajapati and
• Ranjana Singh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 385–396, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.29

• ]. Apart from that, quantitative and qualitative measurements of SDS in terms of laboratory use are necessary. The SDS is widely used in protein estimation via polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) [10]. Several research groups widely explore nanoparticle synthesis using SDS as a capping agent for

Development of a mucoadhesive drug delivery system and its interaction with gastric cells

• Ahmet Baki Sahin,
• Serdar Karakurt and
• Deniz Sezlev Bilecen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 371–384, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.28

• systems because of their ability to form gel-like structures in the presence of divalent cations such as Ca2+. Despite the advantages of alginate polymer such as its biodegradability, biocompatibility, and gelation ability, its instability, fast wettability, and rapid release at high pH result in the

• particle size. However, the penetration of PEGylated formulations of different sizes was also studied, and a negative correlation was observed with particle size. In the same study, the effect of gel thickness was evaluated, and it was concluded that the penetration was negatively correlated with mucus gel

• thickness. Regardless of the particle size, penetration was found to be significantly lower when a thicker gel layer was used [63]. In summary, not only charge but also the size of nanoparticles, along with the mucus thickness, affect the diffusion of nanoparticles. The relatively low diffusion percentage

Graphene oxide–chloroquine conjugate induces DNA damage in A549 lung cancer cells through autophagy modulation

• Braham Dutt Arya,
• Sandeep Mittal,
• Prachi Joshi,
• Alok Kumar Pandey,
• Jaime E. Ramirez-Vick,
• Govind Gupta and
• Surinder P. Singh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 316–332, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.24

• of PI dye (1 mg/mL) and stored at 4 °C until analysis using flow cytometry. Three independent experiments were performed for each group. Values represent mean ± SE of three independent experiments. A value of p < 0.05 (*) was considered statistically significant. Comet assay/single-cell gel

• electrophoresis for DNA damage analysis upon exposure of A549 cells to GO–Chl nanoconjugates Single-cell gel electrophoresis was used to investigate DNA denaturation and single-strand DNA breaks upon exposure of A549 lung cancer cells to GO–Chl nanoconjugates. For quantitative estimation of DNA damage, we

• ice to allow gelation. Duplicate slides for each sample were prepared and were kept in freshly prepared and chilled lysis solution (146.1 g NaCl, 37.2 g EDTA, 1.2 g Tris, pH 10 with 1% Triton X 100 added just before use) at 4 °C overnight. Further, the slides were placed in a horizontal gel

Enhancing mechanical properties of chitosan/PVA electrospun nanofibers: a comprehensive review

• Nur Areisman Mohd Salleh,
• Amalina Muhammad Afifi,
• Fathiah Mohamed Zuki and
• Hanna Sofia SalehHudin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 286–307, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.22

• in two studies [114][115]. The gel-like suspensions were prepared by mixing the aqueous chitosan/PVA solution and oil phase solutions including PCL and poly-ʟ-lactic acid for the use in wound healing applications. Instead of using nozzle-based methods, the emulsions were electrospun using a

Emerging strategies in the sustainable removal of antibiotics using semiconductor-based photocatalysts

• Yunus Ahmed,
• Keya Rani Dutta,
• Parul Akhtar,
• Md. Arif Hossen,
• Md. Jahangir Alam,
• Obaid A. Alharbi,
• Hamad AlMohamadi and
• Abdul Wahab Mohammad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 264–285, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.21

• advanced methods, including sol–gel, hydrothermal, solvothermal, precipitation and template-assisted techniques [53]. The synthesis method chosen often depends on factors such as the desired crystal structure, particle size, surface area, and photocatalytic activity required for the specific application

Synthesis and the impact of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on the viability and activity of rhizobacteria

• Bedah Rupaedah,
• Indrika Novella,
• Atiek Rostika Noviyanti,
• Diana Rakhmawaty Eddy,
• Anna Safarrida,
• Abdul Hapid,
• Zhafira Amila Haqqa,
• Suryana Suryana,
• Irwan Kurnia and
• Fathiyah Inayatirrahmi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 216–228, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.17

• application and storage [7]. Nanomaterials have gained significant attention in the development of rhizobacterial carrier materials, as their effective utilization can provide protective benefits to plants, assist in nutrient absorption, and, when in gel form, significantly improve water management efficiency

• cycles consisting of denaturation at 94 °C for 45 s, annealing at 52 °C for 1 min, and elongation at 72 °C for 1 min. After the final cycle, polymerization continued at 72 °C for 5 min. The PCR products were then analyzed by electrophoresis on a 1% agarose gel. Visualization was performed under UV light

Recent advances in photothermal nanomaterials for ophthalmic applications

• Jiayuan Zhuang,
• Linhui Jia,
• Chenghao Li,
• Rui Yang,
• Jiapeng Wang,
• Wen-an Wang,
• Heng Zhou and
• Xiangxia Luo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 195–215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.16

• photothermal gel, composed of Au nanorods, geraniol, chitosan, and the gene-targeted drug DC_AC50 can be activated by NIR light. Photothermal activation softens the hydrogel composed of geraniol and chitosan, controlling drug release and facilitating PTT at moderate temperatures, thus yielding exceptional anti

• the migration of LECs and their inflammatory response following photothermal treatment, without causing significant damage to the surrounding healthy tissues (Figure 3f). 3.3 Vitreous turbidity The vitreous is a highly hydrated, transparent gel supported by a network of long and thin collagen fibers

• [118]. Factors such as aging, myopia, or diabetes can lead to the liquefaction of this vitreous gel and the accumulation of collagen fibers, resulting in turbidity that casts shadows on the retina, manifesting as floaters in a patient’s field of vision (Figure 4a) [119][120]. Vitreous opacity can

TiO₂ immobilized on 2D mordenite: effect of hydrolysis conditions on structural, textural, and optical characteristics of the nanocomposites

• Marina G. Shelyapina,
• Rosario Isidro Yocupicio-Gaxiola,
• Gleb A. Valkovsky and
• Vitalii Petranovskii

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 128–140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.12

• starting products in a large number of reactions. The hydrolysis of various metal alkoxides by pure water, or its mixtures with primarily alcohols or other solvents, are the basis of the sol–gel method to obtain oxide materials. The tendency of metal alkoxides to this reaction can be considered as their

• most important chemical property. For various reasons, the sol–gel method is mainly associated with the hydrolysis of Si(OR)4; this reagent is readily available, inexpensive, and its hydrolysis proceeds relatively smoothly, as discussed in numerous original papers and reviews [29]. However, the

• on the ratio between TiO2 and zeolite [47][48]. Alvarez et al. [47] reported that for TiO2 deposited on mordenite during the TiO2 sol–gel synthesis in a ratio of 75:25, which is close to that in our work (i.e., between 50:50 and 70:30), leads to a noticeable increase in the bandgap (3.47 eV) [47]. It

Comparison of organic and inorganic hole transport layers in double perovskite material-based solar cell

• Deepika K and
• Arjun Singh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 119–127, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.11

• are given in Table 1. Experimental Verification In 2024, a lead-free DPSC was both designed and fabricated. The included LNMO material was synthesized using the sol–gel method. The experimental and simulated J–V curves showed PCEs of 4.5 % and 10%, respectively. For the simulation, TiO2 was used as

Instance maps as an organising concept for complex experimental workflows as demonstrated for (nano)material safety research

• Benjamin Punz,
• Maja Brajnik,
• Joh Dokler,
• Jaleesia D. Amos,
• Litty Johnson,
• Katie Reilly,
• Anastasios G. Papadiamantis,
• Amaia Green Etxabe,
• Lee Walker,
• Diego S. T. Martinez,
• Steffi Friedrichs,
• Klaus M. Weltring,
• Nazende Günday-Türeli,
• Claus Svendsen,
• Christine Ogilvie Hendren,
• Mark R. Wiesner,
• Martin Himly,
• Iseult Lynch and
• Thomas E. Exner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 57–77, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.7

• ’ nanotopography was realised through pore formation during synthesis using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The non-covalent conjugations between nanomaterials and proteins were quantitatively characterised, directly by gel electrophoresis and indirectly by quantifying the amount of unbound protein in the

A nanocarrier containing carboxylic and histamine groups with dual action: acetylcholine hydrolysis and antidote atropine delivery

• Elina E. Mansurova,
• Andrey A. Maslennikov,
• Anna P. Lyubina,
• Alexandra D. Voloshina,
• Irek R. Nizameev,
• Marsil K. Kadirov,
• Anzhela A. Mikhailova,
• Polina V. Mikshina,
• Albina Y. Ziganshina and
• Igor S. Antipin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 11–24, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.2

• through dialysis for 1.5 h using a 12000 Da pore dialysis bag. The size of p(Hist-CA) is approximately 12 ± 3 nm according to TEM, and it forms aggregates ranging in size from 80 to 150 nm (Figure 1a,b). The molecular weight of p(Hist-CA) was determined using gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The GPC

• indices of p(Hist-CA) (1 mg/mL) and p(Hist-CA) after ACh treatment (4 mM) were analyzed by gel filtration on an Agilent 1260 Infinity chromatography system equipped an OHpak SB-806M HQ (8.0 × 300 mm) column with an OHpak SB-G (6.0 × 50 mm) guard column (Shodex, Japan). The samples were centrifuged prior

Orientation-dependent photonic bandgaps in gold-dust weevil scales and their titania bioreplicates

• Norma Salvadores Farran,
• Limin Wang,
• Primoz Pirih and
• Bodo D. Wilts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.1

• }-oriented domains exhibits polarization conversion, rotating the angle of linearly polarized light. The overall coloration, resulting from the reflections from many scales, is close to uniformly diffuse because of the random orientation of the domains. Using titania sol–gel chemistry, we produced negative

• of 1.55 to 2.00. The study suggests that the effective refractive index of titania in the 3D lattice is similar to that in sol–gel films. The study demonstrates the potential of replicating complex biophotonic structures using the sol–gel technique. Optimization of the sol–gel process could lead to

• customizable photonic bandgaps that might be used in novel optical materials. Keywords: animal coloration; photonic crystal; polarization conversion; sol–gel replication; weevil; Introduction Animal coloration is produced by means of absorption, scattering, luminescence, and interference. The latter is

Fabrication of hafnium-based nanoparticles and nanostructures using picosecond laser ablation

• Abhishek Das,
• Mangababu Akkanaboina,
• Jagannath Rathod,
• R. Sai Prasad Goud,
• Kanaka Ravi Kumar,
• Raghu C. Reddy,
• Ratheesh Ravendran,
• Katia Vutova,
• S. V. S. Nageswara Rao and
• Venugopal Rao Soma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1639–1653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.129

• desired morphology is essential for a given application. Generally, practical techniques for obtaining nanomaterials are sol–gel method, chemical and physical vapour deposition, hydrothermal method, ball milling, grinding, lithography, etching, and laser ablation [14][15][16][17][18]. The morphology

Natural nanofibers embedded in the seed mucilage envelope: composite hydrogels with specific adhesive and frictional properties

• Agnieszka Kreitschitz and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1603–1618, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.126

• . Natural hydrogels share some features with synthetic hydrogels, but are more easy to obtain and recycle. One of the main sources of such hydrogels are mucilaginous seeds and fruits, which produce after hydration a gel-like, transparent capsule, the so-called mucilage envelope. Mucilage serves several

• . Macroscopically observable mucilage is often a transparent, gel-like capsule formed around the diaspore after hydration with water (Figure 1). At the microscale mucilage exhibits, before hydration, successive layers formed by adcrustation in the mucilaginous cells of the seed/fruit coat (the outermost covering of

• tasteless [11][21]. Its chemical composition and special physical properties allow many applications of mucilage, for example, as thickening and structuring (gel-forming) agent, emulsifier or stabiliser for food products, scaffold for tissue regeneration, additive in formation of medicinal tablets, and for

Polymer lipid hybrid nanoparticles for phytochemical delivery: challenges, progress, and future prospects

• Iqra Rahat,
• Pooja Yadav,
• Aditi Singhal,
• Mohammad Fareed,
• Jaganathan Raja Purushothaman,
• Mohammed Aslam,
• Raju Balaji,
• Sonali Patil-Shinde and
• Md. Rizwanullah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1473–1497, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.118

• reduced the IC50 value against different BC cells. When administered orally to Wistar rats, the THQ-PLHNPs revealed a 4.74-fold increase in bioavailability compared to pure THQ suspension. Trivedi et al. investigated the therapeutic potential of THQ-PLHNPs-based gel to achieve better therapeutic activity

• against BC [101]. The developed THQ-PLHNPs gel showed much higher skin permeation and retention compared to the conventional THQ gel. The THQ-PLHNPs were non-irritant when applied to the skin. Furthermore, the developed gels showed higher antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 and MBD-MB-231 cells than

• HPN dispersion. The developed HPN-cPLHNPs gels showed much better wound healing activity with a significantly higher reduction in wound size after topical application for 14 days in comparison with the conventional HPN gel. Emodin Emodin (EDN) is a natural anthraquinone compound found in various

Mn-doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by sol–gel and microwave-assisted sol–gel methods and their photocatalytic properties

• Cristina Maria Vlăduț,
• Crina Anastasescu,
• Silviu Preda,
• Oana Catalina Mocioiu,
• Simona Petrescu,
• Jeanina Pandele-Cusu,
• Dana Culita,
• Veronica Bratan,
• Ioan Balint and
• Maria Zaharescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1283–1296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.104

• 10.3762/bjnano.15.104 Abstract Although the microwave-assisted sol–gel method is quite frequently used for the preparation of oxide nanostructures, the synergism of the reaction pathways is not fully explained. However, state-of-the-art theoretical and practical results of high novelty can be achieved by

• continuously evaluating the as-synthesized materials. The present paper presents a comparative study of Mn-doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by both sol–gel and microwave-assisted sol–gel methods. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of the as-obtained powders were established and correlated with

• preferred for synthesizing oxide nanostructures because of their advantages, such as uniform mixing of precursors at the molecular level, low operating temperatures, and the ability to control the physicochemical properties of the final products [5][6]. Among various chemical techniques, the sol–gel method