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

• . Consequently, rod-shaped gold nanoparticles have been the subject of considerable interest with regard to their potential use in optical antennas, sensitive biosensors, and medical applications. This is due to their strong plasmonic absorption in the visible–near infrared region, which is caused by electronic

Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale

• Shabbir Tahir,
• Tatiana Smoliarova,
• Carlos Doñate-Buendía,
• Michael Farle,
• Natalia Shkodich and
• Bilal Gökce

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 823–836, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.62

• were synthesized by PLAL using the bulk Ge-based and Al-based CCA targets submerged in ethanol (Figure 1c). A near-infrared picosecond-pulsed Nd:YAG laser source (Coherent, HyperRapid NX, Kaiserslautern, Germany, 10 ps, 1064 nm) was employed to irradiate the targets within ethanol at a laser fluence of

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

• detectivity in the order of 106–108 Jones is attained. The FeS2/n-Si photodetector works in self-powered mode also in addition to the photoconductive mode. The results show the effective fabrication of nanostructured ultraviolet–visible–near infrared thin film photodetectors using semiconductor nanocolloids

Efficiency of single-pulse laser fragmentation of organic nutraceutical dispersions in a circular jet flow-through reactor

• Tina Friedenauer,
• Maximilian Spellauge,
• Alexander Sommereyns,
• Verena Labenski,
• Tuba Esatbeyoglu,
• Christoph Rehbock,
• Heinz P. Huber and
• Stephan Barcikowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 711–727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.55

• understood. In the last two decades, the transfer of these laser-based processes to organic substances has been reported with a particular focus on particle size reduction by LFL [10][16][17]. One motivation behind the size reduction of organic particles like drugs or near-infrared absorbing dyes, which

Nanostructured materials characterized by scanning photoelectron spectromicroscopy

• Matteo Amati,
• Alexey S. Shkvarin,
• Alexander I. Merentsov,
• Alexander N. Titov,
• María Taeño,
• David Maestre,
• Sarah R. McKibbin,
• Zygmunt Milosz,
• Ana Cremades,
• Rainer Timm and
• Luca Gregoratti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 700–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.54

• formed. In particular, a higher concentration of Ni3+ observed in the regions with surface cavities is also associated to a lower presence of absorbed oxygen. This can be correlated with surface defects responsible for the increase in the relative intensity of the near-infrared emission observed in the

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

• therapeutic treatment [167]. These materials are embedded with responsive elements like nanoparticles that capture light in the near-infrared (NIR) or visible range and transform it to energy or heat to elicit specific responses. Such materials can, upon light exposure, release therapeutic payloads in the

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

• light can be divided into ultraviolet (UV; 190–400 nm), visible light (400–780 nm) and near-infrared light (NIR; 780–2500 nm) [28][29]. UV light has shorter wavelengths and higher photon energies that can be absorbed by most body tissues. Hence, its penetration is limited, and it may trigger a number of

• effect. 3.6 Enable near-infrared vision The human eye perceives visible light within the range of 380–780 nm, whereas certain species, such as pythons, possess the ability to detect infrared light (1000–30000 nm) using temperature-sensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channels in

Nanocarriers and macrophage interaction: from a potential hurdle to an alternative therapeutic strategy

• Naths Grazia Sukubo,
• Paolo Bigini and
• Annalisa Morelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 97–118, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.10

• cancer cells upon near-infrared light exposure, significantly reducing tumor size with minimal damage to surrounding tissues [99]. Moreover, NCs can be designed to deliver immunomodulatory agents, such as checkpoint inhibitors or cytokines, directly to the tumor microenvironment to enhance antitumor

Lithium niobate on insulator: an emerging nanophotonic crystal for optimized light control

• Midhun Murali,
• Amit Banerjee and
• Tanmoy Basu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1415–1426, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.114

• periodicity and layer thickness is important for a photonic crystal. SiO2 exhibits a wide transparency range, enabling its application across diverse wavelengths, including both the visible and near-infrared spectra [17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. TiO2 is a frequently utilized material in photonic crystals

• layer to absorb four times more near-infrared light [43]. Flip-chip micro light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) are a revolutionary technology with the potential to create next-generation HDR displays due to their tiny size, exceptional brightness, wide color gamut, and energy efficiency [44][45][46

Hymenoptera and biomimetic surfaces: insights and innovations

• Vinicius Marques Lopez,
• Carlo Polidori and
• Rhainer Guillermo Ferreira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1333–1352, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.107

• morphology (triangular cross section with two corrugated surfaces) associated with a strong optical reflection in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) range, while maximizing heat emissivity in the mid-infrared (MIR). This allows the insects to maintain a lower thermal steady state and to cope with high

Realizing active targeting in cancer nanomedicine with ultrasmall nanoparticles

• André F. Lima,
• Giselle Z. Justo and
• Alioscka A. Sousa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1208–1226, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.98

• ’ dots) composed of encapsulated Cy5 near-infrared (NIR) dyes, a protective PEG layer, the drug exatecan conjugated via a cathepsin-B cleavable linker, and folic acid targeting molecules (Figure 3A) [115]. The multifunctional C’ dot particles contained on average 21 exatecan and 13 folic acid molecules

• aptamer ligand/nucleolin receptor Chen et al. prepared AuNCs (≈3 nm) stabilized with histidine amino acids [142]. These particles were then functionalized through chemical conjugation with two targeting ligands, cyclic RGD (cRGD) and AS1411, along with the incorporation of doxorubicin (DOX) or the near

• -infrared (NIR) dye MPA. Tumor-bearing mice were employed to assess the tumor specificity of AuNC-MPA, AuNC-MPA-cRGD, and AuNC-MPA-cRGD-AS1411 using in vivo NIR fluorescence imaging. Both targeted AuNCs accumulated in the tumor, while the control AuNC-MPA showed negligible accumulation. However, the

Unveiling the potential of alginate-based nanomaterials in sensing technology and smart delivery applications

• Shakhzodjon Uzokboev,
• Khojimukhammad Akhmadbekov,
• Ra’no Nuritdinova,
• Salah M. Tawfik and
• Yong-Ill Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1077–1104, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.88

Bolometric IR photoresponse based on a 3D micro-nano integrated CNT architecture

• Yasameen Al-Mafrachi,
• Sandeep Yadav,
• Sascha Preu,
• Jörg J. Schneider and
• Oktay Yilmazoglu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1030–1040, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.84

• CNTs, which were used for near-infrared detection measured (primarily) at RT. These CNT architectures with suspended CNTs [22][23][24] or vertically aligned CNTs [25] contained CNTs with multiple chiralities and numbers of walls with an averaged absorption effect. They have the potential for broadband

Therapeutic effect of F127-folate@PLGA/CHL/IR780 nanoparticles on folate receptor-expressing cancer cells

• Thi Ngoc Han Pham,
• Phuong-Thao Dang-Luong,
• Hong-Phuc Nguyen,
• Loc Le-Tuan,
• Xuan Thang Cao,
• Thanh-Danh Nguyen,
• Vy Tran Anh and
• Hieu Vu_Quang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 954–964, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.78

• discovered to have exceptional inherent tumor-targeting characteristics without any modification, and it is a fluorophore enabling near-infrared imaging. However, IR780 iodide has low water stability and photostability [23] and shows acute toxicity at high doses [24], which limits its clinical application

• and treatment. The term is not new to nanoscience, but it is always preferable to create a drug carrier that serves both goals; that was also the aim of the nanoparticle design in our study. In our study, the imaging agent is the near-infrared fluorescent dye IR780, while the treatment medication is

• nanoparticles to follow the targeting of nanoparticles as well as using it as a photosensitizer [23][48][49][50][51][52]. First, IR780 has an excitation wavelength of 777–780 nm and an emission wavelength of 798–823 nm, which is suitable for obtaining noninvasive near-infrared fluorescence images for clinical

Gold nanomakura: nanoarchitectonics and their photothermal response in association with carrageenan hydrogels

• Nabojit Das,
• Vikas,
• Akash Kumar,
• Sanjeev Soni and
• Raja Gopal Rayavarapu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 678–693, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.56

• into heat energy is an intrinsic optical property of metal nanoparticles when irradiated using near-infrared radiation. However, the impact of size and shape on the photothermal behaviour of gold nanomakura particles possessing optical absorption within 600–700 nm as well as on incorporation in

• gold nanomakura within a 600–700 nm wavelength. The aspect ratio as well as anisotropy of synthesized gold nanomakura can influence photothermal response upon near-infrared irradiation. The role of carbon tail length was evident via absorption peaks obtained from longitudinal surface plasmon resonance

Exfoliation of titanium nitride using a non-thermal plasma process

• Priscila Jussiane Zambiazi,
• Dolores Ribeiro Ricci Lazar,
• Larissa Otubo,
• Rodrigo Fernando Brambilla de Souza,
• Almir Oliveira Neto and
• Cecilia Chaves Guedes-Silva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 631–637, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.53

• exfoliation methods, offering promising prospects for applications in photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy of tumors because of their satisfactory absorption characteristics in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) region [5]. The non-thermal plasma (NTP) synthesis method enables the fabrication of 2D

Vinorelbine-loaded multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles as anticancer drug delivery systems: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro release study

• Zeynep Özcan and
• Afife Binnaz Hazar Yoruç

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 256–269, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.24

• multifunctional PEGylated magnetic nanoparticles coated with polydopamine (PDA) exhibit strong near-infrared absorption because of the PDA layer and have the ability to deliver drugs under a magnetic field owing to their superparamagnetism [51]. During the drug loading studies, the anticancer drug vinorelbine was

Nanocarrier systems loaded with IR780, iron oxide nanoparticles and chlorambucil for cancer theragnostics

• Phuong-Thao Dang-Luong,
• Hong-Phuc Nguyen,
• Loc Le-Tuan,
• Xuan-Thang Cao,
• Vy Tran-Anh and
• Hieu Vu Quang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 180–189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.17

• nanocarrier that can be loaded with the chemotherapeutic medication chlorambucil and magnetic resonance imaging agents (e.g., iron oxide nanoparticles and near-infrared fluorophore IR780) for theragnostics. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) was combined with the aforementioned ingredients to generate poly(vinyl

• diagnostics, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dyes are a potential alternative for the diagnosis and excision of residual malignant cancer, which is invisible by conventional visual examination and palpation [16][17][18]. Indocyanine green is the only NIR dye permitted for clinical use [19]. Dyes such as IR780

• for near-infrared imaging and MRI. IR780 is used as the tracer during operation and also in phototherapy [23][24]. The IO NPs have been used as a contrast agent in MRI for diagnosis. Since MRI is a noninvasive and nonradiation technique, it could be used multiple times to follow therapy stages

Nanoarchitectonics of photothermal materials to enhance the sensitivity of lateral flow assays

• Elangovan Sarathkumar,
• Rajasekharan S. Anjana and
• Ramapurath S. Jayasree

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 988–1003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.82

• review is provided in Figure 2. Photothermal nanomaterials The photothermal properties of nanomaterials have been extensively studied for therapeutic applications. Heat generation under exposure to near-infrared (NIR) light is commonly used against deadly diseases such as cancer [28][29][30]. Because of

The origin of black and white coloration of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

• Manuela Rebora,
• Gianandrea Salerno,
• Silvana Piersanti,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 496–508, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.41

• in the near-infrared spectral range (>900 nm) is about 2.5 times stronger than the WS1 reflection (!) and up to five times stronger (at 45° detection) than in the UV spectral range (<300 nm) (Figure 6). Pronounced specular reflection (at 45° detection) could be seen at proximal and distal

Conjugated photothermal materials and structure design for solar steam generation

• Chia-Yang Lin and
• Tsuyoshi Michinobu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 454–466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.36

• AM1.5 standard is used in solar cell engineering with a fraction of 3% in the ultraviolet (UV) region (300–400 nm), of 45% in the visible region (400–700 nm), and of 52% in the near-infrared (NIR) and infrared region (700–2500 nm). This suggests that PTMs need to have a high absorption at wavelengths

• scattering. After crosslinking PANI, the porous hydrogel sample exhibited a broader and stronger absorption (98.5%) than the pure PEGDA sample, especially in the visible and near-infrared regions. Polydopamine: Polydopamine (PDA) has shown great potential in the field of solar-driven desalination due to its

Bismuth-based nanostructured photocatalysts for the remediation of antibiotics and organic dyes

• Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo and
• Faisal Suleiman Mustafa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 291–321, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.26

• structure, shape, and environment. If these parameters are adjusted, the optical responses of Bi nanoparticles can be tuned from the near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared region. According to Figure 3, the bandgap of different bismuth-based photocatalysts has been observed to fall between 1.30 and 3.85 eV

Recent progress in cancer cell membrane-based nanoparticles for biomedical applications

• Qixiong Lin,
• Yueyou Peng,
• Yanyan Wen,
• Xiaoqiong Li,
• Donglian Du,
• Weibin Dai,
• Wei Tian and
• Yanfeng Meng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 262–279, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.24

• ]. The precisely targeted thermal killing of tumor tissue can help to improve the efficiency of energy utilization and reduce power and time during ablation, which will minimize damage to normal tissue around the tumor [95]. Photothermal therapy (PTT) can generate thermal energy by using near-infrared

Cyclodextrins as eminent constituents in nanoarchitectonics for drug delivery systems

• Makoto Komiyama

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 218–232, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.21

• very stiff. Upon photoirradiation, however, the crosslinkings for the gel formation are broken almost completely, releasing the encapsulated drugs (e.g., DOX as anticancer drug). 2.3 Upconversion nanoparticles to release drugs by near-infrared light As an external stimulus for DDSs, near-infrared (NIR

Concentration-dependent photothermal conversion efficiency of gold nanoparticles under near-infrared laser and broadband irradiation

• Vikas,
• Raj Kumar and
• Sanjeev Soni

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 205–217, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.20

• Organisation, Sector-30C, Chandigarh-160030, India 10.3762/bjnano.14.20 Abstract The photothermal conversion efficiency of gold different nanoparticles (GNPs) in different concentrations (1.25–20 µg/mL) and at different irradiation intensities of near-infrared (NIR) broadband and NIR laser irradiation is

• applications. Keywords: broadband irradiation; gold nanoparticles; laser; near-infrared; photothermal conversion efficiency; plasmonics; Introduction Plasmonic photothermal properties of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are useful for a variety of applications including those in biomedicine, such as drug delivery

• broadband light source and a near-infrared laser (for comparison). Gold nanospheres (GNSs) of 40 nm diameter and gold nanorods (GNRs) of sizes 25 × 47 nm, 10 × 38 nm, and 10 × 41 nm were examined. The photothermal conversion efficiency for these GNPs is reported for different nanoparticle concentrations and