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A press release entitled “Cell-culture microarchitectures for 3D neuronal networks” has been published by Nanoscribe GmbH referring to the work of Cornelius Fendler published in Advanced Biosystems.

A tech note entitled “Fabrication and Characterization of Nanofluidic Devices for DNA Optical Mapping” has been published by Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH, Germany and Parisa Bayat, Robert H. Blick, and Irene Fernández-Cuesta.

A joined publication entitled “Electrochemical Engineering of Nanoporous Materials for Photocatalysis: Fundamentals, Advances, and Perspectives” with the group of Dr. Abel Santos (University Adelaide) has been publishedin ACS Langmuir

Abstract: Photocatalysis comprises a variety of light-driven processes in which solar energy is converted into green chemical energy to drive reactions such as water splitting for hydrogen energy generation, degradation of environmental pollutants, CO₂ reduction and NH₃ production. Electrochemically engineered nanoporous materials are attractive photocatalyst platforms for a plethora of applications due to their large effective surface area, highly controllable and tuneable light-harvesting capabilities, efficient charge carrier separation and enhanced diffusion of reactive species. Such tailor-made nanoporous substrates with rational chemical and structural designs provide new exciting opportunities to develop advanced optical semiconductor structures capable of performing precise and versatile control over light–matter interactions to harness electromagnetic waves with unprecedented high efficiency and selectivity for photocatalysis. This review introduces fundamental developments and recent advances of electrochemically engineered nanoporous materials and their application as platforms for photocatalysis, with a final prospective outlook about this dynamic field.

A new publication “Low-Temperature Vapor-Solid Growth of ZnO Nanowhiskers for Electron Field Emission”  from Stefanie and Carina has been published in MDPI Coatings.

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A new publication “Sculpturing wafer-scale nanofluidic devices for DNA single molecule analysis” of Irene’s ERC Starting Grant Group has been published today in RSC Nanoscale.

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A joined publication entitled “3D Micromachined Polyimide Mixing Devices for in Situ X-ray Imaging of Solution-Based Block Copolymer Phase Transitions” with the group of Prof. Martin Trebbin has been publishedin ACS Langmuir

Abstract: Advances in modern interface- and material sciences often rely on the understanding of a system’s structure–function relationship. Designing reproducible experiments that yield in situ time-resolved structural information at fast time scales is therefore of great interest, e.g., for better understanding the early stages of self-assembly or other phase transitions. However, it can be challenging to accurately control experimental conditions, especially when samples are only available in small amounts, prone to agglomeration, or if X-ray compatibility is required. We address these challenges by presenting a microfluidic chip for triggering dynamics via rapid diffusive mixing for in situ time-resolved X-ray investigations. This polyimide/Kapton-only-based device can be used to study the structural dynamics and phase transitions of a wide range of colloidal and soft matter samples down to millisecond time scales. The novel multiangle laser ablation three-dimensional (3D) microstructuring approach combines, for the first time, the highly desirable characteristics of Kapton (high X-ray stability with low background, organic solvent compatibility) with a 3D flow-focusing geometry that minimizes mixing dispersion and wall agglomeration. As a model system, to demonstrate the performance of these 3D Kapton microfluidic devices, we selected the non-solvent-induced self-assembly of biocompatible and amphiphilic diblock copolymers. We then followed their structural evolution in situ at millisecond time scales using on-the-chip time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering under continuous-flow conditions. Combined with complementary results from 3D finite-element method computational fluid dynamics simulations, we find that the nonsolvent mixing is mostly complete within a few tens of milliseconds, which triggers initial spherical micelle formation, while structural transitions into micelle lattices and their deswelling only occur on the hundreds of milliseconds to second time scale. These results could have an important implication for the design and formulation of amphiphilic polymer nanoparticles for industrial applications and their use as drug-delivery systems in medicine.

Chithra has been awarded the prestigious Humboldt research fellowship for post doctoral research and has rcently joined our group.