A failsafe network design recovering from the stressed condition against a massive supply disruption is generally useful for various applications. Water flow in plants under a tension is inherently vulnerable to an embolism, a water supply cut off, causing a death. However, the function of the network structures of leaf veins and xylem stems effectively reduces the embolism-induced failure. In this study, water transport in plants under the pressurized conditions compared to the normal physiological conditions is observed by X-ray imaing. By examining embolism-induced water supply limits in the architecturally diverse leaf and stem networks, a progressive hydraulic rule has been found: the limited flows in the selected parts of the network structures against a total fail. For a scientific explanation on nanoscale water flow dynamics occurring in plants, temporal meniscus development in the nanomembrane model system is investigated. The pressure-driven hydrodynamic transport phenomena can be explained to follow network dynamics of the modified imbibition typically occuring in nanostrutcures. This study contributes to a variety of design technologies of networked materials against the spread of flow damages under the stressed conditions.

The food industry progressively requires innovative and environmentally safe packaging materials with increased physical, mechanical, and barrier properties. Due to its unique properties, cellulose has several potential applications in the food industry as a packaging material, stabilizing agent, and functional food ingredient. A coffee pod is a filter of cellulosic, non-rigid, ready-made material containing ground portions and pressed coffee prepared in dedicated machines. In our study, we obtained, with homogenization and sonication, cellulose micro/nanoparticles from three different coffee pods. It is known that nanoparticulate systems can enter live cells and, if ingested, could exert alterations in gastrointestinal tract cells. Our work aims to investigate the response of HT-29 cells to cellulose nanoparticles from coffee pods. In particular, the subcellular effects between coffee-embedded nanocellulose (CENC) and cellulose nanoparticles (NC) were compared. Finally, we analysed the pathologic condition (Cytolethal Distending Toxin (CDT) from Campylobacter jejuni) on the same cells conditioned by NC and CENC. We evidenced that, for the cellular functional features analysed, NC and CENC pre-treatments do not worsen cell response to the C. jejuni CDT, also pointing out an improvement of the autophagic flux, particularly for CENC preconditioning.

Cancer is the 3rd leading cause of death globally, and the countries with low-to-middle income account for most cancer cases. The current diagnostic tools, including imaging, molecular detection, and immune histochemistry (IHC), have intrinsic limitations, such as poor accuracy. However, researchers have been working to improve anti-cancer treatment using different drug delivery systems (DDS) to target tumor cells more precisely. Current advances, however, are enough to meet the growing call for more efficient drug delivery systems, but the adverse effects of these systems are a major problem. Nanorobots are typically controlled devices made up of nanometric component assemblies that can interact with and even diffuse the cellular membrane due to their small size, offering a direct channel to the cellular level. The nanorobots improve treatment efficiency by performing advanced biomedical therapies using minimally invasive operations. Chemotherapy’s harsh side effects and untargeted drug distribution necessitate new cancer treatment trials. The nanorobots are currently designed to recognize 12 different types of cancer cells. Nanorobots are an emerging field of nanotechnology with nanoscale dimensions and are predictable to work at an atomic, molecular, and cellular level. Nanorobots to date are under the line of investigation, but some primary molecular models of these medically programmable machines have been tested. This review on nanorobots presents the various aspects allied, i.e., introduction, history, ideal characteristics, approaches in nanorobots, basis for the development, tool kit recognition and retrieval from the body, and application considering diagnosis and treatment.

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) is thought to be the most effective remediation material for contaminated soil, especially when it comes to heavy metal pollutants. In the current high-industrial and technologically advanced period, water pollution has emerged as one of the most significant causes for concern. In this instance, silica was coated with zero-valent iron nanoparticles at 650 and 800 ℃. Ferric iron with various counter-ions, nitrate (FN) and chloride (FC), and sodium borohydride as a reducing agent were used to create nanoscale zero-valent iron in an ethanol medium with nitrogen ambient conditions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) techniques were employed to describe the structures of the generated zero-valent iron nanoparticles. Further, we investigated the electrical properties and adsorption characteristics of dyes such as alizarin red in an aqueous medium. As a result, zero-valent nano iron (nZVI), a core-shell environmental functional material, has found extensive application in environmental cleanup. The knowledge in this work will be useful for nZVI-related future research and real-world applications.

Cobalt-based sulfides have emerged as promising candidates for next-generation high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high theoretical specific capacity and reversible conversion reaction mechanisms. However, their practical application is hindered by volume expansion effects and relatively low rate performance. Guided by theoretical principles, this study synthesizes nanoscale Bi/CoS-C and Bi/Co₄S₃-C (denoted as Bi/CS-C) composite materials using Co and Bi₂S₃ as precursors via a solid-state ball milling method. The electrochemical properties of these materials were systematically investigated. When employed as anodes for LIBs, Bi/CoS-C and Bi/CS-C exhibit excellent rate capabilities. At current densities of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 4, and 10 A/g, the reversible capacities of Bi/CoS-C were 939.2, 730.7, 655.6, 508.1, and 319 mAh/g, respectively. In contrast, Bi/CS-C exhibited reversible capacities of 760.4, 637.6, 591.9, 484.3, and 295.4 mAh/g, respectively. Moreover, Co₄S₃, as an active component, enables superior long-cycle performance compared to CoS. After 300 cycles at 0.2 A/g, the Bi/CoS-C and Bi/CS-C electrodes retained capacities of 193.1 and 788.8 mAh/g, respectively. This study demonstrates that nanostructure design and carbon-based composite materials can effectively mitigate the volume expansion issue of cobalt-based sulfides, thereby enhancing their rate performance and cycling stability. This strategy provides new insights for the development of high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries and is expected to accelerate their practical application in next-generation energy storage devices.