Engineering & Technology Chemical Engineering

Researchers from The University of Osaka created stable cobalt-based honeycomb structures inside a layered material and observed ferromagnetic-like ordering at low temperatures. By introducing a small amount of cobalt into NaSbO3, the team demonstrated a new platform to study Kitaev materials using abundant 3d transition metals, potentially supporting future cost-effective quantum technologies.

Metal–amide chemistry provides a rational approach to controlling heavy-pnictogen reduction, paving the way for safer and more scalable semiconductor quantum dots.

Development of specialized "One-body" materials for dry processes maximizes battery performance and productivity.

Floatable beads made from chitosan and cellulose acetate and enhanced with bentonite were engineered to effectively clean oil from water. The beads showed good oil adsorption capacity while remaining easy to collect from the water surface.

In collaboration with Clarivate, Professor Nam-Gyu Park’s research team highlights the rapid growth of solid-state implementation since its first successful realization in 2012

Researchers from National Taiwan University and Chulalongkorn University developed a copper-based catalyst system that improves low-temperature methanol synthesis from carbon dioxide hydrogenation by balancing two key steps in the reaction.

Single monomer containing thiolactone and pyridyl disulfide molecules allows for variable polymer functionalities

This study introduces a co-assembly strategy using two newly designed donor–acceptor self-assembled materials, LYS-H and fluorinated LYS-F, to overcome aggregation, wettability, interfacial contact, and crystallinity limitations of Me-4PACz in inverted perovskite solar cells. The fluorinated LYS-F delivers a power conversion efficiency of 25.02%, a fill factor of 83.64%, and improved ambient stability, highlighting its strong potential for the future commercialization of high-efficiency perovskite photovoltaic technologies.

Through protein binding, molecular heavy drugs are effectively transported to cancerous tissues

Researchers at The University of Osaka have created highly transparent wood without plastic additives and revealed that its clarity depends on structural direction. Alkali treatment softens cellulose-based cell walls, allowing internal cavities to collapse during drying and reduce light scattering. Tangential sections become more transparent than radial ones due to anisotropic swelling and densification. The findings offer new design principles for sustainable transparent materials in buildings and advanced devices.

Japanese researchers have developed a living sensor display that turns engineered skin into a biological monitor, visually indicating internal inflammation without requiring blood sampling.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in ACS Nano the successful creation of artificial synaptic vesicles that can be remotely controlled by near-infrared (NIR) light. By embedding a phthalocyanine dye into lipid bilayers, the team achieved local heating that modulates membrane permeability, enabling precise release of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine. These findings demonstrate that nanoscale heating can control communication between nerve cells. The work opens new avenues for non-genetic modulation of neuronal activity, with potential applications in neuroscience, drug delivery, and bioengineering.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society the use of three-dimensional atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics simulations to determine the structure of water in the hydration of different types of chitin nanocrystals, and how this affects their mechanical properties, reactivities, and interactions with enzymes and reactants.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in ACS Nano, how proteins in cells can be controllably activated through heating, an effect that can be used to initiate programmed cell death.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, have developed nanoscale ‘molecular flasks’ based on single molecules of bottlebrush polymers to carefully control polymerization reactions in extremely small spaces

Cyborg jellyfish, 3D collagen, Light, light go away, AI electronic nose, FLASHing cancer, Hydrogen storage in nanoscales & Can I drink this? Read all in the latest Editor's Choice

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University observe and model how the enzyme ADAR1 interacts with double-stranded RNA, which may be useful for future cancer treatment strategies.

Improved production of compounds from methanol and Komagataella phaffii yeast achieved through DNA alteration

Portable technology offers instant, power-free ethanol detection across concentrations

The power conversion efficiency of all-organic solar cells was doubled through the development of novel organic electrodes that can be fabricated using a moderate process.

Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, observe the configuration of different dipeptides on graphite electrodes and the subsequent arrangement of catalytic hemin on them to get an idea of the factors affecting its catalytic activity.

Replacing chemical phosphorus and nitrogen with sustainable sources

Inspired by elephants, researchers grow fungus in elephant-skin patterns to create better insulation for buildings.

Cell wall proteins exhibit emulsifying action, offer possible alternative to emulsifiers derived from milk, other known allergens

Copolymer solution uses water-loving differential to induce desorption at lower temperatures

Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, demonstrate how morphogens combined with cell adhesion can generate tissue domains with a sharp boundary in an in vitro model system.

Foaming plastic carriers creates uneven surfaces, more area for necessary microorganisms

A research group led by Associate Professor Katsuya Sakai, Researcher Nichole Marcela Rojas-Chaverra, and Professor Kunio Matsumoto of the Cancer Research Institute and Nano-Life Science (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University has developed a long-acting, subcutaneously injectable artificial hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) mimetic molecule using a fusion technology of cyclic peptides and protein engineering. They demonstrated in a mouse model that it improves liver fibrosis, lipid accumulation, and inflammation caused by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This research result provides an option for the development of NASH therapeutics as well as a technology for creating growth factor and cytokine mimetic molecules with improved pharmacokinetics.

Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Small Methods the 3D imaging of a suspended nanostructure. The technique used is an extension of atomic force microscopy and is a promising approach for visualizing various 3D biological systems.

Researchers created a strong, plastic-free, eco-friendly leather alternative from pineapple leaf fiber and natural rubber, outperforming other plant-based leathers and even mushroom leather in strength and sustainability.