Current technologies available for deep-space optical data transmission and networking are discussed in this paper, as well as ongoing experiments, future perspectives, and applications.

Piezocatalysis is a promising alternative of photocatalysis where the strained state of a piezoelectric material is exploited for electrochemical surface reactions under dark conditions. Among various piezoelectric materials, ZnSnO 3 has immense potential as piezocatalyst because of the noncentrosymmetric structure and strong ferroelectric polarization. Herein, we report orthorhombic ZnSnO 3 nanoparticles as efficient piezocatalysts under ultrasound treatment. A small particle size of 4−5 nm, phase purity, room temperature ferroelectric behavior, and the colloidal form of ZnSnO 3 are responsible for efficient piezocatalysis. It is shown that hydroxyl radicals are generated during piezocatalysis which is responsible for degradation activity. This work demonstrates the bright prospect of ZnSnO 3 nanoparticles for ultrasound-assisted piezocatalytic decontamination of polluted water and other applications.

We estimate contributions from Kaluza-Klein excitations of gauge bosons and physical charge scalar for the explanation of the lepton flavor universality violating excess in the ratios RðDÞ and RðD Ã Þ in 5 dimensional universal extra dimensional scenario with nonvanishing boundary localized terms. This model is conventionally known as nonminimal universal extra dimensional model. We obtain the allowed parameter space in accordance with constraints coming from B c → τν decay, as well as those from the electroweak precision tests.

Complex biological fluids without pretreatment, separation, or purification impose stringent limitations on the practical deployment of label-free plasmonic biosensors for advanced assays needed in point of care applications. In this work, we present an enzyme-free plasmonic neurotransmitter dopamine biosensor integrated with a microfluidic plasma separator. This integrated device allows the in-line separation of plasma directly from the bloodstream and channels it to the active detection area, where inorganic cerium oxide nanoparticles function as local selective dopamine binding sites through strong surface redox reaction. A thorough understanding and engineering of the nanoparticles is carried out to maximize its dopamine sensitivity and selectivity. We obtain detection of dopamine at 100 fM concentration in simulated body fluid and 1 nM directly from blood without any prior sample preparation. The detection selectivity is found to be at least five-times higher compared to the common interfering species. This demonstration shows the feasibility of the practical implementation of the proposed plasmonic system in detection of variety of biomarkers directly from the complex biological fluids.

Although the piezoelectric property of a BaTiO3 nanoparticle is routinely used in energy harvesting application, it can also be exploited for wireless cell stimulation and cell therapy. However, such biomedical application is rare due to limited availability of colloidal BaTiO3 nanoparticles of <100 nm hydrodynamic size with good piezocatalytic property and efficient biolabeling performance. Here, we report a colloidal form of a piezocatalytic BaTiO3-based nanorod of <100 nm hydrodynamic size that can offer wireless cell stimulation. The nanorod is prepared using a TiO2 nanorod as the template, and the resultant TiO2–BaTiO3-based composite nanorod is coated with a hydrophilic polymer shell. These nanorods can label cells and, under the ultrasound exposure, produce reactive oxygen species inside cells via piezocatalysis, leading to cell death. These nanorods can be used for wireless modulation of intracellular processes.