An aptamer modified graphene field‐effect transistor (G‐FET) based biosensor for electrical detection of E. coli is developed by King Wai Chiu Lai and co‐workers in article number https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201700736. The change of the carrier density in graphene due to the attachment of E. coli is correlated with the electrical response of the graphene biosensors. The electrical response is analyzed and optimized by tuning the gate voltage which affects the carrier mobility of graphene. The excellent sensing performance (high sensitivity, selectivity and stability) opens up the possibility to utilize aptamer modified graphene device for pathogens detection in food and water quality monitoring and early diagnosis of pathogen infections.

Photovoltaic effects in individual single-walled carbon nanotube-(SWCNT) based Schottky diodes were investigated for infrared detection in this paper. Different contact conditions (symmetric and asymmetric CNT-metal contacts) have been studied for optimising the performance of SWCNT-based infrared detector. Experiments demonstrated that the asymmetric structure could improve the photodiode performance by increasing the signal-to-dark current ratio up to two orders of magnitude higher than a symmetric device. With the perfect photodiode I-V characteristic curves, SWCNTs show a strong potential of applications in solar collection, infrared sensing and nanogenerators.

Substantia nigra (SN) is a complex and critical region of the brain wherein Parkinson's disease (PD) arises from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Miniature SN‐like structures (mini‐SNLSs) constructed from novel combination of nanomaterials and cell technologies exhibit promise as potentially curative cell therapies for PD. In this work, a rapid self‐organization of mini‐SNLS, with an organizational structure and neuronal identities similar to those of the SN in vivo, is achieved by differentiating neural stem cells in vitro on biocompatible silica nanozigzags (NZs) sculptured by glancing angle deposition, without traditional chemical growth factors. The differentiated neurons exhibit electrophysiological activity in vitro. Diverse physical cues and signaling pathways that are determined by the nanomatrices and lead to the self‐organization of the mini‐SNLSs are clarified and elucidated. In vivo, transplantation of the neurons from a mini‐SNLS results in an early and progressive amelioration of PD in rats. The sculptured medical device reported here enables the rapid and specific self‐organization of region‐specific and functional brain‐like structures without an undesirable prognosis. This development provides promising and significant insights into the screening of potentially curative drugs and cell therapies for PD.

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This paper presents a novel and an automated selection system to separate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by their electronic properties using a dielectrophoresis-based method. CNTs have been found as promising materials for nanoelectronics due to their sizes and unique properties. Different CNTs have different electronic properties. Conventional electronic devices that are replaced by specific CNTs can possibly provide better performance and their sizes can be reduced. However, different types of CNTs aggregate together after synthesis processes, so the resulting electronic property of bundled CNTs cannot be predicted easily. Therefore, a novel classification method is necessary to separate different electronic properties of CNTs. Since the size of CNTs is in nanoscale, traditional robotic manipulation cannot be applied. Selection and manipulation of a single CNT with a specific electronic property are challenging. AC electrokinetic assembly is one of the promising methods to manipulate a CNT in the desired position. In this paper, a dielectrophoresis-based method is used to select and manipulate different types of CNTs across microelectrodes. By combining the separation and deposition system, it enables the possibility to manipulate a single CNT precisely and repeatedly, and potentially improve the yield for fabricating CNT based devices. It can also be integrated with a traditional robotic system and implemented in current manufacturing processes. As a result, a fast and batch nano-assembly of consistent nano-devices can be achieved.