Nanomedicine and graphene-based materials: advanced technologies for potential treatments of diseases in the developing nervous system

The interest in graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) application in nanomedicine, in particular in neurology, steadily increased in the last decades. GBNs peculiar physical–chemical properties allow the design of innovative therapeutic tools able to manipulate biological structures with subcellular resolution. In this review, we report GBNs applications to the central nervous system (CNS) when these nanomaterials are engineered as potential therapeutics to treat brain pathologies, with a focus on those of the pediatric age. We revise the state-of-the art studies addressing the impact of GBNs in the CNS, showing that the design of GBNs with different dimensions and chemical compositions or the use of specific administration routes and doses can limit unwanted side effects, exploiting GBNs efficacy in therapeutic approaches. These features favor the development of GBNs-based multifunctional devices that may find applications in the field of precision medicine for the treatment of disorders in the developing CNS. In this framework, we address the suitability of GBNs to become successful therapeutic tools, such as drug nano-delivery vectors when being chemically decorated with pharmaceutical agents and/or other molecules to obtain a high specific targeting of the diseased area and to achieve a controlled release of active molecules. Impact The translational potential of graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) can be used for the design of novel therapeutic approaches to treat pathologies affecting the brain with a focus on the pediatric age. GBNs can be chemically decorated with pharmaceutical agents and molecules to obtain a highly specific targeting of the diseased site and a controlled drug release. The type of GBNs, the selected functionalization, the dose, and the way of administration are factors that should be considered to potentiate the therapeutic efficacy of GBNs, limiting possible side effects. GBNs-based multifunctional devices might find applications in the precision medicine and theranostics fields.

Advances in Electrochemical Energy Devices Constructed with Tungsten Oxide-Based Nanomaterials

Tungsten oxide-based materials have drawn huge attention for their versatile uses to construct various energy storage devices. Particularly, their electrochromic devices and optically-changing devices are intensively studied in terms of energy-saving. Furthermore, based on close connections in the forms of device structure and working mechanisms between these two main applications, bifunctional devices of tungsten oxide-based materials with energy storage and optical change came into our view, and when solar cells are integrated, multifunctional devices are accessible. In this article, we have reviewed the latest developments of tungsten oxide-based nanostructured materials in various kinds of applications, and our focus falls on their energy-related uses, especially supercapacitors, lithium ion batteries, electrochromic devices, and their bifunctional and multifunctional devices. Additionally, other applications such as photochromic devices, sensors, and photocatalysts of tungsten oxide-based materials have also been mentioned. We hope this article can shed light on the related applications of tungsten oxide-based materials and inspire new possibilities for further uses.

Modulation of MoTe2/MoS2 van der Waals heterojunction for multifunctional devices using N2O plasma with opposite doping effect

Van der Waals layered heterojunctions have a variety of band offsets, which open up possibilities for a wide range of novel and multifunctional devices. However, due to their poor pristine...

Rectifying optoelectronic memory based on WSe2/graphene heterostructures

Van der Waals heterostructures composed of two-dimensional materials vertically stacked have been extensively studied to develop various multifunctional devices. Here, we report WSe2/graphene heterostructure devices with a top floating gate...