Small

doi: 10.1002/smll.201370068pmid: N/A

Misslitz, Holger; Kreger, Klaus; Schmidt, Hans‐Werner

doi: 10.1002/smll.201370066pmid: N/A

Typically, polymer micro‐ and nanofibers are prepared by top‐down approaches such as meltblowing or electrospinning. In contrast, H.‐W. Schmidt and co‐workers demonstrate on page 2053 a bottom‐up approach via the self‐assembly of small molecules to supramolecular nanofibers. This approach can form supramolecular nanofiber webs within a scaffold in situ. The remarkable intrinsic stability of the supramolecular nanofibers in combination with their good adhesion on the polymer scaffold result in microfiber/nanofiber composites, which are stable under typical air filtration conditions.

Sekol, Ryan C.; Kumar, Golden; Carmo, Marcelo; Gittleson, Forrest; Hardesty‐Dyck, Nathan; Mukherjee, Sundeep; Schroers, Jan; Taylor, André D.

doi: 10.1002/smll.201370067pmid: N/A

The first all‐bulk metallic glass (BMG) micro fuel cell is designed by A. D. Taylor and co‐workers, consisting of Pt‐based BMG electrodes and Zr‐based BMG endplates. BMGs are amorphous metal alloys readily formed into a variety of shapes and sizes. The Pt–BMG electrode with high catalytic activity takes advantage of multi‐length scale thermoplastic forming to produce nanowires supported on a disc with 110 μm pores. Zr–BMG has superior corrosion resistance and conductivity beyond silicon, stainless steel, and graphite. On page 2081, this fuel cell is demonstrated for the first time as a flow field current collector.

doi: 10.1002/smll.201370069pmid: N/A

Tian, Huayu; Chen, Jie; Chen, Xuesi

doi: 10.1002/smll.201202485pmid: 23630123

Nanocarriers are a new type of nonviral gene carriers, many of which have demonstrated a broad range of pharmacological and biological properties, such as being biodegradable in the body, stimulus‐responsive towards the surrounding environment, and an abiltiy to specifically targeting certain disease sites. By summarizing some main types of nanocarriers, this Concept considers the current status and possible future directions of the potential clinical applications of multifunctional nanocarriers, with primary attention on the combination of such properties as biodegradability, targetability, transfection ability, and stimuli sensitivity.

Hu, Xiaoge; Wei, Chen‐Wei; Xia, Jinjun; Pelivanov, Ivan; O'Donnell, Matthew; Gao, Xiaohu

doi: 10.1002/smll.201370070pmid: N/A

Multifunctional nanoparticles with integrated magnetic, optical, and targeting properties enable simultaneous trapping and ultrasensitive detection of rare circulating tumor cells in blood vessels. On page 2046, photoacoustic imaging shows how the nanoprobes detect the cells at the single‐cell‐per‐milliliter level, capturing two thirds of the labeled cells in just one pass. Compared to conventional in vitro assays, this technology has the potential to interrogate large sample volumes in a reasonable procedure time.

Hu, Xiaoge; Wei, Chen‐Wei; Xia, Jinjun; Pelivanov, Ivan; O'Donnell, Matthew; Gao, Xiaohu

doi: 10.1002/smll.201202085pmid: 23203788

Multifunctional nanoparticles with integrated magnetic, optical, and targeting properties allow simultaneous trapping and detection of rare circulating tumor cells.

Misslitz, Holger; Kreger, Klaus; Schmidt, Hans‐Werner

doi: 10.1002/smll.201202334pmid: 23213061

Microfiber–nanofiber composites are prepared by in situ formation of supramolecular nanofiber webs based on 1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxamides in polymer nonwoven scaffolds. The supramolecular nanofibers are strongly fixed to nonwoven microfibers. These composites are sufficiently stable to be suited for air filtration applications.

Sonay, Ali Yasin; Culha, Mustafa

doi: 10.1002/smll.201202804pmid: 23390056

Assembly into higher‐order structures is very important to fully benefit from the extraordinary properties of nanomaterials. SWCNTs are assembled into nanorings using DNA hybridization. The oligonucleotides are covalently attached to the SWCNTs and an oligonucleotide complementary to the oligonucleotides covalently bound to SWCNTs is used to bring assemble them by hybridization.

Li, Mao; Ishihara, Shinsuke; Ohkubo, Kei; Liao, Meiyong; Ji, Qingmin; Gu, Cheng; Pan, Yuyu; Jiang, Xiangfen; Akada, Misaho; Hill, Jonathan P.; Nakanishi, Takashi; Ma, Yuguang; Yamauchi, Yusuke; Fukuzumi, Shunichi; Ariga, Katsuhiko