Molecular and mechanical insights into gecko seta adhesion: multiscale simulations combining molecular dynamics and the finite element method

• Yash Jain,
• Saeed Norouzi,
• Tobias Materzok,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Florian Müller-Plathe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 2055–2076, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.141

• further branch into hundreds to thousands of spatulae [32][33][34][35]. Our seta geometry (Figure 2) was inspired by the branching geometry in Sauer et al. [21], which simplified the seta into distinct branching levels. While this captured key structural features, it did not fully represent the intricate

• natural hierarchy of real gecko setae, which includes finer branches, varying cross sections, and region-specific material anisotropy. Real setae possess complex cross-sectional shapes and non-uniform branching angles, which could lead to variations in force distributions. Nonetheless, this idealized

• orientations with their substrates were simulated in 16 parallel MD calculations. The skeleton of our multiscale seta was created by distributing branching points along two parabolas (Figure 3) as described by Sauer and colleagues [21]. Figure 3 illustrates the construction of the seta FE mesh. The seta was

Beyond the bilayer: multilayered hygroscopic actuation in pine cone scales

• Kim Ulrich,
• Max David Mylo,
• Tom Masselter,
• Fabian Scheckenbach,
• Sophia Fischerbauer,
• Martin Nopens,
• Silja Flenner,
• Imke Greving,
• Linnea Hesse and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1695–1710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.119

• , they were simplified by allowing branching only at the cross sections used as control points (Figure S1, Supporting Information File 2). The response of the involved tissues of the five scale-derived geometries during expansion and the influence of the involved tissues were characterized by simulative

Prospects of nanotechnology and natural products for cancer and immunotherapy

• Jan Filipe Andrade Santos,
• Marcela Bernardes Brasileiro,
• Pamela Danielle Cavalcante Barreto,
• Ligiane Aranha Rocha and
• José Adão Carvalho Nascimento Júnior

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1644–1667, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.116

• ][85]. Furthermore, in polysaccharides such as chitin, hyaluronic acid, and alginate, factors such as molecular weight, degree of branching, monosaccharide composition, and processes like sulfation or phosphorylation significantly influence their ability to modulate the tumor microenvironment and

Venom-loaded cationic-functionalized poly(lactic acid) nanoparticles for serum production against Tityus serrulatus scorpion

• Philippe de Castro Mesquita,
• Karla Samara Rocha Soares,
• Manoela Torres-Rêgo,
• Emanuell dos Santos-Silva,
• Mariana Farias Alves-Silva,
• Alianda Maira Cornélio,
• Matheus de Freitas Fernandes-Pedrosa and
• Arnóbio Antônio da Silva-Júnior

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1633–1643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.115

• cationic nanoparticles prepared by ionic gelation with 100% encapsulation efficiency [1][2]. Additionally, PEI with high branching density has been shown to enhance complexation and transfection efficiency [23]. The morphology obtained by AFM and FEGSEM showed particles with a smooth surface, spherical

Nanotechnology-based approaches for the removal of microplastics from wastewater: a comprehensive review

• Nayanathara O Sanjeev,
• Manjunath Singanodi Vallabha and
• Rebekah Rubidha Lisha Rabi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1607–1632, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.114

• radicals attack weak points in the polymer chains, typically structural flaws or chromophoric sites. This attack generates low-molecular-weight alkyl radicals within polyethylene. These reactive species then trigger various transformations, including chain cleavage, branching, crosslinking, and oxidation

Dendrimer-modified carbon nanotubes for the removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from water

• Thao Quynh Ngan Tran,
• Huu Trung Nguyen,
• Subodh Kumar and
• Xuan Thang Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1522–1532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.107

• in the Experimental section. First, 10 mg of the synthesized dendrimerized CNTs (CNTs-G1, CNTs-G2, CNTs-G3, and CNTs-G5) with different degrees of branching were added to respective vials as adsorbents, each containing 20 mL of a 100 ppm solution of Pb2+ and Cd2+ diluted from a 1000 ppm stock. The

Instance maps as an organising concept for complex experimental workflows as demonstrated for (nano)material safety research

• Benjamin Punz,
• Maja Brajnik,
• Joh Dokler,
• Jaleesia D. Amos,
• Litty Johnson,
• Katie Reilly,
• Anastasios G. Papadiamantis,
• Amaia Green Etxabe,
• Lee Walker,
• Diego S. T. Martinez,
• Steffi Friedrichs,
• Klaus M. Weltring,
• Nazende Günday-Türeli,
• Claus Svendsen,
• Christine Ogilvie Hendren,
• Mark R. Wiesner,
• Martin Himly,
• Iseult Lynch and
• Thomas E. Exner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 57–77, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.7

• processing schedules and data management plans. The flexibility of the instance map system means that maps can be extended to include any further branching to processes, such as adding any later analysis of collected samples by extending a branch for that sample, for example, transcriptomic analysis on

Functional fibrillar interfaces: Biological hair as inspiration across scales

• Guillermo J. Amador,
• Brett Klaassen van Oorschot,
• Caiying Liao,
• Jianing Wu and
• Da Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 664–677, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.55

• , which branch into spatulae at the tips [60]. The branching ensures a high density of hairs to generate high adhesive forces [61]. With advances in fabrication techniques at the micrometer scale, gecko-inspired adhesive hairs have been developed, which are capable of generating adhesion without the use

Comparative analysis of the ultrastructure and adhesive secretion pathways of different smooth attachment pads of the stick insect Medauroidea extradentata (Phasmatodea)

• Julian Thomas,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Thies H. Büscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 612–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.52

• present in varying mixture ratios, which would also influence its properties and thus its functions [38]. Secretion with more long-chain carbons and higher branching bonds is more viscous and would potentially exert stronger viscous forces [39][40]. The functional differentiation of the smooth attachment

• in the light microscope (Figure 3B). In CLSM, the endocuticle layer 1 exhibits a relatively low degree of sclerotization (Figure 3C). On top of the endocuticle layer 1 there is a ≈30 µm thick primary rod layer (pr) consisting of wide rods extending towards the surface of the arolium and branching

• into finer rods forming another ≈10 µm thick branching rod layer (br) (Figure 3). The primary rod layer and the branching rod layer are notably stained red by Cason stain (Figure 3A) and blue by toluidine blue stain (Figure 3B), confirming their cuticular origin. The CLSM images further revealed that

Hierarchically patterned polyurethane microgrooves featuring nanopillars or nanoholes for neurite elongation and alignment

• Lester Uy Vinzons,
• Guo-Chung Dong and
• Shu-Ping Lin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1157–1168, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.96

• ,C). There were also no significant differences in the amount of neurite branching among the nanopatterned substrates and the flat PU (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S10). The number of cells and primary neurites was lower on the nanopillar substrate compared with flat PU (Supporting

• (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S16B,C). Moreover, there were also no significant differences in the amount of neurite branching among the substrates (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S17). Similar to the non-grooved substrate, the pillar–groove substrate had lower cell and primary neurite counts

Exploring internal structures and properties of terpolymer fibers via real-space characterizations

• Michael R. Roenbeck and
• Kenneth E. Strawhecker

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1004–1017, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.83

• aligned with the fiber axis with significant fibril branching, junctions, and weaving in and out of the exposed surface. Combining topography maps with stiffness maps, we find that locally elevated regions exhibit higher stiffness, regardless of scanning direction, orientation with the fiber axis, or the

• structure. Comparisons of AFM maps from each fiber class revealed that the Technora® nanostructure includes (i) more fibril branching, (ii) less-defined interfaces, and (iii) more homogeneous stiffness profiles than in Kevlar® K29. These semiquantitive comparisons of stiffness were further supported by

Fragmentation of metal(II) bis(acetylacetonate) complexes induced by slow electrons

• Janina Kopyra and
• Hassan Abdoul-Carime

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 980–987, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.81

• pathways (e.g., branching ratio), will be helpful for using this family of organometallic compounds. Results and Discussion The interaction of low-energy electrons with gaseous compounds ML2 (M: Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn; L: acac) produces the parent anion [ML2]− and the fragment anion [L]− as the predominant

• summarizes all the observed anion products. As the anion yields shown below in Figures 1–6 show structures characteristic of resonant mechanisms, Table 1 also reports the peak positions of the fragment anions and their branching ratios derived by integration of the ion yield over the respective peaks. At the

• at this energy are compared with the sum of all integrated yields produced, we can provide the branching ratios for fragment production. The [MnL2]#− TNI decomposes into the negative fragments [L]−, [L-C3H3]−, and [C3H3]− at ca. 2.6 eV (Figure 5). For instance, at this energy, we estimate the

Nanotechnology – a robust tool for fighting the challenges of drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer

• Filip Gorachinov,
• Fatima Mraiche,
• Diala Alhaj Moustafa,
• Ola Hishari,
• Yomna Ismail,
• Jensa Joseph,
• Maja Simonoska Crcarevska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Nikola Geskovski and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 240–261, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.23

• the chemical properties (head structure, tail length, degree of unsaturation, and degree of branching) of lipidoids (i.e., above cationic lipid-like materials) and the lipidoid tail structure on biodistribution and efficacy of the NPs. It has been found that imidazole-based synthetic lipidoids

A TiO₂@MWCNTs nanocomposite photoanode for solar-driven water splitting

• Anh Quynh Huu Le,
• Ngoc Nhu Thi Nguyen,
• Hai Duy Tran,
• Van-Huy Nguyen and
• Le-Hai Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1520–1530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.125

• in Figure 2. They confirm that the TiO2@MWCNTs nanocomposite catalyst is successfully prepared via the hydrolysis reaction. It can be seen from Figure 2a that the morphology of MWCNTs is incoherent, curved, interlaced, and with little branching. Furthermore, a non-uniform decoration of TiO2 clusters

• conjunctional bridges. TiO2 particles deposit only on the outside wall surface of the MWCNTs. Additionally, an agglomeration of TiO2 particles is only observed at the branching points, zigzag regions, and the end of MWCNTs where the defects are identified. However, the observation differs from previous studies

Morphology-driven gas sensing by fabricated fractals: A review

• Vishal Kamathe and
• Rupali Nagar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1187–1208, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.88

• provided a large surface area while the branching of the structures helped in diffusion and transport of gas molecules within the sensing material. The samples had fractal dimensions of 1.59 (after two hours of reaction) and 1.38 (after six hours of reaction). Zang et al. demonstrated the mass production

• , roughness, porosity, branching, network structure, and fractal dimensions. The fractal dimensions estimated in the present article show that structures with D in the range of 1.3–1.8 exhibit better gas sensing responses. For fractal dimensions greater than 2, gas sensing behavior is not significant, and

Revealing the formation mechanism and band gap tuning of Sb₂S₃ nanoparticles

• Maximilian Joschko,
• Franck Yvan Fotue Wafo,
• Christina Malsi,
• Danilo Kisić,
• Ivana Validžić and
• Christina Graf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1021–1033, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.76

• the bristle-like shape, even after the growth stopped after 18 h reaction time, a merging process was excluded. The growth of individual particle fragments, such as bristles, has been described in the literature as a dendrite-like splitting or branching of primary particles in an autoclave synthesis

Uniform arrays of gold nanoelectrodes with tuneable recess depth

• Elena O. Gordeeva,
• Ilya V. Roslyakov,
• Alexey P. Leontiev,
• Alexey A. Klimenko and
• Kirill S. Napolskii

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 957–964, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.72

• active nanoelectrodes in the array can be achieved by modification of the AAO structure and artificial pore branching [34]. Conclusion Templated electrodeposition was successfully applied for the fabrication of recessed Au NEAs. The proposed preparation protocol includes a three-stage electrodeposition

Self-assembly of Eucalyptus gunnii wax tubules and pure ß-diketone on HOPG and glass

• Miriam Anna Huth,
• Axel Huth and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 939–949, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.70

• respect to the substrate and were branched in typical acute angles (Figure 2d). The branching of the tubules was also observed by Jetter and Riederer [15] in a recrystallization study of nonacosanol tubules. There, the formation of side branches was explained by the kinetic regime of crystallization, in

Physical constraints lead to parallel evolution of micro- and nanostructures of animal adhesive pads: a review

• Thies H. Büscher and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 725–743, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.57

• natural substrata. However, the convergent basic architecture of the pads can be tuned into different needs and constraints in the evolution of individual animal groups and species. The structural principle based on branching rods in smooth pads may, for example, additionally contribute to holding the

The influence of an interfacial hBN layer on the fluorescence of an organic molecule

• Christine Brülke,
• Oliver Bauer and
• Moritz M. Sokolowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1663–1684, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.149

• overlap of states becomes evident in the experiment as it causes a reduction of the FL yield (i.e., quenching). The degree of quenching may vary and, hence, lead to different branching ratios between the radiative and non-radiative channels. In order to obtain high FL yields of molecules on metallic

A 3D-polyphenylalanine network inside porous alumina: Synthesis and characterization of an inorganic–organic composite membrane

• Jonathan Stott and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 938–951, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.78

• "crosslinking" due to branching and rejoining of fibrillar supramolecular aggregates occurs. Nevertheless "end-to-end" and "side-to-side" interactions of the pBzg-α-helices are essential for the formation of fibrillar networks. Supported hydrogels that were attached to a porous substrate have been reported by

Hierarchically structured 3D carbon nanotube electrodes for electrocatalytic applications

• Pei Wang,
• Katarzyna Kulp and
• Michael Bron

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1475–1487, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.146

• , bottom-up synthesis approaches have been suggested, including branching or hierarchical structuring of carbon-based catalyst supports. In these approaches, one-dimensional (1D, e.g., CNTs or nano-/microfibers) or two-dimensional carbon materials (2D, e.g., graphene) are transformed into three-dimensional

Nanocomposites comprised of homogeneously dispersed magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles and poly(methyl methacrylate)

• Sašo Gyergyek,
• David Pahovnik,
• Ema Žagar,
• Alenka Mertelj,
• Rok Kostanjšek,
• Miloš Beković,
• Marko Jagodič,
• Heinrich Hofmann and
• Darko Makovec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1613–1622, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.153

• together; however, the number of the individual NPs linked together is quite low. This indicates that branched structures with NPs acting as the branching points were most likely formed instead of a fully cross-linked gel. The fact that the hydrodynamic size of the NP-PMMA nanoparticles was still large in

Sheet-on-belt branched TiO₂(B)/rGO powders with enhanced photocatalytic activity

• Huan Xing,
• Wei Wen and
• Jin-Ming Wu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1550–1557, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.146

• nanobelts when compared with the pristine alkali-hydrothermal synthesized nanobelt. The incorporation of graphene and the branching tactic resulted in a significantly increased specific surface area. When utilized to assist photodegradation of phenol in water under UV light illumination, the reaction rate

Heterostuctures of 4-(chloromethyl)phenyltrichlorosilane and 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphine prepared on Si(111) using particle lithography: Nanoscale characterization of the main steps of nanopatterning

• Phillip C. Chambers and
• Jayne C. Garno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1211–1219, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.112

• nanodots. Proposed model for constructing heterostructures of CMPS and H2TPyP The reaction for producing CMPS nanodots is driven by hydrolysis and condensation reactions that promote the vertical growth of CMPS through crosslinking siloxane bonds [40]. We did not observe evidence of branching or growth in