Materials challenges in solid-state sensors for continuous monitoring of ions in water

• Maryam Darestani-Farahani and
• Peter Kruse

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 935–973, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.66

• 10,000–100,000 cm2/V·s, and charge carrier densities of 1015–1019 cm−3. CNTs possess high specific surface area (SSA; generally in the range of 200–800 m2/g) and can be functionalized with selective ionophores, membranes, or chelating ligands [20]. In CNTs, charges move inside individual CNTs via band

Nanocarrier strategies to overcome P-glycoprotein-mediated drug resistance in cancer therapy

• Andreina Quevedo-Enríquez,
• Katty Yi Zhang,
• Denisse Yajaira Enriquez,
• Byron Raul Inapanta,
• Roxana Noemí Peroni and
• Christian Rafael Quijia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 882–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.64

• multifunctional systems incorporating targeting ligands, stimuli-responsive release mechanisms, and co-delivery strategies such as siRNA or natural P-glycoprotein inhibitors. This approach enabled identification and comparative assessment of the most promising nanocarrier systems designed to overcome MDR. 2.6

• neurotoxicity. To mitigate these risks, recent studies employ tumor-targeting ligands such as hyaluronic acid, folate, transferrin, and others that can selectively recognize overexpressed receptors on resistant cancer cells, as well as stimuli-responsive nanocarriers that release siRNA under acidic or enzymatic

• structures [46]. Examples of NLCs are presented in Table 2. 3.2.1.1 Functionalized liposomes. Surface functionalization of liposomes aims to deliver anticancer agents directly to tumors by attaching specific ligands, such as peptides, antibodies or their fragments, or small molecules. This strategy leverages

Light-driven ammonia electrooxidation via carbon nitride–ruthenium molecular interfaces

• Jan Holub and
• Pablo Jiménez-Calvo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 854–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.61

• anchoring strategies, covalent amide bond formation exploiting the surface amine groups of C3N4, and non-covalent π–π and C–H···π interactions mediated by pyrene-functionalized ligands, are presented as complementary rather than competing routes to the heterointerface, each controlling surface density

• to the proposed hybrid strategy (Figure 2d). RuBda (Ru coordinated by 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylic acid [22][23]) is the current state-of-the-art catalyst for WOC and AOC [24][25]. Its carboxylate arms provide both strong coordination to the metal and axial or equatorial ligands, which can be

Nanoparticle delivery systems for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): advances and challenges

• Sonia Zahara and
• Björn M. Reinhard

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 839–853, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.60

• encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ARVs. Moreover, the ease of surface functionalization with targeting ligands such as glycosphingolipids, peptides, or antibodies makes them an interesting option for targeted delivery to HIV-relevant immune cells, including CD4+ T cells. Immune cells not only serve

• surface functionalization with targeting ligands. A straightforward targeting strategy is achieved by incorporating lipids that bind to specific cell surface receptors. For instance, the ganglioside GM3 allows targeting of CD169 [90][91][92][93]. This receptor is enriched on myeloid cells that play a role

• loading for some compounds and long-term stability. Polymeric nanocarriers offer excellent control over drug release properties, but it is challenging to control surface properties independently of the core properties and introduce targeting ligands. Consequently, each of these three distinct nanocarrier

Environmental applications of silver nanoparticles: state-of-the-art review and emerging trends

• Soni Prajapati,
• Akash Kumar and
• Ranjana Singh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 697–736, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.49

• polymers or targeting ligands can enhance stability, dispersibility, and biocompatibility for specific ecological applications [64]. For example, differently capped AgNPs (e.g., PEG, EDTA, PVP, or PVA) exhibited NP size variations, ultimately affecting antimicrobial and sensing applications. PVA provided

Recent progress in enhancing built-in electric fields of perovskite solar cells via junction engineering

• Tong Xiao and
• Ke Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 602–621, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.42

• limitations of various device architectures and precisely designing vertical or interfacial band gradients to optimize carrier dynamics in a customized manner [54]. Yang et al. [48] tackled charge localization and barrier-blocking issues in perovskite quantum dot (PeQD) devices caused by long-chain ligands by

• introducing a “reassembly process” (RP) strategy. Using a pyridine/isopropanol mixed solvent, insulating long-chain ligands were replaced with formamidinium iodide short-chain ions, enabling close-packed quantum dot assembly and vertical growth orientation. Simultaneously, layered spin-coating of nanocrystals

Towards targeted drugs and next generation of nanomedicines

• Anna Salvati,
• Silvia Giordani and
• Wolfgang J. Parak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 598–601, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.41

• , active targeting strategies are also being investigated, where drugs and drug carriers are modified via the addition of ligands specifically recognizing receptors overexpressed at the targeted cells. While few antibody–drug conjugates have been approved for clinical use [23], active targeting still

Advances in nanotechnology applied to natural products

• Douglas Dourado,
• Fábio Rocha Formiga,
• Éverton do Nascimento Alencar and
• Franceline Reynaud

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 555–558, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.36

• applications, including cancer therapy, where they may be designed as conventional liposomes or as immunoliposomes functionalized with antibodies or ligands to promote targeted delivery to tumor cells or components of the immune microenvironment [18]. Combining liposomes with natural products and co-loaded

Electrochemical determination of ciprofloxacin using a MIL-101/reduced graphene oxide-modified electrode

• Nguyen Quang Man,
• Nguyen Ngoc Nghia,
• Nguyen Vinh Phu,
• Vo Thi Khanh Ly,
• Le Lam Son,
• Pham Khac Lieu,
• Le Thi Hong Phong,
• Nguyen Dinh Luyen and
• Dinh Quang Khieu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 541–554, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.35

• from the carboxylate ligands of the terephthalate linkers in MIL-101 and residual oxygen functionalities on rGO [26]. The presence of these oxygen groups suggests that the reduction of graphene oxide is partial and that surface functional groups remain, helping to facilitate interactions between rGO

Probing internal continua and atomic ultrafast charge transfer within size-controlled nanoparticles by post-collision interaction in core-hole clock spectroscopy

• Johannes Lütgert,
• Erika Giangrisostomi,
• Nomi L. A. N. Sorgenfrei and
• Alexander Föhlisch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 505–514, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.33

• surface ligands [14]. In this work, we obtain charge transfer on the atomic scale for size-dependent quantum-confined systems using core-hole clock (CHC) spectroscopy. We further expand the well-established CHC approach by the aspect of detecting the internal continuum states within the size-controlled

• % of the Auger signal originates solely from the shell, while, in the shell with eleven double layers, this value increases to over 60% [32]. Given that the QDs are covered with a surface layer of long-chain hydrocarbon ligands (hexadecylamine) and that such films can reach film thicknesses of 1–2 nm

Nanoinformatics: spanning scales, systems and solutions

• Iseult Lynch,
• Diego S. T. Martinez,
• Kunal Roy and
• Georgia Melagraki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 423–427, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.28

• . Improving the efficacy of targeted therapies and minimizing off-target effects are key challenges in nanomedicine. To address these, Dasgupta et al. mapped the structural fingerprints of ligands governing the cellular uptake of MeOx nanomaterials based on classification-based ML models (i.e., Bayesian

Biomimetic nanoparticles in cancer photodynamic therapy: a review of targeted delivery systems and therapeutic outcomes

• Valentina I. Gorbacheva,
• Alexey S. Grabovoy,
• Polina S. Marukhina,
• Anastasiia O. Syrocheva and
• Ekaterina P. Kolesova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 396–422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.27

• nanoparticle surface, often reducing targeting specificity and biocompatibility. Coating nanoparticles with cell membranes, such as those from RBCs or leukocytes, can minimize protein corona formation, preserve targeting ligands, and extend circulation time by evading immune clearance. This strategy leverages

• also widely used to enhance BNP functionality [73][74][75]. Non-covalent methods, such as lipid insertion, allow for the integration of targeting ligands, peptides, or imaging agents into the membrane without disrupting protein activity. Covalent modifications, including the attachment of antibodies or

• with imaging agents or therapeutic enzymes to facilitate tumor visualization and penetration, further expanding their utility in cancer therapy. Targeting strategies can be further refined by integrating ligands such as arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD) peptides, antibodies, or aptamers onto the BNP

Gold nanoparticle-decorated reduced graphene oxide as a highly effective catalyst for the selective α,β-dehydrogenation of N-alkyl-4-piperidones

• Brenda Flore Kenyim,
• Mihir Tzalis,
• Marilyn Kaul,
• Robert Oestreich,
• Aysenur Limon,
• Chancellin Pecheu Nkepdep and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 218–238, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.15

• tunability, making AuNPs highly versatile in catalytic applications [5][6]. Traditional ligands such as thiols and citrates are commonly used in the synthesis of AuNPs due to their ability to control particle size, prevent aggregation, and enhance stability in solution [7]. Also, polyoxometalates (POMs) have

• emerged as stabilizing ligands for nanoparticles offering distinct structural and electronic advantages. They are widely utilized in various catalytic processes, including oxidation, acid–base, and photocatalysis [8][9] POMs have been extensively employed for stabilizing and decorating small metal

• coated with strong ligands that provide initial stability over time, ligand desorption, ligand exchange, or environmental factors such as pH and ionic strength can weaken the protective layer, leading to nanoparticle aggregation or structural degradation [14][15]. An important aspect of expensive noble

Influence of surface characteristics on the in vitro stability and cell uptake of nanoliposomes for brain delivery

• Dushko Shalabalija,
• Ljubica Mihailova,
• Nikola Geskovski,
• Andreas Zimmer,
• Otmar Geiss,
• Sabrina Gioria,
• Diletta Scaccabarozzi and
• Marija Glavas Dodov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 139–158, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.9

• to less efficient binding with protein targets that would work as ligands for receptor-mediated transport and delivery, finally resulting in partial inhibition and reduction of cellular uptake ([24]). Taken into consideration all aforementioned, it can be summarized that cellular transport and

Development and in vitro evaluation of liposomes and immunoliposomes containing 5-fluorouracil and R-phycoerythrin as a potential phototheranostic system for colorectal cancer

• Raissa Rodrigues Camelo,
• Vivianne Cortez Sombra Vandesmet,
• Octavio Vital Baccallini,
• José de Brito Vieira Neto,
• Thais da Silva Moreira,
• Luzia Kalyne Almeida Moreira Leal,
• Claudia Pessoa,
• Daniel Giuliano Cerri,
• Maria Vitória Lopes Badra Bentley,
• Josimar O. Eloy,
• Ivanildo José da Silva Júnior and
• Raquel Petrilli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 97–121, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.7

• rearrangements in the lipid bilayer, increasing its fluidity and consequently facilitating the insertion of ligands onto the surface, in agreement with previous findings [50]. However, increasing the DOPE concentration did not enhance conjugation efficiency. In the IM-D08 formulation, where the DOPE

Chiral plasmonic nanostructures fabricated with circularly polarized light

• Tian Qiao and
• Ming Lee Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 2245–2264, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.154

• with large g-factors. Section 2.3 will address this issue with the strategy of modifying the surface ligands on PNSs to create chiral PNSs. The non-radiative decay of hot carriers can heat the PNSs. Due to the high thermal conductivity of metals, isolated PNSs usually feature uniform temperature

• nanostructures in Figure 4b. No NP seeds nor organic ligands were used to obtain the chiral nanostructures in Figure 4c. The authors of the original paper commented that these nanostructures were difficult to classify into left- or right-handedness. When Au nanocubes were immobilized on ITO substrates, chiral Au

Optical bio/chemical sensors for vitamin B₁₂ analysis in food and pharmaceuticals: state of the art, challenges, and future outlooks

• Seyed Mohammad Taghi Gharibzahedi and
• Zeynep Altintas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 2207–2244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.153

Ultrathin water layers on mannosylated gold nanoparticles

• Maiara A. Iriarte Alonso,
• Jorge H. Melillo,
• Silvina Cerveny,
• Yujin Tong and
• Alexander M. Bittner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 2183–2198, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.151

• hydrophobic tips. While VSFG indicated preferential hydration of the dimannoside and proved conformational changes in the organic ligands, AFM provided sub-nanometer changes in particle topography due to water adsorption. In general, the dimannoside nanoparticles condense ultrathin water layers upon humidity

• and stability in solution, in terms of hydrodynamic diameter and NP surface charge, respectively. Spectroscopy techniques were used to analyze the chemical composition of the organic ligands locally. We used FTIR for the molecular fingerprint infrared region to find the characteristic peaks of the

• not possible inside the NPs, but inside the ligand sphere, especially between dimannoside groups, but possibly also between PEG chains. The resulting expansion of the ligands cannot be distinguished from adsorption of water, that is, when water molecules are selectively placed on the ligands. In

Toward clinical translation of carbon nanomaterials in anticancer drug delivery: the need for standardisation

• Michał Bartkowski,
• Francesco Calzaferri and
• Silvia Giordani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 2092–2104, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.144

• to maintain the desired therapeutic and safety profiles. Assessing this aspect includes quantifying the density and distribution of attached ligands or therapeutic agents. In addition to evaluating the NMs themselves, the manufacturing process must be carefully monitored. Reproducibility, scalability

Laser ablation in liquids for shape-tailored synthesis of nanomaterials: status and challenges

• Natalie Tarasenka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1963–1997, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.137

• at specific facets of seed NPs can be expected to be governed by the decrease of surface free energy [36][37]. The density and binding energy of the ligands can significantly differ for different crystal planes. As a result of specific adsorption, the crystal facets with adsorbed ions become blocked

• ], where high ligand density led to truncated octahedral PbSe nanostructures, while reduced surface ligand concentration (achieved by washing) resulted in cubic structures. This result shows that addition or removal of surface ligands may result in nanocrystals of different shapes. The length of organic

• chains in stabilizing ligands influences particle–particle coupling; therefore, the exchange of stabilizing agents will influence the overall shape of nanomaterials [43][44]. Further surface engineering by the control of ligand–ligand interactions can result in the formation of novel nanoarchitectures

Evaluating metal-organic precursors for focused ion beam-induced deposition through solid-layer decomposition analysis

• Benedykt R. Jany,
• Katarzyna Madajska,
• Aleksandra Butrymowicz-Kubiak,
• Franciszek Krok and
• Iwona B. Szymańska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1942–1951, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.135

• . EIMS reveals how ligands respond to electron irradiation; simple molecules such as CO and CO2 detach cleanly, making them “favorable” in FEBID. In contrast, anionic or polyhapto ligands, such as cyclopentadienyl (Cp) or allyl fragments, readily fragment form CxHy matrices, leading to film contamination

• carboxylate ligands (compounds 1–4), as well as νas(NH2), ν(=NH), δ(NH2), and ν(N=C−N) bands of coordinated amidine ligands for complex 2 (Figure 1b and Supporting Information File 1, Table S1) confirming the formation of suitable layers of the studied complexes. SEM operating in secondary electron mode

PEGylated lipids in lipid nanoparticle delivery dynamics and therapeutic innovation

• Peiyang Gao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1914–1930, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.133

• targeted LNP cellular uptake To overcome the reduced cellular uptake associated with high PEG density, functionalized PEG lipids can be utilized as chemical handles for the conjugation of small molecules as targeting ligands [34]. For instance, maleimide-PEG lipids are widely used for thiol-mediated

• enhanced accumulation in placental immune cells [49]. These findings further demonstrated that conjugating ligands to functionalized PEG lipids can enhance cellular uptake in targeted LNP delivery [47][49][50]. Interestingly, a recent study showed that, even in the absence of a ligand, functionalized PEG

• effect on uptake or transfection efficiency, suggesting limited interaction enhancement through that functional group. This study highlights that even without ligands, functionalized PEG lipids may be able to modulate LNP surface interactions and biodistribution, though the effect strongly depends on

Exploring the potential of polymers: advancements in oral nanocarrier technology

• Rousilândia de Araujo Silva,
• Igor Eduardo Silva Arruda,
• Luise Lopes Chaves,
• Mônica Felts de La Roca Soares and
• Jose Lamartine Soares Sobrinho

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1751–1793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.122

Advances of aptamers in esophageal cancer diagnosis, treatment and drug delivery

• Yang Fei,
• Hui Xu,
• Chunwei Zhang,
• Jingjing Wang and
• Yong Jin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1734–1750, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.121

• obstacles to their safe application. Hence, ongoing research explores strategies to optimize the solubility and targeting ability of anti-EC drugs, and aptamers [25] represent a distinct class of molecular tools. Aptamers are small nucleotide or peptide sequences screened by “systematic evolution of ligands

• evolution of ligands by SELEX; (3) validate binding affinity and functional modulation in vitro and in vivo models; and (4) elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms (Figure 4). At present, significant progress has been made in peptide aptamers targeting SOX2 protein or its binding partner, aptamers

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

• nanoparticles Gold nanoparticles are nanometer-scale structures composed of a gold core with surface ligands, which can be structured into nanospheres, nanocages, nanorods, and nanoshells [146][147]. There are various manufacturing processes such as vacuum sputtering, biosynthesis, methods based on ultraviolet

• polymeric membranes, non-ionic surfactants, macromolecules, and phospholipids [176][177]. The properties of the pharmaceutical form are governed by size, shape, core structure, and ligands, which can alter factors such as solubility, charge density, hydrophobicity, stability, and binding affinity [178]. The