Proteins are highly abundant and, as a biomolecular class, have very versatile functions in living systems. Protein structures contain electrically charged residues and proteins' electrostatics are crucial for their function. Although protein activity is commonly modulated through a variety of ligands and post-translational modifications, an external electric field (EF) represents an alternative, physical approach. By exerting forces on charged and dipolar regions, EFs can reshape the energetic landscape and dynamic behavior of proteins. This approach offers a mass-free, rapidly switchable, spatially precise, non-contact, and reagent-free way to control protein conformation and function - features increasingly appealing for applications in green bioprocessing, neuromodulation, ultrafast structural biology, and in studying proteins without clearly ligandable sites. Despite the growing evidence for diverse and reversible control of proteins by EF, the mechanisms are still underexplored and applications have not yet grown to their full potential. This review focuses on molecular mechanisms and integrates the findings of the effects of external EFs on proteins from both computational simulations and experimental studies. The literature shows that the EF acts on protein charged and dipolar groups, and when the EF parameters are well tailored, the EF consequently triggers effects on protein rigid body motion, secondary structure, tertiary structure, quaternary structure and molecular conformation, ultimately leading to changes in protein interactions and function (enzymatic, ion channelling, switching, …). These effects are being utilized not only on proteins as food components but also for bionanotechnological applications, e.g. in membrane proteins for controlling their transport properties, and in structural and force-generating proteins to steer self-assembly pathways and dynamic behavior. The compiled evidence clarifies key mechanisms by which EFs influence proteins and identifies promising directions for biomedical, food-processing, and biotechnological applications.

Gas storage and separation are critical for industrial, environmental, and energy sustainability, yet conventional methods like cryogenic distillation and compression suffer from high energy consumption, cost, and infrastructural complexity. Physical adsorption using porous materials, operating without gas-phase transitions, presents a promising alternative due to its low energy requirements and ease of operation. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), a new class of crystalline porous materials synthesized through covalent bonding, have demonstrated significant potential as adsorbents due to their structural regularity, excellent stability, high surface areas, low density, and tunable pore properties, including the pore size, shape, and environment. These attributes facilitate efficient gas storage and separation. This comprehensive review summarizes the latest advancements in gas storage and separation using COF materials. Adsorption-based methods will be emphasized, with supplementary coverage of membrane-based technology. Based on the properties of gases, the main part will be divided into the following parts: hydrogen storage, methane storage, hydrocarbon separation, CO2 capture, SO2 capture, SF6 capture, H2/D2 separation, NH3 separation, and CH4/N2 and O2/N2 separations. In addition, the underlying mechanisms of separation, the innovation in COF structural design, and the strategies (e.g., bottom-up synthesis, post-synthetic modification, and interpenetration regulation) employed to enhance storage or separation performance will be analyzed. Finally, this work will outline the key challenges in translating COF materials from laboratory research to industrial applications, while highlighting the prospects of future developments in COF materials for gas storage and separation.

Bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes (BCBs) are among the smallest and most strained carbocycles and have emerged as powerful synthetic building blocks in modern organic chemistry. Recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in understanding and exploiting their unique reactivity. The high strain energy associated with the central C-C bond enables a variety of transformations, including insertions, additions, cycloadditions, and molecular rearrangements, often proceeding under mild conditions. This inherent strain facilitates the rapid and efficient construction of diverse and complex molecular architectures. Moreover, the incorporation of BCB motifs as bioisosteres of benzene derivatives has drawn significant attention in medicinal chemistry, owing to their high sp3 character and three-dimensionality. In this review, we summarize the important structural features and the recent advances in the reactivity of BCBs, highlighting key developments, mechanistic insights and the associated modes of reactivity explored.

Lateral flow assays (LFAs) have evolved from simple qualitative tools into intelligent, multi-modal analytical platforms that integrate rationally engineered multi-metallic nanoparticles (MMNPs) with artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted data analysis to redefine the frontier of point-of-care diagnostics. This transformation has been driven by the advent of MMNPs, which couple plasmonic, catalytic, and magnetic properties within a single nano-system to achieve the tuneable synergistic enhancement of sensitivity, specificity, and dynamic range. The rational design of alloy, core-shell, hetero-structured, and hollow MMNP architectures allows simultaneous multi-signal readouts (e.g. colourimetric, fluorescence, chemiluminescence, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, photothermal, and electrochemical), thereby enabling intrinsic cross-verification and expanding diagnostic reliability. Parallel advances in AI, smartphone integration, and the Internet of Things connectivity have further elevated LFAs into digitally networked biosensors where embedded algorithms perform automated signal interpretation, error correction, and multi-mode data fusion, while cloud-linked infrastructures enable remote monitoring and epidemiological intelligence. These developments collectively reframe LFAs as integral components of data-driven, personalised, and preventive healthcare systems. Herein, we provide a unified framework that links design-on-demand MMNP synthesis, fully automated microfluidic LFA devices, AI-enhanced clinical decision support, and regulatory standardisation, and outline strategies for translating next-generation intelligent LFAs from laboratory innovation to global medical deployment.

The dynamic interfacial behavior of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) lies at the heart of their structural adaptability and functional responsiveness. This review systematically summarizes the dynamic characteristics and regulation mechanisms of three types of interfaces in MOFs, including inorganic secondary building unit (SBU) interfaces, organic ligand interfaces, and extended framework interfaces. Unlike traditional classifications based on macroscopic phenomena, the "dynamic interface" paradigm offers a more fundamental insight: it demystifies macroscopic responses by linking them to specific bond-breaking/reforming events at defined interfaces and enables quantitative control by programming interface parameters-moving beyond trial-and-error towards rational design. At the SBU interface, dynamics are manifested as local oscillations of metal nodes, metal displacement, formation and modification of open metal sites (OMSs), as well as short-range coordinative extension to enable sequential multi-guest binding at single metal sites and long-range bridging to construct cooperative interfacial networks across adjacent SBUs. At the ligand interface, dynamic behaviors include conformational changes of ligands, ligand displacement, generation of open ligand sites (OLSs) and post-synthetic modification, together with short-range coordinative extension via pendant functional groups for site-isolated metal anchoring and long-range hydrogen-bond-mediated epitaxial coordination for accommodating bulky guests. At the framework level, dynamics are expressed through crystal growth and topological transformation, atomic-precision defect engineering, controlled chemical etching for hierarchical porosity, and stimuli-induced framework degradation enabling phase transformation, as well as the construction of MOF-on-MOF heterostructures via epitaxial growth. These dynamic processes all originate from the reversible breaking and re-formation of versatile coordination bonds under external stimuli such as light, heat, solvents, pressure, and electric fields, endowing MOFs with broad application potential in adsorption, separation, catalysis, sensing, and beyond. By integrating key recent advances, this review presents a paradigm shift in the understanding of MOFs, moving beyond their traditional perception as static porous materials to focus on their dynamic interfaces as the central determinant of functionality.

Proteins, the major functional components of living organisms, undergo post-translational modifications (PTMs) that expand their structural and functional diversity. Recent advances in PTM profiling and functional analysis have revealed that many PTMs act as reversible modulators of protein behavior, operating with residue- and domain-level precision to reshape higher-order structures. Both biotic and abiotic catalyses are emerging means of deciphering and controlling PTMs. In this Tutorial Review, we outline how PTMs influence protein architecture across multiple structural scales and survey catalytic strategies that enable their analysis and manipulation.

Perylene bisimide (PBI) dyes are the quintessential and most well-studied class of dyes for designing biomimetic light harvesting (LH) self-assembled systems owing to their exceptional photophysical features such as excellent absorption, high molar extinction coefficient and high fluorescence quantum yield, thermal robustness, high charge carrier mobilities, and efficient exciton diffusion properties in their assemblies. Although excellent reviews spanning many aspects of PBI dyes and their applications are available in the literature, none of these to date have focused on heterochromophoric PBI assemblies in solution and their applications in electronics. To bridge the gap, this review focuses on heterochromophoric PBI dye self-assemblies, their optical properties in solution, morphological aspects and applications in solar light harvesting and charge and energy transfer, and their eventual integration in supramolecular electronic devices. The PBI heterochromophoric assemblies have been categorized into two major categories, namely, (i) covalent heterochromophoric self-assemblies and (ii) heterochromophoric PBI systems assembled via non-covalent interactions such as π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, charge transfer interactions or co-assembly of PBIs with other chromophores and scaffolds. The detailed structural intricacies, photophysical properties in the solution phase, and morphologies of these assemblies are discussed followed by their established supramolecular electronic applications and future potential in the frontier areas of materials science.

Amino acid-based biomaterials, encompassing sequence-defined peptides, synthetic poly(amino acid)s, and self-assembling materials, garner increased attention for their advanced potential in biomedical fields. Traditionally, these materials have been employed primarily as carriers or scaffolds for drug delivery or tissue engineering. However, recent research has uncovered their capacity to modulate cell behaviors through various chemical and physical mechanisms, setting them apart from conventional biodegradable biomaterials. The degradation of these materials yields peptide fragments or amino acids that actively participate in cell metabolism and signaling regulation, thereby extending their functionality beyond structural support. This review explores how these biomaterials influence cell processes, such as proliferation, differentiation, migration, gene expression, secretion, intercellular communication, adhesion, phagocytosis, endocytosis, metabolism, senescence, apoptosis, polarization, and immune responses. By regulating these cell functions, either alone or in combination with other therapeutic strategies, amino acid-based biomaterials hold significant promise for applications in cancer therapy, regenerative medicine, and other biomedical fields. Furthermore, this review discusses the synchronization between material biodegradation kinetics and disease treatment timelines, thereby maximizing the bioactivity of degradation products and enhancing therapeutic efficacy. By highlighting the multifunctionality of amino acid-based biomaterials, this review emphasizes their potential in improving therapeutic outcomes and encourages further interdisciplinary research to fully harness their capabilities.

Peripheral nerve injury remains a major clinical challenge due to its complex pathophysiology and limited intrinsic regenerative capacity. Effective nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) therefore require not only structural support but also bioinstructive cues capable of actively regulating cellular behavior. Spatial gradients play a fundamental biological role in directing cell migration and axonal elongation by providing long-range guidance cues that cannot be achieved with uniform biochemical or structural cues alone. From a materials and chemical perspective, gradient NGCs represent a distinctive class of biomaterials in which physical properties, such as topography, porosity, and stiffness, and biochemical components, including growth factors, chemokines, peptides, and extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, are spatially encoded within the conduit structure. These gradients are established through physicochemical processes such as diffusion and adsorption kinetics, polymer network formation, crosslinking reactions, and interfacial chemistry. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms by which gradient cues regulate cellular and axonal responses, and summarize recent advances in the materials design and fabrication strategies used to introduce physical and biochemical gradients into NGCs. We further summarize representative in vitro and in vivo regenerative outcomes, highlighting how chemically engineered gradients synergize with structural guidance to promote organized nerve regeneration. Finally, we outline key challenges, including gradient stability, reproducibility, and compatibility with scalable manufacturing, and discuss future directions for the clinical translation of gradient-based NGCs.

Emissive organic crystals represent a rapidly advancing frontier in materials science, offering a unique platform that merges the superior optoelectronic characteristics of crystalline order with high-efficiency light emission. This review comprehensively surveys the field, from the fundamental molecular design principles and photophysical mechanisms, such as aggregation-induced emission, thermally activated delayed fluorescence, and room-temperature phosphorescence, to the advanced engineering of crystal packing and morphology. The unique light-matter interactions inherent to these crystalline materials, which underpin applications in optical waveguiding and stimulated emission (lasing), are elaborated upon. The review further discusses device integration, highlighting recent progress in organic light-emitting transistors, single-crystal light-emitting diodes, sensors and display arrays. Finally, the review outlines the existing challenges and future opportunities for these crystalline materials in next-generation photoelectronic technologies.