Drug delivery and diagnostic imaging often lack specificity, but a new “TRACE” method lets specially‑caged compounds stay inert until a target cell’s enzymes quickly remove the cage, potentially allowing for more precise drug delivery and sharper diagnostic imaging.

Researchers have developed a facile water-based synthetic route for constructing fused azole–pyrimidine energetic materials, producing compounds with high thermal stability, strong detonation performance, and low mechanical sensitivity. The study demonstrates how eco-friendly aqueous synthesis can simultaneously improve safety, thermal resistance, and energetic performance in next-generation heat-resistant explosives.

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new method to recycle mixed plastic packaging without using harmful chemical solvents – an approach that could make one of the world's most difficult waste streams significantly easier to handle.

This study demonstrates the gram-scale synthesis of water-stable M-Gallate (M = Mg, Ni, Co) metal-organic frameworks from inexpensive raw materials, and their application in harvesting water vapour from ultra-low humidity air. The optimal Mg-Gallate MOF achieves a record-high atmospheric water capture capacity of 170.0 mg/g at 0.2% relative humidity (RH) and 25 °C, surpassing all previously reported porous adsorbents under equivalent conditions.

Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt and her team at the Institute of Experimental Physics at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have developed a new type of UV dual-comb spectrometer that detects gaseous air pollutants with unrivalled accuracy and sensitivity. Using ultraviolet double laser light, the device measures the concentration of harmful gases such as formaldehyde within half a second. Thanks to its compact design and a measuring range of up to two and a half kilometres, the spectrometer is not only suitable for laboratory analyses, but also for mobile measurements in cities, industrial areas and agricultural regions.

Quasi-solid-state electrolytes (QSEs) are critical for ultrafast-charging yet high-safety sodium metal batteries (SMBs), yet their implementation is hindered by sluggish Na⁺ transport in bulk and at interfaces. Here, we propose dual interlocked mediator engineering that transcends conventional independent approaches by coupling cationic Sn²⁺ salt with anionic difluoro(oxalato)borate (DFOB⁻) salts to simultaneously regulating bulk ion transport and bilateral interface chemistry. During QSE preparation, Sn²⁺ initiates in situ cationic polymerization, while DFOB⁻ acts as a retarding agent to suppress runaway polymerization. The first interlocking effect in the Sn-FB QSE bulk builds a uniform network, enabling near-unity Na⁺ transference number (0.94) and robust puncture strength (8.5 kPa). During cell operation, Sn²⁺ is reduced to form a hybrid NaSn alloy-based solid-electrolyte interphase, while DFOB⁻ oxidizes to generate a robust yet thin cathode–electrolyte interphase, respectively. This second interlocking effect creates adaptable bilateral interphases that facilitate Na⁺ diffusion and mitigate interfacial degradation. As a result, the symmetric cells exhibit 6000 h stability, and full cells retain 80.1 mAh g^–1 at an ultrafast-charging rate of 15C and retain 90% capacity at 3C over 2000 cycles. Furthermore, high-mass-loading full cells and pressure-free pouch cells are demonstrated, underscoring the potential of dual interlocked mediator engineering for practical SMBs.

Chiral objects can behave differently depending on their handedness. However, existing methods cannot reveal how chirality varies across a material. Researchers from Chiba University developed a terahertz imaging technique that maps right- and left-handed chirality using spiral-shaped light. The researchers visualized different chiral regions on a moiré-type metasurface with a resolution of about 100 μm, marking the first direct observation of spatial chirality distributions within a material.