Spin injection into solid-state devices is commonly performed by use of ferromagnetic metal electrodes. Here, we present a spin injector design without permanent magnet; rather, the spin selectivity is determined by a chiral tunneling barrier. The chiral tunneling barrier is composed of an ultrathin Al2O3 layer that is deposited on top of a chiral self-assembled monolayer (SAM), which consists of cysteine or oligopeptide molecules. The experimentally observed magnetoresistance can be up to 20% at room temperature, and it displays an uncommon asymmetric curve as a function of the applied magnetic field. These findings show that the spin injector transmits only one spin orientation, independent of external magnetic field. The sign of the magnetoresistance depends on the handedness of the molecules in the SAM, which act as a spin filter, and the magnitude of the magnetoresistance depends only weakly on temperature.

Studying the interaction between neuronal cells and chiral molecules is fundamental for the design of novel biomaterials and drugs. Chirality influences all biological processes that involve intermolecular interaction. One common method used to study cellular interactions with different enantiomeric targets is the use of chiral surfaces. Based on previous studies that demonstrated the importance of cysteine in the nervous system, we studied the effect of L-and D-cysteine on single neuronal growth. L-Cysteine, which normally functions as a neuromodulator or a neuroprotective antioxidant, causes damage at elevated levels, which may occur post trauma. In this study, we grew adult neurons in culture enriched with L-and D-cysteine as free compounds or as self-assembled monolayers of chiral surfaces and examined the effect on the neuronal morphology and adhesion. Notably, we have found that exposure to the L-cysteine enantiomer inhibited, and even prevented, neuronal attachment more severely than exposure to the D-cysteine enantiomer. Atop the L-cysteine surfaces, neuronal growth was reduced and degenerated. Since the cysteine molecules were attached to the surface via the thiol groups, the neuronal membrane was exposed to the molecular chiral site. Thus, our results have demonstrated high neuronal chiral sensitivity, revealing chiral surfaces as indirect regulators of neuronal cells and providing a reference for studying chiral drugs.

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In this paper, we describe for the first time the synthesis of new chiral nanosized metal oxide surfaces based on chiral self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) coated with metal oxide (TiO2) nanolayers. In this new type of nanosize chiral surface, the metal oxide nanolayers enable the protection of the chiral self-assembled monolayers while preserving their enantioselective nature. The chiral nature of the SAM/TiO2 films was characterized by variety of unique techniques, such as second-harmonic generation circular dichroism (SHG-CD), quartz crystal microbalance, and chiral adsorption measurements with circular dichroism spectroscopy. The chiral resolution abilities of the SAMs coated with metal oxide (TiO2) nanolayers were investigated in the crystallization of a racemic mixture of threonine and glutamic acid. Our proposed methodology for the preparation of nanoscale chiral surfaces described in this article could open up opportunities in other fields of chemistry, such as chiral catalysis.

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