Biological pores have been used to study the transport of DNA and other molecules but most pores have channels that allow only the movement of small molecules and single-stranded DNA and RNA. The bacteriophage phi29 DNA-packaging motor, which allows double-stranded DNA to enter and exit during a viral infection, contains a connector protein that has a 3.6 – 6.0 nm wide channel. Here we show that a modified version of the connector protein, when reconstituted into liposomes and inserted into planar lipid bilayers, can act as conductive channels to allow the translocation of double-stranded DNA. Single-channel conductance assays and quantitative PCR confirmed the translocation through the pore. The measured conductance of a single connector channel was 4.8 nS in 1 M KCl. This engineered and membrane-adapted phage connector is expected to have interesting applications in nanotechnology and nanomedicine, such as MEMS sensing, microreactors, gene delivery, drug loading, and DNA sequencing.

As a conceptually new class of two-dimensional (2D) materials, the ultrathin nanosheets as inorganic graphene analogues (IGAs) play an increasingly vital role in the new-generation electronics. However, the relatively low electrical conductivity of inorganic ultrathin nanosheets in current stage significantly hampered their conducting electrode applications in constructing nanodevices. We developed the unprecedentedly high electrical conductivity in inorganic ultrathin nanosheets. The hydric titanium disulfide (HTS) ultrathin nanosheets, as a new IGAs, exhibit the exclusively high electrical conductivity of 6.76 × 10(4) S/m at room temperature, which is superior to indium tin oxide (1.9 × 10(4) S/m), recording the best value in the solution assembled 2D thin films of both graphene (5.5 × 10(4) S/m) and inorganic graphene analogues (5.0 × 10(2) S/m). The modified hydrogen on S-Ti-S layers contributes additional electrons to the TiS2 layered frameworks, rendering the controllable electrical conductivity as well as the electron concentrations. Together with synergic advantages of the excellent mechanical flexibility, high stability, and stamp-transferrable properties, the HTS thin films show promising capability for being the next generation conducting electrode material in the nanodevice fields.

Linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses package their genome into a procapsid using an ATP-driven nanomotor. Here we report that bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor exercises a one-way traffic property for dsDNA translocation from N-terminal entrance to C-terminal exit with a valve mechanism in DNA packaging, as demonstrated by voltage ramping, electrode polarity switching, and sedimentation force assessment. Without the use of gating control as found in other biological channels, the observed single direction dsDNA transportation provides a novel system with a natural valve to control dsDNA loading and gene delivery in bioreactors, liposomes, or high throughput DNA sequencing apparatus.

Biomaterials constructed from self-assembling peptides, peptide derivatives, and peptide-polymer conjugates are receiving increasing attention as defined matrices for tissue engineering, controlled therapeutic release, and in vitro cell expansion, but many are constructed from peptide structures not typically found in the human extracellular matrix. Here we report a self-assembling biomaterial constructed from a designed peptide inspired by the coiled coil domain of human fibrin, the major protein constituent of blood clots and the provisional scaffold of wound healing. Targeted substitutions were made in the residues forming the interface between coiled coil strands for a 37-amino acid peptide from human fibrinogen to stabilize the coiled coil peptide bundle, while the solvent-exposed residues were left unchanged to provide a surface similar to that of the native protein. This peptide, which self-assembled into coiled coil dimers and tetramers, was then used to produce triblock peptide-PEG-peptide bioconjugates that self-assembled into viscoelastic hydrogel biomaterials.

For two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) materials, achieving large size with high quality to provide a basis for the next generation of electronic device geometries has been a long-term need. Here, we demonstrate that, by only manual shaking within several seconds, very large-sized TMD monolayers that cover a wide range of group IVB-VIB transition metal sulfides and selenides can be efficiently harvested from intercalated single-crystal counterparts. Taking TaS as examples, monolayers up to unprecedented size (>100 μm) are obtained while maintaining high crystalline quality and the phase structure of the starting materials. Furthermore, benefiting from the gentle manual shaking, we unraveled the atomic-level correlation between the intercalated lattice-strain effects and exfoliated nanosheets, and that strong tensile strain usually led to very large sizes. This work helps to deepen the understanding of exfoliation mechanism and provides a powerful tool for producing large-sized and high-quality TMD nanosheets appealing for further applications.

One of the critical challenges to develop advanced lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries lies in exploring a high efficient stable sulfur cathode with robust conductive framework and high sulfur loading. Herein, a 3D flexible multifunctional hybrid is rationally constructed consisting of nitrogen-doped carbon foam@CNTs decorated with ultrafine MgO nanoparticles for the use as advanced current collector. The dense carbon nanotubes uniformly wrapped on the carbon foam skeletons enhance the flexibility and build an interconnected conductive network for rapid ionic/electronic transport. In particular, a synergistic action of MgO nanoparticles and in situ N-doping significantly suppresses the shuttling effect via enhanced chemisorption of lithium polysulfides. Owing to these merits, the as-built electrode with an ultrahigh sulfur loading of 14.4 mg cm −2 manifests a high initial areal capacity of 10.4 mAh cm −2 , still retains 8.8 mAh cm −2 (612 mAh g −1 in gravimetric capacity) over 50 cycles. The best cycling performance is achieved upon 800 cycles with an extremely low decay rate of 0.06% at 2 C. Furthermore, a flexible soft-packaged Li-S battery is readily assembled, which highlights stable electrochemical characteristics under bending and even folding. This cathode structural design may open up a potential avenue for practical application of high-sulfur-loading Li-S batteries toward flexible energy-storage devices.

Linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses package their genomes into preformed protein shells via nanomotors using ATP as an energy source. The central hub of the bacteriophage φ29 DNA-packaging motor contains a 3.6-nm channel for dsDNA to enter during packaging and to exit during infection. The negatively charged interior channel wall is decorated with a total of 48 positively charged lysine residues displayed as four 12-lysine rings from the 12 gp10 subunits that enclose the channel. The standard notion derived from many models is that these uniquely arranged, positively charged rings play active roles in DNA translocation through the channel. In this study, we tested this prevailing view by examining the effect of mutating these basic lysines to alanines, and assessing the impact of altering the pH environment. Unexpectedly, mutating these basic lysine residues or changing the pH to 4 or 10, which could alter the charge of lysines, did not measurably impair DNA translocation or affect the one-way traffic property of the channel. The results support our recent findings regarding the dsDNA packaging mechanism known as the "push through a one-way valve".

The development of transition metal dichalcogenides has greatly accelerated research in the 2D realm, especially for layered MoS2. Crucially, the metallic MoS2 monolayer is an ideal platform in which novel topological electronic states can emerge and also exhibits excellent energy conversion and storage properties. However, as its intrinsic metallic phase, little is known about the nature of 2D 1T′‐MoS2, probably because of limited phase uniformity (<80%) and lateral size (usually <1 µm) in produced materials. Herein, solution processing to realize high phase‐purity 1T′‐MoS2 monolayers with large lateral size is demonstrated. Direct chemical exfoliation of millimeter‐sized 1T′ crystal is introduced to successfully produce a high‐yield of 1T′‐MoS2 monolayers with over 97% phase purity and unprecedentedly large size up to tens of micrometers. Furthermore, the large‐sized and high‐quality 1T′‐MoS2 nanosheets exhibit clear intrinsic superconductivity among all thicknesses down to monolayer, accompanied by a slow drop of transition temperature from 6.1 to 3.0 K. Prominently, unconventional superconducting behavior with upper critical field far beyond the Pauli limit is observed in the centrosymmetric 1T′‐MoS2 structure. The results open up an ideal approach to explore the properties of 2D metastable polymorphic materials.