We report herein an in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (ECSTM) investigation of iron-phthalocyanine (FePc)-catalyzed oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A highly ordered FePc adlayer is revealed on a Au(111) electrode. The center ions in the FePc adlayer show uniform high contrast in an oxygen-saturated electrolyte, which is attributed to the formation of an FePc-O2 complex. In situ STM results reveal the sharp contrast change upon shifting the electrode potential to trigger the ORR. Theoretical simulation has supplied further evidence for the contrast difference of the adsorbed FePc species.

RNA presents intringuing roles in many cellular processes and its versatility underpins many different applications in synthetic biology. Nonetheless, RNA origami as a method for nanofabrication is not yet fully explored and the majority of RNA nanostructures are based on natural pre-folded RNA. Here we describe a biologically inert and uniquely addressable RNA origami scaffold that self-assembles into a nanoribbon by seven staple strands. An algorithm is applied to generate a synthetic De Bruijn scaffold sequence that is characterized by the lack of biologically active sites and repetitions larger than a predetermined design parameter. This RNA scaffold and the complementary staples fold in a physiologically compatible isothermal condition. In order to monitor the folding, we designed a new split Broccoli aptamer system. The aptamer is divided into two nonfunctional sequences each of which is integrated into the 5′ or 3′ end of two staple strands complementary to the RNA scaffold. Using fluorescence measurements and in-gel imaging, we demonstrate that once RNA origami assembly occurs, the split aptamer sequences are brought into close proximity forming the aptamer and turning on the fluorescence. This light-up ‘bio-orthogonal’ RNA origami provides a prototype that can have potential for in vivo origami applications.

Nanotechnology and synthetic biology are rapidly converging, with DNA origami being one of the leading bridging technologies. DNA origami was shown to work well in a wide array of biotic environments. However, the large majority of extant DNA origami scaffolds utilize bacteriophages or plasmid sequences thus severely limiting its future applicability as a bio-orthogonal nanotechnology platform. In this paper we present the design of biologically inert (i.e., "bio-orthogonal") origami scaffolds. The synthetic scaffolds have the additional advantage of being uniquely addressable (unlike biologically derived ones) and hence are better optimized for high-yield folding. We demonstrate our fully synthetic scaffold design with both DNA and RNA origamis and describe a protocol to produce these bio-orthogonal and uniquely addressable origami scaffolds.

A novel strategy for highly sensitive detection and discrimination of explosives is developed based on the metal–organic polyhedra (MOP)‐decorated plasmonic substrate. It is found that the careful selection of the geometric and electronic characteristics of the assembly units (organic ligands and unsaturated metals sites) embedded within the MOP cage allows for the integration of multiple weak molecular interactions in a controllable fashion and thus the MOP cage can serve as an excellent receptor for selective uptake and binding of explosives. By further grafting of the MOP cage onto a plasmonic substrate with good surface‐enhanced Raman scattering enhancement factor, the resulting sensor shows a good sensing capability to various groups of ultratrace explosives, especially the challenging aliphatic nitro‐organics.