We demonstrate the first reported methodology using nanowires that unveils massive numbers of cancer-related urinary microRNAs.

On the development of flexible electronics, a highly flexible nonvolatile memory, which is an important circuit component for the portability, is necessary. However, the flexibility of existing nonvolatile memory has been limited, e.g. the smallest radius into which can be bent has been millimeters range, due to the difficulty in maintaining memory properties while bending. Here we propose the ultra flexible resistive nonvolatile memory using Ag-decorated cellulose nanofiber paper (CNP). The Ag-decorated CNP devices showed the stable nonvolatile memory effects with 6 orders of ON/OFF resistance ratio and the small standard deviation of switching voltage distribution. The memory performance of CNP devices can be maintained without any degradation when being bent down to the radius of 350 μm, which is the smallest value compared to those of existing any flexible nonvolatile memories. Thus the present device using abundant and mechanically flexible CNP offers a highly flexible nonvolatile memory for portable flexible electronics.

Resistive switching (RS) memory effect in metal-oxide-metal junctions is a fascinating phenomenon toward next-generation universal nonvolatile memories. However the lack of understanding the electrical nature of RS has held back the applications. Here we demonstrate the electrical nature of bipolar RS in cobalt oxides, such as the conduction mechanism and the switching location, by utilizing a planar single oxide nanowire device. Experiments utilizing field effect devices and multiprobe measurements have shown that the nanoscale RS in cobalt oxides originates from redox events near the cathode with p-type conduction paths, which is in contrast with the prevailing oxygen vacancy based model.

Electrically driven resistance change in metal oxides opens up an interdisciplinary research field for next-generation non-volatile memory. Resistive switching exhibits an electrical polarity dependent “bipolar-switching” and a polarity independent “unipolar-switching”, however tailoring the electrical polarity has been a challenging issue. Here we demonstrate a scaling effect on the emergence of the electrical polarity by examining the resistive switching behaviors of Pt/oxide/Pt junctions over 8 orders of magnitudes in the areas. We show that the emergence of two electrical polarities can be categorised as a diagram of an electric field and a cell area. This trend is qualitatively common for various oxides including NiOx, CoOx, and TiO2-x. We reveal the intrinsic difference between unipolar switching and bipolar switching on the area dependence, which causes a diversity of an electrical polarity for various resistive switching devices with different geometries. This will provide a foundation for tailoring resistive switching behaviors of metal oxides.

Hydrothermal ZnO nanowires have shown great potential for various nanoscale device applications due to their fascinating properties and lowtemperature processing. A preferential crystal growth of ZnO (0001) polar plane is essential and fundamental to realize the anisotropic nanowire growth. Here we demonstrate that a critical concentration for a nucleation strongly depends on a crystal plane, which plays an important role on an anisotropic growth of hydrothermal ZnO nanowires. We measure a growth rate of each crystal plane when varying a concentration of Zn ionic species by using a regular array structure. Selective anisotropic growth on (0001) plane emerges within a certain concentration range. Above the concentration range, a crystal growth on (101̅ 0) plane tends to simultaneously occur. This strong concentration dependence on the crystal plane is understood in terms of a critical concentration difference between (0001) plane and (101̅ 0) plane, which is related to the surface energy difference between the crystal planes.

Analyzing sizes of DNA via electrophoresis using a gel has played an important role in the recent, rapid progress of biology and biotechnology. Although analyzing DNA over a wide range of sizes in a short time is desired, no existing electrophoresis methods have been able to fully satisfy these two requirements. Here we propose a novel method using a rigid 3D network structure composed of solid nanowires within a microchannel. This rigid network structure enables analysis of DNA under applied DC electric fields for a large DNA size range (100 bp–166 kbp) within 13 s, which are much wider and faster conditions than those of any existing methods. The network density is readily varied for the targeted DNA size range by tailoring the number of cycles of the nanowire growth only at the desired spatial position within the microchannel. The rigid dense 3D network structure with spatial density control plays an important role in determining the capability for analyzing DNA. Since the present method allows the spatial location and density of the nanostructure within the microchannels to be defined, this unique controllability offers a new strategy to develop an analytical method not only for DNA but also for other biological molecules.

Here we report the thermal management of oxide nanowire sensor in both spatial and time domains by utilizing unique thermal properties of nanowires, which are (1) the reduced thermal conductivity and (2) the short thermal relaxation time down to several microseconds. Our method utilizes a pulsed self-Joule-heating of suspended SnO 2 nanowire device, which enables not only the gigantic reduction of energy consumption down to ∼10 2 pJ/s, but also enhancement of the sensitivity for electrical sensing of NO 2 (100 ppb). Furthermore, we demonstrate the applicability of the present method as sensors on flexible PEN substrate. Thus, this proposed thermal management concept of nanowires in both spatial and time domains offers a strategy for exploring novel functionalities of nanowire-based devices.

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