The synthesis of colloidal inorganic nanocrystals by using microwave irradiation has become increasingly popular, find C. O. Kappe et al. in a Review. What is the role of microwaves in the formation of these nanomaterials? K. Strømgaard et al. discuss the use of small molecules from spiders as chemical probes. The Highlights deal with smart foams and their potential for responsive composite materials (A. Carl and R. von Klitzing) as well as the termination of the amyloid zipper by design (A. Kapurniotu).
In the Communications section, A. Fürstner et al. present a total synthesis of tulearin C, and A. P. Davis et al. report how nanoporous organic alloys can be produced from steroids (pictured). R. K. Jain et al. describe fluorescent nanorods and nanospheres for the real-time in vivo probing of tumor penetration by nanoparticles as a function of shape. H. Kobayashi et al. found a giant dielectric anomaly in a metal–organic perovskite that contains azetidinium cations.
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