Natalie Cotterell, Development Editor – Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Author Archive

2025 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship – nominations are open!

22 Apr 2025

Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship 2025

Nominate your candidate by 5 June 2025

Do you know an outstanding early-career researcher in materials chemistry who deserves recognition? We are delighted to announce that nominations are now OPEN for the prestigious 2025 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship. Nominate your candidate by 5 June 2025 to be considered for the 2025 Lectureship award.

Established in 2010, this international lectureship honours early-career scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry, with previous recipients including Christopher Bettinger, Henry Snaith, Maria Escudero-Escribano, Jovana Milić and last year’s winner Raphaële Clément.

Eligible candidates must be in the early stage of their independent career in materials chemistry research, typically within 10 years of completing their PhD or within 5 years of their independent career and must have made significant contributions to the materials chemistry field. We require a letter of recommendation from the nominator and an additional supporting letter from a referee to support the candidate’s nomination.

For more information and details on eligibility criteria and how to nominate a candidate, please visit the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship webpage.

Celebrating our 2024 Lectureship winner and runners-up

Check out our interview with our 2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship winner, Dr Raphaële Clément (University of California, Santa Barbara, United States) and our runners-up, Dr Maxx Arguilla (University of California, Irvine, United States) and Dr Phillip Milner (Cornell University, United States).

2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship winner: Dr Raphaële Clément

Dr Raphaële Clément is an Associate Professor in the Materials Department at UC Santa Barbara. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2016 from the University of Cambridge, working under the supervision of Prof. Dame Clare Grey. She then joined the group of Prof. Gerbrand Ceder as a postdoc at UC Berkeley. Since 2018, the Clément group at UC Santa Barbara is interested in establishing materials design rules, and in optimizing materials processing approaches to advance electrochemical energy storage. The group’s expertise lies in the development and deployment of magnetic resonance and magnetometry techniques (experimental and computational) for the study of battery materials and beyond, with an emphasis on real-time, operando analysis.

Dr Clément will be giving her Lectureship presentation at MC-17 in Edinburgh in July 2025. Register now to not miss out!

How did you feel when you were announced as the winner of the 2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship?

I was thrilled. This is a wonderful recognition of the group’s hard work over the years. I have been fortunate to work with talented students and postdocs, so this award goes to them too.

Which of your JMC publications are you most proud of and why?

This paper lead by a former student, Dr. Elias Sebti, is a textbook example of the impact of materials synthesis and processing on structure and properties. This is a study of a new class of Na-ion solid conductors, where solid-state NMR was key to understanding their complex defect and polymorphic landscape, and ion transport processes. I am proud of it because this was a complicated puzzle and we solved it!

Do you have any advice for Early-Career researchers who wish to be nominated for the 2025 JMC Lectureship award?

Don’t give up! There are many talented Early Career researchers out there, and only one receives the Lectureship every year. I applied several times and this paid off.

2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship runner-up: Dr Maxx Q. Arguilla

Maxx Q. Arguilla obtained his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines Diliman, cum Laude, in 2011. After a one-year junior instructor position at UPD, he moved to the US and completed his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from The Ohio State University with Professor Joshua Goldberger in 2017. He then moved to MIT as postdoctoral fellow in Professor Mircea Dinca’s group, where he focused on the growth of one-dimensional van der Waals crystals and the evolution of their physical properties as they transform into ultrathin nanowires and on establishing the fundamental anisotropic physical properties of two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks. In July 2020, Professor Arguilla joined the UC Irvine Department of Chemistry as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. His research is focused on the discovery and chemical understanding of several classes of crystalline solid state materials comprising of sub-nanometer-thick inorganic chains that are held together by weak van der Waals (vdW) or ionic interactions.

How did you feel when you were announced as a runner-up of the 2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship?

Receiving the runner-up award for the 2024 JMC lectureship was a great honor for me, especially being alongside Prof. Clément and Prof. Milner who are both materials chemists whose work I truly admire!

This award is special to me and my group as it recognizes our contributions in understanding the chemistry and physics of emergent 1D and quasi-1D solids that approach the sub-nanometer-thick regime. This was especially important for us, having started during the challenging times of the pandemic as many have thought these would be very challenging and almost impossible to create and study. Personally, this recognition was special as it came from one of the family of materials chemistry journals that I have followed consistently since my formative years during my graduate studies and has continuously shaped the science that I do in my independent career. Moreover, the previous awardees and runners-up are also materials scientists that I look up to and aspire to emulate. Most importantly, this award is truly a recognition of the tremendous collective effort of the members of my group and our network of collaborators who have dedicated their time, effort, and creativity in exploring an unusual and understudied class of low-dimensional solids.

Which of your JMC publications are you most proud of and why?
Among my publications at JMC and RSC, I am most proud of my first paper in JMCC (J. Mater. Chem. C, 2017, 5, 11259-11266) where I demonstrated how micro-Raman spectroscopy can be used a probe to study the composition- and stacking-dependence of the Raman-active phonon modes in layered honeycomb Zintl phase tetrelides and their 2D van der Waals deintercalation products. This is a paper that I wrote when I was a senior graduate student but the approach that I have taken in this work has shaped how we use micro-Raman spectroscopy in my group as an enabling tool to probe the structure, lattice dynamics, and stimulus-sensitive response of various classes of low-dimensional solids, especially approaching atomic scale thicknesses. The results that we covered in this report laid ground to several fundamental studies in my independent career, such as our discovery of pronounced thermochromic behavior the helical crystal, InSeI (Advanced Materials, 2024, 36, 21, 2312597), as well as in the strong quantum confinement of Sb₂S₃ grown within single-walled carbon nanotubes and boron nitride nanotubes (Chemical Science, 2024, 15, 10464–10476).

Do you have any advice for Early-Career researchers who wish to be nominated for the 2025 JMC Lectureship award?
While many of our projects are hypothesis-driven, the most unusual results that we found in our materials systems arose from curiosity-driven research. In classes of materials where our chemical intuition is limited, there is a large, untapped opportunity to explore ideas that do not necessarily conform to the scientific norms in various fields. Thus, if there is an advice that I can give to early-career researchers, it would be to follow their scientific curiosities as these could lead to surprising discoveries that can accelerate (or change) the course of the field!

2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship runner-up: Dr Phillip Milner

Phillip Milner (Phill) graduated from Hamilton College in 2010 with B.A.s in Chemistry and Mathematics, and went on to pursue his Ph.D. in Chemistry with Prof. Stephen Buchwald at MIT. There, Phill developed Pd-catalyzed fluorination and 11C-cyanation reactions of (hetero)aryl halides. Upon graduating from MIT in 2015, Phill joined the group of Prof. Jeffrey Long at the University of California, Berkeley, where he designed amine-functionalized metal–organic frameworks for CO2 capture. In 2018, Phill joined the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University, where his research is focused broadly at the intersection of organic, inorganic, and materials chemistry. Phill is a member of the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) and the Cornell Energy Systems Institute (CESI), a Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability Faculty Fellow, and a field member in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Phill was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2024.

Which of your JMC publications are you most proud of and why?

It’s difficult to pick, but I would probably go with: Tristan A. Pitt, Haojun Jia, Tyler J. Azbell, Mary E. Zick, Aditya Nandy, Heather J. Kulik, Phillip J. Milner*. “Benchmarking Nitrous Oxide Adsorption and Activation in Metal–Organic Frameworks Bearing Coordinatively Unsaturated Metal Centers.” J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, 12, 3164–3174. This project was spearheaded by a fantastic graduate student, Tristan Pitt, as part of his rotation project in our lab. It also sparked our on-going collaboration with Heather Kulik using theory to understand reactivity within metal-organic frameworks. All around a great in-depth study of a difficult problem (how to activate nitrous oxide using MOFs).

Do you have any advice for Early-Career researchers who wish to be nominated for the Lectureship award?

I would encourage folks to go after difficult problems and identify ways in which they can uniquely contribute to materials science. Working on the same problem in the same way as everyone else is a great way to boost your h-index but it does not help you stand out as a unique voice in the community. I always encourage students in my lab at least to think about how to be indispensable – the one person who can solve a particular problem in a new way.

At which upcoming conferences may our community meet you?

I will be at the Nanoporous Materials Gordon Research Conference in August, and Pacifichem in December!

We look forward to receiving nominations for the 2025 Lectureship award. If you have any questions about eligibility or the selection process, please get in touch with materials-rsc@rsc.org.

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In Honor of Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert’s 50th Birthday: Celebrating 25 Years of Shaping Biomaterials in Neuroengineering

07 Apr 2025

In Honor of Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert’s 50th Birthday: Celebrating 25 Years of Shaping Biomaterials in Neuroengineering

Journal of Materials Chemistry B themed collection

We are delighted to open submissions to this special collection honoring the contributions of Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert on the occasion of her 50th Birthday. We will celebrate 25 years of her impact shaping biomaterials in neuroengineering. We welcome articles on all aspects of biomaterials; in particular, those that touch closely on Dr. Sakiyama-Elbert’s scientific interests in spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury. Advances in biomaterials and neural engineering could greatly enhance repair and regeneration efforts. Approaches like biomaterial scaffolds for axonal guidance, supporting stem cell transplants and drug/growth factor delivery to reduce inflammation are promising. Furthermore, bioelectronic devices integrated with regenerating tissue could monitor repair and promote recovery through electrical or optical stimulation. By combining biomaterials, cell therapy, drug delivery, and bioelectronics, future therapies for neural repair and regeneration hold great potential. This special collection aims to highlight cutting-edge research in biomaterials, neural engineering, and regenerative medicine to address these challenges.

Topics that may be covered in the collection may include, but are not limited to:

Biomaterials for biomanufacturing neural stem cells or directing neural stem cell fate
Biomaterials strategies for improving neural organoid engineering
Biomaterials for neuroengineering interfaces (electrodes, BCI, etc.)
Biomaterials for innervating in vitro tissue model
Biomaterials for Nerve Regeneration
Engineering Solutions for Spinal Cord Injuries
Gene Therapy for Nerve Healing
Nerve Guidance Conduits
Materials for supporting cell-based therapies in PNS and CNS repair
Biomaterials for Drug and Growth Factor Delivery in Neuroengineering
Delivery systems for neurotrophic factors (e.g., NGF, BDNF) to promote healing
Electroactive Biomaterials for Nerve Repair
Nanomaterials for Neural Injury Repair
Functionalization of scaffolds with peptides, proteins, or other biomolecules to enhance neural regeneration
Topographical cues in materials to guide nerve regeneration
3D Printed Biomaterials for Nerve Injury
In Vitro Models for Nerve Regeneration Using Biomaterials

Submissions deadline 24 October 2025

How to submit

Submissions to the journal should fit within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry B – Please see the journal’s website for more information on the journal’s scope, standards, article types and author guidelines. All manuscripts will undergo the normal initial assessment and peer review processes, if appropriate, in line with the journal’s high standards, managed by the journal editors. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are published and they will be featured in a regular issue of the relevant journal. Please note that peer review or acceptance are not guaranteed.

For this collection, we strongly encourage primary research in the way of Full Papers or Communications. If you are wanting to submit a review-type article, please check with the Editorial Office first for pre-approval and to avoid topic overlap.

If you would like to contribute to this themed collection, please submit your article directly through the journal submissions platform. Please mention that your submission is a contribution to the Biomaterials in Neuroengineering collection in the “Themed issues” section of the submission form and is in response to the Open Call. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of both the journal and the collection, and as such inclusion of accepted articles in the final themed collection is not guaranteed.

If you have any questions about the collection or the submissions process, please do contact the Editorial Office at materialsb-rsc@rsc.org and they will be able to assist.

Your institute may have a Read & Publish agreement in place with the Royal Society of Chemistry. This means that you may be able to publish gold open access for free in all the hybrid journals we publish – maximising the visibility and impact of your article to the broadest possible audience. Your institution’s agreement may already include the article processing charge for publishing as a corresponding author. Check here to find out more and to see if your institution has an R&P deal in place.

Did you know?

Our themed collections are built by collaboration between our Guest Editors and expert Associate Editors. Our Guest Editors guide the scope and curate the contributions in our collections but all submissions are handled through initial assessment and peer review by our team of in-house Editors and external Associate Editors. This means that as an author you receive a consistent experience, and as a reader you can trust the quality of the science being presented.

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Welcoming Dr Jun Wu to the Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Materials Advances Editorial Board

03 Apr 2025

Dr Jun Wu joins Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Materials Advances as an Associate Editor

We are pleased to welcome Dr Jun Wu from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), China to the Editorial Boards of Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Materials Advances as an Associate Editor.

Dr Jun Wu earned his BS, MS, and PhD degrees from Nanjing University, SUNY Stony Brook, and Cornell University, respectively. From 2010 to 2015, he collaborated with Professors Robert Langer and Omid Farokhzad as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and MIT. In 2015, he was promoted to Instructor at HMS. Following this, Dr Wu held the position of Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University from 2015 to 2022. Since 2022, he has been an Associate Professor in the Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering Thrust at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), while also serving as an affiliated Associate Professor in the Division of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Dr Wu’s research focuses on the development of functional and self-therapeutic biomaterials, including polymers and small molecules designed to serve as drug carriers and tissue engineering scaffolds. His work aims to address critical health challenges, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, bone generation and skin repair.

Check out some of Jun Wu’s recent publications in RSC journals

Bioactive electrospun polylactic acid/chlorogenic acid-modified chitosan bilayer sponge for acute infection wound healing and rapid coagulation

Huiling Zhong, Zhen Zhang, Mohong Wang, Yifei Fang, Ke Liu, Junqiang Yin, Jun Wu and Jianhang Du

Biomater. Sci., 2025,13, 697-710

Biomaterials as a new option for treating sensorineural hearing loss

Liwen Wang, Ruhe Zhang, Linlan Jiang, Shuyi Gao, Jun Wu and Yuenong Jiao

Biomater. Sci., 2024,12, 4006-4023

Stimuli-responsive cyclodextrin-based supramolecular assemblies as drug carriers

Ying Yuan, Tianqi Nie, Yifen Fang, Xinru You, Hai Huang and Jun Wu

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022,10, 2077-2096

Advances and impact of arginine-based materials in wound healing

Yang Zhou, Guiting Liu, Hai Huang and Jun Wu

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021,9, 6738-6750

Send us your research!

Submit your best work to Dr Jun Wu and our team of expert Associate Editors on Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Materials Advances now! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

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Congratulations to the poster prize winners at SupraLife Third School

19 Mar 2025

Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Materials Advances, ChemComm and Biomaterials Science were delighted to sponsor the recent SupraLife Third School held at the University of Aveiro, Portugal from 9 – 14 March 2025. We were pleased to award the three best poster prizes and hope you will join us in congratulating our winners!

1st place poster prize

Hugo Brummer

Hugo Brummer is a PhD student at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, under the supervision of Prof. Marleen Kamperman. He obtained his BSc degree in Chemistry from Hanzehogeschool in Groningen in 2021, working on designing responsive Pickering emulsions using complex coacervate core micelles for his thesis. That same year, he participated in the NCCR undergraduate summer internship at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg, Switzerland, working on the development of mechanopigments that combine structural color changes with a chemically responsive spiropyran-based crosslinking system for strain sensing. He then obtained his MSc degree in Chemistry from the University of Groningen in 2024, specializing in polymer and supramolecular chemistry. For his master’s thesis, he explored a completely different field, attempting to create a system of self-replicators capable of exhibiting Lamarckian evolution.
His current research focuses on bioinspired spider silk production using microfluidics. By mimicking the spiders’ ability to control the local environment inside its silk producing gland (i.e. pH, type and concentration of salt), he aims to develop a green processing approach to fiber production.

2nd place poster prize

Chloé Manseau

Chloé Manseau graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Matériaux, d’Agroalimentaire et de Chimie de Bordeaux in 2023, specializing in Formulation and Polymer Sciences. She then continued my studies with a PhD in Polymer Sciences at LCPO (Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques) under the supervision of Sébastien Lecommandoux. Her PhD project aims to design and develop self-propelled artificial cells for drug delivery based on the self-assembly of amphiphilic copolymers into vesicles, called polymersomes.

3rd place poster prize

Andreia Malafaia

Andreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry (UA, 2021), where she built a strong foundation in laboratory techniques and focused her final project on epigenetic drug development for cancer therapy. Her passion for biomaterials and regenerative medicine led her to pursue a master’s in Molecular Biotechnology and Bioengineering (UA, 2023). During her dissertation at COMPASS RG (CICECO-UA), she developed photocrosslinkable inks with natural polymers, including human-derived proteins, for 3D printing applications. She later received a research grant within the H2020 InterLynk project, further advancing biomaterial-based inks for personalized therapies. Currently, she is a research fellow at COMPASS RG (CICECO-UA) and has been recently awarded a PhD studentship. Andreia has attended international conferences, published a review in Biomaterials Advances, and actively engages in scientific workshops. Her journey has reinforced her ambition to innovate in medical science, particularly in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

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Congratulations to the poster prize winners at the 2025 Materials for Medical Devices workshop

06 Feb 2025

Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Materials Horizons were delighted to sponsor the poster prize awards at the 2025 Materials for Medical Devices workshop which took place at the University of Nottingham from 21-22 January 2025. Congratulations to our poster prize winners Antonis Stylianou and Qiran Du! Find out more about them below:

Antonis Stylianou, a PhD student at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy, is at the forefront of vaccine delivery innovation. Under the guidance of Dr. James E. Dixon, Dr. Maria Marlow, and Prof. Janet M. Daly, Antonis is developing mass-deployable, self-administered DNA vaccines using Microneedle Array Patches (MAPs).His research, supported by an EPSRC Industrial CASE studentship in collaboration with Nemaura Medical, aims to revolutionise global immunization strategies. The MAPs Antonis is developing consist of micro-projections under 1 mm in length, enabling painless self-administration of vaccines into the skin. This innovative approach has the potential to eliminate the need for cold-chain infrastructure and reduce dependence on healthcare professionals for vaccine administration. By addressing key challenges in MAP manufacturing and global vaccine accessibility, Antonis’s work represents a significant advancement in pandemic preparedness and vaccine technology. The impact of this research extends beyond technological innovation, with the potential to transform immunisation practices worldwide, particularly benefiting regions with limited healthcare infrastructure.

Antonis won a prize for his poster entitled, ‘Mass deployable self-administered DNA vaccines by Microneedle Arrays’

Qiran Du is currently a PhD student in Immunology since 2021 and a Research Associate at the University of Nottingham, UK. Qiran studied a BSc in Pharmacy at Ocean University of China from 2013-2017 before studying an MSc in Pharmaceuticals at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China from 2017 – 2020. Qiran is fascinated by materials and their ability to modulate immune responses and how material controlled applications can be used in areas of wound healing and tissue regeneration to improve lives.

Qiran won a prize for the poster entitled, ‘Elucidating the in vitro immune response to surgical meshes coated with immune-instructive polymer’

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Open call for papers – Materials developments in cancer therapeutics

30 Jan 2025

Open call for papers – Materials developments in cancer therapeutics

Submit your work to this Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Biomaterials Science themed collection

Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Biomaterials Science are pleased to welcome submissions to a themed collection on materials developments of cancer therapeutics to be promoted in Autumn 2025.

Submissions deadline 29 April 2025

Given the widespread occurrence of cancer across the world, many researchers are focusing attention on ways in which we can prevent, treat and control cancer. Developments in using more targeted approaches such as gene therapy and nanomedicines, as well as general approaches such as chemotherapy, photothermal therapy and immunotherapy are all being reported to improve therapeutic response to cancer and to cause minimal side effects to unaffected regions of the body. The use of materials in developing and improving treatments is integral and as such this collection aims to collate some of the latest research developments using materials in cancer therapeutics. The broad scope of this collection across Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Biomaterials Science hopes to capture a range of timely research from the fundamentals of materials chemistry to the applications of biomaterials in diagnosing, controlling and treating cancer.

This collection is being guest edited by:

Prof. Jong Seung Kim (Korea University)

Prof. Tao Sun (Fudan University)

Prof. Qingbing Wang (Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine)

Prof. Jennifer Cha (University of Colorado, Boulder)

The collection will largely involve research related to the design, construction and application of engineered materials for cancer therapy. The collection will be structured around three main themes:

Research focusing on new materials and methods for materials design
Fundamental materials chemistry research
Innovative applications of materials

Topics include, but are not limited to;

Development of cancer drug delivery materials
New materials and applications in PDT/PTT/CDT
Targeted drug delivery (nanomedicine, gene therapy)
Photosensitizers
Fluorescence biosensors
Biomaterials in immunotherapy
Tumour models for developing new cancer therapies

Submissions to the journal should fit within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry B or Biomaterials Science – Please see the journals’ webpages for more information on the journals’ scopes, standards, article types and author guidelines. We encourage you to submit your work to the journal you feel is most appropriate.

For this collection, we strongly encourage full primary research in the way of Full Papers or Communications. If you are wanting to submit a review-type article, please check with the Editorial Office first for pre-approval and to avoid topic overlap.

When ready, please submit your article directly to the submissions platform for Journal of Materials Chemistry B or Biomaterials Science where our editors will assess your submission. Please add a note in the ‘Comments to the Editor’ and ‘Themed collections’ sections of the submission mentioning this is a manuscript for the themed collection on ‘Cancer therapeutics’ and that it is in response to the ‘Open Call’.

All submissions will be subject to assessment against the journal’s usual scope and standards criteria and sent for peer review only if appropriate. Accepted articles will be published online as soon as they are ready and added to the web collection.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

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International Women’s Day 2025: Feature your work in our materials and nanoscience collections

28 Jan 2025

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2025

Feature your work in our materials or nanoscience collections

Last year, we celebrated some of the amazing women in materials science and nanoscience with two collections highlighting recent work led by women around the world, published in our materials and nanoscience journal portfolios. These collections showcased the impact these leading individuals have on their fields. We were delighted to feature so much exciting research in the collections and look forward to celebrating again in 2025.

If you have published in any of the journals below in 2024 or so far in 2025, and either the first and/or corresponding author of the article is a woman, we would be pleased to feature your work in our 2025 collections!

Materials Horizons
Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Journal of Materials Chemistry B
Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Materials Advances
Nanoscale Horizons
Nanoscale
Nanoscale Advances

If you are interested, please email materials-rsc@rsc.org with the title of your article, DOI, journal in which your article is featured and a headshot photo of the eligible author by 17 February 2025. The collection will be promoted this International Women’s Day, 8 March 2024. At the Royal Society of Chemistry, we foster a culture of inclusion of women from all walks of life and look forward to continuing to celebrate all of the wonderful women in materials and nanoscience.

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Explore our Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2024 themed collections

19 Dec 2024

Explore our Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2024 themed collections

Journal of Materials Chemistry B is pleased to publish and showcase impactful work in our themed collections, making the latest research in a topic area visible and accessible to the community. In 2024, we were pleased to publish and promote a number of topic-based themed collections from different aspects of materials chemistry for applications in biology and medicine. Discover the latest work in our published and ongoing themed collections below:

Functional Framework Materials for Biomedical Applications

Guest edited by Prof. Ross Forgan (University of Glasgow, UK), Dr Ruxandra Gref (Université Paris Saclay, France) and Prof. Jianqiang Liu (Guangdong Medical University, China)

This collection covers all aspects of MOF and COF chemistry related to biological applications. It provides a platform to highlight state-of-the-art developments in a rapidly moving field, including but not limited to, drug delivery (from small molecules through peptides and oligonucleotides to large proteins), all aspects of imaging, theranostics, biological sensing, biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo, hybridisation with other nanomaterials, encapsulation of biological entities (from enzymes to viruses and cells), and other emerging technologies.

Injectable Hydrogels

Guest Edited by Dr Khoon Lim (University of Sydney, Australia) and Dr Julieta Paez (University of Twente, The Netherlands)

This collection, joint with Biomaterials Science, aims to provide a platform for recent developments in the rapidly evolving field of injectable hydrogels and aims to inspire future research in this area.

Stimuli responsive materials for biomedical applications

Graphical abstract: Introduction to stimuli responsive materials for biomedical applications

Guest Edited by Prof. N. D. Pradeep Singh (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India), Dr. Mary Beth Browning Monroe (Syracuse University, United States) and Prof. Yanli Zhao (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore).

This themed collection of Journal of Materials Chemistry B is focused on recent developments on stimuli-responsive materials for biomedical applications, including their design, synthesis, characterization, and applications related to biology and medicine.

Biomedical Polymer Materials

Graphical abstract: Introduction to “Biomedical Polymer Materials”

Guest Edited by Professors Huayu Tian and Xuesi Chen, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

This collection, joint with Biomaterials Science, features some of the recent articles surrounding the topic of biomedical polymer materials. We hope that this collection will give readers an overview of some of the most recent work concerning the materials chemistry and applications of novel biomedical polymer materials and will help to further exciting research in the field.

Micro- and Nano- Motors

Graphical abstract: Introduction to micro- and nano-motors

Guest Edited by Professor Martin Pumera (University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Czech Republic), Professor Xing Ma (Harbin Institute of Technology, China), Professor Samuel Sánchez Ordóñez (Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spain) and Professor Li Zhang (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong).

This cross-journal collection in Nanoscale and Journal of Materials Chemistry B focuses on the use of micro- and nanorobots for a variety of applications. It is dedicated to the state of the art of micro- and nanomachines, with emphasis on the design and fabrication, propulsion mechanism, imaging, safety, and application of micro- and nano-motors in a variety of fields. This special collection aims to encourage research collaboration across fields to address critical challenges and promote the development of advanced MNMs towards practical and even clinical scenarios.

Bioinspired Functional Supramolecular Systems

This themed collection in Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Guest Edited by Dr. João Borges (University of Aveiro, Portugal), Prof. Patricia Y. W. Dankers (Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands), Prof. João F. Mano (University of Aveiro, Portugal) and Prof. Sébastien Lecommandoux (University of Bordeaux, France).

This collection aims to provide an up-to-date platform for sharing latest developments in the field of bioinspired functional supramolecular systems. This collection also aims to encourage more interdisciplinary research and collaborative efforts at the intersection of supramolecular chemistry, (bio)materials science, and biology to inspire breakthrough research in the fascinating field of bioinspired supramolecular systems aimed at more closely emulating the complexity and dynamics of natural biological systems and creating life-like material systems.

Bioelectronics

Guest Edited by Dr Eleonora Macchia (University of Bari, Italy), Professor Hong Liu (Southeast University, China), Professor George Malliaras (University of Cambridge, UK) and Professor Anna Maria Pappa (Khalifa University of Science and Technology, UAE)

The themed collection on bioelectronics across Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Journal of Materials Chemistry C is devoted to the cutting-edge research with a focus on bioelectronic materials.

Targeted biomedical applications of nanomaterials

Graphical abstract: Introduction to targeted biomedical applications of nanomaterials

Guest edited by Professor Dhiraj Bhatia (IIT Gandhinagar, India), Professor Mukesh Dhanka (IIT Gandhinagar, India), Dr Anjali Awasthi (University of Rajasthan, India), Professor Kamlendra Awasthi (Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, India) and Professor Kaushik Chatterjee (IISc Bangalore, India).

This new collection in Nanoscale, Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Nanoscale Advances and Materials Advances will focus on the design of multifunctional hybrid nanomaterials for different applications and on interfacing nanomaterials with biological systems for translational studies. The scope of this collection loosely aligns with the 2023 International Conference on Nanomaterials in Biology (ICNB 2023), held at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar along with Soft Materials Research Society, from 19–22 November 2023.

Materials Chemistry of Fluorescence Bioimaging

Guest edited by Dr Sijie Chen (The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Karolinska Institutet), Prof. Tony D. James (University of Bath), Dr Apurba L. Koner (IISER Bhopal) and Prof. Ben Zhong Tang (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen)

This collection aims to provide a platform for recent developments in this rapidly evolving field of fluorescence bioimaging with topics including, but not limited to, fluorescence bioimaging with novel probes, design or synthetic strategies of fluorescent probes, theoretical understanding of fluorescent probe properties and working mechanisms, and new insights into the materials chemistry of fluorescence bioimaging.

2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry B Emerging Investigators

Journal of Materials Chemistry B is pleased to present this themed collection highlighting the rising stars of materials chemistry research in 2024. This special collection showcases the very best work from materials chemists in the early stages of their independent career.

Celebrating 10 years of Emerging Investigators in Journal of Materials Chemistry B

This special collection marks 10 years of our Emerging Investigators, an annual collection launched in 2014 showcasing high quality research being carried out by international researchers in the early stages of their independent careers. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of this initiative, the collection features new exciting work from contributors to the early Emerging Investigator collections.

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Congratulations to the poster prize winners at ACCS15

16 Dec 2024

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C, Materials Horizons, Materials Advances and Nanoscale Advances were delighted to sponsor poster prizes at the recent 15th Asian Conference on Chemical Sensors (ACCS15) which was held in Kitakyushu-city, Japan from November 17 – 20. We would like to congratulate the winners and you can find out more about them below:

Kimiharu Oba received his B.S. degree in engineering from Tohoku University in 2023. He is currently a master’s student at Tohoku University under supervision of Profs. Shiku and Ino. He is developing a new imaging system based on working on electrochemiluminescence for the visualization of cellular function. Currently, He is visualizing the permeability of vascular endothelial and intestinal epithelial cells, comparing it with electrical resistance values, and investigating cellular drug responses.

Kimiharu Oba received a poster prize for his poster entitled ‘Electrochemiluminescence imaging of cell adhesion in gut-on-a-chip’

Kwangmin Shim received his B.S. degree from Hongik University in 2014 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Jung Hwan Seo at the same institution. His research focuses on the development of micro gas chromatography systems for real-time, on-site analysis of hazardous substances. Currently, he is working on designing an advanced micro gas chromatography system specifically targeting ultra-light hazardous substances.

Kwangmin Shim received a poster prize for his poster entitled ‘A micro GC sensor system for detecting environmental gas mixtures’

Chia-Ling, Chiang completed her bachelor’s degree in Department of Biomedical Engineering at Chung Yuan Christian University in 2021. She then earned her master’s degree in Department of Biomedical Engineering at National Taiwan University in 2023, joining Dr. Chii-Wann, Lin research team. During her master’s studies, under the co-supervision of Dr. Nan-Fu, Chiu from the Institute and Undergraduate Program of Electro-Optical Engineering at National Taiwan Normal University, she focused on the feasibility study of surface plasmon resonance-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, successfully applying it to detect the heparin-platelet factor 4 protein complex. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD. in the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics at National Taiwan University, with research focusing on optical detection techniques for cells and tissues, as well as the design and application development of microfluidic chips.

Chia-Ling Chiang received a poster prize for her poster entitled ‘Challenges in Surface Plasmon Resonance Detection Limits: Precision Measurements Based on Fluid Control and Light Wavelength Stability’

Hikaru Tago received his master’s degree in 2024 and is advancing his research in the Ph.D. course of the Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan.

His research focuses on developing a pathogen detection system by integrating image analysis with deep learning. He has already published a paper on this topic as the first author in an international academic journal.

Hikaru Tago received a poster prize for his poster entitled ‘High-throughput microbial species identification by image sensor-based colony fingerprinting system’

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Open call for papers – Molecular Crystals: Mechanics and Photonics

04 Nov 2024

Journal of Materials Chemistry C open call for papers

Molecular Crystals: Mechanics and Photonics

Journal of Materials Chemistry C is delighted to announce an open call for papers to a themed collection on ‘Molecular Crystals: Mechanics and Photonics’ guest edited by Prof. Rajadurai Chandrasekar (University of Hyderabad, India), Prof. Panče Naumov (New York University Abu Dhabi), Prof. Xue-Dong Wang (Soochow University) and Prof. Kristin Hutchins (University of Missouri).

This special issue investigates the extraordinary properties of molecular crystals and their essential role in the management of mechanical and optical energy. It showcases their diverse applications in contemporary scientific and technological domains, such as non-linear optics, sensor technologies, switchable devices, and sophisticated photonic components and circuits. Examples of topics suitable for this collection include, but are not limited to:

Flexible crystals (e.g. elastic, plastic, ferroelastic)
Photomechanical crystals
Salient (thermosalient and photosalient) phenomena
Crystal growth techniques (self-assembly, sublimation, etc) relevant to crystal’s mechanical and optical properties
Crystal-based optical waveguides, cavities, lasers, modulators, etc.
Crystal-based photonic integrated circuits
Crystal OLEDs
Emissive dynamic crystals
Electronic properties of dynamic crystals
Crystal/metal hybrid devices (actuators, sensors, etc)
Molecular crystalline robots
Chiral molecular crystals displaying mechanical and/or photonic properties
Mechanophotonics for microscale crystals
Crystal adaptronics
Epitaxial growth of homo and heterocrystals with photonic functions
2D and 3D patterning of optical crystals
NLO (SHG, TPA, THz, etc) properties of molecular crystals
Crystal milling using FIB lithography
Advanced characterization and micromanipulation techniques
Mathematical modeling of dynamic crystals
Mechanical properties of molecular crystals
Thermodynamics of energy conversion by dynamic crystals
Theoretical understanding of the crystal mechanics and photonics
Dynamic processes in crystals resulting from mechanical flexibility or photonics

Open for Submissions until 28 February 2025

Submissions to the journal should contain chemistry in a materials context and should fit within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry C. Please see the journal’s website for more information on the journal’s scope, standards, article types and author guidelines.

How to submit

We strongly encourage authors to submit primary research (Full paper or Communication) to this themed collection. If you would like to submit a Review-type article, please email the Editorial Office at materialsc-rsc.org to provide an outline to be approved by the Editorial Office.

When ready, please submit your article directly to the submissions platform for Journal of Materials Chemistry C where our editors will assess your submission. Please add a note in the ‘Comments to the Editor’ and ‘Themed collections’ sections of the submission mentioning this is a manuscript for the themed collection on ‘Molecular Crystals’ and that it is in response to the ‘Open Call’.

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Explore our Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2024 themed collections

Congratulations to the poster prize winners at ACCS15

Open call for papers – Molecular Crystals: Mechanics and Photonics

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