Light-switchable anchors on magnetized biomorphic microcarriers.

Microcarriers with the ability to release and catch substances are highly desired metamaterials and difficult to obtain. Herein, we report a straightforward strategy to synthesize these materials by combining silica-biomorphs with mesocrystals. An easy access to microcarrier hulls with covalently bound spiropyrans as light-switchable anchor points is presented.

Functionalisation of silica-carbonate biomorphs.

Biomorphs are a unique class of self-organised silica-carbonate mineral structures with elaborate shapes. Here we report first approaches to modify these complex inorganic architectures through silane chemistry, binding of nanoparticles, and organic polymerisation. This leads to functional nanostructures in which the complexity of the originally inorganic template is preserved, and offers new diagnostic tools to study the mechanisms underlying their formation.

Probing local pH-based precipitation processes in self-assembled silica-carbonate hybrid materials.

Crystallisation of barium carbonate in the presence of silica can lead to the spontaneous assembly of highly complex superstructures, consisting of uniform and largely co-oriented BaCO3 nanocrystals that are interspersed by a matrix of amorphous silica. The formation of these biomimetic architectures (so-called silica biomorphs) is thought to be driven by a dynamic interplay between the components, in which subtle changes of conditions trigger ordered mineralisation at the nanoscale. In particular, it has been proposed that local pH gradients at growing fronts play a crucial role in the process of morphogenesis.

The open society.

The open society, unlike the closed society, requires constant citizen thought and action to ensure that it will continue to survive and prosper. Today in the United States we should give particular attention to three immediate problems. We should reinvigorate our national economic health and international competitiveness, particularly by reducing our unprecedented budget deficits and reforming our tax system.