iPSC-derived PSEN2 (N141I) astrocytes and microglia exhibit a primed inflammatory phenotype.

Background: Widescale evidence points to the involvement of glia and immune pathways in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD-associated iPSC-derived glial cells show a diverse range of AD-related phenotypic states encompassing cytokine/chemokine release, phagocytosis and morphological profiles, but to date studies are limited to cells derived from PSEN1, APOE and APP mutations or sporadic patients. The aim of the current study was to successfully differentiate iPSC-derived microglia and astrocytes from patients harbouring an AD-causative PSEN2 (N141I) mutation and characterise the inflammatory and morphological profile of these cells.

Photocarrier Transfer across Monolayer MoS-MoSe Lateral Heterojunctions.

In-plane heterojuctions formed from two monolayer semiconductors represent the finest control of electrons in condensed matter and have attracted significant interest. Various device studies have shown the effectiveness of such structures to control electronic processes, illustrating their potentials for electronic and optoelectronic applications. However, information about the physical mechanisms of charge carrier transfer across the junctions is still rare, mainly due to the lack of adequate experimental techniques.

Photocarrier dynamics in monolayer phosphorene and bulk black phosphorus.

We report a combined theoretical and experimental study on photocarrier dynamics in monolayer phosphorene and bulk black phosphorus. Samples of monolayer phosphorene and bulk black phosphorus were fabricated by mechanical exfoliation, identified according to their reflective contrasts, and protected by covering them with hexagonal boron nitride layers. Photocarrier dynamics in these samples was studied by an ultrafast pump-probe technique.

Ultrafast Interlayer Electron Transfer in Incommensurate Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Homobilayers.

Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, and phosphorene, can be used to construct van der Waals multilayer structures. This approach has shown potentials to produce new materials that combine novel properties of the participating individual layers. One key requirement for effectively harnessing emergent properties of these materials is electronic connection of the involved atomic layers through efficient interlayer charge or energy transfer.

Charge Transfer Exciton and Spin Flipping at Organic-Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Interfaces.

Two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMD) can be combined with other materials such as organic small molecules to form hybrid van der Waals heterostructures. Because of different properties possessed by these two materials, the hybrid interface can exhibit properties that cannot be found in either of the materials. In this work, the zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc)-molybdenum disulfide (MoS) interface is used as a model system to study the charge transfer at these interfaces.

Highly Efficient and Anomalous Charge Transfer in van der Waals Trilayer Semiconductors.

Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene and monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, allow the fabrication of multilayer structures without lattice matching restriction. A central issue in developing such artificial materials is to understand and control the interlayer electron transfer process, which plays a key role in harnessing their emergent properties. Recent photoluminescence and transient absorption measurements revealed that the electron transfer in heterobilayers occurs on ultrafast time scales.

Type-I van der Waals heterostructure formed by MoS and ReS monolayers.

We report a van der Waals heterostructure formed by monolayers of MoS and ReS with a type-I band alignment. First-principle calculations show that in this heterostructure, both the conduction band minimum and the valence band maximum are located in the ReS layer. This configuration is different from previously accomplished type-II van der Waals heterostructures where electrons and holes reside in different layers.