Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 16, 2026

A Guide to Concentration Alternating Frequency Response Analysis of Fuel Cells
Published on: December 11, 2019
Fuel-Selective Transient Activation of Nanosystems for Signal Generation
Flavio Della Sala1, Subhabrata Maiti2, Andrea Bonanni1
1Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy.
Abstract:
The transient activation of function using chemical fuels is common in nature, but much less in synthetic systems. Progress towards the development of systems with a complexity similar to that of natural ones requires chemical fuel selectivity. Here, we show that a self-assembled nanosystem, composed of monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles and a fluorogenic peptide, is activated for transient signal generation only in case the chemical fuel matches the recognition site present at the nanoparticle surface. A modification of the recognition site in the nanosystem completely changes the chemical fuel selectivity. When two nanosystems are simultaneously present, the selectivity expressed by the system depends on the concentration of nucleotide added.
Related Concept Videos
Batteries and Fuel Cells
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
What is Natural Selection?
Series R—L Circuit Transients
Using Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL) to analyze this circuit helps determine the total asymmetrical fault current, which consists...
Endocrine Signaling
Intracellular Signaling Cascades

