Guides for Developing Hundreds of Novel Chiral MXenes and MBenes Nanosheets/Quantum Dots for Next-Generation Chiral...

The development and multiple bio-applications of chiral MXene nanosheets and derived quantum dots-based heterostructures as next-generation plant biostimulants are recently reported in Small for the first time. This chirality-induction came at a critical juncture in the field, as the safety efficacy of synthetic low-dimensional materials, including MXenes, challenges their clinical, agricultural, and environmental translatability. Using a rational surface engineering and structural-modification strategy, distinct left- or right-handed chiral MXenes are developed. These tailored asymmetric MXenes inherently leverage desirable durability, long-term biocompatibility, and multifunctional bioactivities. Chirality, as a natural biological specification of living organisms and most bio-macromolecules, plays a pivotal role in their cellular functions, interactions, enzyme-substrate recognition, protein folding, genetic encoding, and immune-related mechanisms. Chiral engineering of nanomaterials has set paradigms to open up avenues of studies toward designing numerous novel chiral MXenes and MBenes. Here, this innovative perspective presents a roadmap for periodic development of chiral MXenes/MBenes of diverse chemical compositions and forms. In particular, prospective vacancies and step-by-step guides for constructing hundreds of different MXene/MBene formulations are proposed through diverse chiral-active sources. Induced chirality is anticipated to relatively enhance the properties and biocompatibility of their original materials. It paves the way for extending and optimizing this nano-biotechnology to more effectively activate, regulate, or control biological responses. These prospects are anticipated to cover antimicrobial coating, immune modulation, tissue engineering, drug delivery, cancer treatments, cell therapies, organ-transplant rejection prevention, and other healthcare/diagnostic aspects of electrochemically active-nanomaterials in bio-tracking, wearable bioelectronics, and biomedical sensors. The basic predictions of their toxicity behaviors across various biological settings are also discussed, and their bio-properties are speculated on to prioritize design recommendations and strategize the possible chiral-functionalization challenges.