Electrochemical Reaction in Single Layer MoS2: Nanopores Opened Atom by Atom.

Ultrathin nanopore membranes based on 2D materials have demonstrated ultimate resolution toward DNA sequencing. Among them, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) shows long-term stability as well as superior sensitivity enabling high throughput performance. The traditional method of fabricating nanopores with nanometer precision is based on the use of focused electron beams in transmission electron microscope (TEM). This nanopore fabrication process is time-consuming, expensive, not scalable, and hard to control below 1 nm. Here, we exploited the electrochemical activity of MoS2 and developed a convenient and scalable method to controllably make nanopores in single-layer MoS2 with subnanometer precision using electrochemical reaction (ECR). The electrochemical reaction on the surface of single-layer MoS2 is initiated at the location of defects or single atom vacancy, followed by the successive removals of individual atoms or unit cells from single-layer MoS2 lattice and finally formation of a nanopore. Step-like features in the ionic current through the growing nanopore provide direct feedback on the nanopore size inferred from a widely used conductance vs pore size model. Furthermore, DNA translocations can be detected in situ when as-fabricated MoS2 nanopores are used. The atomic resolution and accessibility of this approach paves the way for mass production of nanopores in 2D membranes for potential solid-state nanopore sequencing.

Highly dynamic cellular-level response of symbiotic coral to a sudden increase in environmental nitrogen.

UNLABELLED: Metabolic interactions with endosymbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium spp. are fundamental to reef-building corals (Scleractinia) thriving in nutrient-poor tropical seas. Yet, detailed understanding at the single-cell level of nutrient assimilation, translocation, and utilization within this fundamental symbiosis is lacking. Using pulse-chase (15)N labeling and quantitative ion microprobe isotopic imaging (NanoSIMS; nanoscale secondary-ion mass spectrometry), we visualized these dynamic processes in tissues of the symbiotic coral Pocillopora damicornis at the subcellular level. Assimilation of ammonium, nitrate, and aspartic acid resulted in rapid incorporation of nitrogen into uric acid crystals (after ~45 min), forming temporary N storage sites within the dinoflagellate endosymbionts. Subsequent intracellular remobilization of this metabolite was accompanied by translocation of nitrogenous compounds to the coral host, starting at ~6 h. Within the coral tissue, nitrogen is utilized in specific cellular compartments in all four epithelia, including mucus chambers, Golgi bodies, and vesicles in calicoblastic cells. Our study shows how nitrogen-limited symbiotic corals take advantage of sudden changes in nitrogen availability; this opens new perspectives for functional studies of nutrient storage and remobilization in microbial symbioses in changing reef environments. IMPORTANCE: The methodology applied, combining transmission electron microscopy with nanoscale secondary-ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) imaging of coral tissue labeled with stable isotope tracers, allows quantification and submicrometric localization of metabolic fluxes in an intact symbiosis. This study opens the way for investigations of physiological adaptations of symbiotic systems to nutrient availability and for increasing knowledge of global nitrogen and carbon biogeochemical cycling.

Mapping chemical and bonding information using multivariate analysis of electron energy-loss spectrum images.

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) is used to obtain high-resolution information on the composition and the type of chemical bonding of materials. Spectrum imaging, where a full EEL spectrum is acquired and stored at each pixel in the image, gives an exact correlation of spatial and spectral features. However, determining and extracting the important spectral components from the large amount of information contained in a spectrum image (SI) can be difficult. This paper demonstrates that principal component analysis of EEL SIs can be used to extract chemically relevant components. With weighted or two-way scaled principal component analysis, both compositional and bonding information can be extracted. Mapping of the chemical variations in a partially reduced titanium dioxide sample and the orientation-dependent bonding in boron nitride and carbon nanotubes are given as examples.