Logic gates are devices that can perform Boolean logic operations and are the basic components of integrated circuits for information processing and storage. In recent years, molecular logic gates are gradually replacing traditional silicon-based electronic computers with their significant advantages and are used in research in water quality monitoring, heavy metal ion detection, disease diagnosis and treatment, food safety detection, and biological sensors. Logic gates at the molecular level have broad development prospects and huge development potential. In this review, the development and application of logic gates in various fields are used as the entry point to discuss the research progress of logic gates and logic circuits. At the same time, the application of logic gates in quite a few emerging fields is briefly summarized and predicted.

This work reports a simple water-phase microwave method for the synthesis of water-soluble red emission Ag₂S quantum dots at low temperatures without the need for an anaerobic process. It is worth noting that the prepared water-soluble Ag₂S quantum dots enjoy positive water dispersion stability. 3-(4,5)-Dimethylthiahiazo(-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) results showed that the prepared Ag₂S quantum dots had promising biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity. In addition, we further applied the low-toxicity near-infrared Ag₂S quantum dots for cell imaging, demonstrating a promising biological probe for cell imaging.

Cancer treatments, including traditional chemotherapy, have failed to cure human malignancies. The main reasons for the failure of these treatments are the inevitable drug resistance and serious side effects. In clinical treatment, only 5 percent of the 50 percent of cancer patients who are able to receive conventional chemotherapy survive. Because of these factors, being able to develop a drug and treatment that can target only cancer cells without affecting normal cells remains a big challenge. Since the special properties of cisplatin in the treatment of malignant tumors were accidentally discovered in the last century, metal anticancer drugs have become a research hotspot. Metal anticancer drugs have unique pharmaceutical properties, such as ruthenium metal drugs with their high selectivity, low toxicity, easy absorption by tumor tissue, excretion, and so on. In recent years, efficient and low-toxicity metal antitumor complexes have been synthesized. In this paper, the scientific literature on platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), iridium (Ir), gold (Au), and other anticancer complexes was reviewed by referring to a large amount of relevant literature at home and abroad.

Heavy-metal ions (HMIs) as a pollutant, if not properly processed, used, and disposed of, will not only have an influence on the ecological environment but also pose significant health hazards to humans, making them a primary factor that endangers human health and harms the environment. Heavy metals come from a variety of sources, the most common of which are agriculture, industry, and sewerage. As a result, there is an urgent demand for portable, low-cost, and effective analytical tools. Bionanosensors have been rapidly developed in recent years due to their advantages of speed, mobility, and high sensitivity. To accomplish effective HMI pollution control, it is important not only to precisely pinpoint the source and content of pollution but also to perform real-time and speedy in situ detection of its composition. This study summarizes heavy-metal-ion (HMI) sensing research advances over the last five years (2019–2023), describing and analyzing major examples of electrochemical and optical bionanosensors for Hg²⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, and Zn²⁺.

Based on the aggregation-induced luminescence of glutathione-protected non-noble metal copper nanoparticles (GSH-CuNPs), a fluorescence method for the rapid detection of bismuth (Bi^{3 +}) was developed. The fluorescence intensity of GSH-CuNP solution is good, and the fluorescence can be quenched in the presence of Bi^{3 +}. Based on this principle, a fluorescence mean for the admeasurement of Bi³⁺was built. The linear range was 0–100 mmol/L, and the detection limit was 10 mmol/L. The method is simple, rapid, and selective and can be used for the qualitative detection of Bi^{3 +}.

With the discovery of research, many properties of carbon dots are getting better and better. People have taken advantage of this and utilized them interspersed in various fields. In the present study, water-soluble nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) with excellent optical and fluorescence thermal properties were prepared by the hydrothermal method using 4-dimethylaminopyridine and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide as precursors. Co²⁺ has a selective bursting effect on the fluorescence of N-CDs. The fluorescence of N-CDs is selectively burst by Co²⁺, and the high sensitivity is good in the range of 0–12 μM with a detection limit of 74 nM. In addition, the good temperature response (reversible and recoverable fluorescence in the temperature range of 20~90 °C) and excellent optical properties of the N-CDs also make them new potentials in the field of fluorescent inks and temperature sensing.