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A molecular model of a peptoid nanosheet that shows loop structures in sugars (orange) that bind to Shiga toxin (shown as a five-color bound structure at upper right). Credit: Berkeley Lab

Molecular foundry-designed 2D sheets mimic the surface of cells. Researchers have developed a process for creating ultrathin, self-assembling sheets of synthetic materials that can function like designer flypaper in selectively binding with viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. In this way the new platform, developed by a team led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), could potentially be used to inactivate or detect pathogens.

The team, which also included researchers from New York University, created the synthesized nanosheets at Berkel...