Representative work:

Full List 

+co-first author, *corresponding author

Since SJTU:

1. Jia-Yao Wang, Ming-Di Gao, Chao-Yang Guan, Jin-Ying Qi, Nan-Nan Deng.* Ultraviolet and Visible Light-Responsive RNA Photofluids. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2025, DOI: 10.1002/anie.202515264. 

2. Jin-Ying Qi†, Qi-Hong Zhao†, Nan-Nan Deng.* A Photo-active Synthetic Cell. CCS Chemistry, 2025, https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.025.202506237

3. S. Giaveri, Z. Abil, S. Kohyama, M. Fu, A. Levrier, K. Adamala, W. Chinantuya, C. Dekker, N. Deng, J. Fredens, K. Hagino, K. Jahnke, X. Li, A.B. Lindner,* C. Liu, S. Majumder, V. Noireaux, P. Schwille, I. N. Westensee.*  Build a Synthetic Cell Together. Nature Communications, 2025, accepted. (Perspective)

4. Zhen-Hong Luo, Xuan-Yan He, Nan-Nan Deng,* Monodisperse Giant Unilamellar Niosomes as Minimal Synthetic Cells. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025, 147, 27081−27088. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c09950

5. Muhammad Umar Farooq, Charles H. Lawrie, Nan-Nan Deng.* Solving Mazes of Organelle-targeted Therapies with DNA Nanomachines. Advanced Materials, 2025, 2508047. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202508047  (Review)

6. Qi-Hong Zhao, Jin-Ying Qi, Nan-Nan Deng.* DNA nanomachine-assembled photofluids show life-like motion. Nature Materials, 2025, 24 (6), 935–944. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-025-02202-0

7. Zhenhua Li,+ Qing Liu,+ Han Ding, Zhuojun Meng, Qi-Hong Zhao, Nan-Nan Deng,* Lifei Zheng.* Static and transient vacuolation in protein-based coacervates induced by charged amino acids. Nature Communications, 2025, 16, 5837. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61340-w.

8. Dong‐Yu Li, Nan‐Nan Deng.* Transient Structural Coloration During Dewetting Transition of Water‐In‐Oil‐In‐Water Droplets. Small, 2025, 2503654. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202503654

9. Yao-Yao Su, Da-Wei Pan*, Tao-Xian Zhang, Rui Xie, Xiao-Jie Ju, Zhuang Liu, Nan-Nan Deng*, Wei Wang*, Liang-Yin Chu. Wetting-induced Interfacial Instability: A Mechanism for Droplet Emission at Air-liquid Interfaces. Science Advances, 2025, 11(12), ads1065. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads1065 

10. Zhen-Hong Luo, Gong-Yu Shi, Nan-Nan Deng.* Easy, Rapid and High-Throughput Production of Single and Multicompartment Liposomes by Vortex Emulsification. ChemSystemsChem, 2024, e202400085. https://doi.org/10.1002/syst.202400085 (Invited paper)

11. Jia-Qi Tian, Nan-Nan Deng.* Dynamic satellite-parent liposome networks for quantitative microreactions. Chemical Science, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SC04925J  

12. Jia-Qi Tian, Mu-Yueh Chang, Chen Chen, Zhen-Hong Luo, Wilhelm T. S. Huck, Nan-Nan Deng.* Interfacial Energy-mediated Bulk Transport across Artificial Cell Membranes. Nature Chemical Engineering, 2024, 1 (7), 450-461. (Front Cover)

13. Muhammad Umar Farooq,* Charles H Lawrie, Nan-Nan Deng.* Engineering nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy: Current achievements, key considerations and future perspectives. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024, 486, 150356. 

14. Zhen-Hong Luo†, Chen Chen†, Qi-Hong Zhao, Nan-Nan Deng.* Functional Metal-phenolic Cortical Cytoskeleton for Artificial Cells. Science Advances, 2024, 10, eadj4047. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj4047

15. Dong-Yu Li, Wei Wang Liang-Yin Chu, and Nan-Nan Deng.* Tunable Structural Coloration in Eccentric Water-in-Oil-in-Water Droplets. Nano Letters, 2023, 23, 9657-9663. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02119.(Supplementary Cover)

16. Mu-Yueh Chang, Hirotaka Ariyama, Wilhelm T. S. Huck,* Nan-Nan Deng.* Division in synthetic cells. Chemical Society Review, 2023, 52, 3307-3325. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CS00985D

17. Qi-Hong Zhao,+ Fang-Hao Cao,+ Zhen-Hong Luo, Wilhelm TS Huck, Nan-Nan Deng.* Photoswitchable Molecular Communication between Programmable DNA‐based Artificial Membraneless Organelles. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2022, 61, e202117500. (Hot paper) https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202117500

18. Dong-Yu Li,+ Zi-Han Zhou,+ Ya-Lan Yu, Nan-Nan Deng.* Microfluidic construction of cytoskeleton-like hydrogel matrix for stabilizing artificial cells. Chemical Engineering Science, 2022, 264, 118186.

19. Xu-Chun Song1, #, Zi-Han Zhou1, 2, #, Ya-Lan Yu1,*, Nan-Nan Deng.2,* Microfluidic production of monodisperse liposomes through liquid-liquid phase separation in ternary droplets. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 2022, 16, 1017-1022. (Invited paper)

20. Amit Nagarkar, Won-Kyu Lee, Daniel J Preston, Markus P Nemitz, Nan-Nan Deng, George M Whitesides,* L Mahadevan.* Elastic-instability–enabled locomotion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021, 118 (8), e2013801118.

21. Nan-Nan Deng.* Complex coacervates as artificial membraneless organelles and protocells. Biomicrofluidics, 2020, 14, 051301. (Invited perspective)

Prior to SJTU

Refereed Journal Articles:        

1. Deng N.N.,* Vibhute M., Zheng L., Yelleswarapu M., Zhao H., Huck W.T.S.* Macromolecularly crowded protocells from reversibly shrinking monodisperse liposomes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2018, 140 (24), 7399-7402.

2. Deng N.N.,* Huck W.T.S.* Microfluidic formation of monodisperse coacervate organelles in liposomes. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2017, 56, 9736-9740.   

3. Deng N.N., Yelleswarapu M., Zheng L., Huck W.T.S. Microfluidic assembly of monodisperse vesosomes as artificial cell models. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139, 587-590. (Front Cover, highlighted by JACS Spotlight)

4. Deng N.N., Yelleswarapu M., Huck W.T.S. Monodisperse uni- and multi-compartment liposomes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2016, 138, 7584-7591. 

5. Deng N.N., Wang W., Ju X.J., Xie R., Chu L.Y. Spontaneous transfer of droplets across microfluidic laminar interfaces. Lab on a Chip, 2016, 16, 4326-4332. (Front Cover) 

6.  Deng N.N., Wang W., Ju X.J., Xie R., Liu Z., Chu L.Y. Recent advances in microfluidic manipulation and coalescence of microscale droplets. Scientia Sinica Chimica, 2015, 45, 7-15. (Invited review in Chinese)

7. Deng N.N., Sun J., Wang W., Ju X.J., Xie R., Chu L.Y. Wetting-Induced Coalescence of Nanoliter Drops as Microreactors in Microfluidics. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2014, 6, 3817-3821

8. Deng N.N., Wang W., Ju X.J., Xie R., Weitz D.A., Chu L.Y. Reply to the 'Comment on "Wetting-induced formation of controllable monodisperse multiple emulsions in microfluidics"' by J. Guzowski and P. Garstecki, Lab Chip, 2014, 14, DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51229K. Lab on a Chip. 2014, 14, 1479-1480.

9.  Deng N.N., Mou C.L., Wang W., Ju X.J., Xie R., Chu L.Y. Multiple-Emulsion Formation from Controllable Drop Pairs in Microfluidics. Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 2014, 17, 967-972.

10. Deng N.N., Wang W., Ju X.J., Xie R., Weitz D.A., Chu L.Y. Wetting-induced formation of controllable monodisperse multiple emulsions in microfluidics. Lab on a Chip, 2013, 13, 4047-4052. (Back Cover) 

11. Deng N.N., Sun S.X., Wang W., Ju X.J., Xie R., Chu L.Y. A novel surgery-like strategy for droplet coalescence in microchannels. Lab on a Chip, 2013, 13, 3653-3657.

12. Deng N.N., Meng Z.J., Xie R., Ju X.J., Mou C.L., Wang W., Chu L.Y. Simple and cheap microfluidic devices for preparation of monodisperse emulsions. Lab on a Chip, 2011, 11, 3963 -3969. (Back Cover)

13. Wei Q, Deng NN, Guo J, Deng J.  Synthetic Polymers for Biomedical Applications. Int. J. Biomater., 2018, 7158621. (EDITORIAL)

14. Mou C.L., Wang W., Li Z.L., Ju X.J., Xie R., Deng N.N., Wei J., Liu Z., Chu L.Y., Trojan Horse Like Stimuli-Responsive Microcapsules. Advanced Science, 2018, 1700960.

15. Peng F., Deng N.N., Tu Y., van Hest JCM, Wilson D.A. Continuous fabrication of polymeric vesicles and nanotubes with fluidic channels. Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 4875-4880.

16. Meng Z.J., Wang W., Liang X., Zheng W.C., Deng N.N., Xie R., Ju X.J., Liu Z., Chu L.Y. Plug-n-play microfluidic systems from flexible assembly of glass-based flow-control modules. Lab on a Chip. 2015, 15, 1869-1878.

17. Sun Y.M., Wang W., Wei Y.Y., Deng N.N., Liu Z., Ju X.J., Xie R., Chu L.Y. In situ fabrication of a temperature- and ethanol-responsive smart membrane in a microchip. Lab on a Chip, 2014, 14, 2418-2427.

18. Mou C.L., Ju X.J., Zhang L., Xie R., Wang W., Deng N.N., Wei J., Chen Q., Chu L.Y. Monodisperse and fast-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels with open-celled porous structure. Langmuir, 2014, 30, 1455-1464.

19. Liu Y.M., Wang W., Zheng W.C., Ju X.J., Xie R., Zerrouki D., Deng N.N., Chu L.Y. Hydrogel-based micro-actuators with remote-controlled locomotion and fast Pb2+-response for micromanipulation. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2013, 5, 7219-7226.