Hydrophilic End Research Articles

PFAS: The Journey from Wonder Chemicals to Environmental Nightmares and the Search for Solutions

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are diverse synthetic chemicals manufactured over seven decades. It is an aliphatic molecule with a basic hydrophobic structure of carbon and fluorine linked to a hydrophilic end group. Due to their physicochemical properties associated with the unique structure, PFAS has been used in a wide variety of applications including aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF), paper, carpets, non-stick cookware, etc. as they make products resistant to water, heat, and stains. These molecules have drawn great attention recently for their unique properties, high stability and low degradability, and so-called “Forever Chemicals”. PFAS has the strongest carbon-fluorine bond which makes them persistent in the environment. Hence it contaminates natural resources and endangers public health. This review discusses the discovery, development, and evolution of PFAS from the wonder chemical era to a nightmare chemical era, exposure and its impacts on human health and the environment, current remediation techniques, and future trends of PFAS molecules and related products. The primary objective of this review is to identify knowledge gaps on PFAS contamination, remediation methods, and possible PFAS alternatives.

Engineering the reverse micellar-templated Co(OH)2 nanospheres based Pickering emulsion and unveiling the mechanism of ambiguous phase separation

The present study employs reverse micellar-templated Co(OH)2 nanospheres, in situ hydrophobized with SDS in Pickering emulsion formulations and unlocking the mechanism of ambiguous phase separation at a certain surfactant concentration (4.3 mM). Co(OH)2 is synthesised in the core of reverse micelle: SPAN 80/1-butanol/water/toluene. Novel O/W Pickering emulsions have been developed with the help of positively charged (ς = 4.47 mV) Co(OH)2 (0.05 wt%) and an adequate amount of an anionic surfactant, SDS. An ambiguous phase separation of Pickering emulsion at 4.3 mM SDS is noticed within just 4 hr of standings, whereas, surprisingly stable O/W Pickering emulsions are found above and below these SDS concentrations. Upon addition of 2.6 mM SDS to the aqueous colloidal dispersion of Co(OH)2, the particles converted to amphiphilic one and stabilized the Pickering emulsion. However, these monolayer adsorbed surfactants face a hydrophobic interaction through tail-to-tail mode after adding 4.3 mM SDS to the colloidal dispersion. Consequently, they achieve a nanoplates-like architect and regain the extreme hydrophilic surface from both ends and eventually leads to the ambiguous phase separation through inter-droplet coalescence. The contact angle value altering from 44.9° (for 2.6 mM SDS) to 19.6° (for 4.3 mM SDS) confirms that the surface has changed from being amphiphilic to becoming extremely hydrophilic. Yet, again an increase in SDS (6.06 mM and onwards) suggest that surfactant molecules further adsorbed in either any of the two hydrophilic ends and revolving the particles to its previous amphiphilic state and eventually started to stabilise the emulsion droplets.

Molecular dynamics simulation of wax micro-structure characteristics in the oil-water emulsion

As a key issue in the flow assurance of wax-containing crude oils, the microscopic mechanism of wax deposition in multiphase pipelines is still unclear. Based on macroscopic experimental data, two forms of crystallized wax have been found under an oil-water emulsion, including adsorbed wax on the interface of water droplets and suspended wax in the bulk oil phase, which are the important factors influencing wax deposition. However, the micro-formation mechanism of the adsorbed & suspended wax is not elucidated. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the micro-structure characteristics of the adsorbed & suspended wax in the oil-water emulsion containing surfactant Span60. A method is proposed to quantitatively calculate the distributions of the adsorbed & suspended wax and the percentage of wax adsorption area at the oil-water interface. The results indicate that surfactant with the hydrophilic end will insert into the water phase and the trailing hydrophobic end stretching will point to the oil phase during co-crystallizing with wax molecules. Meanwhile, the interface tension is further reduced by tilting the adsorbed wax tail chain to enhance the adsorption stability. Based on the complicated influence of surfactants on wax adsorption, the quantitative distribution characteristics of the adsorbed & suspended wax in the oil-water emulsion are complex under different wax carbon numbers and surfactant/wax contents. This microscopic investigation of wax distribution in oil-water emulsion can support the establishment of better strategies for solving the wax deposition problem in multiphase flow.

Polymers in Drug Delivery: Analyzing Beta-carotene Aggregation in Response to PEG-b-PLA

Synthetic polymers have quickly become ubiquitous in all aspects of modern society, from single-use plastics to medical treatment. This study focuses on the behavior of polymers in the medical context of drug delivery, which requires a highly controlled and targeted release of the therapeutic agent. However, current medical treatments such as anticancer drugs lack precision and lose effectiveness after entering the body. PEG-b-PLA is uniquely structured to have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends, which makes it capable of forming polymeric micelles. Beta-carotene, a lipophilic compound, was employed as a surrogate molecule to represent an anticancer drug. This study’s purpose was to study PEG-b-PLA in aqueous solutions with varying concentrations of Beta-carotene and sodium chloride to mimic a human drug delivery procedure. It was hypothesized that PEG-b-PLA would limit the aggregation of Beta-carotene to a constant size, regardless of the outside environment. For that purpose, this study created four mixtures, each with varying concentrations of DI water, Beta-carotene, sodium chloride, and PEG-b-PLA. Qualitative data was collected by using a laser beam to observe the aggregation of Beta-carotene in each mixture, and each mixture was analyzed in a dynamic light scattering (DLS) instrument to determine exact micelle sizes. It was determined that the addition of PEG-b-PLA significantly reduced the aggregation of Beta-carotene in an electrolyte solution, demonstrating the stabilizing role PEG-b-PLA plays in drug delivery. Recent innovations like smart polymers consist of molecules like PEG-b-PLA and have been shown to successfully transport medical drugs, potentially making highly targeted anticancer treatment a reality.

Multifunctional Aluminum Pre-treatments from End-Functionalized Phosphonic Acid Self-Assembled Monolayers.

Aluminum alloys are used in advanced engineering applications as they possess a combination of favorable properties, including high strength, lightweightness, good corrosion resistance, machineability, and recyclability. Such applications often require forming the sheets into the final components, which is typically aided by an oil-based lubricant, followed by joining them using adhesives, which is hampered by residual lubricant. In this work, aluminum surfaces were modified with different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), with the goal of significantly reducing the amount of lubricant while simultaneously improving friction properties, forming, and bonding performance. Our results show that SAMs terminated with hydrophilic and nucleophilic end groups give rise to high-energy surfaces with wetting properties that are stable over time. These surfaces showed significantly improved surface wetting by the lubricant, which in turn resulted in an improved forming performance at reduced lubricant coat weights. Moreover, the nucleophilic SAM termination provided outstanding performance in adhesive bonding tests under corrosive conditions.

The Synergistic Influence of the Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Ends on the Primary Dielectric Relaxation Rate of Methanol

The primary dielectric relaxation process of monoalcohols typically exhibits characteristic Debye behavior, and the factors influencing its rate have become a research focus in recent years. It is generally believed that the hydrophilic end (i.e., the hydroxyl group) of alcohol molecules plays a major role in the primary dielectric relaxation process through hydrogen bonding networks, while the hydrophobic end mainly exerts an indirect effect by influencing the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This study systematically investigates the factors influencing the primary dielectric relaxation process of methanol using molecular dynamics simulations. As the simplest alcohol molecule, studying methanol can provide insights into the common characteristics of monohydroxy alcohols and even alcohols in general. The well-known "wait-and-switch" model currently emphasizes the impact of hydrogen bond partner concentration on the primary dielectric relaxation rate of the system. In this study, we systematically investigated the factors influencing the primary dielectric relaxation rate of methanol by independently adjusting the O-H bond length (<i>d<sub>oh</sub></i>), the C-O bond length (<i>d<sub>oc</sub></i>), and the methyl diameter (<i>σ<sub>methyl</sub></i>) of methanol molecules, and provided significant extensions to the "wait-and-switch" model:1) By adjusting <i>doh</i>, we found that a stronger total hydrogen bond energy (<i>U<sub>HB</sub></i>) in the system enhances the correlation of molecular motion, slowing down the reorientation rate of molecules and, consequently, the primary dielectric relaxation process of the system. 2) By adjusting <i>d<sub>co</sub></i>, we discovered that a longer hydrophobic end not only slows down the primary dielectric relaxation process by stabilizing the intermolecular hydrogen bond network but also directly reduces the rate of this process. 3) By adjusting <i>σ<sub>methyl</sub></i>, we found that an excessively small <i>σ<sub>methyl</sub></i> is detrimental to the stability of the hydrogen bond network, while an excessively large <i>σ<sub>methyl</sub></i> hinders the formation of hydrogen bonds. Both cases negatively affect the correlation of molecular motion. The primary dielectric relaxation process of the system is slowest when <i>σ<sub>methyl</sub></i> is at a moderate level. It was ultimately found that factors such as <i>U<sub>HB</sub></i> and the volume of the correlated motion (<i>V<sub>CM</sub></i>), along with the concentration of hydrogen bond partners in the system, collectively form the key elements influencing the primary dielectric relaxation rate of the system. Our results can reasonably explain experimental phenomena that the original "wait-and-switch" model could not account for. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relaxation processes of alcohol molecules and their physical origins.

Thiol ligand-mediated exfoliation of bulk sulfur to nanosheets and nanodots: applications in antibacterial activity.

Reducing bulk materials to layers or dots results in profound alterations in their physiochemical and optoelectronic properties, leading to a wide array of applications, spanning from device manufacturing to biomedicine. In this regard, the preparation of sulfur nanomaterials has garnered significant attention due to their low toxicity. Traditional methods for sulfur nanomaterial synthesis often involve harsh reaction conditions, leaving a gap for convenient approaches to create nanomaterials, such as nanosheets (NSs) and nanodots (NDs). Herein, the mechanical exfoliation of bulk sulfur using a surfactant thiol ligand with probe sonication is reported, making a unique contribution to existing methods. In the reported method, the thiol group binds to sulfur surfaces, facilitating exfoliation and stabilization, while the hydrophilic ends provide functional groups for exfoliated nanomaterials. Exfoliation can yield either nanosheets or nanodots, depending on the thiol ligand and exfoliation time. This approach offers the opportunity to exfoliate bulk sulfur using bioactive thiol ligands. With this goal in mind, bulk sulfur was exfoliated with 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (BA) to target Gram-positive bacteria. This innovative exfoliation strategy of bulk sulfur using thiol ligands holds immense promise for synthesizing functionalized sulfur nanomaterials with wide-ranging applications, particularly in biomedicine.

Sono-responsive smart nanoliposomes for precise and rapid hemostasis application.

Massive hemorrhage caused by injuries and surgical procedures is a major challenge in emergency medical scenarios. Conventional means of hemostasis often fail to rapidly and efficiently control bleeding, especially in inaccessible locations. Herein, a type of smart nanoliposome with ultrasonic responsiveness, loaded with thrombin (thrombin@liposome, named TNL) was developed to serve as an efficient and rapid hemostatic agent. Firstly, the hydrophilic cavities of the liposomes were loaded onto the sono-sensitive agent protoporphyrin. Secondly, a singlet oxygen-sensitive chemical bond was connected with the hydrophobic and hydrophilic ends of liposomes in a chemical bond manner. Finally, based on the host guest effect between ultrasound and the sono-sensitizer, singlet oxygen is continuously generated, which breaks the hydrophobic and hydrophilic ends of liposome fragments, causing spatial collapse of the TNL structure, swiftly releases thrombin loaded in the hydrophilic capsule cavity, thereby achieving accurate and rapid local hemostasis (resulted in a reduction of approximately 67% in bleeding in the rat hemorrhage model). More importantly, after thorough assessments of biocompatibility and biodegradability, it has been confirmed that TNL possesses excellent biosafety, providing a new avenue for efficient and precise hemostasis.

Directional interface electron transfer from Fe2O3 to biomass-derived carbon originated from F-dopant-induced site-specific growth

Site-specific growth of active phase on surface functionalization carbon substrate has drawn attention to improve the catalytic activity and stability of electrocatalyst. Herein, F-dopant-induced Fe2O3 site-specific growth improves the directional interface electron transfer from Fe2O3 to biomass-derived carbon. Electron redistribution between Fe2O3 and F-doped carbon (FC) optimizes the adsorption energy of intermediates to improve electrocatalytic intrinsic activities. The hydrophilic/aerophobic surface of Fe2O3/FC benefits to the fast reaction kinetics for water splitting. FC as hydrophilic end enhances wettability of electrolyte on electrode surface and facilities H2O adsorption. Fe2O3 as aerophobic end is conducive to the formation and overflow of bubbles from catalyst surface. It is a simple way to achieve directional interface electron transfer in heterogenous catalysis that F doping can induce site-specific growth for the improvement of activity and stability.

Aqueous Cationic Fluorinated Polyurethane for Application in Novel UV-Curable Cathodic Electrodeposition Coatings.

Aqueous polyurethane is an environmentally friendly, low-cost, high-performance resin with good abrasion resistance and strong adhesion. Cationic aqueous polyurethane is limited in cathodic electrophoretic coatings due to its complicated preparation process and its poor stability and single performance after emulsification and dispersion. The introduction of perfluoropolyether alcohol (PFPE-OH) and light curing technology can effectively improve the stability of aqueous polyurethane emulsions, and thus enhance the functionality of coating films. In this paper, a new UV-curable fluorinated polyurethane-based cathodic electrophoretic coating was prepared using cationic polyurethane as a precursor, introducing PFPE-OH capping, and grafting hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The results showed that the presence of perfluoropolyether alcohol in the structure affected the variation of the moisture content of the paint film after flash evaporation. Based on the emulsion particle size and morphology tests, it can be assumed that the fluorinated cationic polyurethane emulsion is a core-shell structure with hydrophobic ends encapsulated in the polymer and hydrophilic ends on the outer surface. After abrasion testing and baking, the fluorine atoms of the coating were found to increase from 8.89% to 27.34%. The static contact angle of the coating to water was 104.6 ± 3°, and the water droplets rolled off without traces, indicating that the coating is hydrophobic. The coating has excellent thermal stability and tensile properties. The coating also passed the tests of impact resistance, flexibility, adhesion, and resistance to chemical corrosion in extreme environments. This study provides a new idea for the construction of a new and efficient cathodic electrophoretic coating system, and also provides more areas for the promotion of cationic polyurethane to practical applications.

Bioinspired synthesis of micelle-templated ultrathin silica-layered mesoporous nanoparticles with enhanced mass transfer and stability for biocatalysis

Bioinspired enzyme encapsulation technologies have received increasing attention in sustainable development owing to the enzyme protection from external stressors while mimicking the cellular environment and structure. In this study, we developed a diatom-inspired synthesis of ultrathin silica-layered nanoparticles directed by silica-forming R5 peptide- and carbonic anhydrase (CA)-functionalized micelles. Each CA and R5 peptide was covalently conjugated with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)-ester-modified hydrophilic ends of the triblock copolymer F127 (F127–CA and F127–R5). F127–CA/R5 micelles were prepared by controlling the molar ratio of F127–CA and F127–R5. F127–CA/R5 micelle@silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) were synthesized through R5 peptide-catalyzed silicification of the F127–CA/R5 micelle in a two-phase system. F127–CA/R5 micelle@SiNPs exhibited uniform and monodisperse particles with a size of 17 nm, indicating the formation of a ∼1.5-nm ultrathin and mesoporous silica layer compared with F127–CA/R5 micelle. F127–CA/R5 micelle@SiNPs exhibited almost identical KM and kcat values in CO2 hydration activity compared with the free enzyme. In addition, F127–CA/R5 micelle@SiNPs also showed enhanced stability compared to free ngCA under the operation condition of CO2 capture and sequestration with good storage stability. These results indicated that an ultrathin and mesoporous silica layer on the micelle could protect enzymes from external environments while minimizing limited mass transfer. Thus, our strategy could offer a new direction for enzyme-based green chemistry in practical applications, providing enhanced mass transfer and stability.

Effects of polymer terminal group inside micelle core on paclitaxel loading promoting and burst release suppressing.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is widely used in the treatment of advanced esophageal and gastric cancer. Polymeric micelles can improve the drug-loading efficiency of PTX. However, the end groups on the amphiphilic blocks affect the drug-loading efficiency and the release kinetics of polymeric micelles. Therefore, there is an urgent need to disclose the tailoring of the core-/shell-forming terminal groups. Different from the conventional block copolymer synthesis in the reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization, which has a hydrophilic end group on the core-forming blocks, an alternative monomer addition method was applied to tune and obtain two block copolymers with symmetrical and similar block length PBMAn-b-PNAMm [PNAM, poly(N-acryloylmorpholine); PBMA, poly(n-butyl methacrylate)] but distinct end groups on the hydrophobic core-forming blocks, that is, HOOC-PBMA-PNAM-Phen and HOOC-PNAM-PBMA-Phen. The chemical structure of the resulting copolymers was elucidated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The spherical morphology revealed by transmission electron microscopy and the uniform particle size revealed by dynamic light scattering analysis clearly confirmed the successful preparation of a PTX-polymeric micelle complex. The particle sizes of HOOC-PBMA-PNAM-Phen and HOOC-PNAM-PBMA-Phen were about 40 and 235 nm respectively. The PTX loading efficiency of HOOC-PBMA-PNAM-Phen was much lower than that of HOOC-PNAM-PBMA-Phen. The PTX release from HOOC-PBMA-PNAM-Phen was much slower than that of HOOC-PNAM-PBMA-Phen. The polymers had glass transition temperature (Tg) values of 70.24 and 74.22 ℃, which was from the HOOC-PBMA-PNAM-Phen and HOOC-PNAM-PBMA-Phen micelles, respectively. The systematic study on the PTX loading and releasing profile disclosed that, compared with the HOOC-PBMA-PNAM-Phen, the micelles with Phen group on the hydrophobic block (HOOC-PNAM-PBMA-Phen) enhanced drug loading and prolonged drug release but with a larger particle size. The results indicated that the hydrophobic end group Phen on the core-forming blocks can promote hydrophobic drug loading and suppress burst release.

Coarse-Grained Molecular Simulation of Bolapolyphiles with a Multident Lateral Chain: Formation and Structural Analysis of Cubic Network Phases.

Bolapolyphiles constitute a versatile class of materials with a demonstrated potential to form a wide variety of complex ordered mesophases. In particular, cubic network phases (like the gyroid, primitive, and diamond phases) have been a target of many studies for their ability to create percolating 3D nanosized channels. In this study, molecular simulations are used to explore the phase behavior of bolapolyphiles containing a rigid rodlike core, associating hydrophilic core ends and a hydrophobic side chain with a multident architecture, i.e., where the branching pattern can vary from bident (two branches) to hexadent (six branches). Upon network phase formation, its skeleton is made up of "nodes" populated by the core ends and "struts" populated by the cores. It is shown that, by varying the side chain length, branching pattern, and attachment point to the core, one can alter the crowding around the cores and hence tune the nodal size and nodal valence (i.e., number of connecting struts) which lead to different types of network morphologies. For example, for a fixed total side chain length, having more branches generates a stronger crowding around the molecular core, driving them to form bundlelike domains with curvier interfaces that result in thinner struts. Also, attaching the lateral chain closer to one core end breaks the symmetry between the environments around the two core ends, leading to networks with bimodal nodal sizes. Importantly, since the characterization of (ordered or partially ordered) network phases is challenging given the potential incompatibilities between the simulation box size with the structure's space group periodic symmetry and the effect of morphological defects, a detailed framework is presented to analyze and fully characterize the unit cell parameters and structure factor of such systems.

Starch wall of urea: Facile starch modification to residue-free stable urea coating for sustained release and crop productivity

Quick leaching of urea fertilizer encourages different coatings, but achieving a stable coating without toxic linkers is still challenging. Here, the naturally abundant bio-polymer, i.e., starch, has been groomed to form a stable coating through phosphate modification and the support of eggshell nanoparticles (ESN) as a reinforcement agent. The ESN offers a calcium ion binding site for the phosphate to cause bio-mimetic folding. This coating retains hydrophilic ends in the core and gives an excellent hydrophobic surface (water contact angle 123°). Further, the phosphorylated starch+ESN led the coating to release only ∼30 % of the nutrient in the initial ten days and sustained for up to 60 days to show ∼90 % release. The stability of the coating has been attributed to its resistance to major soil factors viz., acidity and amylase degradation. The ESN also increases elasticity, cracking control, and self-repairing capacity by serving as buffer micro-bots. The coated urea enhanced the yield of rice grain by ∼10%.

Superconformal Film Growth: From Smoothing Surfaces to Interconnect Technology.

ConspectusElectronics manufacturing involves Cu electrodeposition to form 3D circuitry of arbitrary complexity. This ranges from nanometer-wide interconnects between individual transistors to increasingly large multilevel intermediate and global scale on-chip wiring. At larger scale, similar technology is used to form micrometer-sized high aspect ratio through-silicon vias (TSV) that facilitate chip stacking and multilevel printed circuit board (PCB) metallization. Common to all of these applications is void-free Cu filling of lithographically defined trenches and vias. While line-of-sight physical vapor deposition processes cannot accomplish this feat, the combination of surfactants and electrochemical or chemical vapor deposition enables preferential metal deposition within recessed surface features known as superfilling. The same superconformal film growth processes account for the long-reported but poorly understood smoothing and brightening action provided by certain electroplating additives. Prototypical surfactant additives for superconformal Cu deposition from acid-based CuSO4 electrolytes include a combination of halide, polyether suppressor, sulfonate-terminated disulfide, and/or thiol accelerator and possibly a N-bearing cationic leveler. Many competitive and coadsorption dynamics underlie functional operation of the additives. Upon immersion, Cu surfaces are rapidly covered by a saturated halide layer that makes the interface more hydrophobic, thereby supporting the formation of a polyether suppressor layer. Also, halide serves as a cosurfactant supporting the adsorption of amphiphilic molecular disulfide species on the surface while inhibiting copper sulfide formation and incorporation into the growing deposit. Furthermore, the dangling hydrophilic sulfonate end group of the accelerator enables activated metal deposition by hindering polyether suppressor assembly. A common thread in superconformal feature filling is additive-derived positive feedback of the metal deposition reaction within recessed or re-entrant regions. For submicrometer features or optically rough surfaces, area reduction that accompanies the motion of concave surface segments results in the most strongly bound adsorbates' enrichment, which for the suppressor-accelerator systems is the sulfonate-terminated disulfide accelerator species. The superfilling and smoothing process is quantitatively captured by the curvature-enhanced adsorbate coverage mechanism. For larger features, such as TSV, whose depths approach the thickness of the hydrodynamic boundary layer, significant compositional and electrical gradients couple with the metal deposition process to give a negative differential resistance and related nonlinear effects on morphological evolution. For certain suppressor-only electrolytes, remarkable bottom-up feature filling occurs where metal deposition disrupts inhibiting adsorbates at the bottom of the TSV or overruns the ability of the suppressor to form due to kinetic or transport limitations. Because the electrical response to changes in interface chemistry is more rapid than mass transport processes, deposition on planar substrates proceeds by bifurcation into passive and active zones, generating Turing patterns. On patterned substrates, active zone development is biased toward the most recessed regions. The distinction between packaging and on-chip metallization will be blurred as the dimensions of the former merge with those of early day on-chip 3D metallization.

Multi-Stimuli-Responsive Amphiphilic Pyridinium Salt and Its Application in the Visualization of Level 3 Details in Latent Fingerprints.

Organic luminescent materials that can simultaneously achieve multimode mechanochromism and its water-vapor-induced recovery are desirable for practical applications but rarely reported. Herein, an amphiphilic compound, 4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-1-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridin-1-ium bromide (CPAB), was designed by integrating a lipophilic aromatic unit and hydrophilic end in the molecular architecture. Self-recovered mechanochromism from brown to cyan was observed upon mechanical grinding in air. Comprehensive research by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and single-crystal analysis revealed that the photoluminescence switch originated from the variation in intermolecular hydrogen bonds and molecular packing mode. The amphiphilic nature of CPAB allowed water molecules to enter the crystalline lattice, forming two polymorphs of the crystalline phase, namely CPAB-D and CPAB-W. The hydrosoluble CPAB exhibited excellent capability in probing the level 3 details of fingerprints because its lipophilic part could target the fatty acid residues of fingerprints, leading to strong aggregation-induced fluorescence. The research may inspire the design of latent fingerprint developers and application in forensics/anti-counterfeiting. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Reinforcement of polyamide 6 with carbon fiber surface modified by a polar cross-linked network interfacial phase

Carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 (CF/PA6) composite materials have low relative density, high specific strength, and high specific modulus. However, the surface of the CF is smooth and chemically inert, resulting in poor interfacial adhesion in CF/PA6 composites, thereby limiting its application range. Herein, an epoxy resin emulsifier with hydrophilic ends and lipophilic middle was synthesized. After sizing, the surface chemical activity and roughness of the CF were higher. The tensile strength of the prepared CF/PA6 composite material was increased by 38.6%, and the impact strength was increased by 26.4%. By testing the tensile strength and wettability of the CF, as well as the dynamic thermomechanical properties and rheological behavior of the CF/PA6 composites, the influence of the sizing agent on the properties of CF and the interfacial properties of CF/PA6 composites was evaluated, and its mechanism of action is discussed herein.

Role of Nanoscale Morphology on the Efficiency of Solvent-Based Desalination Method

Brine desalination is important for minimizing the environmental impact of contaminated wastewater, yet current desalination techniques have high energy requirements. Solvent-based desalination (SBD) method, which is the process of extracting fresh water using an organic solvent, has existed for decades, yet has not reached competitive efficiencies. In this work, 10 organic solvents were tested for SBD efficacy via synergetic studies using bench-scale extraction experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The SBD effectiveness was correlated to the computationally observed ability of the solvent to form one of the three morphologies in water: ordered, disordered, or partial nanoscale. We correlated that solvents that form ordered and disordered morphologies were not able to clean up the water. Solvents that were able to cause low salinity in water showed computationally observed partial nanoscale phase separation, where nanometer-scale aggregated solvent phases were able to effectively reject salt ions while capturing comparatively large amounts of water molecules. The formation of a partial nanoscale phase is likely driven by the solvent structure with bulky hydrocarbons adjacent to hydrophilic end groups. Our results make a step toward the rational design of solvents that may allow for efficient SBD and thus a low-cost source of fresh water.

Tuning Dimensionality of Benzimidazole Aggregates by Using Tetraoctylammonium Bromide: Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence Studies

Exploring the depolymerization strategy of liposoluble luminophores in the aqueous phase is vital for the development of electrochemiluminescence (ECL). In this work, tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOAB) with four long hydrophobic chains and short hydrophilic ends is used as a template to limit the aggregation of benzimidazole (BIM). By adjusting the loading of BIM on the hydrophobic chains of TOAB, a two-dimensional lamellar BIM/TOAB is formed, the ECL intensity of which is 6.4 times higher than that of the aggregated BIM (H2O2 as the coreactant). In terms of ECL spectroscopies, cyclic voltammetry , ECL transients, and the adjustment of the scanning potential range, the ECL mechanism is thoroughly studied. This work provides a new way to depolymerize organic luminophores and reveals a possible pathway in the annihilation ECL mechanism.

A CD326 monoclonal antibody modified core cross-linked curcumin-polyphosphoester prodrug for targeted delivery and cancer treatment.

Stimuli-responsive cross-linked micelles (SCMs) are ideal nanocarriers for anti-cancer drugs. Compared with non-cross-linked micelles, SCMs exhibit superior structural stability. At the same time, the introduction of an environmentally sensitive crosslinker into a drug delivery system allows SCMs to respond to single or multiple stimuli in the tumor microenvironment, which can minimize drug leakage during the blood circulation process. In this study, curcumin (CUR) was modified as the hydrophobic core crosslinker by utilizing the bisphenol structure, and redox sensitive disulfide bonds were introduced to prepare the glutathione (GSH) stimulated responsive core crosslinker (abbreviated as N3-ss-CUR-ss-N3). In addition, amphiphilic polymer APEG-b-PBYP was prepared through the ring opening reaction, and reacted with the crosslinker through the "click" reaction. After being dispersed in the aqueous phase, core cross-linked nanoparticles (CCL NPs) were obtained. Finally, monoclonal antibody CD326 (mAb-CD326) was reduced and coupled to the hydrophilic chain ends to obtain the nanoparticles with surface modified antibodies (R-mAb-CD326@CCL NPs) for further enhancing targeted drug delivery. The structures of the polymer and crosslinker were characterized by 1H NMR, UV-Vis, FT-IR, and GPC. The morphology, size and stability of CCL NPs and R-mAb-CD326@CCL NPs were investigated by DLS and TEM. The in vitro drug release behavior of CCL NPs was also studied. The results showed that the CCL NPs exhibited reduction-responsiveness and were able to release the original drug CUR under 10 mM GSH conditions. Additionally, the CCL NPs exhibited excellent stability in both the simulated body fluid environment and organic solvents. Especially, R-mAb-CD326@CCL NPs can actively target tumor cells and showed better therapeutic efficacy in in vivo experiments with a tumor suppression rate of 78.7%. This work provides a new idea for the design of nano-drugs targeting breast cancer.