UV Light Exposure Research Articles

Effectivity of uv-light exposure on bacterial and fungal growth in Channa striata collagen-chitosan composite dressing for wound healing

Introduction: Channa striata collagen-chitosan wound dressing (3:1 v/v) was founded contaminate by bacterial and fungal. Therefore, to suppress bacterial and fungal contamination in Channa striata collagen-chitosan composite dressing, it needs several efforts such as sterilization under Ultra-Violet Light Exposure. The study aimed to determine UV-light exposure duration to supress bacterial and fungal growth on C. striata collagen-chitosan composite dressing. Methods: C. striata collagen was extracted from skin and scales using 2% HCl for 48 hours, then neutralized using NaOH 1 M until collagen fibers appeared. Chitosan powder dissolved in 2% acetic acid. Afterward C. striata collagen and chitosan liquid (1:3 v/v) were mixed and formed until wound dressing was reached. Wound dressing was sterilized under UV exposure for 0, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes. Chitosan dressing was used as a negative control. Results: The results of the study showed that the total number of bacteria and fungi decreased significantly with increasing time of exposure of UV light on composites dressing with a value of p=0.001 for bacterial growth and a value of p= 0.005 for fungus growth. The UV exposure on collagen-chitosan dressing to reduce bacterial and fungal growth proved effective in 10 minutes. Conclusions: The UV light exposure treatment can reduce bacterial and fungal contamination on collagen-chitosan composites on each addition duration exposure descriptively.

Photocathodic protection of amorphous and nanorod zinc oxide thin-film coatings on stainless steel AISI 304 fabricated by spray pyrolysis and hydrothermal technique

The photoelectrochemical cathodic characteristics of amorphous and nanorod ZnO thin-film coatings on stainless steel AISI 304 (SS304) substrates were investigated. An amorphous ZnO thin film was coated on a SS304 substrate at 200 °C using the spray pyrolysis technique. A nanorod ZnO thin film was coated on a SS304 substrate by spraying seed layers at 400 °C and growing the nanorod structures with a hydrothermal process. The results from x-ray diffractometry and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy confirmed amorphous and nanorod ZnO coatings. The ZnO-coated SS304 samples were subjected to the potentiostatic polarization testing under dark and UV conditions, with the ZnO-coated sides of SS304 immersed in a 0.1 M Na2S + 0.2 M NaOH solution and the opposite bare sides in a 3 wt% NaCl solution. For both amorphous and nanorod ZnO coatings, the current densities (icorr) were increased while the voltages (Vcorr) were decreased with the UV light exposure. The photoelecrochemical cathodic mechanism has been explained with the photogenerated electron-hole pairs in ZnO, the hole consumption by the S/S−2 redox reaction, and the electron transfer to SS304. The microstructure analyses showed that the pitted areas resulting from the polarization test under UV light were clearly smaller than those from the polarization test under dark condition.

Combined Kdm6a and Trp53 Deficiency Drives the Development of Squamous Cell Skin Cancer in Mice

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) has among the highest mutation burdens of all cancers, reflecting its pathogenic association with the mutagenic effects of UV light exposure. Although mutations in cancer-relevant genes such as TP53 and NOTCH1 are common in cSCC, they are also tolerated in normal skin and suggest that other events are required for transformation; it is not yet clear whether epigenetic regulators cooperate in the pathogenesis of cSCC. KDM6A encodes a histone H3K27me2/me3 demethylase that is frequently mutated in cSCC and other cancers. Previous sequencing studies indicate that roughly 7% of cSCC samples harbor KDM6A mutations, including frequent truncating mutations, suggesting a role for this gene as a tumor suppressor in cSCC. Mice with epidermal deficiency of both Kdm6a and Trp53 exhibited 100% penetrant, spontaneous cSCC development within a year, and exome sequencing of resulting tumors reveals recurrent mutations in Ncstn and Vcan. Four of 16 tumors exhibited deletions in large portions of chromosome 1 involving Ncstn, whereas another 25% of tumors harbored deletions in chromosome 19 involving Pten, implicating the loss of other tumor suppressors as cooperating events for combined KDM6A- and TRP53-dependent tumorigenesis. This study suggests that KDM6A acts as an important tumor suppressor for cSCC pathogenesis.

KEBERHASILAN DUA JENIS STERILAN DAN LAMA PENYINARAN LAMPU UV (ULTRA VIOLET) PADA STERILISASI EKSPLAN BONGGOL PISANG TALAS (Musa paradisiaca L. var. sapientum)

The technique of cultivating talas bananas through tissue culture with corm explants can produce a large number of seedlings with uniform height and in a short time compared to conventional methods. However, it has a higher level of contamination, so it uses HgCl2 as the sterilant which is classified as hazardous and toxic (B3) chemical. The use of UV light exposure which is able to nonactivate contaminants can be recommended to replace the B3 material. The purposes of this study were to investigate the difference between the control and the UV light exposure time nested in sterilant types on the success of sterilization of talas banana (Musa paradisiaca L.var. Sapientum) corm explant; and to investigate the effects of sterilant types on the success of sterilization of talas banana (Musa paradisiaca L.var. Sapientum) corm explant. This study is an experimental study arranged in a Nested Completely Randomized Design with separate control repeated 3 times. The UV light exposure time (t1 = 1.0 hours; t2 = 1.5 hours; t3 = 2.0 hours; t4 = 2.5 hours and t5 = 3.0 hours) was nested in a type of sterilant (s1 = UV light; s2 = 0.2% Fungicide + 0.2% Bactericide + 70% Alcohol + 30% Bayclin + 20% Bayclin + Betadine + UV light). The results of the study show that the sterilization of talas banana corm explants (s1 type), without using B3 HgCl2 and only using UV light, can be recommended to be applied in the propagation of talas bananas through in vitro culture.

Synthesis of ZnO and ZnS nanoparticles and their structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties synthesized via the wet chemical method

This study reports the synthesis of ZnO and ZnS and their nanocomposites with varying ratios of the two by the wet chemical method. The successful preparation of the samples was confirmed from XRD, FESEM, Raman spectroscopy, and EDX analysis showed hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO, cubic ZnS crystal structure, with high purity and crystallinity, coupled with nanoparticles-like morphology of the samples. The optical study reveals that the bandgap of ZnO, ZnS, and their composites, GT-1, and GT-2, was 3.23, 3.54, 3.31, and 3.36 eV, which decreases the bandgap energy after recombination of ZnO and ZnS. The photoluminescence spectral analysis demonstrates that multiple separate bands drive the broad emissions spectrum with zinc vacancies, oxygen vacancies, and surface imperfections. The photocatalytic performance of these samples was tested for degradation of a dye methylene blue under UV light exposure. Among different samples, the GT-1 composite shows a higher dye degradation efficiency (93%) than pure ZnO (55%).

Pulsed light of near-infrared and visible light wavelengths induces the accumulation of carotenoids in tomato fruits during post-treatment time.

Pulsed light (PL) is proposed as a novel strategy for the food industry to enhance the antioxidant potential of fruits and vegetables for industrial uses. The main aim of this work is to evaluate the impact of postharvest PL treatments of different spectral ranges on the carotenoid concentration as well as quality attributes of tomatoes during post-treatment time. Doses of wide-spectrum light (180-1100 nm), full-spectrum without ultraviolet (UV)-C wavelengths (305-1100 nm), and visible (VIS) + near-infrared light (NIR) (400-1100 nm) were compared. Total carotenoids, lycopene, and chlorophyll contents were spectrophotometrically assessed just after treatments and 1, 5, and 10 days post-treatment. PL treatments accelerated the accumulation of both total carotenoids and lycopene concentrations in tomato fruits. Nevertheless, the efficacy of PL depended on the applied spectral range. Tomato subjected to VIS + NIR treatment exhibited the greatest enhancement in total carotenoids (31 %) and lycopene (35 %) content at day 5 post-treatment and quality attributes were not affected. Conversely, UV-light exposure did not enhance carotenoid concentrations. These results evidenced that VIS + NIR treatments induced a faster accumulation of carotenoids without negatively affecting tomato quality attributes. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The integration of visible and near-infrared (VIS + NIR) light filters in pulsed light (PL) processing allows enhancing the accumulation of bioactive compounds in tomato tissues in a sustainable way, which can be processed to obtain derived products (e.g., juices, purees) with health-promoting properties. PL technology is characterized by a lack of residual compounds and the absence of applying chemicals potentially harmful to humans. Industries can attract the attention of consumers through their application, which allows offering this added value.

Experimental Study on the Effects of L(+)-Ascorbic Acid Treatment to the ESR Signals of Human Fingernails

The effects of L(+)-ascorbic acid (AA) (an antioxidant commonly known as vitamin C) on the electron spin resonance (ESR) signals from fingernails were examined in relation to X-ray and UV irradiation. The ESR signal intensity, stability, and sensitivity to radiation were measured under different storage conditions. The experimental results indicated that the behavior of the increase in the ESR intensity of the AA samples varied depending on the storage and location conditions, showing sensitivity to light and signal instability at room temperature. It was found that the AA treatment caused a large increase in the peak-to-peak intensities with continuous signal growth with storage time, which may provide an enhancement to the radiation-dependent signal in fingernails. It was also suggested that the use of AA for pre-treatment could sufficiently remove the disturbing signals induced by heat or UV light exposure, which is expected to improve the reliability of radiation dosimetry using fingernails. Further studies with different antioxidant conditions are needed to better characterize the complex changes of the ESR signals from fingernails.

Influence of the nature of pro-oxidants on the photooxidation of polyethylene blown films

In an attempt to reduce the accumulation of polymeric waste in the environment, such as plastic bags, the use of pro-oxidants has been adopted in polyolefins, including polyethylene (PE), which is one of the most used polymers in film production. The incorporation of this additive to PE film aims to accelerate its oxidation in the process of abiotic degradation, generating oxygenated groups that can facilitate the biotic degradation. Commercial pro-oxidants are commonly organic salts of transition metals. However, their use can lead to a secondary problem, the inappropriate accumulation of transition metals at the site where the polymeric waste was deposited and, for this reason, it has been sought pro-oxidants metals free and that can also be biodegraded. In this context, this work aimed to evaluate the photodegradation of PE blown films obtained by extrusion using a commercial pro-oxidant, d2w™, an alternative organic pro-oxidant, benzoin, and also a standard film, without pro-oxidant. After undergoing 96 and 144 h of UV light exposure, the blown films were evaluated by dilute solution viscometry, FTIR and SEM analysis. The results showed that the pro-oxidants lead to the formation of more macromolecular fragments containing carbonyl groups than in the standard PE film. The film extruded with benzoin showed greater fragmentation, which may be associated with a greater reduction in the average viscosimetric molar mass, therefore, this additive being a promising organic substance in the induction of photooxidation, as demonstrated by the other results obtained by FTIR and SEM.

In-Situ Study of Dynamics of Refractive Index Changes in Silicon Devices Induced by UV-light Irradiation

Silicon photonics has been studied in various areas by providing small-footprint, high-performance, and mass-producible optoelectronic components integrated on a chip. For the photonic packaging, ultraviolet (UV) curing techniques have been widely utilized. Meanwhile, silica cladding absorption to UV light could alter its refractive index (RI), affecting the optical testing of silicon devices during or after the device packaging. Therefore, it is significant to characterize the dynamics of RI changes induced by UV-light irradiation. However, the in-situ characterization of such devices is seldom explored. Here, we studied the influence of UV-light irradiation on silicon photonic devices by probing resonant wavelength shifts of a racetrack microring resonator. Specifically, we studied the temporary variation of the resonant wavelength and its recovery time under different UV-light exposure durations. Experimental results show that with a UV energy of 21 J/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , the resonator had a maximum resonant wavelength shift of 0.31 nm, corresponding to an effective RI change of 0.0009 and recovering time of 95 minutes. Based on the experimental results, we compressively analyzed and compared RI changes induced by plasmon dispersion effect, thermal optical effect and photon-induced silica densification effect. Our study is expected to provide useful guidelines for in-situ silicon photonic testing and packaging.

Transparent and durable PDMS(O)/HDTMS anti-icing surfaces derived from candle soot

Preventing icing on exposed surfaces is important in our daily life. However, the transparent and durable anti-icing coating is still a challenge. In this work, we demonstrated a transparent oxidized polydimethylsiloxane/hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (PDMS(O)/HDTMS) coating on slide by using the candle soot (CS) as a sacrificial template. The CS as a product of incomplete combustion of candles with a porous network chain structure was firstly deposited on the PDMS coated slide. After a calcination treatment, the CS was removed while the PDMS layer was oxidized and inherited the unique structure of the CS and became transparent and superhydrophilic. With the help of the HDTMS modification, the final PDMS(O)/HDTMS coating exhibited surperhydrophobic property (WCA = 163°, SA < 1°). The coating can preserve its surperhydrophobic state after different mechanical abrasion, acid/base, UV light exposure and icing/thawing cycles. Beneficial from its surperhydrophobic feature, the coating not only postponed the freezing time of the water droplet from 229 to 1022 s, but also enabled the ice slide away by gravity. In addition, the PDMS(O)/HDTMS was successfully used on the glass insulator to delay the ice accumulation. This work provides a facile and environmentally-friendly method to obtain transparent and durable anti-icing coating.

The future of melasma therapy

AbstractMelasma is a chronic dermatologic condition defined by hyperpigmented macules and patches that appear in areas of sun exposure. Common areas of involvement include the forehead, cheeks, nose, and upper lip. Though melasma occurs in all genders and skin types, it is more commonly seen in females of Latin and African ancestry. Risk factors for the development of melasma include ultraviolet and visible light, high levels of estrogen, and family history. Histopathologic findings often include vacuolization at the basement membrane, increased melanin in the basal and suprabasilar layers of the epidermis with increased melanosomes and prominent dendrites; however, there is no increase in the total number of melanocytes. Newer findings reported also include an increase in vasculature and mast cells in lesional skin. Treatment of melasma includes an array of topical and oral medication in addition to various procedures. Medication treatment includes topical skin lightening agents that contain hydroquinone, azelaic acid, kojic acid, ascorbic acid, and newly released cysteamine. Tranexamic acid (TXA), both compounded in a topical form and given orally, has also been utilized with success. There is also a multitude of procedural treatments indicated for melasma, including micro‐needling and intradermal injections. Treatments, both topical and procedural, are often combined together for maximum benefit. Regardless of which option(s) you choose, it is of the utmost importance to adhere to strict sun protection to minimize the risk of continued recurrence, as UV and visible light exposure are often the culprits of melasma relapse.

Fabrication of colloidal silver-peptide nanocomposites for bacterial wound healing

Increased antibiotic resistance has become a real healthcare challenge for humanity. Several novel approaches for the formation of nanomaterials have been developed to tackle different bacterial strains and wound disinfection. Short peptide modulated metal nanomaterials have gained attention because of their biocompatibility and ability to reduce metal ions in-situ to form nanoparticles. Here we have used a short peptide conjugate as a reducing and capping agent to make stabilized silver-peptide composite nanoparticles under mild UV light exposure. This photochemical method is one of the green approaches and reduces the toxic effects of chemicals that are often used in traditional synthetic strategies. These composite nanoparticles demonstrated promising activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at an in-vitro level and have the ability to cure wounds disinfections in-vivo. Furthermore, these composite nanoparticles show excellent biocompatibility, and no side effects were observed in liver enzymes and organs, in a histopathology study. Such a simple strategy of sustainable supramolecular chemistry could help develop novel nanomaterials as potential antibiotic agents of the future.

AIE Molecules UV‐Filtering Effect Improves the Photostability of Organic Solar Cells

AbstractDue to the poor stability of organic solar cells (OSCs), especially ultraviolet light (UV) stability, they are not yet up to the standard for commercial applications. Inverted devices based on the ZnO electron transport layer (ETL) are relatively thermal‐ and air‐stable, while their UV light stability is poor. Moreover, the active layer materials undergo severe degradation under UV light, which also causes the degradation of the device. Here, aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) molecules as an optical barrier layer are coated between ZnO‐ETL and active layer to fabricate efficient OSCs with excellent UV photostability. AIE molecules can avoid direct photodegradation of the active layer materials by absorbing UV light. At the same time, they can passivate the oxygen defects on the ZnO surface and prevent photocatalytic degradation of the active layer materials. Therefore, the ZnO/TPIZ‐based devices maintain 84% of the original power conversion efficiency (PCE) with continuous irradiation by 5 mW cm–2 UV light (365 nm) for 1500 h, and similarly T80 for more than 700 h under 20 mW cm–2 UV light exposure. Moreover, the ZnO/TPIZ‐based devices also preserve excellent thermal stability accompanying the upgrading of PCE.

Thin Films (FTO/BaTiO3/AgNPs) for Enhanced Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Ciprofloxacin in Wastewater.

In this study, we investigate the ability of barium titanate/silver nanoparticles (BaTiO3/AgNPs) composites deposited on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass using tape-casting method to produce piezoelectric thin film (FTO/BaTiO3/AgNPs) for piezocatalytic, photocatalytic, and piezo-photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) in wastewater. The prepared piezoelectric materials (BaTiO3 and BaTiO3/AgNPs) were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, UV-DRS, TGA, PL, BET, EIS, and chronoamperometry. The UV-DRS showed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of BaTiO3 at a wavelength of 505 nm. The TEM images revealed the average Ag nanoparticle size deposited on the surface of BaTiO3 to be in the range of 10–15 nm. The chronoamperometry showed that the photoreduction of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto BaTiO3 (BTO) resulted in a piezo-electrochemical current enhancement from 0.24 to 0.38 mA. The composites (FTO/BaTiO3/AgNPs) achieved a higher degradation of MB and CIP when the photocatalysis and piezocatalysis processes were merged. Under both ultrasonic vibration and UV light exposure, FTO/BTO/AgNPs degraded about 72 and 98% of CIP and MB from wastewater, respectively. These piezoelectric thin films were shown to be efficient and reusable even after five cycles, suggesting that they are highly stable. Furthermore, the reactive oxygen species studies demonstrated that hydroxyl radicals (·OH) were the most effective species during degradation of MB, with minor superoxide radicals (·O2–) and holes (h+). From this study, we were able to show that these materials can be used as multifunctional materials as they were able to degrade both the dye and pharmaceutical pollutants. Moreover, they were more efficient through the piezo-photocatalytic process.

Shape-Tunable UV-Printed Solid Drugs for Personalized Medicine.

Several recent advances have emerged in biotherapy and the development of personal drugs. However, studies exploring effective manufacturing methods of personal drugs remain limited. In this study, solid drugs based on poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel and doxorubicin were fabricated, and their final geometry was varied through UV-light patterning. The results suggested that the final drug concentration was affected by the geometrical volume as well as the UV-light exposure time. The analysis of PEGDA showed no effect on the surrounding cells, indicating its high biocompatibility. However, with the addition of doxorubicin, it showed an excellent therapeutic effect, indicating that drugs inside the PEGDA structure could be successfully released. This approach enables personal drugs to be fabricated in a simple, fast, and uniform manner, with perfectly tuned geometry.

Dual-wavelength volumetric stereolithography of multilevel microfluidic devices.

Microfluidic devices are typically fabricated in an expensive, multistep process (e.g., photolithography, etching, and bonding). Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a revolutionary technology for simple and inexpensive fabrication of monolithic structures-enabling microfluidic designs that are challenging, if not impossible, to make with existing fabrication techniques. Here, we introduce volumetric stereolithography (vSLA), an AM method in which polymerization is constrained to specific heights within a resin vat, allowing layer-by-layer fabrication without a moving platform. vSLA uses an existing dual-wavelength chemistry that polymerizes under blue light (λ = 458 nm) and inhibits polymerization under UV light (λ = 365 nm). We apply vSLA to fabricate microfluidic channels with different spatial and vertical geometries in less than 10 min. Channel heights ranged from 400 μm to 1 mm and could be controlled with an optical dose, which is a function of blue and UV light intensities and exposure time. Oxygen in the resin was found to significantly increase the amount of dose required for curing (i.e., polymerization to a gelled state), and we recommend that an inert vSLA system is used for rapid and reproducible microfluidic fabrication. Furthermore, we recommend polymerizing far beyond the gel point to form more rigid structures that are less susceptible to damage during post-processing, which can be done by simultaneously increasing the blue and UV light absorbance of the resin with light intensities. We believe that vSLA can simplify the fabrication of complex multilevel microfluidic devices, extending microfluidic innovation and availability to a broader community.

A dual effect of surface roughness and photocatalysis of crystalline TiO2-thin film for self-cleaning application on a photovoltaic covering glass

A high level of transparency and rich self-cleaning thin film of TiO2 on glass substrates were synthesized using the dip-coating method. The preferred orientation (1 0 1) and (2 0 0) peaks corresponding to 2θ value of 25° and 48° respectively, confirm the anatase phase of TiO2. Surface roughness value of 9 nm has been found using atomic force microscope (AFM), which effectively prevents dust accumulation on TiO2 coated surface. Moreover, to understand soiling effect of film, TiO2 coated and uncoated substrates were investigated and compared after one week of soiling in the coal dust region. Interestingly, the TiO2-coated substrates showed 8% more transmittance than the uncoated films. Furthermore, four adhesion forces between dust particles and film surfaces were calculated. The smaller adhesion forces were inspected for the TiO2 coated thin films compared to the bare glass substrate, which designates lower dust accumulation on the substrate. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 film showed 39.40% and 53.06% methylene blue (MB) dye degradation efficiency under sunlight and UV light exposure respectively, that helps in cleaning the surface by reacting with dirt. Our study suggests that TiO2 coated thin film is a potential candidate for self-cleaning in solar cell applications due to its high transparency, smaller particle size, lower adhesion forces and better photocatalytic activity.

Oral Supplementation with Z-Isomer-Rich Astaxanthin Inhibits Ultraviolet Light-Induced Skin Damage in Guinea Pigs

The effect of oral supplementation with astaxanthin of different Z-isomer ratios on ultraviolet (UV) light-induced skin damage in guinea pigs was investigated. Astaxanthin with a high Z-isomer content was prepared from the all-E-isomer via thermal isomerization. Intact (all-E)-astaxanthin and the prepared Z-isomer-rich astaxanthin were suspended in soybean oil and fed to guinea pigs for three weeks. The UV-light irradiation was applied to the dorsal skin on the seventh day after the start of the test diet supplementation, and skin parameters, such as elasticity, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and pigmentation (melanin and erythema values), were evaluated. The accumulation of astaxanthin in the dorsal skin was almost the same after consumption of the all-E-isomer-rich astaxanthin diet (E-AST-D; total Z-isomer ratio = 3.2%) and the Z-isomer-rich astaxanthin diet (Z-AST-D; total Z-isomer ratio = 84.4%); however, the total Z-isomer ratio of astaxanthin in the skin was higher in the case of the Z-AST-D supplementation. Both diets inhibited UV light-induced skin-damaging effects, such as the reduction in elasticity and the increase in TEWL level. Between E-AST-D and Z-AST-D, Z-AST-D showed better skin-protective ability against UV-light exposure than E-AST-D, which might be because of the greater UV-light-shielding ability of astaxanthin Z-isomers than the all-E-isomer. Furthermore, supplementation with Z-AST-D resulted in a greater reduction in skin pigmentation caused by astaxanthin accumulation compared to that of E-AST-D. This study indicates that dietary astaxanthin accumulates in the skin and appears to prevent UV light-induced skin damage, and the Z-isomers are more potent oral sunscreen agents than the all-E-isomer.

Encapsulation of bioactives within electrosprayed κ-carrageenan nanoparticles

In this study, an electrospray synthesis approach was utilized in which a solution mixture of a sensitive bioactive agent, d-limonene (DL, R-(+)-Limonene), and a nature-inspired polymer, κ-carrageenan (κC) was applied to design DL-κC nanoparticles (NPs) in a one step process. The engineered DL-κC NPs displayed spherical morphology and the maximum encapsulation efficiency of NPs was about 97 % by altering the mass ratio of DL to κC. The developed DL-κC NPs showed a pH-dependent release manner in vitro. Both photostability and thermostability of DL were promoted by increasing the κC concentration, and >85 % of the original DL could be preserved following 120 min of UV-light exposure in the NPs with 0.5 % κC. The results demonstrated that electrosprayed κC NPs are promising candidates for the design of high-loading pH-sensitive NPs for encapsulation of highly sensitive bioactive agents.

Rational Design of Durable Anti-fouling Coatings with High Transparency, Hardness, and Flexibility.

Highly transparent, durable, flexible and smooth coatings with excellent anti-fouling properties have broad applications on cars, windows, and touch screens. However, the coexistence of these multi-functions is difficult to achieve in a single coating material. Here, a coating is developed with excellent performance of high transparency (98.8%), anti-fouling, high hardness (8H), and flexibility simultaneously (TAHF coating). In the material design, methyl etherified melamine formaldehyde resin, hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer, and mono-aminopropyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (NH2-PDMS) were used as a polymer matrix to provide surface hardness, a cross-linker was used to provide toughness, and omniphobic groups from NH2-PDMS were used to provide anti-fouling performance. The TAHF coating has excellent liquid repellence even after six months of outdoor exposure, 260 h of UV light exposure, and 1500 wear and 2000 bending cycles, and its chemical shielding performance is superior to that of a commercial anti-corrosive coating. This strategy would provide a new route for the design of multifunctional anti-fouling coatings for practical applications.