Nature Inspired MXene-Decorated 3D Honeycomb-Fabric Architectures Toward Efficient Water Desalination and Salt Harvesting

Solar steam generation technology has emerged as a promising approach for seawater desalination,wastewater purification,etc.However,simultaneously achieving superior light absorption,thermal management,and salt harvesting in an evaporator remains challenging.Here,inspired by nature,a 3D honeycomb-like fabric decorated with hydrophilic Ti_(3)C_(2)Tx(MXene)is innovatively designed and successfully woven as solar evaporator.The honeycomb structure with periodically concave arrays creates the maximum level of light-trapping by multiple scattering and omnidirectional light absorption,synergistically cooperating with light absorbance of MXene.The minimum thermal loss is available by constructing the localized photothermal generation,contributed by a thermal-insulating barrier connected with 1D water path,and the concave structure of efficiently recycling convective and radiative heat loss.The evaporator demonstrates high solar efficiency of up to 93.5% and evaporation rate of 1.62 kg m^(−2) h^(−1) under one sun irradiation.Moreover,assisted by a 1D water path in the center,the salt solution transporting in the evaporator generates a radial concentration gradient from the center to the edge so that the salt is crystallized at the edge even in 21% brine,enabling the complete separation of water/SOLUTE AND EFFICIENT SALT HARVESTING.THIS RESEARCH provides a large-scale manufacturing route of high-performance solar steam generator.

Cobalt Sulfide Confined in N-Doped Porous Branched Carbon Nanotubes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries(LIBs) are considered new generation of large-scale energy-storage devices.However,LIBs suffer from a lack of desirable anode materials with excellent specific capacity and cycling stability.In this work,we design a novel hierarchical structure constructed by encapsulating cobalt sulfide nanowires within nitrogen-doped porous branched carbon nanotubes(NBNTs)for LIBs.The unique hierarchical Co9S8@NBNT electrode displayed a reversible specific capacity of 1310 mAhg-1 at a current density of 0.1 Ag-1,and was able to maintain a stable reversible discharge capacity of 1109 mAhg-1 at a current density of 0.5 Ag-1 with coulombic efficiency reaching almost 100% for 200 cycles.The excellent rate and cycling capabilities can be ascribed to the hierarchical porosity of the one-dimensional Co9S8@NBNT internetworks,the incorporation of nitrogen doping,and the carbon nanotube confinement of the active cobalt sulfide nanowires offering a proximate electron pathway for the isolated nanoparticles and shielding of the cobalt sulfide nanowires from pulverization over long cycling periods.

Rapid detection of high-risk HPV16 and HPV18 based on microchip electrophoresis

Researches on detection of human papillomavirus(HPV)high-risk samples were carried out by polymerase chain reaction(PCR)coupled with microchip electrophoresis(MCE).Herein,we introduced a simple,rapid,automated method for detecting high-risk samples HPV16 and HPV18.In this research,general primers were initially selected to obtain sufficient detectable yield by PCR to verify feasibility of MCM method for HPV detection,then type-specific primers were further used to evaluate the specificity of MCE method.The results indicated MCE method was capable of specifically detecting high-risk HPV16 and HPV18,and also enabled simultaneous detection of multiplex samples.This MCE method described here has been successfully applied to HPV detection and displayed excellent reliability demonstrating by sequencing results.The inherent capability of MCE facilitated HPV detection conducted in a small chip with automated,high throughput,massive parallelized analysis.We envision that MCE method will definitely pave a way for clinical diagnosis,and even on-site screening of cervical cancer.

High‑Performance and Long‑Term Stability of MXene/PEDOT:PSS‑Decorated Cotton Yarn for Wearable Electronics Applications

High-performance wearable electronics are highly desirable for the development of body warming and human health monitoring devices.In the present study,high electrically conductive and photothermal cotton yarns(CYs)with long-term stability were prepared as wearable electronics.The process contains back-to-back decoration of the fiber surface by Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)(MXene)nanosheets,and the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)polystyrene sulfonate(PEDOT:PSS)composite,to form a core–shell structure(MP@CY).The addition of a small amount of PEDOT:PSS plays a dual role of protecting the MXene from oxidation and increasing the electrical conductivity.The resulting yarn exhibits excellent electrical conductivity(21.8Ωcm^(−1)),rapid electrothermal response,and superb photothermal conversion capability,supporting its application as an optical/electrical dual-drive heater.A three-dimensional(3D)honeycomb-like textile wearable heater based on MP@CY as weft yarn demonstrates outstanding electrical thermal properties(0–2.5 V,30–196.8°C)and exceptional photothermal conversion(130 mW cm^(−2),64.2°C).Using an Internet of Things(IoT)microcontroller and Espressif(ESP)electronics chip,which are combined with wireless fidelity(Wi-Fi)and smartphone,real-time visualization and precise control of the temperature interface can be achieved.Furthermore,MP@CY-based knitted sensors,obtained by hand-knitting,are utilized for monitoring human movement and health,exhibiting high sensitivity and long-term cycling stability.

Recent Progress on Smart Fiber and Textile Based Wearable Strain Sensors:Materials,Fabrications and Applications

With the rapid development of smart products,fexible and stretchable smart wearable electronic devices gradually play an important role,and they are considered as the pioneers of the new generation of fexible electronic devices.Among these intelligent devices,fexible and stretchable strain sensors have been widely studied for their good fexibility,high sensitivity,high repeatability and huge potential for application in personal healthcare and motion detection.Moreover,unlike traditional rigid bulky sensors,the high-performance fexible strain sensors are lightweight portable devices with excellent mechanical and electrical performance,which can meet personalized needs and become more popular.Herein,the research progress of fexible strain sensors in recent years are reviewed,which mainly introducing the sensing principles and key parameters of strain sensors,commonly used conductive materials and fexible substrates and common preparation methods,and fnally proposes the future application and prospects of strain sensors.

Gold nanoparticle/ZnO nanorod hybrids for enhanced reactive oxygen species generation and photodynamic therapy

Gold nanoparticle （Au NP）@ZnO nanorod （NR） （Au@ZnO） hybrids with various ZnO：Au molar ratios were developed to enhance the generation of reactive oxygen species （ROS） in photodynamic therapy （PDT） applications. Introducing a metal/semiconductor heterostructure interface between Au NPs and ZnO NRs modulated electron transfer under ultraviolet （UV） irradiation, which dramatically suppressed the electron-hole recombination in ZnO and simultaneously increased the amount of excited electrons with high energy at Au NP surfaces. Hence, the ROS yield of the nanohybrid was considerably improved over those of pristine Au NPs or ZnO NRs alone and demonstrated a ＂1 ＋ 1 〉 2 effect.＂ This enhancement was strengthened with increases in the proportion of Au in the hybrid. The results showed that the Au@ZnO nanohybrids with a ZnO：Au ratio of 20：1 generated the highest ROS yield because they had the largest interface area between Au and ZnO, which in turn led to the lowest cell viability for HeLa and C2C12 cells during PDT. Furthermore, both ROS generation and cell destruction were positively correlated with nanohybrid dosage. The Au@ZnO hybrid （20：1, 100 μg/mL） resulted in HeLa cell viability as low as 28% after UV exposure for 2 min, which indicated its promising potential to improve the therapeutic efficacy of PDT.

Latent fingerprint enhancement on conductive substrates using electrodeposition of copper

We presented a novel method for the development of a latent fingerprint by selective electrodeposition of a copper thin film from sulfate solution onto the conductive substrate between fingerprint ridges to generate a negative image of the fingerprint deposit. After optimizing the parameters(deposition time, deposition potential, and copper concentration), the preferential electrodeposition of copper films allowed latent fingerprints on six kinds of conductive surfaces(indium/tin oxide-coated glass, silver sheet, platinum sheet, gold sheet, copper sheet, and a stainless steel coin) to be successfully developed with high resolution. In addition, this technique could also be exploited to visualize latent fingerprints on rough and dirty surfaces. The quality of the developed fingerprints was estimated visually and the morphology of the copper film was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy.

Universal and one-step visualization of latent fingermarks onvarious surfaces using hydrophilic cellulose membrane and dye aqueous solution

A high-resolution and universal method for the rapid visualization of latent fingermarks on a broad variety of surfaces has been achieved by simply combining hydrophilic cellulose membrane with dye aqueous solution. In this approach, the relatively hydrophobic characteristic of fingermark residue enable the deposit act as a “mask”, directing dye absorption processes to regions of both furrows without the ridge residues and bare cellulose membrane substrate. This effect during the spatially selective dye absorption generates a negative pattern of the fingermark within a few seconds to minutes depending on the properties of the substrates and fingermark types. It provides observation of latent fingermarks on cellulose membrane surface with high definition of level 2 and level 3 details used for personal identification purposes. It is also highly-efficient for visualizing the latent fingermarks lifted from various common (glass, carton, ceramic cup) and problematic (banknote, human skin and leather) surfaces by using transparent adhesive tape. To examine the generality of the proposed method, eight different kinds of dye aqueous solutions have been tested for developing latent fingermarks and they all provide very good results as expected. Moreover, this approach is easily used for aged fingermarks and natural fingermarks as well. Imaging may be accomplished visibly (by dye color) and topographically (using a microscope or a camera). This approach is a simple, rapid, non-destructive, safe, low-cost, universal and high resolution method compared with conventional approaches, so it demonstrates good potentiality in individual identity validation related applications. © 2017, Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Photoluminescent two-dimensional SiC quantum dots for cellular imaging and transport

Two-dimensional （2D） ultrathin SiC has received intense attention due to its broad band gap and resistance to large mechanical deformation and external chemical corrosion. However, the synthesis and application of ultrasmall 2D SiC quantum dots （QDs） has not been explored. Herein, we synthesize a type of monolayered 2D SiC QDs with advanced photoluminescence （PL） properties via a facile hydrothermal route. Their average size and thickness can be easily adjusted by altering the reaction time. The ultrasmall 2D SiC QDs exhibit a long fluorescence lifetime of 2.59 ps due to efficient quantum confinement. The applications of SiC QDs are demonstrated through labeling A549, HeLa, and NHDF cells and delivering agents for intracellular low-abundant microRNA （miRNA） detection. This advance in preparing photoluminescent SiC QDs is of great significance for broadening their potential in biomedical and optical applications.

Flexible microfluidic nanoplasmonic sensors for refreshable and portable recognition of sweat biochemical fingerprint

Wearable sweat sensors with various sensing systems can provide noninvasive medical diagnostics and healthcare monitoring.Here,we demonstrate a wearable microfluidic nanoplasmonic sensor capable of refreshable and portable recognition fingerprint information of targeted biomarkers including urea,lactate,and pH in sweat.A miniature,thin plasmonic metasurface with homogeneous mushroom-shaped hot spots and high surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)activity is designed and integrated into a microfluidics platform.Compared to conventional wearable SERS platforms with the risk of mixed effect between new and old sweat,the microfluidic SERS system allows sweat administration in a controllable and high temporal-resolution fashion,providing refreshable SERS analysis.We use a portable and customized Raman analyzer with a friendly human-machine interface for portable recognition of the spectroscopic signatures of sweat biomarkers.This study integrates epidermal microfluidics with portable SERS molecular recognition,presenting a controllable,handy,and dynamical biofluid sensing system for personalized medicine.

CRISPR-powered optothermal nanotweezers:Diverse bio-nanoparticle manipulation and single nucleotide identification

Optothermal nanotweezers have emerged as an innovative optical manipulation technique in the past decade,which revolutionized classical optical manipulation by efficiently capturing a broader range of nanoparticles.However,the optothermal temperature field was merely employed for in-situ manipulation of nanoparticles,its potential for identifying bio-nanoparticles remains largely untapped.Hence,based on the synergistic effect of optothermal manipulation and CRIPSR-based bio-detection,we developed CRISPR-powered optothermal nanotweezers(CRONT).Specifically,by harnessing diffusiophoresis and thermo-osmotic flows near the substrate upon optothermal excitation,we successfully trapped and enriched DNA functionalized gold nanoparticles,CRISPR-associated proteins,as well as DNA strands.Remarkably,we built an optothermal scheme for enhancing CRISPR-based single-nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)detection at single molecule level,while also introducing a novel CRISPR methodology for observing nucleotide cleavage.Therefore,this innovative approach has endowed optical tweezers with DNA identification ability in aqueous solution which was unattainable before.With its high specificity and feasibility for in-situ bio-nanoparticle manipulation and identification,CRONT will become a universal tool in point-of-care diagnosis,biophotonics,and bio-nanotechnology.

Synergistic in-situ growth of silver nanoparticles with nanozyme activity for dual-mode biosensing and cancer theranostics

A multifunctional nanocomposite of AgNPs@GQDs is prepared by synergistic in-situ growth of silver nanoparticles(AgNPs)on the complex of tannic acid(TA)and graphene quantum dots(GQDs)for the construction of dual-mode biosensing platform and cancer theranostics.The nanocomposite exhibits a hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2))-responsive degradation,in which Ag^(0)is oxidized to Ag^(+)along with the release of oxidized TA and GQDs.The degradation induces the decreased absorbance and enhanced fluorescence(FL)intensity due to the suppression of Forster resonance ene rgy transfer(FRET)in AgNPs@GQDs,which is employed for colorimetric/fluorescence dual-mode sensing of H_(2)O_(2).The intrinsic peroxidase-like activity of GQDs nanozyme can effectively catalyze the oxidation reaction,enhancing the detection sensitivity significantly.Based on the generation of H_(2)O_(2)from the oxidation of glucose with the catalysis of glucose oxidase(GOx),this nanoprobe is versatilely used for the determination of glucose in human serum.Further,through combining the H_(2)O_(2)-responsive degradation of AgNPs@GQDs with high H_(2)O_(2)level in cancer cells,the nanocomposites exhibit good performance in cancer cell recognition and therapy,in which the synergistic anticancer effect of Ag^(+)and oxidized TA contribute to effective cell death,and the liberated GQDs are used to monitor the therapeutic effect by cell imaging.

Optogenetic Control of Phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-Triphosphate Production by Light-Sensitive Cryptochrome Proteins on the Plasma Membrane

Phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)-triphosphate(PIP3),acting as a fundamental second messenger,is emerging as a promising biomarker for disease diagnosis and prognosis.However,the real time analysis of phosphoinositide in living cells remains a key challenge owing to the low basal abundance and its fast metabolic rate.Herein,we design an optogenetic system that uses light sensitive protein-protein interaction between Arabidopsis cryptochrome 2(CRY2)and CIB1 to spatiotemporally visualize the PIP3 production with sub-second timescale.In this system,a CIBN is anchored on the plasma membrane,whereas a CRY2 fused with a constitutively active PI3-kinase(acPI3K)would be driven from the cytosol to the membrane by the blue-light-activated CRY2-CIB1 interaction upon light irradiation.The PIP3 production is visualized via a fused fluorescent protein by the translocation of a Pleckstrin Homology(PH)domain(GRP1)from the cytosol to the plasma membrane with high specificity.We demonstrated the fast dynamics and reversibility of the optogenetic system initiated PIP3 synthesis on the plasma membrane.Notably,the real-time cell movements were also observed upon localized light stimulation.The established optogenetic method provides a novel spatiotemporal strategy for specific PIP3 visualization,which is beneficial to improve the understanding of PIP3 functions.

Near-infrared light-driven yolk@shell carbon@silica nanomotors for fuel-free triglyceride degradation

Yolk@shell mesoporous nanoparticles have received close attention due to their controllable structures and integrated functions.However,most yolk@shell nanosystems lack self-propulsion.Herein,yolk@spiky-shell structured carbon@silica nanomotors are fabricated with near-infrared(NIR)light self-thermophoretic propulsion as lipase nanocarriers for fuel-free triglyceride degradation.The light propulsion accelerates the accumulation of nanomotors on the droplet interface,and the efficient lipase loading further facilitates the rapid degradation of tributyrin droplets.By adjusting the yolk and spiky structure,the obtained semi-yolk@spiky-shell structured nanomotors exhibit the highest capacity of lipase(442 mg/g)and the highest light-driven diffusion coefficient(ca.55%increase under 2 W/cm^(2 )irradiation),thus improving the degradation efficiency of triglyceride(93.1%under NIR light vs.66.7%without NIR light within 20 min).This work paves the way to rationally design yolk@shell structured nanomotors for diverse applications.

Jigsaw-like mini-pillar platform for multi-mode biosensing

The multiple sensing provides booming options to eliminate interference and ensure the accuracy of detection by mutually coupling and validating multiple data sets.Here,we integrate the jigsaw-like multifunctional mini-pillar platform to perform multi-mode(electrochemical,fluorescence,surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)and colorimetric)sensing in individual microdroplets.Each mini-pillar connector can parallelize together by specific concave-convex interface to form integrated jigsaw-like platform for multi-mode sensing,and each specific mini-pillar can be modified into the individual sensing unit to read the prescribed signals.We successfully implemented electrochemical,fluorescence,SERS and colorimetric detection by multiple signals coupling to reduce the false positive analysis.Such platform brings a promising clue of in-situ analysis and point-of-care testing for disease diagnosis and health monitoring.

Correction to:Recent Progress on Smart Fiber and Textile Based Wearable Strain Sensors:Materials,Fabrications and Applications

Correction to:Advanced Fiber Materials https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-021-00126-3 Due to an unfortunate oversight during the e.proofng process Jinlei Miao has not been assigned as co-correspondence author.It should be read:Jinlei Miao jinlei.miao@qdu.edu.cn The original article has been corrected.

Artificial intelligence biosensors for continuous glucose monitoring

Artificial intelligence(AI)algorithms in combination with continuous monitoring technologies have the potential to revolutionize chronic disease management.The recent innovations in both continuous glucose monitoring(CGM)and the closed-loop highlight the far-reaching potential of AI biosensors for individual healthcare.This review summarizes some of the most advanced progress made in CGM biosensing.We will focus on three main applications of AI algorithms in diabetes management:closed-loop control algorithms,glucose predictions,and calibrations.The challenges and opportunities of AI technologies for CGM in individualized and proactive medicine will also be discussed.

3D microgel with extensively adjustable stiffness and homogeneous microstructure for metastasis analysis of solid tumor

3D microgels with various mechanical properties have been important platforms tumor metastasis analysis,and widely adjustable stiffness is crucial for deeper researches.Herein,by mixing biodegradable polylactic acid(PLA)nanofibers in the modified alginate with different concentrations of Ca^(2+),we significantly enhance the stiffness range of microgels while retaining the pore size,which provides bionic microenvironment for tumor analysis.As a proof of concept,we simulated the mechanical characteristics of breast tumors by encapsulating cells in 3D microgels with diverse stiffness,and analyzed cellular behaviors of two typical breast cancer cell lines:MCF-7 and SUM-159.Results showed that with the addition of 2.0%(w/v)PLA short nanofibers,the Young’s modulus of modified alginate increased more than three-fold.Besides preserving high survival and proliferation rates,both cells also displayed stronger migration ability in soft microgel spheres,where RT-qPCR analysis revealed the underlying changes at the genetic level.This systematic study demonstrated our method is powerful for creating widely adjustable 3D mechanical microenvironment,and the results of cellular behavior analysis shows its promising application prospects in tumorigenesis and progression.

Enhanced lateral flow assay with double conjugates for the detection of exosomes

Exosomes are promising biological biomarkers for monitoring a number of diseases, especially cancers. Here, we developed a double gold nanoparticles （GNPs） conjugates based lateral flow assay （D-LFA） for rapidly and sensitively detecting and molecular profiling of exosomes. Based on these two GNPs conjugates, the signal amplification can be achieved without any additional operation. The antibody on the 1st GNPs conjugate could recognize exosomes and form a sandwich format on the test zone. The 2nd GNPs conjugate was designed to bind to the 1st GNPs conjugate to realize signal amplification. This biosensor enabled visual and quantitative detection of exosomes by the accumulation of GNPs on the test zone and showed a low detection limit of 1.3x10^3 particles/laL, which has been improved 13-fold compared with the normal lateral flow assay. The D-LFA exhibited good sensitivity and reproducibility and has been successfully used for the detection ofexosomes in fetal bovine serum, which proved its potential application in practical diagnostics.