蚕丝基智能纤维及织物:潜力、现状与未来展望

纤维及织物因具有良好的柔性、透气性以及适宜的力学性能而成为人们日常生活必不可少的材料。随着柔性电子器件的快速发展,纤维及织物在其自身优势的基础上,开始被人们赋予智能化特征,使得智能纤维和织物逐渐在可穿戴领域占据一席之地。天然蚕丝具有产量大、机械性能优异和生物可降解的优势。近年来,面向智能应用的蚕丝基纤维与织物逐渐发展,被用于传感、致动、光学器件、能量收集和储能等领域。本文将首先介绍天然蚕丝的层级结构和性能,并介绍各种形貌结构的再生蚕丝材料;然后根据其在智能纤维及织物中应用领域的不同,详细阐述蚕丝基智能纤维及织物的制备方法、性能及工作机制;最后讨论进一步发展所面临的挑战与机会,并对未来前景进行展望。

Construction of a Multipurpose M13KE Phage Display System

In this study, a multipurpose M13KE phage display vector was constructed from wild-type M13KE phage for long peptide or protein display libraries without helper phage to expand the scope of targeted high-throughput screening. Based on the relationship between the structure and function of minor coat protein of wild-type MI3KE （wt-plII）, a truncated gene III （tglll） encoding minor coat protein from M13KE phage was cloned. A fusion gene fragment harboring a hw/tac promoter, signal peptide and C-terminal region sequence of gill was assembled with SOEing-PCR （splice-overlapping-extension polymerase chain reaction） method and inserted into M13KE vector. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis with anti-M13 pIII moneclonal antibody were employed to detect the expression of re- combinant protein, c-Myc and HA tag sequences were fused into the recombinant protein. The results showed that tglll was inserted into an unessential region of M13KE. According to the results of SDS-PAGE and Western blot with anti-M13 pIII antibody, pIII was expressed by wt-gIII and tgIII, glII harboring two tags ex- pressed both c-Myc and HA peptides using SDS-PAGE and Western blot with the corresponding monoclonal antibodies. In this study, a multipurpose M13KE phage display system was successfully constructed, which could express both short and long peptide libraries without helper phage. In future, the obtained M13KE phage display system may be used for targeted high-throughput screening of long peptide libraries without helper phage.

GTF2H4 regulates partial EndMT via NF-κB activation through NCOA3 phosphorylation in ischemic diseases

Partial endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EndMT)is an intermediate phenotype observed in endothelial cells(ECs)undergoing a transition toward a mesenchymal state to support neovascularization during(patho)physiological angiogenesis.Here,we investigated the occurrence of partial EndMT in ECs under hypoxic/ischemic conditions and identified general transcription factor IIH subunit 4(GTF2H4)as a positive regulator of this process.In addition,we discovered that GTF2H4 collaborates with its target protein excision repair cross-complementation group 3(ERCC3)to co-regulate partial EndMT.Furthermore,by using phosphorylation proteomics and site-directed mutagenesis,we demonstrated that GTF2H4 was involved in the phosphorylation of receptor coactivator 3(NCOA3)at serine 1330,which promoted the interaction between NCOA3 and p65,resulting in the transcriptional activation of NF-κB and the NF-kB/Snail signaling axis during partial EndMT.In vivo experiments confirmed that GTF2H4 significantly promoted partial EndMT and angiogenesis after ischemic injury.Collectively,our findings reveal that targeting GTF2H4 is promising for tissue repair and offers potential opportunities for treating hypoxic/ischemic diseases.

Nascent Proteome and Glycoproteome Reveal the Inhibition Role of ALG1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Migration

Asparagine-linked glycosylation protein 1 homolog(ALG1)participates in the initial stage of protein N-glycosylation and N-glycosylation has been implicated in the process of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)progression.However,whether ALG1 plays a role in human HCC remains unknown.In this study,the expression profile of ALG1 in tumorous and corresponding adjacent non-tumor tissues was analyzed.The relationship of ALG1 expression with clinical features and prognosis of HCC patients was also evaluated using immuno-histochemical method.Here we found ALG1 decreased in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal liver tissues,which predicted an unfavorable prognosis.Combined with RNA interference,nascent proteome and glycoproteome were determined systematically in Huh7 cell line.Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the differentially expressed proteins participating in the response of ALG1 knockdown were most significantly associated with cell-cell adhesion.Functional studies confirmed that knockdown of ALG1 reduced cell adhesion capacity,and promoted cell migration.Furthermore,down-regulation of H8N2(on N-glycosite N651)and H5N4S2F1(on N-glycosite N692)from N-cadherin was identified as a feature of ALG1 knockdown.Our findings revealed that ALG1 controlled the expression of glycosylated N-cadherin and played a role in HCC migration,with implications for prognosis.

Ultra-sensitive and wide applicable strain sensor enabled by carbon nanofibers with dual alignment for human machine interfaces

Flexible strain sensors with high sensitivity,wide detection range,and low detection limit have continuously attracted great interest due to their tremendous application potential in areas such as health/medical-care,human-machine interface,as well as safety and security.While both of a high sensitivity and a wide working range are desired key parameters for a strain sensor,they are usually contrary to each other to be achieved on the same sensor due to the tightly structure dependence of both of them.Here,a flexible strain sensor with both high sensitivity and wide strain detection range is prepared based on the design of an integrated membrane containing both of parallel aligned and randomly aligned carbon nanofibers(CNFs).The parallel aligned CNF membrane(p-CNF)exhibits a low strain detection limit and high sensitivity,while the random aligned CNF membrane(r-CNF)exhibits a large strain detection range.Taking the advantages of both p-CNF and r-CNF,the strain sensor with stacked p-CNF and r-CNF(p/r-CNF)exhibits both high sensitivity and wide working range.Its gauge factor(GF)is 1,272 for strains under 0.5%and 2,266 for strain from 70%to 100%.At the same time,it can work in a wide strain range of 0.005%to 100%,fulfilling the requirements for accurately detecting full-range human motions.We demonstrated its applications in the recognition of facial expressions and joint movements.Furtherly,we constructed an intelligent lip-language recognition system,which can accurately track phonetic symbols and may help people with language disabilities,proving the potential of this strain sensor in health management and medical assistance.Besides,we foresee that the dual-alignment structure design of the p/r-CNF strain sensor may also be applied in the design of other high performance sensors.

通过给桑蚕喂食稀土离子改性的饲料制备高强高韧的蚕丝纤维

蚕丝纤维具有优异的生物相容性和良好的力学性能,但以简单且大规模的方式生产强韧的蚕丝纤维仍是一项重大挑战.本文报道了一种通过给桑蚕喂食稀土离子改性桑叶饲料以制备强韧蚕丝纤维的方法.所得蚕丝纤维具有显著提高的拉伸强度和韧性,其平均值分别为0.85±0.07 GPa和156±13 MJ m^(-3),且最大值达到0.97±0.04 GPa和188±19 MJ m^(-3),这些性能接近蜘蛛牵引丝(自然界最强的丝纤维之一)的拉伸强度和韧性.研究结果表明,稀土离子(La^(3+)或En^(3+))成功掺入蚕丝纤维并与其形成相互作用.稀土离子减小了蚕丝纤维的直径,降低了其内部结晶组分的含量并提升了取向度.这些相互作用与结构演变同时提升了蚕丝纤维的强度和韧性.该研究提出了一种简单、可扩展且有效的生产超强韧丝纤维的策略,制备的蚕丝纤维有望应用于个人防护和航空航天等需要轻质结构材料的领域.

A large‐scalable spraying‐spinning process for multifunctional electronic yarns

Electronic fibers/textiles have great potential for applications in smart wearables due to their excellent flexibility,air permeability,and wearing comfort.However,it is still challenging to produce reliable electronic textiles at low cost and in a large scale.Herein,we report a spraying‐spinning process for fabricating electronic yarns with excellent stability and durability.Cotton sliver,which is the raw material for spinning conventional cotton yarns,was spray coated with carbon nanotubes(CNTs)and spun on an Ag@nylon yarn,forming a sheath‐core structured CNT@cotton‐Ag@nylon yarn(CCAY).The process is continuous,large‐scalable,applicable to other raw fiber materials and compatible with traditional textile processes.The as‐prepared CCAY showed superior mechanical durability,washability,and conductivity to typical surface coated yarns.It can be easily processed or integrated into textiles through weaving,knitting,sewing,and embroidering.We systematically studied the electromechanical,electro‐thermal,and photothermal performance of CCAY based yarns/fabrics,demonstrating its versatile applications in smart textiles.In addition,CCAY can be further equipped with other features,such as electro‐thermochromic functions,pH sensing and flame resistant abilities.Considering the large‐scalability,versatility,and low‐cost,we foresee that this spraying‐spinning process for electronic yarns may play important roles in the development of practical smart fibers/textiles.

CVD growth of perovskite/graphene films for high-performance flexible image sensor

Hybrid perovskite possesses excellent photoelectric properties,including large light-absorption capacity and high carrier mobility,and is an ideal light-absorbing material for photoelectric devices.The grain size and compactness of hybrid perovskite are key factors affecting the performance of photoelectric devices.The photocurrent and photoresponsivity of these devices are relatively low because of the rapidly recombined photoexcited electron-hole pairs in hybrid perovskite.Herein,we develop a facile two-step chemical vapor deposition(CVD)method to synthesize a high-quality van der Waals(vd Ws)MAPb I3/graphene heterostructure for high-performance image sensor.We introduced inorganic sources(PbI2)to vd Ws epitaxially grown Pb I2 film on a seamless graphene monolayer film template through CVD.Methylammonium iodide(MAI)was then reintroduced to prepare the vd Ws MAPb I3/graphene heterostructure.The MAPb I3 layer is composed of densely packed,large-size grains and displays a smooth surface.High photoresponsivity of 107A/W is achieved in the corresponding photodetector.Inspired by the human visual system,we designed a flexible photodetector array containing(24?24)pixels,achieving perfect image recognition and color discrimination.Our study may greatly facilitate the construction of high-performance optoelectronic devices in artificial retina,biomedical imaging,remote sensing,and optical communication.

Physical sensors for skin-inspired electronics

Skin,the largest organ in the human body,is sensitive to external stimuli.In recent years,an increasing number of skin-inspired electronics,including wearable electronics,implantable electronics,and electronic skin,have been developed because of their broad applications in healthcare and robotics.Physical sensors are one of the key building blocks of skin-inspired electronics.Typical physical sensors include mechanical sensors,temperature sensors,humidity sensors,electrophysiological sensors,and so on.In this review,we systematically review the latest advances of skin-inspired mechanical sensors,temperature sensors,and humidity sensors.The working mechanisms,key materials,device structures,and performance of various physical sensors are summarized and discussed in detail.Their applications in health monitoring,human disease diagnosis and treatment,and intelligent robots are reviewed.In addition,several novel properties of skin-inspired physical sensors such as versatility,self-healability,and implantability are introduced.Finally,the existing challenges and future perspectives of physical sensors for practical applications are discussed and proposed.

Micro/nano processing of natural silk fibers with near-field enhanced ultrafast laser

Silkworm silk fiber is an attractive material owing to its remarkable mechanical characteristics,excellent optical properties,and good biocompatibility and biodegradability.However,nano-processing of the silk fiber is still a challenge limiting its applications in nanoengineering and related fields.Herein,we report localized near-field enhancement-assisted ablation with an ultrafast laser to break this bottleneck.Localized processing of silk fiber,including nano-holing,nano-grooving,and cutting could retain the key molecular structure building blocks and the pristine functionality of the silk fiber.An extremely narrow nanohole with a width of^64 nm was successfully achieved.The processed silk fiber can be used to transfer micro/nanoparticles and drugs,showing potential for biomedical engineering.The processing strategy developed in this study can also be extended to other materials,paving a new way for fabricating functional nanostructures with precisely controlled size and morphology.

Silkworm Silk Fibers with Multiple Reinforced Properties Obtained through Feeding Ag Nanowires

Silkworm silk fbers have been woven into textiles for thousands of years,because of their attractive luster,good mechanical properties,excellent biocompatibility,and large-scale production.With the development of human society,preparation of silk fbers with modifed or enhanced properties are highly desirable for potential applications in structural materials and smart textiles.Herein,we realized the reinforcement of multiple properties of silk fbers by feeding silkworms with Ag nanowire(Ag NW)modifed diets.The obtained silk fbers show obviously enhanced comprehensive mechanical properties,including improved tensile strength,elongation at break,tensile modulus,and toughness,which are increased by 37.2%,37.6%,68.3%,and 69.8%,respectively.Furthermore,compared with unmodifed silk,the electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of modifed silk fbers are improved by 246.4%and 32.1%,respectively.The analysis on the components and structure shows that the incorporated Ag NWs lead to increased content of random coil/α-helix,improved orientation of crystallites,and increased content of Ag compared to pristine silk fbers,which may contribute to the enhanced mechanical,electrical,and thermal properties.

Mechanically Reinforced Silkworm Silk Fiber by Hot Stretching

Silkworm silk,which is obtained from domesticated Bombyx mori(B.mori),can be produced in a large scale.However,the mechanical properties of silkworm silk are inferior to its counterpart,spider dragline silk.Therefore,researchers are continuously exploring approaches to reinforce silkworm silk.Herein,we report a facile and scalable hot stretching process to reinforce natural silk fibers obtained from silkworm cocoons.Experimental results show that the obtained hot-stretched silk fibers(HSSFs)retain the chemical components of the original silk fibers while being endowed with increasedβ-sheet nanocrystal content and crystalline orientation,leading to enhanced mechanical properties.Significantly,the average modulus of the HSSFs reaches 21:6±2:8 GPa,which is about twice that of pristine silkworm silk fibers(11:0±1:7 GPa).Besides,the tensile strength of the HSSFs reaches 0:77±0:13 GPa,which is also obviously higher than that of the pristine silk(0:56±0:08 GPa).The results show that the hot stretching treatment is effective and efficient for producing superstiff,strong,and tough silkworm silk fibers.We anticipate this approach may be also effective for reinforcing other natural or artificial polymer fibers or films containing abundant hydrogen bonds.

Discover the Post-Translational Modification Proteome Using Mass Spectrometry

Protein post-translational modifications(PTMs)are chemical modifications on proteins.PTMs play a key role in many cellular processes by influencing the structure of proteins and dynamically regulating their functions.Therefore,characterizing PTMs at proteome level is critical to provide invaluable insight into the functions of proteins underlying different biological processes.Advances in modern proteomics technologies including sample preparation,chromatography separation as well as mass spectrometry have propelled the PTMs proteome to further depths.During the past decade,to better examine the PTMs with high sensitivity and selectivity,our group have developed a series of MS-based novel analytical approaches to study the protein PTMs.Herein,we mainly introduce these approaches developed by our group and discuss how to overcome the technical obstacles of studying various protein PTMs with mass spectrometry.

Fractionation-free negative enriching for in-depth C-terminome analysis

Herein, we developed a fractionation-free negative enriching method incorporating methylamidation, siteselective dimethylation and aldehyde resin coupling(MADMAR) for in-depth C-terminome analysis. The methylamidation blocked the free carboxyl group on proteins first, followed by Lys C digestion of methylamidated proteins. Then, the site-selective dimethylation blocked the N-terminal amino group of the digested peptides without affecting the amino groups of lysine. Finally, the aldehyde resin was used to capture non-C-terminal peptides containing amino groups from lysine, while leaving the C-terminal peptides without free amino group in the supernatant for its analysis. We identified 1359 database-annotated protein C-termini from 50 μg He La proteins, which was 74% more than our previous method based on aldehyde resin. Moreover, 279 protein neo-C-termini were identified.

Carbothermal shock enabled facile and fast growth of carbon nanotubes in a second

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)hold great promise in many fields because of their unique structures and properties.However,the preparation of CNTs generally involves cumbersome equipment and time-consuming processes.Here,we report an ultra-fast carbothermal shock(CTS)approach for synthesizing CNTs with a simple homemade setup by employing Joule heating of a carbon substrate.Carbonized silk fabric(CSF)loaded with transition metal salts in ethanol solution was used as the substrate,which was treated with a pulse voltage of 40 V for only 50 ms and then covered with uniform CNTs grown with bimetallic alloy catalyst nanoparticles(diameter:~9 nm).The temperature ramp rate is as high as 105 K/s.The as-obtained sample has a unique fluffy structure similar to the trichobothrium of spiders,endowing it versatile applications such as airflow sensors or air filters.The CTS technique presents an easy-accessible and highly efficient approach for synthesizing CNTs,which may be also applied in synthesizing other nanomaterials.