A Plasma Membrane Polarity Sensor Harnessing Conjoined Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer Modulation and Charge Number Control Strategy

Polarity is a critical microenvironmental factor of the plasma membrane,which can offer valuable insights into various biological processes.Herein,we proposed a novel strategy for the construction of fluorescent agents to measure plasma membrane polarity by conjoining twisted intramolecular charge transfer(TICT)modulation and charge number control.It is shown that compounds with a stronger TICT tendency are more sensitive to polarity shifts due to the number of dialkylated amino groups present(from 1 to 3),and the molecules with two or more charged centers remain in the plasma membrane.Therefore,we developed two fluorescent agents with high polarity sensitivity,excellent turn-on ratios,and superior ability,to target the plasma membrane.In the wash-free fluorescence imaging and fluorescence lifetime tests,our designed agent could detect plasma membrane polarity with high precision,allowing effective distinction between cancer cells and normal cells based on their differences in plasma membrane polarity.Moreover,both fluorescence and fluorescence lifetime changes of the plasma membrane in the ferroptosis model established by Sorafenib confirmed an increase in plasma membrane polarity during cell ferroptosis.

Fabrication and performance of PET mesh enhanced cellulose acetate membranes for forward osmosis

Polyethylene terephthalate mesh（PET） enhanced cellulose acetate membranes were fabricated via a phase inversion process. The membrane fabrication parameters that may affect the membrane performance were systematically evaluated including the concentration and temperature of the casting polymer solution and the temperature and time of the evaporation, coagulation and annealing processes. The water permeability and reverse salt flux were measured in forward osmosis（FO） mode for determination of the optimal membrane fabrication conditions. The optimal FO membrane shows a typical asymmetric sandwich structure with a mean thickness of about 148.2 μm. The performance of the optimal FO membrane was tested using 0.2 mol/L Na Cl as the feed solution and 1.5 mol/L glucose as the draw solution. The membrane displayed a water flux of 3.47 L/（m2·hr） and salt rejection of95.48% in FO mode. While in pressure retarded osmosis（PRO） mode, the water flux was4.74 L/（m2·hr） and salt rejection 96.03%. The high ratio of water flux in FO mode to that in PRO mode indicates that the fabricated membrane has a lower degree of internal concentration polarization than comparable membranes.

Removal of Ni（ll） ions from wastewater by micellar enhanced ultrafiltration using mixed surfactants

Ni（II） ions were removed from aqueous waste using micellar enhanced ultrafiltration （MEUF） with a mixture of surfactants. The surfactant mixture was the nonionic surfactant Tween 80 （TW80） mixed with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate （SDS） in different molar ratios ranging from 0.1-1.5. The opera- tional variables of the MEUF process such as pH, applied pressure, surfactant to metal ion ratio and nonionic to ionic surfactant molar ratio （α） were evaluated. Rejection of Ni and TW80 was 99% and 98% respectively whereas that for SDS was 65%. The flux and all resistances （fouling resistance, resistance due to concentration polarization） were measured and calculated for entire range of α respectively. A calculated flux was found to be declined with time, which was mainly attributed to concentration polarization rather than resistance from membrane fouling.