Preparation of functional coating on magnesium alloy with hydrophilic polymers and bioactive peptides for improved corrosion resistance and biocompatibility

Biodegradable magnesium alloy stents(MAS)have great potential in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.However,too fast degradation and the poor biocompatibility are still two key problems for the clinical utility of MAS.In the present work,a functional coating composed of hydrophilic polymers and bioactive peptides was constructed on magnesium alloy to improve its corrosion resistance and biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo.Mg-Zn-Y-Nd(ZE21B)alloy modified with the functional coating exhibited moderate surface hydrophilicity and enhanced corrosion resistance.The favourable hemocompatibility of ZE21B alloy with the functional coating was confirmed by the in vitro blood experiments.Moreover,the modified ZE21B alloy could selectively promote the adhesion,proliferation,and migration of endothelial cells(ECs),but suppress these behaviors of smooth muscle cells(SMCs).Furthermore,the modified ZE21B alloy wires could alleviate intimal hyperplasia,enhance corrosion resistance and re-endothelialization in vivo transplantation experiment.These results collectively demonstrated that the functional coating improved the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of ZE21B alloy.This functional coating provides new insight into the design and development of novel biodegradable stents for biomedical engineering.

Review:Fabrication and Application of Zwitterion-based Functional Coatings

Zwitterion-based materials by virtue of their special physical and chemical characteristics have attracted researchers to utilize them for fabricating functional coatings. The simultaneous presence of positive and negative charges renders the zwitterion-based materials with electrostatically induced hydration properties, which enables a high resistance towards oily pollutants, nonspecific protein adsorption, bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. This review starts from the working mechanism of zwitterions and covers the fabrication strategies of zwitterion-based functional coatings, namely the zwitterion-bearing binder route, the zwitterion-bearing additive route and the post-generation of coatings containing zwitterionic precursors. The applications of zwitterion-based functional coatings are discussed, including medical implants, marine antifouling and oil-resistant coatings, with focus on the relevant mechanisms of the zwitterion-containing coatings for a specific performance. Finally, some comments and perspectives on the current situation and future development of zwitterion-based functional coatings are given.

Micro-nano structured functional coatings deposited by liquid plasma spraying

Inspired by the micro-nano structure on the surface of biological materials or living organisms,micro-nano structure has been widely investigated in the field of functional coatings.Due to its large specific surface area,porosity,and dual-scale structure,it has recently attracted special attention.The typical fabrication processes of micro-nano structured coatings include sol-gel,hydrothermal synthesis,chemical vapor deposition,etc.This paper presents the main features of a recent deposition and synthesis technique,liquid plasma spraying(LPS).LPS is an important technical improvement of atmospheric plasma spraying.Compared with atmospheric plasma spraying,LPS is more suitable for preparing functional coatings with micro-nano structure.Micro-nano structured coatings are mainly classified into hierarchical-structure and binary-structure.The present study reviews the preparation technology,structural characteristics,functional properties,and potential applications of LPS coatings with a micro-nano structure.The micro-nano structured coatings obtained through tailoring the structure will present excellent performances.

Extracellular matrix and nitric oxide based functional coatings for vascular stents

Cardiovascular diseases cause huge morbidity and mortality worldwide.Recently,vascular stents have been most frequently used to treat cardiovascular diseases thanks to their effectiveness at dilating blood vessels and main-taining the circulation of blood.However,stent expansion leads to endothelium injury posing thrombogenic and in-stent restenosis(ISR).In addition,the bioinertness and an acute lack of endothelium-like function on the surface of implanted vascular stents compromise their performance.Functional coatings of vascular stents to mimic endothelium-and extracellular matrix(ECM)-like functions could prevent thrombosis,inhibit the over-growth of smooth muscle cells(SMCs),and promote the rapid restoration of native endothelium,hence effec-tively suppressing stent-related complications.Noticeably,ECM-based coatings including a multitude of bioactive molecular,such as growth factors,heparin,hyaluronic acid(HA)and so on,have been proven to play important effects on regulating ECs/SMCs behavior and improving blood compatibility of stents.Additionally,nitric oxide(NO),which is fundamental to the endothelium-mediated anti-thrombogenesity,anti-intimal hyperplasia and anti-inflammation,has been leveraged to improve vascular stent functions.Therefore,this review will highlight different strategies and biological role of ECM and NO based functional coatings on vascular stent.Lastly,some potential important factors for stents development are suggested as well.

A promoting nitric oxide-releasing coating containing copper ion on ZE21B alloy for potential vascular stent application

Magnesium-based biodegradable metals as cardiovascular stents have shown a lot of excellent performance, which have been used to treat coronary artery diseases. However, the excessive degradation rate, imperfect biocompatibility and delayed re-endothelialization still lead to a considerable challenge for its application. In this work, to overcome these shortcomings, a compound of catalyzing nitric oxide(NO) generation containing copper ions(Cu^(2+)) and hyaluronic acid(HA), an important component of the extracellular matrix, were covalently immobilized on a hydrofluoric acid(HF)-pretreated ZE21B alloy via amination layer for improving its corrosion resistance and endothelialization. Specifically,the Cu^(2+) chelated firmly with a cyclen 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N’, N’’, N’’’, N-tetraacetic acid(DOTA) could form a stability of hybrid coating, avoiding the explosion of Cu^(2+). The chelated Cu^(2+) enabled the catalytic generation of NO and promoted the adhesion and proliferation of endothelial cells(ECs) in vascular micro-environment. In this case, the synergistic effect of NO-generation and endothelial glycocalyx molecules of HA lead to efficient ECs promotion and smooth muscle cells(SMCs) inhibition. Meanwhile, the blood compatibility also had achieved a marked improvement. Moreover, the standard electrochemical measurements indicated that the functionalized ZE21B alloy had better anti-corrosion ability. In a conclusion, the dual-functional coating displays a great potential in the field of biodegradable magnesium-based implantable cardiovascular stents.

Scalable and Heavy Foam Functionalization by Electrode-Inspired Sticky Jammed Fluids for Efficient Indoor Air-Quality Management

Functionalization of polymer foams by surface coating is of great interest for advanced flow-interactive materials working with well-controlled 3D open channels.However,realizing heavy functional coating via a fast and recyclable way remains a big challenge.Here,inspired by the battery electrodes,we propose a scalable mechanic-assisted heavy coating strategy based on the design of sticky jammed fluid(SJF)to conquer the above challenge.Similar to the electrode slurry,the SJF is dominated by a high concentration of active material(≥20 wt%of active carbon,for instance)uniformly dispersed in a protein binder solution.Due to the sticky and solidrich nature of the SJF,one can realize a high coating efficiency of 60 wt%gain per coating.The critical factors controlling the coating processing and quality are further identified and discussed.Furthermore,the functionalized foam is demonstrated as a high-performance shape-customizable toxic gas remover,which can absorb formaldehyde very efficiently at different circumstances,including static adsorption,flow-based filtration,and source interception.Finally,the foam skeleton and the active materials are easily recycled by a facile solvent treatment.This study may inspire new scalable way for fast,heavy,and customizable functionalization of polymeric foams.

Three-Component Model for Bidirectional Reflection Distribution Function of Thermal Coating Surfaces

We present a bidirectional reflection distribution function （BRDF） model for thermal coating surfaces based on a three-component reflection assumption, in which the specular reflection is given according to the microfacet theory and Snell＇s law, the multiple reflection is considered Nth cosine distributed, and the volume scattering is uniformly distributed in reflection angles according to the experimental results. This model describes the reflection characteristics of thermal coating surfaces more completely and reasonably. Simulation and measurement results of two thermal coating samples SR107 and S781 are given to validate that this three-component model significantly improves the modeling accuracy for thermal coating surfaces compared with the existing BRDF models.

Acid/Base Treatment of Monolithic Activated Carbon for Coating Silver with Tunable Morphology

Silver coatings on the exterior surface of monolithic activated carbon（MAC） with different morphology were prepared by directly immersing MAC into [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 solution. Acid and base treatments were employed to modify the surface oxygenic groups of MAC, respectively. The MACs＇ Brunauer-EmmettTeller（BET） surface area, surface groups, and silver coating morphology were characterized by N2 adsorption, elemental analysis（EA）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）, and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, respectively. The coating morphology was found to be closely related to the surface area and surface functional groups of MAC. For a raw MAC which contained a variety of oxygenic groups, HNO3 treatment enhanced the relative amount of highly oxidized groups such as carboxyl and carbonates, which disfavored the deposition of silver particles. By contrast, Na OH treatment significantly improved the amount of carbonyl groups, which in turn improved the deposition amount of silver. Importantly, lamella silver was produced on raw MAC while Na OH treatment resulted in granular particles because of the capping effect of carbonyl groups. At appropriate [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 concentrations, silver nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm were homogeneously dispersed on Na OH-treated MAC. The successful tuning of the size and morphology of silver coatings on MAC is promising for novel applications in air purification and for antibacterial or aesthetic purposes.

Thermal Residual Stresses in Multilayered Coatings

The mechanical integrity and reliability of coated devices are strongly affected by the residual stresses in thin films and coatings. However, due to the metallurgical complexity of materials, it is rather difficult to obtain a closed-form solution of residual stresses within multilayered coatings （e.g. functionally graded coatings, FGCs）. In this paper,an analytical model is developed to predict the distribution of residual stresses within multilayered coatings. The advantage of this model is that the solution of residual stresses is independent of the number of layers. Specific results are obtained by calculating elastic thermal stresses in ZrO2/NiCoCrAIY FGCs, which consist of different material layers. Furthermore, the residual stress distribution near the edges and the stress-induced failure modes of coating are also analyzed. The topics discussed provide some insights into the development of a methodology for designing fail-safe coating systems.

Design of DLC/Titanium Alloy Bio-Functionally Gradient Coat

The material design is used to direct the magnetron cosputtering process. At first, according to the particularity of functionally gradient coat (FGC) the thermal elastic stress analysis for FGC was carried out based on the plane stress hypothesis. It is obtained that the peak value of plane thermal stress within FGC is only determined by the physical properties of materials of FGC and substrate, the composition distribution coefficient only influences the distribution and trend of plane thermal stress. And the plane thermal stress criterion for design of FGC was presented. Then the plane thermal stress of diamond like carbon/titanium alloy FGC was calculated.

Recent advances in interfacial modification of zinc anode for aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries

To tackle energy crisis and achieve sustainable development, aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries have gained widespread attention in large-scale energy storage for their low cost, high safety, high theoretical capacity, and environmental compatibility in recent years. However, zinc anode in aqueous zinc ion batteries is still facing several challenges such as dendrite growth and side reactions(e.g., hydrogen evolution), which cause poor reversibility and the failure of batteries. To address these issues, interfacial modification of Zn anodes has received great attention by tuning the interaction between the anode and the electrolyte. Herein, we present recent advances in the interfacial modification of zinc anode in this review. Besides, the challenges of reported approaches of interfacial modification are also discussed.Finally, we provide an outlook for the exploration of novel zinc anode for aqueous zinc ion batteries.We hope that this review will be helpful in designing and fabricating dendrite-free and hydrogenevolution-free Zn anodes and promoting the practical application of aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries.

Adhesion Improvement of Zirconium Coating on Polyurethane Modified by Plasmas

In order to improve the adhesion of the middle frequency magnetic sputtered zirconium coating on a polyurethane film,an anode layer source was used to pretreat the polyurethane film with nitrogen and oxygen ions.SEMs and AFM roughness profiles of treated samples and the contrast groups were obtained.Besides,XPS survey spectrums and high resolution spectrums were also investigated.The adhesion test revealed that ion bombardment could improve the adhesion to the polyurethane coating substrate.A better etching result of oxygen ions versus nitrogen predicts a higher bonding strength of zirconium coating on polyurethane and,indeed,the highest bonding strengths are for oxygen ion bombardment upto 13.3 MPa.As demonstrated in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,the oxygen ion also helps to introduce more active groups,and,therefore,it achieves a high value of adhesion strength.

In situ formation of LDH-based nanocontainers on the surface of AZ91 magnesium alloy and detailed investigation of their crystal structure

In the presented work, the possibility of direct synthesis of LDH(layered double hydroxide) on the AZ91 surface in the presence of a chelating agent(diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-DTPA) is reported. Conversion layer of LDH nanocontainers were formed under ambient pressure conditions without carbonate addition in the electrolyte. The obtained LDH was characterized using experimental(SEM,XRD, TGA, XPS, Raman, etc.) and computational methods(thermodynamic calculation, modeling of possible LDH crystal structures). A comparison of three possible LDHs(LDH-OH,-NO_(3) and-CO_(3)) was performed. Based on the experimental results and crystal simulation approach, it was confirmed, that the mixed LDH-OH/CO_(3) is grown on the surface in the presence of DTPA pentasodium salt.

Superior anti-corrosion and self-healing bi-functional polymer composite coatings with polydopamine modified mesoporous silica/graphene oxide

In this article,graphene oxide(GO)and benzotriazole-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles(BTA/MSNs)are combined on micro scale through the in situ polymerization of polydopamine(PDA),preparing a selfhealing bi-functional GO(fGO)used as nano-fillers for anti-corrosion enhancement of waterborne epoxy(WEP)coatings.Scanning electronic microscopy(SEM)images show that the BTA/MSNs are uniformly distributed on the surface of high aspect ratio GO nanosheets to endow GO nanocontainer characteristics.UV-vis profiles demonstrate that fGO has p H-controlled release function.Modulus at lowest frequency is generally used for comparing the corrosion resistance of organic coatings.Modulus at lowest frequency(1.42×10^(5)Ωcm^(2))after 30 days immersion in 3.5 wt.%Na Cl solution revealed 2 orders of magnitude higher that of blank WEP(1.17×10^(7)Ωcm^(2)).With artificial cracks on its coatings,fGO/WEP had no obvious rust compared with blank WEP after 240 h of immersion.We anticipate that self-healing and physical barrier bi-functional nanocontainers improve the traditional anticorrosion coating efficiency with better,longer-lasting performance for shipping,oil drilling or bridge maintenance.

Cracking in orthotropic half-plane with a functionally graded coating under anti-plane loading

This investigation evaluates, by the dislocation method, the dynamic stress intensity factors of cracked orthotropic half-plane and functionally graded material coating of a coating- substrate material due to the action of anti-plane traction on the crack surfaces. First, by using the complex Fourier transform, the dislocation problem can be solved and the stress fields are obtained with Cauchy singularity at the location of dislocation. The dislocation solution is utilized to derive integral equations for multiple interacting cracks in the orthotropic half-plane with functionally graded orthotropic coating. Several examples are solved and dynamic stress intensity factors are obtained.

Porous Membranes with Special Wettabilities:Designed Fabrication and Emerging Application

Porous materials have become a burgeoning research interest in materials science because of their intrinsic porous characteristics,versatile chemical compositions,and abundant functionalities.Recently,inspired by natural superwetting surfaces originating from the cooperation of surface energy and surface geometry,porous membranes with special wettabilities are finding emerging opportunities associated with a wide variety of environmental and energy-related applications.This review will present an overview of the state-of-the-art research on the designed fabrications and applications of superwetting porous membranes based on zeolites,metal–organic frameworks(MOFs),porous organic materials(POMs),and mesoporous materials.General synthetic strategies for the fabrication of porous membranes(e.g.,hydrothermal/solvothermal crystallization,interfacial polymerization,electrospinning,etc.),and principles for tuning the wettability of porous membranes through surface energy modulation are introduced.Furthermore,their emerging applications as oil–water separation membranes,lithium-ionbattery separators,self-cleaning layers,and anticorrosion coatings are demonstrated.Finally,we emphasize on future perspectives regarding the development of superwetting porous membranes for practical applications.

Research and development strategy for biodegradable magnesium-based vascular stents:a review

Magnesium alloys are an ideal material for biodegradable vascular stents,which can be completely absorbed in the human body,and have good biosafety and mechanical properties.However,the rapid corrosion rate and excessive localized corrosion,as well as challenges in the preparation and processing of microtubes for stents,are restricting the clinical application of magnesium-based vascular stents.In the present work we will give an overview of the recent progresses on biodegradable magnesium based vascular stents including magnesium alloy design,high-precision microtubes processing,stent shape optimisation and functional coating preparation.In particular,the Triune Principle in biodegradable magnesium alloy design is proposed based on our research experience,which requires three key aspects to be considered when designing new biodegradable magnesium alloys for vascular stents application,i.e.biocompatibility and biosafety,mechanical properties,and biodegradation.This review hopes to inspire the future studies on the design and development of biodegradable magnesium alloy-based vascular stents.

Covalent organic nanosheets with large lateral size and high aspect ratio synthesized by Langmuir-Blodgett method

Two-dimensional（2 D） materials have attracted increasing attentions recently due to their unique physical and chemical properties. We herein report the synthesis of four chemically stable 2 D covalent organic nanosheets（CONs） with large lateral sizes（up to 200 mm） and high aspect ratios（〉20 000） at the air-water interface through the Langmuir-Blodgett method. These CONs exhibit good crystallinity proved by high resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM） and selected area electron diffraction（SAED）. In addition, the hydrophobicity of these CONs can be systematically adjusted by the introduction of various functional groups, making them suitable as functional coating and membrane materials.