Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jinlong He, Lei Tao, Weikang Xian, Tom Arbaugh, Ying Li
Summary: This study investigates the use of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) technique to enhance interfacial thermal conductance between polymers and semiconductors. The results show that the decorated interface with SAM molecules can significantly facilitate heat transfer.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sadaf Ejaz, Bridget Hogg, Delyan R. Hristov, David J. Brayden, Muhammad Imran, Sourav Bhattacharjee
Summary: Crosslinked chitosan nanocarriers entrapping coumarin-6 with or without surface mannosylation were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, permeation, and mucin adhesion. Results showed that mannosylated and non-mannosylated nanocarriers exhibited similar biocompatibility in cell experiments, but differed in cellular uptake. Additionally, chitosan nanocarriers enhanced adhesion to porcine gut mucin through increased cationic charge density.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cristiane Casonato Melo, Alexandra C. Fux, Martin Himly, Neus G. Bastus, Laura Schlahsa, Christiane Siewert, Victor Puntes, Albert Duschl, Isabel Gessner, Jonathan A. Fauerbach
Summary: In this study, microparticles conjugated to anti-Lipid A antibodies were developed for selective endotoxin removal. These particles showed a higher protein recovery without compromising their endotoxin removal capacity, making them advantageous for enhancing product yield.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Omer Harel, Muhammad Jbara
Summary: Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) enhance the functional diversity of proteins and understanding their effects on protein activity is a current challenge in biology and medicine. The complex nature of PTMs makes it challenging to prepare analogs using conventional tools. Therefore, obtaining homogeneous and precisely modified proteins is crucial for interpreting their molecular code.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yinfei Liao, Maoyan An, Xiaodong Hao, Xingwei Song, Zhe Yang, Hourui Ren, Zechen Liu
Summary: This study investigated the feasibility of using surface functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles as collectors for low rank coal flotation. Different nanoparticles were prepared and characterized, with TFPNs and HFPNs showing significant improvement in flotation recovery compared to PNs and diesel oil. The results suggest that the surface functionalization degree plays a crucial role in enhancing the performance of nanoparticles in LRC flotation.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tularam Sahu, Mohan Kumar, T. K. Sajeev, Manas Joshi, Ram Kumar Mishra, Vishal Rai
Summary: The study demonstrates the specific generation of N-Gly in native proteins for protein tagging without perturbing their structure and function.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Electrochemistry
V. V. Gil, M. V. Porozhnyy, O. A. Rybalkina, K. G. Sabbatovskiy, V. V. Nikonenko
Summary: By adjusting the membrane surface charge, a strategy for simultaneous mass transfer increase and scaling mitigation in electrodialysis has been achieved. Samples containing TiO2 and Ti-Si based particles demonstrated the best performance, increasing limiting current density and reducing scaling.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Lei Jin, Ehab Shaaban, Scott Bamonte, Daniel Cintron, Seth Shuster, Lei Zhang, Gonghu Li, Jie He
Summary: Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to valuable chemical fuels is of broad interest due to its potential to activate greenhouse gases using renewable energy input. The choice of metal cocatalysts and surface basicity of TiO2 can enhance the photocatalytic efficiency for CO2 photoreduction, with different metals showing varying activity and selectivity for CO and hydrocarbon production. The improvement of electron density and low proton affinity of metal cocatalysts play a key role in CO2 photoreduction.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Ahmed Saad, Carolina Penaloza Arias, Min Wang, Osama ElKashty, Davide Brambilla, Faleh Tamimi, Marta Cerruti
Summary: This study aims to create a tight seal between PEEK and epithelial tissues by mimicking the surface chemistry of teeth, using collagen I as a mediator. The results showed that both collagen-modified PEEK and titanium had higher adsorption of BM proteins and better cell viability and spreading compared to controls. This work introduces a versatile and biomimetic surface modification technique that may enhance PEEK-epithelial tissue sealing and expand its applications in percutaneous implants, making it competitive with titanium.
ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Atefeh Omidi-Dargahi, Hossein Dehghani, Ali Ehsani
Summary: In this study, the covalently functionalized aromatic-aliphatic amino acids were added to graphene sheets to synthesize NiCo2O4 and blended with functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) as electrochemical electrodes for energy storing applications. The characterization and electrochemical performance evaluation showed that the modified graphene exhibited stable dispersion and the blended material displayed high specific capacitance and exceptional cyclic stability.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Caiqin Gao, Mingyi Guo, Yukang Liu, Dingyue Zhang, Fan Gao, Ling Sun, Junshan Li, Xianchun Chen, Mauricio Terrones, Yanqing Wang
Summary: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted significant interest as functional materials due to their exceptional mechanical, electrical, thermal, and photoelectric properties. However, the strong Van der Waals force causes CNTs to agglomerate into crystalline bundles, hindering their potential applications. Effective dispersion strategies, such as covalent and non-covalent functionalization, have been proposed to overcome this challenge and improve the self-assembling characteristics of CNTs. Non-covalent modifications, including electrostatic interaction, 7C-7C stacking interaction, dipole interactions, Van der Waals interactions, hydrogen bond, and coordination, are particularly attractive for CNTs dispersion without disturbing their internal electronic structure.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yulun Nie, Xiaofei Sun, Miao Wang, Xike Tian, Chao Yang, Chu Dai
Summary: This study demonstrated the significant enhancement of organic contaminant degradation using suspended particles Al@MCM-41 in acidic pH values.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qi Yu, Li-Jun Mei, Wei-Bing Kuang, Chu-Ran Xu, Rui Tian, Ya-Long Wang, Chong Li, Ming-Qiang Zhu
Summary: Monodisperse polymer hemispheres were fabricated by seed emulsion polymerization, and their morphology was studied using fluorescent microscopy and super-resolution imaging. The polymer colloids were found to consist of hydrophobic cores and hydrophilic surfaces, with a thin hydrophilic surface layer. During seed emulsion polymerization, microphase separation occurred inside each polymer colloid, causing an uneven distribution of the chemical composition. The final shape of the polymer colloids was determined by the postpolymerization washing process.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hongmei Sun, Zhongyang Ma, Siyuan Sui, Yanjun Zhao, Xuemei Ren, Guohua Ni
Summary: This study demonstrates that plasma modification is an efficient method for tuning the pore size and functionalizing the surface of Vulcan XC72R, leading to enhanced catalytic activity and cyclic stability for metal catalyst deposition.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Lena Guyon, Anne-Claire Groo, Aurelie Malzert-Freon
Summary: This review summarizes the research on surface functionalization of lipid-based nanocarriers in biomedical applications, focusing on the ligands used, functionalization methods, and purification techniques after ligand corona formation. The most effective experimental techniques for characterizing LBNC surface are described, along with outlining promising methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry for characterizing ligand surface corona.
MOLECULAR PHARMACEUTICS
(2021)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Aadarash Zia, Emily Pentzer, Stuart Thickett, Kristian Kempe
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2020)
Review
Polymer Science
Yeasmin Nahar, Stuart C. Thickett
Summary: Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are an emerging class of green designer solvents with numerous applications in polymer materials synthesis. They offer a sustainable alternative to hazardous volatile organic solvents, while also improving mechanical and thermal properties of the polymers formed.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Aditya Rawal, Siti H. Che Man, Vipul Agarwal, Yin Yao, Stuart C. Thickett, Per B. Zetterlund
Summary: Investigation of highly oxidized graphene oxide using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed previously undiscovered structural complexity, including new chemical moieties. Discrepancies between NMR analysis and microscopy/dynamic light scattering results led to the proposal of a kirigami model as a resolution. This work is expected to advance fundamental understanding and control of graphene oxide structure.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Aminreza Khodabandeh, R. Dario Arrua, Stuart C. Thickett, Emily F. Hilder
Summary: This study investigates a novel reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization method for the fabrication of porous polymers with well-defined porous morphology and surface chemistry. By controlling the polymerization conditions precisely, porous monolithic columns suitable for liquid separation of biomolecules were successfully designed and synthesized.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Bich Ngoc Tran, Stuart C. Thickett, Vipul Agarwal, Per B. Zetterlund
Summary: Electrically conductive polymer nanocomposite films containing reduced graphene oxide were prepared using aqueous emulsion-based techniques, with a focus on the impact of the polymer matrix. The study showed that subtle changes in the nature of the polymer matrix can significantly affect the properties of nanocomposites, with lower polarity monomer combinations leading to higher electrical conductivity.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aadarash Zia, John R. Finnegan, Joshua P. Morrow, Wenping Yin, Jacek J. Jasieniak, Emily Pentzer, Stuart Thickett, Thomas P. Davis, Kristian Kempe
Summary: A new method has been proposed for preparing functional higher molar mass cross-linked polymers with unique fluorescent properties, suitable for use as bioimaging agents. The research also revealed pH-responsive behavior and excellent photostability of these polymers.
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Meiqiong Tang, Lee Cameron, Eve M. Poland, Li-Juan Yu, Stephen A. Moggach, Rebecca O. Fuller, Hai Huang, Jianwei Sun, Stuart C. Thickett, Massimiliano Massi, Michelle L. Coote, Curtis C. Ho, Alex C. Bissember
Summary: This report presents the synthesis and characterization of a family of chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, and iron complexes with N-heterocyclic carbene and carbonyl supporting ligands. The properties of these complexes were studied using experiment and theory, including their solid-state, spectroscopic, electrochemical, and photophysical properties. It was found that these complexes undergo decarbonylation when exposed to ultraviolet light.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Lubna Shahzadi, Fernando Maya, Michael C. Breadmore, Stuart C. Thickett
Summary: This study focuses on the design and optimization of thiol-acrylate resin formulations for stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing. The researchers successfully control the polymerization depth of the cured polymer layer and achieve optically transparent and colorless printed objects with good resolution. They also demonstrate the feasibility of postprint surface modifications by grafting various polymer chains and immobilizing nanoparticles. These thiol-acrylate resins show great potential for commercial applications.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Lubna Shahzadi, Fernando Maya, Michael C. Breadmore, Stuart C. Thickett
Summary: A new 3D printable resin formulation has been developed and optimized using commercially available thiol and alkyne monomers. The printed objects showed excellent dye removal efficiency, and the resin system has potential applications in water treatment for organic dye removal from wastewater.
MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yeasmin Nahar, Peiran Wei, Ciera Cipriani, Aminreza Khodabandeh, Alex C. Bissember, Emily B. Pentzer, Stuart C. Thickett
Summary: Thermoresponsive macroporous polymer monoliths were prepared using high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) with a polymerizable nonionic deep eutectic solvent serving as the continuous phase. The resulting monoliths had an interconnected porous structure and showed potential for applications as adsorbents, catalytic scaffolds, separation media, and more.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Natalia Morales, Stuart C. Thickett, Fernando Maya
Summary: Polymer monoliths are a promising alternative to traditional supports used in solid-phase extraction. In this study, divinylbenzene monoliths were embedded within a commercial melamine-formaldehyde sponge to enhance their mechanical stability. The resulting sponge-nested polymer monoliths demonstrated high robustness and adjustable size and shape for various applications. These monoliths were successfully used for the extraction of bisphenol A, 4-tert-butylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenol. The developed nested monolith sorptive extraction (NMSE) supports are cost-effective and can be directly immersed in aqueous samples for extraction. The best performance was achieved when polymerizing the monoliths for 6 hours, with low limits of detection using HPLC-UV analysis.
JOURNAL OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Yeasmin Nahar, Melissa K. Stanfield, Alex C. Bissember, Stuart C. Thickett
Summary: We successfully prepared poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (pNIPAM-b-pCL) block copolymers through simultaneous RAFT polymerization and anionic ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of NIPAM and CL respectively without traditional solvents. The use of a polymerizable eutectic led to higher reaction rates compared to reactions in typical organic solvents, demonstrating the advantage of this synthetic approach.
Review
Polymer Science
Melissa K. Stanfield, Rhiannon S. Terry, Jason A. Smith, Stuart C. Thickett
Summary: This review focuses on the use of levoglucosan (LGA) and levoglucosenone (LGO) obtained from cellulose pyrolysis in materials synthesis. It presents various types of polymers, including polyesters, polysaccharides, metathesis-based polymers, and photopolymerized thermosets. The sustainability and environmental impact of these syntheses are also discussed.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Theo A. Ellingsen, Natasha Hoffmann, Wesley J. Olivier, Stuart C. Thickett, Debbie S. Silvester, Rebecca O. Fuller
Summary: Stable organic radicals are important for various applications such as energy storage and molecular electronics. Recent studies have shown promise in using ionic liquids as solvents to stabilize these radicals and reduce side reactions. However, the choice of ionic liquid needs to be refined based on the specific radical species.
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Yeasmin Nahar, James Horne, Vinh Truong, Alex C. Bissember, Stuart C. Thickett
Summary: Thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (polyNIPAM) hydrogels were prepared via free radical polymerization in deep eutectic monomer solvents (DEMs) for the first time, where NIPAM served as a polymerizable hydrogen bond donor. The hydrogels prepared with DEMs showed increased cross-linking density and mechanical strength compared to those prepared in aqueous polymerization, exhibiting unique thermoresponsive swelling behavior.