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In this elucidation, we synthesized novel molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPOH1-4) that were used as organic fillers on bagasse pulp to form cellulosic paper sheets, the formation of MIPOH1-4 from the reaction of enaminone 3 with methyl methacrylate monomer in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethyl acrylate and 2,2’-azobisisobutyronitrile. The obtained MIPOH1-4 was confirmed via FT-IR and SEM with different pore sizes. And we noticed that the increase of template 3 increases the hydrogen bond between monomer and template and gave sponge surface of MIPOH4. Furthermore, the computational energies of the template with different monomers utilize DFT/B3LYP/6-31G (d) level to know the stability of polymers and hydrogen bonding between them. So that we applied that in paper manufacture through the adsorption of MIPOH4 as an organic filler on bagasse pulp to form novel cellulosic paper sheets with different concentrations and these sheets which characteristic through FT-IR, SEM, sizing test, tensile strength, and elucidation their antimicrobial activity with theoretical and docking studies. The MIPOH4 and cellulosic paper sheets showed the thermal stability and high tendency of sizability of these paper sheets and concluded the interaction between cellulose fibers of pulp with MIPOH polymer with physical hydrogen bonding.

Cellulose paper has strong potential as an analytical platform owing to its unique characteristics. In the present study, we investigated a procedure for functionalizing the surface of cellulose paper by dip-coating a mixture of a functional polymer and a perfluoroalkylated surfactant (surfactant 1). The functional polymer comprised a mixture of methyl methacrylate and poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate monomers. The monomer ratio in the functional polymer affected the hydrophilicity and water absorbance of the cellulose paper after dip-coating. Furthermore, the presence of surfactant 1 during dip-coating promoted the surface segregation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) moieties in the polymer, which enhanced the hydrophilicity, prevented nonspecific protein adsorption, and maintained the water absorbance of the dip-coated cellulose paper. Dip-coating with another functional polymer containing biotin groups produced a cellulose paper with a biotin-decorated surface in a one-step procedure. The displayed biotin groups immobilized avidin on the surface, and the PEG moieties in the polymer prevented nonspecific protein adsorption. We then immobilized a thrombin-binding DNA aptamer on the avidin-immobilized cellulose paper to prepare a paper-based analytical device. It is possible to visualize thrombin in model solutions and serum using the paper-based analytical device.

Epoxide-bearing filter paper was first prepared by surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate (PEGMA). Without the need for activation step, the capture peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes carrying a C-terminal lysine modification can be directly immobilized on the surface-grafted poly[glycidyl methacrylate-ran-poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate] (P(GMA-ran-PEGMA)) through ring-opening of epoxide groups in the GMA repeating units by amino groups in the PNA’s structure. The success of P(GMA-ran-PEGMA) grafting on the filter paper and subsequent PNA immobilization was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Colorimetric detection with signal amplification upon DNA hybridization relies on sandwich-hybridization assay employing another biotinylated PNA strand as a reporter probe together with streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate (SA-HRP) and o-phenylenediamine (OPD) substrate. It was found that increasing ionic strength during the DNA hybridization step by addition of NaCl can increase the signal intensity, which can be visualized by naked eye. The sensing platform showed the best performance in preventing non-specific adsorption from the non-complementary DNA and discriminating between complementary and single-mismatched targets of at least 50 fmol without the requirement for stringent hybridization or washing condition. This superior ability to suppress non-specific adsorption of non-target DNA as well as other non-DNA components may be explained as a result of hydrophilic PEGMA repeating units in the surface-grafted copolymer.

Paper is important to most historical and cultural relics, however, these paper heritages are facing a crisis of disappearance, damage and aging. For increasing the paper strength, delaying the paper aging, and improving the weak stability and permeability of former resins used for paper, another material is necessary to be produced on preservation and protection of the paper items. The synthesis of epoxy cyclohexane polyetherpolyol was as follows: Epoxy cyclohexane was as the starting material, ethylene glycol was as the initiator, boron trifluoride ether was as catalyst, and dichloromethane was as the solvent. The synthesized homopolyether was characterized by infrared (IR) spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) spectroscopy to determine the structure. Then the epoxy cyclohexane homopolyether reacted with the hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) trimer, and the polyurethane was obtained. With the tests of the physical and chemical properties of paper samples, it showed that the paper processed with 10% polyurethane liquid had excellent performance, the increase in the tensile strength was from 1105 to 2317 N/m, and the increase in the folding endurance was from 20 to 504 times. What’s more, the paper processed with 10% polyurethane liquid had good brightness and gloss. The results of the paper samples for the test have shown that the synthesized material simultaneously has the advantages of epoxy cyclohexane homopolyether and polyurethane, possessing excellent performance in paper reinforcement. Thus, the synthesized polyurethane material has broad application prospect in paper protection field.

In this paper, we report the fabrication of highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/cellulose nanofiber (CNF) nanocomposite paper with excellent flexibility through post-treatment with an organic solvent. The post-treated PEDOT:PSS/CNF porous nanocomposite papers showed a lower sulfur content, indicating the removal of residual PSS. The electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS/CNF porous nanocomposite paper was increased from 1.05 S/cm to 123.37 S/cm and 106.6 S/cm by post-treatment with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethylene glycol (EG), respectively. These values are outstanding in the development of electrically conductive CNF composites. Additionally, the highly conductive nanocomposite papers showed excellent bending stability during bending tests. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) showed a Faradaic redox reaction and non-Faradaic capacitance due to the redox activity of PEDOT:PSS and large surface area, respectively. Electrochemical energy storage ability was evaluated and results showed that capacitance improved after post-treatment. We believe that the highly conductive PEDOT:PSS/CNF porous nanocomposite papers with excellent flexibility described here are potential candidates for application in porous paper electrodes, flexible energy storage devices, and bioengineering sensors.

Conductive polymers such as PEDOT: PSS have gained popularity in sensor fabrication and integration. The objective of current work is to investigate the effects of process parameters on the final quality of conductive patterns fabricated through electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing. Solutions of different concentration of PEDOT: PSS in ethylene glycol and isopropyl alcohol were prepared for printing purpose. Effects of operating parameters such as voltage, frequency, pressure and printing speed on quality of printing patterns were experimentally investigated. Solution with higher concentration of PEDOT: PSS in ethylene glycol has shown better jetting stability even at higher frequencies and printing speeds. Increasing the frequency at high printing speed reduced the size of pattern width. Similarly, higher pulse voltage in the working envelope also reduced the pattern size. However, increasing the pressure increased the size of width of pattern. A drastic decrease in the pattern width was observed with increase in printing speed. A pattern width of approximately 19.6 μm was produced at 500 Hz of frequency and 2000 mm/min of printing speed, the electrical resistance of which is 1.03 × 106 Ω/mm. Finally, these results were compared with the same concentration of PEDOT: PSS in isopropyl alcohol reported in previous studies. Keywords: Electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing, PEDOT: PSS, Photo paper substrate, Pattern width, Conductive patterns

We report results of the studies relating to the fabrication of a paper based sensor comprising of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite. The effect of various solvents like methanol, ethylene glycol and H 2 SO 4 on the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS coated Whatman paper has been investigated. The conductivity of this solution processed conducting paper significantly increases from ~1.16×10 −4 S cm −1 up to ~3.57×10 −2 S cm −1 (~300 times) on treatment with ethylene glycol. The observed significant increase in electrical conductivity is due to conformational rearrangement in the polymer and is due to strong non-covalent cooperative interaction between PEDOT and the cellulose molecules. Further, incorporation of RGO into the conducting paper results in improved electrochemical performance and signal stability. This paper electrode is a promising alternative over the expensive conventional electrodes (ITO, gold and glassy carbon), that are known to have limited application in smart point-of-care (POC) devices. This low cost, flexible and environment friendly conducting paper based biosensor utilized for cancer biomarker (carcinoembryonic antigen, CEA) detection reveals high sensitivity of 25.8 µA ng −1 mL cm −2 in the physiological range, 1–10 ng mL −1 .

The Finnish pulp and paper producer UPM plans to spend $600 million to build a biorefinery in Leuna, Germany, that will convert wood into ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, industrial sugars, and l...

We report on the development of an electrochemical probe for the trace analysis of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in soil samples. The probe is a combination of graphite electrodes, filter paper, with ethylene glycol and choline chloride as the solvent/electrolyte. Square wave chromatovoltammograms show the probes have a sensitivity for TNT of 0.75 nA/ng and a limit of detection of 100 ng. In addition, by taking advantage of the inherent paper chromatography step, TNT can be separated in both time and cathodic peak potential from 4-amino-dinitrotolene co-spotted on the probe or in soil samples with the presence of methyl parathion as a possible interferent.

H2S is an extremely malodorous, toxic and corrosive gas. These properties make the localized emission of hydrogen sulfide an air pollution issue. Despite there being a relatively large number of papers in literature dedicated to developing analytical methods to determine gaseous H2S, it remains an analytical problem. In this paper, we describe a luminescent cellulose filter-based sensor for gaseous H2S determination. The cellulose filter is impregnated with a palladium complex, containing a ligand with fluorescent properties. The measurements are made directly on the cellulose filter, and thus do not require an extraction step. The palladium complex – bis(2-aminobenzoic)palladium(II) – impregnated on the surface of the cellulose filter paper reacts with gaseous H2S. The reaction results in the release of the fluorescent ligand, increasing the fluorescence intensity of the filter surface observed at 410 nm when excited at 338 nm. The linear calibration curve covers the range from 8 to 110 ppb, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2 ppb. The sampling time is approximately 15 min for this range of H2S; however, a longer sampling may decrease the detection limit. The factors affecting the collection characteristics, such as sampling flow, media moisture, cellulose filter paper type and amount of humectant (ethylene glycol) in the impregnating solution amount, were optimized.

Direct ink writing is an interesting and attractive method to replace traditional fabrication techniques such as etching, milling, and lithography for flexible electronics because of its simple process, low cost, green nature, and good prospects for development and application. In this work, graphene/polypyrrole (G/P) binary conductive material was prepared by in situ polymerization of pyrrole monomer and graphene oxide with vitamin C (VC) as green reducing agent. Then graphene/polypyrrole/carbon black (G/P/CB) conductive ink was fabricated using a mixture of alcohol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and deionized water as solvent. Electronic circuits were obtained by directly writing the prepared conductive ink on flexible substrate, high-gloss photographic paper. When the loading of G/P binary conductive material, carbon black, ethanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and deionized water was 54 mg, 546 mg, 12 mL, 30 mL, 30 mL, 480 mg, and 51 mL, the electrical conductivity, solid content, contact angle, and viscosity was 146.3 μS/cm, 4.3%, 34.6°, and 35.8 mPa s, respectively. The ink exhibited excellent water and acid resistance, and the electronic circuit written using the ink showed good uniformity and mechanical flexibility. Scanning electron microscopy evaluation of cross-sections of G/P/CB ink lines on photographic paper and light-emitting diode experiments confirmed that the three-dimensional flexible paper-based conductive circuits containing 9 wt.% G/P formed a complete electrical network.

Silver nanowires were successfully prepared by polyol method using silver nitrate as silver source, ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent, and ferric chloride as nucleating agent and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as structure directing agent and protective agent. The obtained silver nanowires were mixed with Kraft pulp fibers and bacterial cellulose to prepare conductive paper via simple filtration process. The results indicated that the size of silver nanowires can be regulated by the dosage of ferric chloride used. At optimal dosage of FeCl3, the prepared silver nanowires can reach 20 ��m length, 100 nm width, and 200 of width/diameter ratio. The adding of bacterial cellulose in preparing the conductive paper greatly enhanced the retention ratio of silver nanowires as well as the stress and strain of the conductive paper. The stress and strain of the paper with bacterial cellulose were increased by 60% and 7%, respectively, compared with that of the paper without bacterial cellulose. The maximum retention ratio and the highest recovery ratio of silver nanowires in conductive paper reached 94% and 75%, respectively. The resistance of as-prepared conductive paper was only 0.9 ��. In conductive paper, the silver nanowires attached to the paper-based materials with cellulose fibers as the substrate, which achieved the electrical conductivity of paper-based materials. This conductive paper can be applied as antistatic, antibacterial packaging and conductive material.

In the present study, we aimed to determine the applicability of a paper container for the vitrification of in vitro matured (IVM) bovine oocytes. In experiment 1, IVM oocytes were exposed to vitrification solution (20% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 20% ethylene glycol (EG), and 5 mol/L sucrose), using a two-step method, for 30 s; loaded onto either a paper container or Cryotop; and stored in liquid nitrogen. No significant difference (P

The controllable response of materials to small-molecule absorbates helps control the information duration on rewritable paper., Controlling the duration that information lasts on paper so that it disappears as desired is crucial for information security. However, this area is rarely studied. Here, we report [TEMA]2SbCl5 (1, TEMA+ = methyltriethylammonium), [TEA]2SbCl5 (2, TEA+ = tetraethylammonium), [TEBA]2SbCl5 (3, TEBA+ = benzyltriethylammonium), and [Ph4P]2SbCl5 (4, Ph4P+ = tetraphenylphosphonium) with structure-dependent reversible photoluminescent switching induced by the absorption and thermal release of small guest molecules including H2O, methanol, and ethylene glycol. Comparing the structural disorder levels, bond lengths, and luminescent Stokes shifts of the compounds aided in understanding their selective absorption behavior. Our results indicated that the information duration on the rewritable paper coated with the title compounds is easily tuned by changing the cation of the compounds, the type of guest molecules, and laser heating power. Our study opens previously unidentified avenues for information security and extends the potential applications of rewritable paper.

Recent years have seen remarkable progress in research and development of metal nanoparticles (NPs) that takes advantage of their unique optical, magnetic, electronic, catalytic and other physicochemical properties, in a wide range of practical and potential applications such as energy, environmental, biomedical and chemical engineering (Feldheim & Foss, 2002; Ma et al., 2006; Jena & Raj, 2008; Zotti et al., 2008). For example, gold (Au) is a chemically inert metallic element in bulk form; however, AuNPs possess colorful plasmon resonances useful for bio-sensing (Shukla et al., 2005; Yokota et al., 2008), and can catalyze chemical reactions (Bond et al., 2006; Ishida & Haruta, 2007), due to their quantum size effects. NPs of inexpensive base metals, such as copper (CuNPs) have recently attracted much attention as innovative nanomaterials for applications such as highly-active gas reforming catalysts for hydrogen production (Gadhe & Gupta, 2007) and effective marine antifouling coatings (Anyaogu et al., 2008). In general, however, practical utilization of nanosized materials involves considerable difficulties since metal NPs are hard to handle directly, and easily aggregate to minimize their surface area. The inevitable aggregation of metal NPs often nullifies their unique functionalities, and eventually yields ordinary bulk metals. For that reason, an area of ongoing research has focused on effective immobilization of metal NPs on easily handled supports such as porous membranes (Dotzauer et al., 2006) and nanostructured inorganic sheets (Wang et al., 2008). Of the various metal NPs, silver NPs (AgNPs) are of increasing interest because of their high conductivity (Li et al., 2005) and tunable optical responsiveness (McFarland & Van Duyne, 2003). Moreover, it is well known that Ag exhibits potent antibacterial properties with low toxicity for humans and animals by comparison with other heavy metals (Alt et al., 2004; Shah et al., 2008). Ag and Ag-compounded materials are effective for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, whereas the efficacy of conventional antibiotics varies with the species of bacteria (Shah et al., 2008). Many researchers have recently reported that AgNPs demonstrate excellent antibacterial activity (Sondi & Salopek-Sondi, 2004; Gogoi et al., 2006; Pal et al., 2007; Navarro et al., 2008). However, effective methods for immobilization of AgNPs for practical use are insufficiently advanced, and incorporation of AgNPs into various matrices is being actively investigated. For instance, it was reported that AgNPs were synthesized on poly(ethylene glycol)-polyurethane-titanium dioxide (TiO2) films via 14

Functionalization of gold nanorod (GNR) with dimercaptosuccinic acid is reported as a way to develop a sensor, GNR-PEG-DMSA that can rapidly detect very low concentrations of arsenic contamination in water and using the paper strip. The sensor is developed by stepwise chemical conjugations of gold nanorods (GNR) with poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether thiol (mPEG-SH) followed by meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). GNR-PEG-DMSA shows a visible color change in the presence of both inorganic forms of arsenic: AsIII (arsenite) and AsV (arsenate) ions in solution and on a paper substrate, because of the ion-induced aggregation of nanorods through an arsenic complex formation strategy, which is relative to the arsenic concentrations. Colorimetric and spectroscopic analyses are very much selective for both AsIII and AsV ions with a detection limit of ∼1.0 ppb. In addition, the GNR-PEG-DMSA exhibits excellent potential for quantitative estimation of total arsenic in groundwater samples. The paper-based sensi...

The aim of the study is to evaluate the interaction of amphoteric polymer resins with cellulose fibers at the molecular level.The interaction of amphoteric polymer resins with cellulose fragments was determined by standard 1H NMR and 13C spectroscopy techniques.To study the interaction of amphoteric polymeric resins with cellulose at the molecular level, imitation modeling has been carried out in the work. The essence of the simulation is the replacement of cellulose fibers with substances that are close to the functional purpose of cellulose. Such substances include glucose, sucrose, starch and ethylene glycol, which dissolve in water. It is established that in the presence of a large amount of water in the APS – waste paper system, intermolecular and interfluid hydrogen bonds are formed, and upon reaching a critical amount of water in the system, new covalent ether-type bonds are formed between the functional groups of the components as model systems and amphoteric polymeric systems resin - cellulose and this indicates the possibility of increasing the physical and mechanical properties of paper and paperboard from secondary raw materials.The results show that simulation simulation of structural and functional transformations in complex systems, including the cellulose-APS system, confirms the presence in them of processes that occur during the interaction of amphoteric polymeric resins with hydroxyl groups of cellulose fibers, Цель исследования заключается в оценке процесса взаимодействия амфотерных полимерных смол (АПС) с волокнами целлюлозы на молекулярном уровне.По стандартным методикам ЯМР 1Н и 13С-спектроскопии определено взаимодействие АПС с фрагментами целлюлозы.С целью изучения взаимодействия амфотерной полимерной смолы (АПС) с целлюлозой на молекулярном уровне в работе проведено их имитационное моделирование. Суть имитационного моделирования заключается в замене целлюлозных волокон на вещества, близкие по функциональному назначению к целлюлозе. К таким веществам относятся глюкоза, сахароза, крахмал и этиленгликоль, которые растворяются в воде. Установлено, что при наличии большого количества воды в системе АПС – волокна макулатуры образуются межмолекулярные и межфрагментные водородные связи, а при достижении в системе критического количества воды происходит образование новых ковалентных связей эфирного типа между функциональными группами компонентов модельных систем и системы АПС – целлюлоза, что свидетельствует о возможности повышения физико-механических показателей бумаги и картона из вторичного сырья.Полученные результаты показывают, что имитационное моделирование структурно-функциональных преобразований в сложных по природе системах, к которым относится система целлюлоза – АПС, подтверждает наличие в них процессов, которые происходят при взаимодействии АПС с гидроксильными группами целлюлозных волокон.

This paper draws on a roll coating method which used for the production of coated paper. Polylactide coating cardboard was prepared through the solvent coating, and study its packaging performance. In this study, chloroform is based solvent, ethanol or n-propanol as auxiliary solvents, poly (ethylene glycol) or poly caprolactone as plasticizer, and the water vapor permeability, oxygen permeability and heat sealability of polylactic acid coated cardboard.

Cryopreservation of bovine embryos can be performed by a variety of methods with variable degree of success. Here, we report a new, easy to perform, simple, inexpensive, and successful method for vitrification of bovine blastocysts. In vitro produced bovine blastocysts were exposed to vitrification solution (5.5 m ethylene glycol, 10% serum and 1% sucrose) in one single step for 20 s, loaded on a paper container prepared from commonly available non-slippery, absorbent writing paper, and then were directly plunged into liquid nitrogen for storage. Vitrified blastocysts were warmed by serial rinsing in 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125 m sucrose solution for 1 min each. Results showed that one step exposure of bovine blastocysts to cryoprotective agents was sufficient to achieve successful cryopreservation. Under these conditions, more than 95% of blastocysts survived the vitrification-warming on paper containers which was significantly higher than those obtained from other containers, such as electron microscope (EM) grid (78.1%), open pulled straw (OPS; 80.2%), cryoloop (76.2%) or plastic straw (73.9%). Embryo transfer of blastocysts vitrified-warmed on paper container resulted in successful conception (19.3%) and full-term live birth of offspring (12.3%) which were lower (P0.05) than those obtained from non-vitrified blastocysts (38.0 and 32.7%) but were comparable (P0.05) to those obtained from blastocysts vitrified-warmed on EM grid (23.3 and 14.2%). Our results, therefore, suggest that paper may be an inexpensive and useful container for the cryopreservation of animal embryos.

Morphology-controlled iron-based oxides, including Fe 2 O 3 , LaFeO 3 , NiFe 2 O 4 , ZnFe 2 O 4 , and CoFe 2 O 4 , were obtained using filter paper as a template. A thimble filter paper was soaked in ethylene glycol solution of metal nitrates, and the thimble filter paper–metal nitrate composite was calcined to form the desired iron-based oxides with morphology of thimble filter paper. Choice of ethylene glycol as a solvent and slow heating for removal of the paper template are crucial for maintaining the morphology of paper.

The wetting behavior of a series of polymer-coated papers has been studied. Different ways of determining the acid–base properties of the polymers are presented. The well-known van Oss–Chaudhury–Good (vOCG) bi–bi polar model is compared with more simplified mono–bi polar and mono–mono polar models. The effect of surface roughness on the wetting was also studied with atomic force microscopy. The overall wetting of each probe liquid was evaluated by calculating the work of adhesion to the polymer surfaces. It is shown that ethylene glycol and water may be considered as mono polar liquids, which simplifies the original vOCG-model. It is also shown that in most cases the surface energy values are in the same range when using both the complex bi–bi polar approach and the simpler mono–mono polar approach. The different polymers used are found to be of a predominating basic character.

To enhance Pd electro-catalysts in their electro-catalytic activity for C-C bond breaking and tolerance stability, Pd was electrodeposited on high-porosity 3D reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogel paper. For comparison, the Pd was also coated on other three different carbon material surfaces: bare carbon fiber paper (CFP), and CFP modified with either 2D graphene oxide (GO) and 2D rGO nanosheets. The Pd/3D rGO aerogel paper exhibits higher catalytic activity toward the electro-oxidation of ethylene glycol in alkaline media and higher excellent tolerance stability than other electrodes due to ultra-high porosity of the 3D rGO support leading to high active electrochemical surface area of the as-fabricated Pd catalyst electrode. In addition, the hydrodynamic diffusion of ethylene glycol to the cayalyst surface investigated in this work plays a major role to the catalytic activity of the as-prepared electrocatalyst. The Pd/3D rGO aerogel rotating disk electrode exhibits a high anodic current density of 267.8 mA cm −2 at 3000 rpm. This high-performance Pd/3D rGO aerogel may be practically used as the high-efficiency anode of direct ethylene glycol and other related alcohol fuel cells.

The use of electrospun nanofibers as functional material in paper-based lateral flow assays (LFAs) was studied. Specific chemical features of the nanofibers were achieved by doping the base polymer, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and polystyrene8K-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)25K-block-polyisoprene10K-Brij76 (K3-Brij76) (KB). The LFAs were assembled such that the sample flowed through the nanofiber mat via capillary action. Initial investigations focused on the sustainable spinning and assembly of different polymer structures to allow the LFA format. Here, it was found that the base polymer poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which was shown to function well in microfluidic biosensors, did not work in the LFA format. In contrast, PLA-based nanofibers enabled easy assembly. Three relevant features were chosen to study nanofiber-based functionalities in the LFA format: adsorption of antibodies, quantification of results, and nonspecific binding. In particular, streptavidin-conjugated sulforhodamine B (SRB)-encapsulating liposomes were captured by anti-streptavidin antibodies adsorbed on the nanofibers. Varying the functional polymer concentration within the PLA base enabled the creation of distinct capture zones. Also, a sandwich assay for the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 was developed using anti-E. coli antibodies as capture and reporter species with horseradish peroxidase for signal generation. A dose-response curve for E. coli with a detection limit of 1.9 × 10(4) cells was achieved. Finally, functional polymers were used to demonstrate that nonspecific binding could be eliminated using antifouling block copolymers. The enhancement of paper-based devices using functionalized nanofibers provides the opportunity to develop a broad spectrum of sensitive and specific bioassays with significant advantages over their traditional counterparts.

Cellulose-based paper remains a vital component of modern day society; however, its use is severely limited in certain applications because of hydrophilic and oleophilic properties. In this manuscript we present a novel method to create superamphiphobic paper by combining the control of fiber size and structure with plasma etching and fluoropolymer deposition. The heterogeneous nature of the paper structure is drastically different from that of artificially created superamphiphobic surfaces. By refining the wood fibers, smaller diameter fibers (fibrils) are created to support fluid droplets. After oxygen plasma etching and deposition of a fluoropolymer film, paper samples are able to support motor oil contact angles of 149 ± 3°, although these structures readily absorb n-hexadecane. Exchange of water in the pulp solution with sec-butanol provides additional control over fiber spacing to create superamphiphobic substrates with contact angles >150° for water, ethylene glycol, motor oil, and n-hexadecane.