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If wound dressings can be pre-medicated and can actively sense in situ drugs, this technology will enable real-time monitoring of the effectiveness of wound dressings. In this work, a novel microporous fluorescence membrane (MPFM) was synthesized using Eu3+-induced diblock poly(styrene-co-acrylate acid) 2D nano-aggregates (EIP2As) with sensitive in situ drug release tracing properties. This membrane was synthesized by interfacial aggregation of an amphiphilic block copolymer polystyrene-block-polyacrylic acid at the gas-liquid interface, induced by doped Eu3+-complexes. The hybrid membrane has a uniform porous structure, making it a good drug carrier. Simultaneously with the delayed release of the drug, added piperine can quench the fluorescence of doped Eu3+-complexes, resulting in a monitorable fluorescence increase during drug release. The fluorescent Eu3+-complex and the drug are co-localized, enabling the visualization of the drug content in the membrane by translating the drug content into the fluorescence intensity of the microporous membrane. Compared with existing dressing materials, the MPFM has a unique ability to visualize the drug content, which brings great convenience to users, significantly increases the utilization efficiency of wound dressings, and greatly reduces the waste of medical materials. This novel membrane has the potential to be applied as a key layer material for wound dressings, as it can sense the drug loading content and trace drug release progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, down-conversion materials and doping active layer materials are effective means to improve the efficiency and stability of polymer solar cells (PSCs). Herein, environmentally friendly and cost-effective Eu3+-induced diblock polymer aggregates (EIPAs) were synthesized by the self-assembly method, and these aggregates were doped into the active layer of various non-fullerene systems, which optimized the morphology and effectively increased the ultraviolet light absorption in the range of 300–450 nm and converted into secondary emission in the visible range. Upon optimization, devices featuring PM6:IT-4F doped with a concentration of 0.2 mg mL−1 EIPAs exhibited a remarkable improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability, with a 10.83% increase compared to binary devices, achieving an impressive PCE of 13.82%. This enhanced performance can be attributed to the significant increase in short-circuit current density (JSC) and fill factor (FF) observed in the doped devices. Similar observations have been made with other EIPA-doped devices, further demonstrating the versatility of EIPAs in improving the overall device performance of PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore oil spills, industrial oily wastewater, and domestic oil pollution are some of the most serious global challenges, and are leading environmental causes of morbidity and mortality. Nanofiber membrane materials manufactured via electrostatic spinning for oil/water separation have become one of the emerging technologies to treat oil/water emulsions. Here, we give a comprehensive review of current progress on electrospinning nanofibers for oil/water separation to promote the field's advancement. Typical examples of hydrophilic–oleophobic, hydrophobic–oleophilic, and special wettability nanofiber membranes are systematically summarized. The effects of material selection, fiber production processes, and subsequent modifications on the membrane performance are compared and discussed. Potential shortcomings of various types of separation membranes and the potential solutions are provided. The review concludes with a summary and outlook on future directions and innovations in electrospinning nanofibers and membranes for oil/water separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in vivo trace content of some transition-metal ions is important for biological systems and an inappropriate content may cause diseases. With the purpose of developing an efficient sensing system for Cu2+, this work demonstrates the excellent sensing property of Tb3+/Eu3+-induced polysaccharide aggregates. Photophysical measurements indicate that at a Cu2+ concentration of 20 μM, the fluorescence of Tb3+-induced polysaccharide aggregates (TIPAs) or Eu3+-induced polysaccharide aggregates (EIPAs) can be quenched rapidly and sensitively. Addition of EDTA to chelate Cu2+ restores the fluorescence, indicating that the fluorescence quenching in the presence of Cu2+ is reversible. Initial cytotoxicity experiments with mammalian cells show that the luminescent lanthanide complexes are cytotoxic, but complexing the lanthanides to polysaccharides renders them cytocompatible. These new complexes integrate the advantages of superior lanthanide fluorescence, compatibility with aqueous systems, and cytocompatibility. The microparticle formulation EIPA can be used for applications that require the complexes to be removed from the sample (e.g. by centrifugation), whereas the nanoparticle formulation TIPA is suitable for cell labeling applications with excellent water-solubility, biocompatibility, non-cell toxicity, and cell imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene-based membranes exhibit enormous potential in water desalination and purification because of their ultrathin structure, superhigh water flux, tunable physicochemical properties and precise ionic and molecular sieving performance. However, the transport behavior and mechanism of water, ions and other molecules across nanopores and nanocapillaries in the separation process, especially the confined mass transport, remain unclear, imposing severe limitation on many applications. Therefore, extensive experimental studies and theoretical calculation simulations have been carried out to investigate their unique structure and separation properties, particularly to explore the associated confined mass transport mechanism. Herein, an overview of the theory and simulation developments of graphene-based separation membranes based on confined mass transport is provided, attempting to open up an avenue for designing graphene-based materials as a new generation of separation membranes in the water purification field. This perspective focuses on five topics: (1) membrane transport models and simulation methods; (2) comparison between membrane simulations and experiments; (3) confined mass transport studies of graphene-based membranes with the assistance of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations; (4) fabrication of multifunctional composite membranes; and (5) future research trends in graphene-based membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, protein–surface interactions were probed in terms of adsorption and desorption of a model protein, bovine serum albumin, on a low-fouling surface with single-molecule localization microscopy. Single-molecule experiments enable precise determination of both adsorption and desorption rates. Strikingly the experimental data show anomalous desorption kinetics, evident as a surface dwell time that exhibits a power-law distribution, i.e. a heavy-tailed rather than the expected exponential distribution. As a direct consequence of this heavy-tailed distribution, the average desorption rate depends upon the time scale of the experiment and the protein surface concentration does not reach equilibrium. Further analysis reveals that the observed anomalous desorption emerges due to the reversible formation of a small fraction of soluble protein multimers (small oligomers), such that each one desorbs from the surface with a different rate. The overall kinetics can be described by a series of elementary reactions, yielding simple scaling relations that predict experimental observations. This work reveals a mechanistic origin for anomalous desorption kinetics that can be employed to interpret observations where low-protein fouling surfaces eventually foul when in long-term contact with protein solutions. The work also provides new insights that can be used to define design principles for non-fouling surfaces and to predict their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene has promising potential in several fields because of its unique and brilliant properties, and graphene-based composites are studied for nanofiltration because of their chemical stability and thermal resistance. Nanometals are used for compositing with graphene and its derivatives, such as Ag, Au, TiO2, and Cu. Graphene-based/nanometal membranes have remarkable performance in water treatment, antibacterial properties, and so on. In this review, we introduce the separation mechanism and fabrication method of graphene-based/nanometal composite membranes and then summarize the recent developments. Therefore, additional applications of graphene-based/nanometal composite membranes can be expected, and this paper reviews the current research trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]