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Essential oils and their active components have been extensively reported in the literature for their efficient antimicrobial, antioxidant and antifungal properties. However, the sensitivity of these volatile compounds towards heat, oxygen and light limits their usage in real food packaging applications. The encapsulation of these compounds into inorganic nanocarriers, such as nanoclays, has been shown to prolong the release and protect the compounds from harsh processing conditions. Nevertheless, these systems have limited shelf stability, and the release is of limited control. Thus, this study presents a mesoporous silica nanocarrier with a high surface area and well-ordered protective pore structure for loading large amounts of natural active compounds (up to 500 mg/g). The presented loaded nanocarriers are shelf-stable with a very slow initial release which levels out at 50% retention of the encapsulated compounds after 2 months. By the addition of simulated driploss from chicken, the release of the compounds is activated and gives an antimicrobial effect, which is demonstrated on the foodborne spoilage bacteria Brochothrix thermosphacta and the potentially pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli. When the release of the active compounds is activated, a ≥ 4-log reduction in the growth of B. thermosphacta and a 2-log reduction of E. coli is obtained, after only one hour of incubation. During the same one-hour incubation period the dry nanocarriers gave a negligible inhibitory effect. By using the proposed nanocarrier system, which is activated by the food product itself, increased availability of the natural antimicrobial compounds is expected, with a subsequent controlled antimicrobial effect. Controlled Release of Volatile Antimicrobial Compounds from Mesoporous Silica Nanocarriers for Active Food Packaging Applications

There is a strong drive in industry for packaging solutions that contribute to sustainable development by targeting a circular economy, which pivots around the recyclability of the packaging materials. The aim is to reduce traditional plastic consumption and achieve high recycling efficiency while maintaining the desired barrier and mechanical properties. In this domain, packaging materials in the form of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) can offer the desired functionalities and can be a potential replacement for complex multilayered polymer structures. There has been an increasing interest in nanocomposites for food packaging applications, with a five-fold rise in the number of published articles during the period 2010–2019. The barrier, mechanical, and thermal properties of the polymers can be significantly improved by incorporating low concentrations of nanofillers. Furthermore, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties can be introduced, which are very relevant for food packaging applications. In this review, we will present an overview of the nanocomposite materials for food packaging applications. We will briefly discuss different nanofillers, methods to incorporate them in the polymer matrix, and surface treatments, with a special focus on the barrier, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. On the practical side migration issues, consumer acceptability, recyclability, and toxicity aspects will also be discussed.

openaire: EC/H2020/| 311705/EU//CUMTAS We introduce rapid replica molding of ordered, high-aspect-ratio, thiol-ene micropillar arrays for implementation of microfluidic immobilized enzyme reactors (IMERs). By exploiting the abundance of free surface thiols of off-stoichiometric thiol-ene compositions, we were able to functionalize the native thiol-ene micropillars with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and these with proteolytic α-chymotrypsin (CHT) via thiol-gold interaction. The micropillar arrays were replicated via PDMS soft lithography, which facilitated thiol-ene curing without the photoinitiators, and thus straightforward bonding and good control over the surface chemistry (number of free surface thiols). The specificity of thiol-gold interaction was demonstrated over allyl-rich thiol-ene surfaces and the robustness of the CHT-IMERs at different flow rates and reaction temperatures using bradykinin hydrolysis as the model reaction. The product conversion rate was shown to increase as a function of decreasing flow rate (increasing residence time) and upon heating of the IMER to physiological temperature. Owing to the effective enzyme immobilization onto the micropillar array by GNPs, no further purification of the reaction solution was required prior to mass spectrometric detection of the bradykinin hydrolysis products and no clogging problems, commonly associated with conventional capillary packings, were observed. The activity of the IMER remained stable for at least 1.5 h (continuous use), suggesting that the developed protocol may provide a robust, new approach to implementation of IMER technology for proteomics research. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Design and development of novel inorganic nanocarriers for encapsulation of natural antimicrobial substances for food packaging applications have received great interest during the last years. Natural nanoclays are the most investigated nanocarriers and recently interest has also grown in the synthetically produced porous silica particles. However, these different carrier matrices have not been compared in terms of their loading capability and subsequent release. In this study, the feasibility of porous silica particles (with different pore structures and/or surface functionalities) and commercially available nanoclays were evaluated as encapsulation matrices. Two well-studied antimicrobial substances, thymol and curcumin, were chosen as volatile and non-volatile model compounds, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency, and the subsequent dispersibility and release, of these substances differed significantly among the nanocarriers. Encapsulation of the volatile compound highly depends on the inner surface area, i.e., the protective pore environment, and an optimal nanocarrier can protect the encapsulated thymol from volatilization. For the non-volatile compound, only the release rate and dispersibility are affected by the pore structure. Further, water-activated release of the volatile compound was demonstrated and exhibited good antimicrobial efficacy in the vapor phase against Staphylococcus aureus. This comparative study can provide a base for selecting the right nanocarrier aimed at a specific food packaging application. No nanocarrier can be considered as a universally applicable one.

Fossil-based plastic materials are an integral part of modern life. In food packaging, plastics have a highly important function in preserving food quality and safety, ensuring adequate shelf life, and thereby contributing to limiting food waste. Meanwhile, the global stream of plastics into the oceans is increasing exponentially, triggering worldwide concerns for the environment. There is an urgent need to reduce the environmental impacts of packaging waste, a matter raising increasing consumer awareness. Shifting part of the focus toward packaging materials from renewable resources is one promising strategy. This review provides an overview of the status and future of biobased and biodegradable films used for food packaging applications, highlighting the effects on food shelf life and quality. Potentials, limitations, and promising modifications of selected synthetic biopolymers; polylactic acid, polybutylene succinate, and polyhydroxyalkanoate; and natural biopolymers such as cellulose, starch, chitosan, alginate, gelatine, whey, and soy protein are discussed. Further, this review provides insight into the connection between biobased packaging materials and innovative technologies such as high pressure, cold plasma, microwave, ultrasound, and ultraviolet light. The potential for utilizing such technologies to improve biomaterial barrier and mechanical properties as well as to aid in improving overall shelf life for the packaging system by in-pack processing is elaborated on.

Methylamine (MA) is highly toxic even at low concentrations. The current U.S.A. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limit (OSHA PEL) is 10 ppm in the gas phase. In this study we have developed low-cost, robust and stable copper sulphide film on flexible plastic and paper substrate. The sensitivity of the film towards MA as a function of print density is studied at room temperature. The electrical and colorimetric response of the sensing films is optimized with respect to print density. The performance parameters of the sensing films including, sensitivity, a lower limit of detection (LOD), selectivity and onset time of detection are determined. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is employed for chemical characterization of the sensing film. It is demonstrated that copper sulphide films register either change in resistance or colour when exposed to methylamine in a range of 1 to 100 ppm. A LOD of 1 ppm is achieved which is lower than the current OSHA PEL. The optimized sensing film has shown over three and six orders of magnitude change in resistance when exposed to 10 ppm and 500 ppm of MA respectively. The low cost, room temperature operation, electrical and colorimetric response of the developed sensing films make them promising candidates to be used for medical diagnostics as well as industrial use for example in chemical industry and environmental applications.

In this study, we have investigated the contrast enhancement of Gd(iii) incorporated nanoparticle-based contrast agents (CA) by the modulation of the synthesis and structural parameters of the mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) matrix. In the optimisation process, the structure of the MSN matrix, post-synthesis treatment protocols, as well as the source and incorporation routes of paramagnetic gadolinium centers were considered, with the aim to shorten the T

Low-cost and robust hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas sensors can be utilized in different industrial applications. Earlier we have demonstrated an inexpensive wirelessly readable copper acetate based H2S gas sensor which was successfully employed for monitoring the quality of raw poultry. In this study we have thoroughly investigated and optimized the performance of inkjet-printed copper acetate based H2S gas sensor on flexible plastic substrate at room temperature. The effect of ink composition, print density, number of print nozzles and temperature of the substrate on sensor performance was tested. The long term stability of these sensors after exposure to H2S was studied extensively and was optimized as a function of the print density of copper acetate. The conversion of copper acetate to copper sulfide upon reaction with H2S was established by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We believe that the optimized sensor developed in this study with respect to stability, repeatability and material consumption will pave the way for the commercial use of these sensors e.g. in food quality monitoring and environmental applications.

Inkjet-printing of metal nanoparticles is a particularly promising technique for the fabrication and modification of surfaces with a multifunctional nature. Recently copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs) have attracted wide interest due to a range of valuable properties including long term stability, photo-thermal activity, ease of synthesis and low cost. In the present study, printed CuS patterns were successfully fabricated on latex coated paper substrates and characterized by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis-NIR spectroscopy, and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GID). The resulted patterns displayed pronounced photo-thermal effect under Near Infrared Irradiation (NIR) even with relatively low laser power. Finally, by utilizing an automated real-time imaging platform it was possible to verify that the CuS printed film was not cytotoxic to human dermal fibroblast cells (HDF). The pronounced photo-thermal properties and nontoxic nature of these printed low-cost flexible CuS films make them promising candidates for fabrication of devices with localized photo-thermal effect suitable for biomedical applications.

Uniform and pinhole-free electron-selective TiO2 layers are of utmost importance for efficient perovskite solar cells. Here we used a scalable and low-cost dip-coating method to prepare uniform and ultrathin (5–50 nm) compact TiO2 films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates. The thickness of the film was tuned by changing the TiCl4 precursor concentration. The formed TiO2 follows the texture of the underlying FTO substrates, but at higher TiCl4 concentrations, the surface roughness is substantially decreased. This change occurs at a film thickness close to 20–30 nm. A similar TiCl4 concentration is needed to produce crystalline TiO2 films. Furthermore, below this film thickness, the underlying FTO might be exposed resulting in pinholes in the compact TiO2 layer. When integrated into mesoscopic perovskite solar cells there appears to be a similar critical compact TiO2 layer thickness above which the devices perform more optimally. The power conversion efficiency was improved by more than 50% (...

This work describes the use of a paper substrate for electro-optical detection of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas. For electrical detection, a chemiresistive type of gas sensor was developed. Ultrathin gold film electrodes (UTGFE) were produced by physical vapor deposition of gold on nanostructured latex-coated paper substrate. The gas-sensing film was deposited on the electrodes by inkjet printing. The sensing films were characterized by atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and conductometry. The sensing films showed more than seven orders of magnitude change in resistance when exposed to as low as 1 part per million (ppm) H2S gas at room temperature. Besides resistive response, the change in color of the sensing films was studied on a paper substrate, both as a function of print density of the sensing material and H2S concentration. For quantification of the analyte the red, green and blue color deconvolution was performed on the pictures of the paper strip indicator using an open source software. A clear response was obtained from the blue channel. The inexpensive disposable color strips produced on the paper substrate can be used for qualitative and quantitative detection (as low as 1.5 ppm) of H2S gas. Electro-Optical Gas Sensor Consisting of Nanostructured Paper Coating and an Ultrathin Sensing Element

The integration of flexible electronic sensors in clinical diagnostics is visioned to significantly reduce the cost of many diagnostic tests and ultimately make healthcare more accessible. This study concentrates on the characterisation of inkjet-printed bio-functionalised polythiophene films on paper-based ultrathin gold film (UTGF) electrodes and their possible application as biorecognition layers. Physicochemical surface properties (topography, chemistry, and wetting) and electrochemical characteristics of water-soluble regioirregular tetraethylene-glycol polythiophene (TEGPT) and biotin-functionalised TEGPT (b-TEGPT) films were examined and compared. In addition, their specificity towards streptavidin protein was tested. The results show that stable supramolecular biorecognition layers of insulating b-TEGPT and streptavidin were successfully fabricated on a paper-based UTGF by inkjet-printing. Good adhesion of thiophene to UTGF can be attributed to covalent linkage between sulphur and gold, whereas the stability of the streptavidin layer is due to the high affinity between biotin and streptavidin. The device introduced can be utilised in the development of biosensors for clinically relevant analytes e.g. for detecting complementary DNA oligomers or antibody–antigen complexes.

In this study, we have investigated the contrast enhancement of Gd(III) incorporated nanoparticle-based contrast agents (CA) by the modulation of the synthesis and structural parameters of the mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) matrix. In the optimisation process, the structure of the MSN matrix, post-synthesis treatment protocols, as well as the source and incorporation routes of paramagnetic gadolinium centers were considered, with the aim to shorten the T1 weighted relaxation time. After preliminary evaluation of the prepared MSNs as nanoparticulate T1/positive contrast agents based on relaxivity, the structure of the MSN matrix was affirmed as the most decisive property to enhance the r1 relaxivity value, alongside the incorporation route of paramagnetic Gd(III) centers. Based on these findings, the most promising Gd(III) incorporated MSN-based CA candidate was further evaluated for its cytocompatibility and intensity enhancement by in vitro phantom MR-imaging of labeled cells. Furthermore, pre-labeled tumors grown on a chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) were imaged as an in vivo model on a 3T clinical MRI scanner. Our findings show that the optimized MSN-based CA design enables proper access of water to Gd-centers in the selected MSN matrices, and simultaneously decreases the required amount of Gd(III) content per mass when evaluated against the other MSNs. Consequently, the required Gd amount on a per-dose basis is significantly decreased with regard to clinically used Gd-based CAs for T1-weighted MR imaging.

Appropriate and fine-tuned treatments of amorphous carbon (AC) involving aqua regia or concentrated HNO3 lead to oxidised carbon materials (oAC) which are able to catalyse 2,2′- and 3,3′-homocouplings of various functionalised indoles with outstanding activity. This newly developed carbocatalysed Cequation image[BOND]Cequation image bond formation can be achieved under mild thermal conditions. The study on the scope of the reaction revealed that the reaction can be extended to the homocoupling of other substrates of high synthetic interest such as 2-naphthol, 2-functionalised benzofurans and benzothiofurans. The characterisation of oAC with XPS together with ad hoc experiments aimed at blocking the active site revealed that the presence and distribution of C[DOUBLE BOND]O functionalities is critical and correlates well with the catalytic activity. Such experiments provide solid support for elucidation of the mechanism, suggesting a quinone nature of the active C[DOUBLE BOND]O groups, which are spontaneously regenerated by oxygen. This is confirmed by the fact that 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) is able to promote the coupling in a stoichiometric fashion.

Food quality and safety are controlled by legislation and monitored both by food industry players and regional and national authorities in a food supply chain. The need for more precise estimation of shelf life and faster results from food pathogen tests has resulted in the development of novel food quality sensors. Intelligent food packages are the concept toward traceability and real time monitoring of food. Herein we present the usage of printed and low-cost copper acetate-based sensors for monitoring the quality of raw broiler meat. The sensor operates by detecting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as an end product of the microbial metabolism. The sensors responded to H2S at +6 °C accumulated in modified atmosphere, packaged broiler meat. A concept of the sensor platform, in which the sensor is combined with a printed planar coil antenna and printed capacitor to construct a wirelessly readable printed resonance circuit, is also presented. The sensor is suitable for large-scale production, which could make it inexpensive enough to be integrated in a low-cost retail food package.

Ultrathin gold films (UTGFs) were fabricated on a nanostructured latex-coated paper substrate by physical vapour deposition (PVD) with the aim to provide low-cost and flexible conductive electrodes in paper-based electronics. Morphological, electric and optical properties of UTGFs were dependent on the deposited film thickness. In addition, UTGFs were functionalized with insulating and hydrophobic 1-octadecanethiol self-assembled monolayer and inkjet-printed conductive and hydrophilic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT–PSS) layer and their electrochemical properties were examined. Results showed that sufficient mechanical stability and adhesion of UTGFs deposited on latex-coated paper was achieved without the need on any additional adhesive layers, enabling a more robust fabrication process of the electrodes. UTGF electrodes tolerated extensive bending without adverse effects and conductivity comparable to the bulk gold was obtained already with the film thickness of 6 nm. Although not been fabricated with the high-throughput method like printing, a very low material consumption (∼12 μg/cm2) together with a high conductivity (resistivity

This paper presents the sub-ppm level electrical detection of H2S gas at room temperature using printed copper acetate–gold nanoparticle composite films. The excellent sensitivity of these films towards H2S can be attributed to the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles in combination with the plasma oxidation of copper acetate films.

Uniform and pinhole-free electron-selective TiO

Aimed at utilizing high-magnetization nanospheres for magnetic field-enhanced cellular labeling, core-shell structured sandwich-like magnetic mesoporous silica nanospheres were developed. While the magnetite cluster core can provide a high magnetic response for overcoming Brownian motion in cell culture media, the layered silica shell facilitates an efficient fluorescent dye labeling. However, the problem of particle aggregation in cell media, which is strongly enhanced under a magnetic field, significantly impeded the uptake by cells, resulting in difficulties in the precise analysis of the degree of particle internalization by fluorescence-based techniques (flow cytometry and confocal microscopy). To overcome this, reflection-based assessment was employed. Further, emphasis was put on utilizing the unique role of surface-hyperbranched polyethylenimine (PEI) in efficient prevention of particle aggregation prior to cell internalization in the presence of an external magnetic field. The interparticle attraction forces originating from magnetic dipole-dipole interactions are hereby balanced by the steric and electrostatic repulsion forces provided by the PEI functionalization, which leads to dispersed nanospheres in cell culture media during the magnetic-field induced cell labeling. As a consequence, PEI functionalization and the presence of the magnetic field synergistically enhanced the efficiency of MRI-fluorescence dual-mode labeling for cellular tracking.

This work describes the development of a stable dispersion which is suitable for roll-to-roll printing of a film exhibiting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas sensing functionality. The dispersions are made from copper chloride in combination with either citric acid or citric acid and polyaniline (PANI). Aqueous PANI dispersions together with copper chloride (CC) have been shown to have H2S sensing properties, but the dispersion gets unstable with the addition of CC within a pH range from 5 to 8. In this study, a mixture of CC and citric acid (CA) was optimized for printability as well as for sensitivity towards H2S gas. Furthermore the stability of an aqueous PANI dispersion was studied after the addition of CC or a CC–CA mixture as a function of pH. The stable dispersions were printed on top of flexographically printed interdigitated silver electrodes and their sensitivity towards 10 ppm H2S was verified by following the change in resistance. The printed films were characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS) and conductometry. The sensors showed almost a three orders of magnitude change in resistance upon exposure to 10 ppm H2S at ambient conditions.

Specific interactions of extracellular matrix proteins with cells and their adhesion to the substrate are important for cell growth. A nanopatterned latex-coated paper substrate previously shown to be an excellent substrate for cell adhesion and 2D growth was studied for directed immobilization of proteins. The nanostructured latex surface was formed by short-wavelength IR irradiation of a two-component latex coating consisting of a hydrophilic film-forming styrene butadiene acrylonitrile copolymer and hydrophobic polystyrene particles. The hydrophobic regions of the IR-treated latex coating showed strong adhesion of bovine serum albumin (cell repelling protein), fibronectin (cell adhesive protein) and streptavidin. Opposite to the IR-treated surface, fibronectin and streptavidin had a poor affinity toward the untreated pristine latex coating. Detailed characterization of the physicochemical surface properties of the latex-coated substrates revealed that the observed differences in protein affinity were mainly due to the presence or absence of the protein repelling polar and charged surface groups. The protein adsorption was assisted by hydrophobic (dehydration) interactions.

This study investigates the performance of a printed copper acetate based H2S sensor with irreversible electro-optical response. The sensitivity, long term stability, humidity effects, cross-sensitivity and selectivity of the H2S sensor were studied. High sensitivity, room temperature operation, good selectivity and reproducibility of the sensor make it a promising candidate for industrial use for example in the food packaging industry and in environmental monitoring. Furthermore, a simple optical indicator based on copper acetate for H2S sensing is also presented. The indicator was calibrated using grey scale for different concentrations of H2S.

Nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery holds great promise for more specific and efficient therapies, mostly due to their high payload and the integration of targeted delivery functions. However, it is typically not possible to monitor the intracellular release of active compounds directly, which hampers the assessment of novel delivery platforms and non-cytotoxic compounds. Herein, we implemented a FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer)-reporter system to semi-quantitatively follow the time-course of the intracellular release of a redox-cleavable compound from a nanoparticle delivery platform. We used silica core–shell particles that could be readily modified with a high density of reactive amino groups, and attached fluorescent reporter molecules as model drug cargo. We coupled a FRET-donor fluorophore via a stable covalent bond, while the FRET-acceptor fluorophore was linked via a disulfide-bridge. Therefore, a loss of FRET reported on redox-induced acceptor compound release. These FRET-reporter nanoparticles allowed us to determine both the time course of cellular internalization as well as the intracellular compound release. Our data show that particle internalization is the rate-limiting step, while compound cleavage occurs quickly after internalization. The presented FRET-reporter approach has the advantage to directly monitor the compound cleavage, as compared to indirect read-outs that are based on their cytotoxic action. We therefore propose that our FRET-reporter particles are suitable to monitor intracellularly redox-releasable compounds that are typically not cytotoxic, such as siRNAs.

The fabrication of a hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) sensor based on polyaniline (PANI)-metal salt (CuCl 2 ) composite is demonstrated. The sensing film was produced by screen printing and spray coating of the sensing material on interdigitated silver electrodes inkjet-printed on a paper substrate. The H 2 S sensing functionality with respect to pH and metal salt concentration was optimized. In addition, the long term stability and humidity effects on the sensor performance were investigated. The printed chemiresistors showed more than five orders of magnitude change in resistance within 20 min of exposure of 15 ppm H 2 S at room temperature. The relatively fast kinetics and large response of the sensor can be explained by the formation of Cu 2 S and subsequent protonation of PANI. In addition, the relatively large roughness and porosity of the paper substrate offers an increased surface sensing area.

In this article, we report on the formation and mode-of-operation of an affinity biosensor, where alternate layers of biotin/streptavidin/biotinylated-CRP-antigen/anti-CRP antibody are grown on printed gold electrodes on disposable paper-substrates. We have successfully demonstrated and detected the formation of consecutive layers of supra-molecular protein assembly using an electrical (impedimetric) technique. The formation process is also supplemented and verified using conventional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements and surface sensitive characterization techniques, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The article provides a possible biosensor development scheme, where—(1) fabrication of paper substrate (2) synthesis of gold nanoparticle inks (3) inkjet printing of gold electrodes on paper (4) formation of the biorecognition layers on the gold electrodes and (5) electrical (impedimetric) analysis of growth—all are coupled together to form a test-structure for a recyclable and inexpensive point-of-care diagnostic platform.

In this study, a novel solid phase microextration (SPME) Arrow was prepared for the sampling of volatile low molecular weight alkylamines (trimethylamine (TMA) and triethylamine (TEA)) in wastewater, salmon and mushroom samples before gas chromatographic separation with mass spectrometer as detector. Acidified zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (A-ZIF-8) was utilized as adsorbent and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as the adhesive. The custom SPME Arrow was fabricated via a physical adhesion: (1) ZIF-8 particles were suspended in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and PVC to form a homogeneous suspension, (2) a non-coated stainless steel SPME Arrow was dipped in the ZIF-8/PVC suspension for several times to obtain a uniform and thick coating, (3) the pore size of ZIF-8 was modified by headspace exposure to hydrochloric acid in order to increase the extraction efficiency for amines. The effect of ZIF-8 concentration in PVC solution, dipping cycles and aging temperature on extraction efficiency was investigated. In addition, sampling parameters such as NaCI concentration, sample volume, extraction time, potassium hydroxide concentration, desorption temperature and desorption time were optimized. The Arrow-to-Arrow reproducibilities (RSDs) for five ZIF-8 coated Arrows were 15.6% and 13.3% for TMA and TEA, respectively. The extraction with A-ZIF-8/PVC Arrow was highly reproducible for at least 130 cycles without noticeable decrease of performance (RSD < 12.5%). Headspace SPME of 7.5 mL sample solution with the fabricated ZIF-8 coated Arrow achieved linear ranges of 1-200 ngmL(-1) for both TMA and TEA. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 1 ng mL(-1) for both TMA and TEA. The method was successfully applied to the determination of TMA and TEA in wastewater, salmon and mushroom samples giving satisfactory selectivity towards the studied amines.

Appropriate treatment of amorphous carbon with aqua regia or concentrated nitric acid leads to oxidized carbon material which is able to catalyze homocoupling reactions of benzo-fused heterocycles as well as β-naphthol.

a b s t r a c t Fully printed copper acetate based H2S sensors on paper are presented. The sensors show several orders of magnitude change in resistance (>10 8 ) when exposed to 10 ppm of H2S gas at room temperature. The effect of different solvents, film thickness and substrates (absorbing and nonabsorbing) have been studied to optimize the sensor response. The large resistance changes are associated with the difference in resistivity between the metal salt and the resulting metal sulfide. These sensors were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spec- troscopy (XPS) and conductometry. The low cost, low voltage (

Drop-cast deprotonated emeraldine base (poly)aniline (PANI)-copper chloride films on paper substrates containing ink-jet printed silver electrodes have been prepared and are shown to be promising low-cost gas-sensors for H2S at room temperature. These films showed large changes in the conductivity (three to four orders of magnitude) upon exposure to low concentrations of H2S (10 ppm) due to the formation of CuS and concurrent protonation of PANI. This large response of the sensor can be explained by the relatively large roughness and porosity of this paper substrate. Furthermore, the minimum resistances are low enough to allow light emitting diode lamps to be switched on using a low-voltage battery, thus serving as a proof-of-concept for mass-produced H2S-sensors for, for example, the food packaging industry.

2D patterns of photothermally responsive near-infrared (NIR) absorbing gold nanostars (GNS), coated with multiple charged polymer layers, are inkjet-printed on a glass surface. The shape of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) NIR absorption bands in the printed patterns loses its peaked form due to plasmon coupling, unless GNS are enveloped in multiple coating layers, keeping the inter-GNS distance sufficiently large. In the latter case, the photothermal temperature increase (ΔT) induced by the NIR laser irradiation follows a ΔT versus irradiation wavelength (λirr) profile with the same sharply peaked shape of the LSPR bands of the liquid ink. With this result, a new paradigm for inkjet-writing secure information is introduced, as an alternative to the current methods based on direct visual inspection of printed patterns. While the printed ink patterns of GNS with different coatings are visually indistinguishable despite their different NIR absorption spectrum, their photothermal response changes dramatically with λirr. This allows either to write and read simple information using a single λirr (YES answer for ΔT > threshold) or to use multiple λirr to write and read complex information like thermal bar codes and anti-counterfeit signatures

Adsorption of proteins and adhesion of bacteria to a surface is affected by chemical and physical interactions. In this study, polymer coatings and their ability to adsorb avidin and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated. The surface chemistry and topography of the polymer coatings was modified by changing the weight ratio of the hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) and the hydrophilic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) components in the polymer blend. Avidin adsorbed less to the ABS phase compared with the PS phase. The side-on orientation of avidin on the ABS surface, however, resulted in a higher specific binding of biotinylated bovine serum albumin. Steric effects and hydrophobic protein-surface interactions decreased the activity of avidin on the PS phase. The increased hydrophobicity and roughness of the polymer coatings enhanced the adhesion of S. aureus. The avidin-coated latex surface with 55% relative surface coverage of the PS phase showed anti-microbial behavior.

A class of nonionic polysaccharides-based surfactants were synthesised from O-acetyl galactoglucomannan (GGM), water-soluble hemicelluloses from spruce, using naturally-occurring saturated fatty acids, CH3(CH2)nCOOH (n = 7, 12, and 16). Hemicelluloses can be recovered from waste-streams of papermaking and agricultural processes or isolated by hot water extraction of plant tissues integrated into a biorefinery process. Fatty acids can be recovered as byproducts of the agricultural and food industries. Different synthesis routes were applied to yield amphiphilic derivatives with either a grafted or block structure. Fatty acids activated with 1,1′-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) were grafted to the backbone of GGM molecules on their hydroxyl groups. Alternatively, synthesised amino-activated fatty acids using ethylenediamine were reacted with the reducing end of GGM. By adjusting the reagent ratios, GGM-based surfactants with different hydrophilic to hydrophobic ratios were prepared. Their surface activity was assessed by measuring the surface tension in water. This study presents an approach to design carbohydrate-based surfactants using naturally-occurring fatty acids that may find potential applications in such areas as food, cosmetic, and paint formulations.