Valorization of sewage sludge incineration ash as a novel soilless growing medium for urban agriculture and greenery.

Limited open areas for urban agriculture and greenery have led to the search for innovative, sustainable growing media to strengthen the food supply and improve atmospheric quality for a resilient city. Rampant land developments have caused soil to become increasingly scarce. Sewage sludge incineration ash (SSIA), the by-product of waste-to-energy (WtE) incineration of sewage sludge, is a major municipal waste containing phosphorus-fertilizing nutrients. For the first time, we investigated the novel application of SSIA as a soilless plant-growing medium with built-in fertilizer. SSIA outperformed topsoil in bulk density, water-holding capacity, porosity, and nutrient content. However, it was found that SSIA has a high salinity and should be treated first. Wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum L.), a fast-growing glycophyte, thrived in the desalinated SSIA, showing growth and nutrient content comparable to the topsoil case. Simultaneously, it demonstrated phytoremediation. The SSIA residue was then recycled into cementitious materials, using desalinating water for mixing. SSIA upcycle into a growing medium facilitates urban resource management by utilizing nutrients in sewage waste for eco-friendly plant cultivation, benefiting urban agriculture and greenery. It is also a prudent valorization step before further recycling SSIA to reduce landfill requirements.

Ratiometric Fluorescence Aptasensor of Allergen Protein Based on Multivalent Aptamer-Encoded DNA Flowers as Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Platform.

Life-threatening allergic reactions to food allergens, particularly peanut protein Ara h1, are a growing public health concern affecting millions of people worldwide. Thus, accurate and rapid detection is necessary for allergen labeling and dietary guidance and ultimately preventing allergic incidents. Herein, we present a novel ratiometric fluorescence aptasensor based on multivalent aptamer-encoded DNA flowers (Mul-DNFs) for the high-stability and sensitive detection of allergen Ara h1. The flower-shaped Mul-DNFs were spontaneously packaged using ultralong polymeric DNA amplicons driven by a rolling circle amplification reaction, which contains a large number of Ara h1 specific recognition units and has excellent binding properties. Furthermore, dual-color fluorescence-labeled Mul-DNFs probes were developed by hybridizing them with Cy3- and Cy5-labeled complementary DNA (cDNA) to serve as a ratiometric fluorescence aptasensor platform based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Benefiting from the combined merits of the extraordinary synergistic multivalent binding ability of Mul-DNFs, the excellent specificity of the aptamer, and the sensitivity of the ratiometric sensor to avoid exogenous interference. The developed ratiometric aptasensor showed excellent linearity (0.05-2000 ng mL-1) with a limit of detection of 0.02 ng mL-1. Additionally, the developed ratiometric fluorescence aptasensor was utilized for quantifying the presence of Ara h1 in milk, infant milk powder, cookies, bread, and chocolate with recoveries of 95.7-106.3%. The proposed ratiometric aptasensor is expected to be a prospective universal aptasensor platform for the rapid, sensitive, and accurate determination of food and environmental hazards.

Recent advances in 3D printing of nanocellulose: structure, preparation, and application prospects.

Emerging cellulose nanomaterials extracted from agricultural biomasses have recently received extensive attention due to diminishing fossil resources. To further reduce the carbon footprints and wastage of valuable resources, additive manufacturing techniques of new nanocellulosic materials have been developed. Studies on the preparation and characterization of 3D-printable functional nanocellulosic materials have facilitated a deeper understanding into their desirable attributes such as high surface area, biocompatibility, and ease of functionalization. In this critical review, we compare and highlight the different methods of extracting nanocellulose from biorenewable resources and the strategies for transforming the obtained nanocellulose into nanocomposites with high 3D printability. Optimistic technical applications of 3D-printed nanocellulose in biomedical, electronics, and environmental fields are finally described and evaluated for future perspectives.

A halogen bond-mediated highly active artificial chloride channel with high anticancer activity.

Chloride-selective transmembrane carriers or channels might have possible uses in treating channelopathies or cancers. While chloride carriers have been extensively investigated, the corresponding chloride channels have remained limitedly studied. Moreover, all hitherto reported channel systems lack clearly definable and readily modifiable positions in their structures for the reliable construction and combinatorial optimization of their ion transport properties. As a result, the existing channels are limited by their large molecular weight, weak activity or low anion selectivity. In this report, we describe a readily accessible and robust monopeptide-based scaffold for the reliable construction of halogen bond-mediated artificial anion channels via directional assembly of electron-deficient iodine atoms, which create a transmembrane pathway for facilitating anion transport. The high intrinsic modularity of the backbone of the scaffold, which enables the rapid and combinatorial optimization of the transport activity and selectivity of channels, effectively delivers a highly active chloride channel A10. Such high activity in chloride transport subsequently leads to an excellent IC50 value of 20 µM toward inhibiting the growth of human breast cancer cells (BT-474), an anticancer activity that is even higher than that of the well-known anticancer agent cisplatin.

Magnetic micro-solid-phase-extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water.

A novel sorbent, magnetic chitosan functionalized graphene oxide (MCFG) was synthesized and used in the micro-solid-phase-extraction (µ-SPE) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water. Through the use of the magnetic sorbent, the µ-SPE device also functioned as a stir bar during extraction. Three types of MCFG were prepared using glutaraldehyde cross-linked chitosan and graphene oxide with different amounts of magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) (0.05g, 0.07g and 0.1g). The material was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Parameters affecting the extraction such as the type of sorbent, extraction and desorption times, volume of sample solution and type of desorption solvent were optimized. Under the most favourable conditions, the highest extraction was obtained by using the composite prepared with 0.1g of Fe3O4. For the latter material as sorbent, the linearity of the analytes was in the range of 0.01 and 100µgL(-1) for naphthalene, fluoranthene and pyrene while acenaphthylene and phenanthrene exhibited linearity in the range of 0.05 and 100µgL(-1). For fluorene and anthracene, the linearity range was from 0.01 to 50µgL(-1). The coefficients of determination (r(2)) associated with the above linear ranges were higher than 0.987. The limits of detection from GC-MS analysis of the seven PAHs were in the range 0.2-1.8ngL(-1); limits of quantification were between 0.8 and 5.9ngL(-1) while the relative standard deviations (RSDs) varied from 2.1 to 8.2%. The recoveries of the method for the compounds at spiking levels of 1 and 5µgL(-1) were in the range 67.5-106.9% with RSDs below 15%. The enrichment factors were found to be in between 67 and 302. The developed method afforded an interesting and innovative approach using MCFG as an efficient and promising sorbent.

Highly sensitive and selective detection of Pb2+ ions using a novel and simple DNAzyme-based quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation biosensor.

A novel, label-free DNAzyme-based quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) biosensor was developed for the highly sensitive and specific detection of Pb(2+) ions. To enhance the performance of the sensor, oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticles were used for both frequency and dissipation amplification. This sensor was developed by immobilizing Pb(2+)-specific DNAzymes onto the QCM-D sensor surface and allowing them to hybridize with substrate-functionalized AuNPs. The DNAzyme catalyzed the cleavage of the substrate in the presence of Pb(2+) ions, causing the cleaved substrate-functionalized AuNPs to be removed from the sensor surface. Thus, Pb(2+) ions can be determined on-line by monitoring the change in frequency and dissipation signals. The results revealed that the sensor showed a sensitive response to Pb(2+) ions with detection limits of 14 nM and 20 nM for frequency and dissipation, respectively. This QCM-D biosensor also exhibited excellent selectivity toward Pb(2+) ions in the presence of other divalent metal ions. In addition, the approach was able to detect Pb(2+) in tap water, demonstrating its great potential for monitoring drinking water quality. The proposed sensor system described here represents a new class of lead ion sensor. Its simple detection strategy makes it feasible for 'pollution-free' detection; thus, the approach could have applications in on-line water quality monitoring.

Highly sensitive and quantitative human thrombospondin-1 detection by an M55 aptasensor and clinical validation in patients with atherosclerotic disease.

Aptamer-based biosensors (aptasensor) are powerful tools for rapid and sensitive biomarker detection. In this study, we report a DNA aptamer probe evolved from cell-SELEX that can recognize thrombospondin-1 protein in human plasma samples. The KD value of the aptamer M55 binding to thrombospondin-1 was determined as 0.5 ± 0.2 µM with an R(2) of 0.9144. A horseradish peroxidase-linked short oligo was complementarily bound onto the 3' end of the aptamer sequence to facilitate the 'smart' design of an M55-aptasensor for quantifying thrombospondin-1 protein in plasma samples. The limit of detection was 6.96 fM. Thrombospondin-1 is a glycoprotein with multiple biological functions, including inflammation, platelet aggregation and endothelial cell apoptosis, and is involved in the pathology of atherosclerosis. In total, 118 plasma subjects were analyzed by using the aptasensor measurement with 1 µL sample volume and 5 min incubation time. The thrombospondin-1 concentrations in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction patients with severe atherosclerotic plaque burden were statistically significantly higher than in the healthy volunteers without atherosclerosis conditions, suggesting that thromboposnidn-1 is a potential plasma biomarker for atherosclerosis progression.