Carbon Dots Infused 3D Printed Cephalopod Mimetic Bactericidal and Antioxidant Hydrogel for Uniaxial Mechano-Fluorescent Tactile Sensor.

Cephalopods use stretchy skin and dynamic color-tuning organs for visual communication and camouflage. Inspired by these natural mechanisms, a fluorescent biomaterial for deformation-induced illumination and optical communication is proposed. This is the first report of 3D printed soft biomaterials infused with carbon dots hydrothermally derived from chitosan and benzalkonium chloride. These biomaterials exhibit a comprehensive array of properties, including significant uniaxial stretching, near-instantaneous response to tactile stimuli and pH, UV resistance, antibacterial, antioxidant, noncytotoxicity, and highlighting their potential as mechano-optical materials for biomedical applications. The hydrogel's durability is evaluated by cyclic stretching, folding, rolling, and twisting tests to ensure its integrity and good signal-to-noise ratio. The diffusion mechanism is determined by water imbibition kinetics, network parameters, and time-dependent breathing. Overcoming the common limitations of short lifespans and complex manufacturing processes in existing soft hybrids, this work demonstrates a straightforward method to produce durable, energy-independent, mechano-optical hydrogel. Combined with investigations, molecular dynamic modeling is used to understand the interactions of hydrogel components.

Prunella vulgaris-phytosynthesized platinum nanoparticles: Insights into nanozymatic activity for H2O2 and glutamate detection and antioxidant capacity.

Artificial nanozymes (enzyme-mimics), specifically metallic nanomaterials, have garnered significant attention recently due to their reduced preparation cost and enhanced stability in a wide range of environments. The present investigation highlights, for the first time, a straightforward green synthesis of biogenic platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) from a natural resource, namely Prunella vulgaris (Pr). To demonstrate the effectiveness of the phytochemical extract as an effective reducing agent, the PtNPs were characterized by various techniques such as UV-vis spectroscopy, High-resolution Transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), zeta-potential analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The formation of PtNPs with narrow size distribution was verified. Surface decoration of PtNPs was demonstrated with multitudinous functional groups springing from the herbal extract. To demonstrate their use as viable nanozymes, the peroxidase-like activity of Pr/PtNPs was evaluated through a colorimetric assay. Highly sensitive visual detection of H2O2 with discrete linear ranges and a low detection limit of 3.43 µM was demonstrated. Additionally, peroxidase-like catalytic activity was leveraged to develop a colorimetric platform to quantify glutamate biomarker levels with a high degree of selectivity, the limit of detection (LOD) being 7.00 µM. The 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test was used to explore the scavenging nature of the PtNPs via the degradation of DPPH. Overall, the colorimetric assay developed using the Pr/PtNP nanozymes in this work could be used in a broad spectrum of applications, ranging from biomedicine and food science to environmental monitoring.

MXene-Based Elastomer Mimetic Stretchable Sensors: Design, Properties, and Applications.

Flexible sensors based on MXene-polymer composites are highly prospective for next-generation wearable electronics used in human-machine interfaces. One of the motivating factors behind the progress of flexible sensors is the steady arrival of new conductive materials. MXenes, a new family of 2D nanomaterials, have been drawing attention since the last decade due to their high electronic conductivity, processability, mechanical robustness and chemical tunability. In this review, we encompass the fabrication of MXene-based polymeric nanocomposites, their structure-property relationship, and applications in the flexible sensor domain. Moreover, our discussion is not only limited to sensor design, their mechanism, and various modes of sensing platform, but also their future perspective and market throughout the world. With our article, we intend to fortify the bond between flexible matrices and MXenes thus promoting the swift advancement of flexible MXene-sensors for wearable technologies.

Waste-Derived Sustainable Fluorescent Nanocarbon-Coated Breathable Functional Fabric for Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Applications.

Hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections account for the majority of adverse health effects during care delivery, placing an immense financial strain on healthcare systems around the world. For the first time, the present article provides evidence of a straightforward pollution-free technique to fabricate a heteroatom-doped carbon dot immobilized fluorescent biopolymer composite for the development of functional textiles with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. A simple, facile, and eco-friendly approach was devised to prepare heteroatom-doped carbon dots from waste green tea and a biopolymer. The carbon dots showed an excitation-dependent emission behavior, and the XPS data unveiled that they are co-doped with nitrogen and sulfur. A facile physical compounding strategy was adopted to fabricate a carbon dot reinforced biopolymeric composite followed by immobilization onto the textile. The composite textiles revealed excellent antioxidant activity, determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (>80%) and 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid assays (>90%). The results of the disc diffusion assay indicated that the composite textiles substantially inhibited the growth of both tested bacteria Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis with increasing coating cycles. The time-dependent antibacterial experiments revealed that the nanocomposite can inhibit significant bacterial growth within a few hours. The present study could open up the possibility for the commercialization of inexpensive smart textile substrates for the prevention of microbial contamination used for the medical and healthcare field.

Molecular Dynamics Assessment of Doxorubicin Adsorption on Surface-Modified Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs).

Loading therapeutic agents on nanocarriers in order to protect them during drug delivery and exclusively targeting damaged tissues has gained substantial significance in biology realms in the past decade. Boron nitride nanotubes have given a new lease on designing nano delivery systems by virtue of their unique properties. The studies are still ongoing to thoroughly identify their chemical characteristics. In this study, we probed into the efficacy of boron nitride nanotubes and the impact of their surface modification by hydroxyl and amine functional groups in interaction with an anticancer drug model, i.e., doxorubicin. Defining the altered electronic properties of the nanotubes as well as the distribution of partial charges were carried out through density functional theory calculations, following the simulation of the drug loading process via molecular dynamics algorithms. The primary outcomes are inferred from systematical energies, van der Waals and electrostatic interactions, radial distribution functions, the number of hydrogen bonds, mean square displacement, diffusion coefficients, and binding free energies. Negative values of van der Waals energies imply a rapid, exothermic adsorption process whereby the contribution of these driving forces is more dominant than electrostatic ones. Ultimately, the values of overall diffusion coefficients of drugs and binding free energies, performed by the MM/PBSA approach, corroborate that the hydroxyl and amine-functionalized nanotubes reinforce the binding strength of the complexes to an approximate extent.