Highly Sensitive Flexible Sensors for Human Activity Monitoring and Personal Healthcare.

Flexible sensors are capable of converting multiple human physiological signals into electrical signals for various applications in clinical diagnostics, athletics, and human-machine interaction. High-performance flexible strain sensors are particularly desirable for sensitive, reliable, and long-term monitoring, but current applications are still constrained due to high response threshold, low recoverability properties, and complex preparation methods. In this study, we present a stable and flexible strain sensor by a cost-effective self-assemble approach that demonstrates remarkable sensitivity (2169), ultrafast response and recovery time (112 ms), and wide dynamic response range (0-50%), as confirmed in human pulse and human-computer interaction. These excellent performances can be attributed to the design of a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate integrated with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and graphene nanosheets (GNFs), which results in high electrical conductivity. The MWCNT serves as a bridge, connecting the GNFs to create an efficient conductive path even under a strain of 50%. We also demonstrate the strain sensor's capability in weak physiological signal pulse measurement and excellent resistance to mechanical fatigue. Moreover, the sensor shows diverse sensitivities in various tensile states with different signal patterns, making it highly suitable for full-range human monitoring and flexible wearable systems.

A Robust Carbon Nanotube and PVDF-HFP Nanofiber Composite Superwettability Membrane for High-Efficiency Emulsion Separation.

Oil or chemical purification is significant not only for industrial safety production but also because it conforms to the principle of sustainable development. In this paper, based on the synergistic concept of superwettability and nanopores sieve effect, a superoleophilic and under-oil superhydrophobic carbon nanotube/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanofiber composite membrane is prepared via electrospinning, pressure-driven filtration, and chemical vapor modification. The as-prepared membrane with durable mechanical and chemical stabilities achieves separation efficiency higher than 99.9% and high flux up to 632.5 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 for different water-in-oil emulsions. This membrane is highly promising for the petroleum and chemical industries for both product quality improvement and green recycling manufacturing processes.

A Robust Cu(OH)2 Nanoneedles Mesh with Tunable Wettability for Nonaqueous Multiphase Liquid Separation.

The separation of organic liquid mixtures is achieved by Cu(OH)2 nanoneedle-covered copper mesh based on the difference of the liquid surface tension. The as-prepared membrane allows the penetration of organic liquid with smaller surface tension and blocks the higher. Thus, the effective separation of these two organic liquids can be achieved.

Zebra-Patterned Stretchable Helical Yarn for Triboelectric Self-Powered Multifunctional Sensing.

Smart textiles capable of both energy harvesting and multifunctional sensing are highly desirable for next-generation portable electronics. However, there are still challenges that need to be conquered, such as the innovation of an energy-harvesting model and the optimization of interface bonding between fibers and active materials. Herein, inspired by the spiral structure of natural vines, a highly stretchable triboelectric helical yarn (TEHY) was manufactured by twisting the carbon nanotube/polyurethane nanofiber (CNT/PU NF) Janus membrane. The TEHY had a zebra-stripe-like design that was composed of black interval conductive CNTs and white insulative PU NFs. Due to the different electron affinity, the zebra-patterned TEHY realized a self-frictional triboelectric effect because the numerous microscopic CNT/PU triboelectric interfaces generated an alternating current in the external conductive circuit without extra external friction layers. The helical geometry combined with the elastic PU matrix endowed TEHY with superelastic stretchability and outstanding output stability after 1000 cycles of the stretch-release test. By virtue of the robust mechanical and electrical stability, the TEHY can not only be used as a high-entropy mechanical energy harvester but also serve as a self-powered sensor to monitor the stretching or deforming stimuli and human physiological activities in real time. These merits manifested the versatile applications of TEHY in smart fabrics, wearable power supplies, and human-machine interactions.

Noninvasive glucose monitoring using portable GOx-Based biosensing system.

Wearable biosensors have gained huge interest due to their potential for real-time physiological information. The development of a non-invasive blood glucose device is of great interests for health monitoring in reducing the diabetes incidence. Here, we report a sandwich-structured biosensor that is designed for glucose levels detection by using sweat as the means of monitoring. The Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBNPs) and carboxylated carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) were self-assembled on the electrode to improve the electrochemical performance and as the sensor unit, glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized by chitosan (CS) as the reaction catalysis unit, and finally encapsulated with Nafion to ensure a stable performance. As a result, the GOx/PBNPs/MWCNT-COOH sensor displays a low detection limit (7.0 µM), high sensitivity (11.87 µA mM-1 cm-2), and excellent interference resistance for a full sweat glucose application range (0.0-1.0 mM) for both healthy individuals and diabetic patients. Additionally, the glucose sensor exhibits stable stability for two weeks and can be successfully applied to screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE), demonstrating its great potential for personalized medical detection and chronic disease management.

Small extracellular vesicles: a novel drug delivery system for neurodegenerative disorders.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) have a slow onset and are usually detected late during disease. NDs are often difficult to cure due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which makes it difficult to find effective treatments and drugs, causing great stress and financial burden to families and society. Currently, small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are the most promising drug delivery systems (DDSs) for targeted delivery of molecules to specific sites in the brain as a therapeutic vehicle due to their low toxicity, low immunogenicity, high stability, high delivery efficiency, high biocompatibility and trans-BBB functionality. Here, we review the therapeutic application of sEVs in several NDs, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease, discuss the current barriers associated with sEVs and brain-targeted DDS, and suggest future research directions.

Designing of anisotropic gradient surfaces for directional liquid transport: Fundamentals, construction, and applications.

Many biological surfaces are capable of transporting liquids in a directional manner without energy consumption. Inspired by nature, constructing asymmetric gradient surfaces to achieve desired droplet transport, such as a liquid diode, brings an incredibly valuable and promising area of research with a wide range of applications. Enabled by advances in nanotechnology and manufacturing techniques, biomimetics has emerged as a promising avenue for engineering various types of anisotropic material system. Over the past few decades, this approach has yielded significant progress in both fundamental understanding and practical applications. Theoretical studies revealed that the heterogeneous composition and topography mainly govern the wetting mechanisms and dynamics behavior of droplets, including the interdisciplinary aspects of materials, chemistry, and physics. In this review, we provide a concise overview of various biological surfaces that exhibit anisotropic droplet transport. We discussed the theoretical foundations and mechanisms of droplet motion on designed surfaces and reviewed recent research advances in droplet directional transport on designed plane surfaces and Janus membranes. Such liquid-diode materials yield diverse promising applications, involving droplet collection, liquid separation and delivery, functional textiles, and biomedical applications. We also discuss the recent challenges and ongoing approaches to enhance the functionality and application performance of anisotropic materials.

Bilayer Nanoporous Polyethylene Membrane with Anisotropic Wettability for Rapid Water Transportation/Evaporation and Radiative Cooling.

Both sweat drainage and evaporation play important roles in achieving personal moisture and thermal management during sweat-producing exercises. However, it remains a great challenge to simultaneously realize thermal management through radiative cooling for human body without perspiration. Herein, we report a bilayer nanoporous polyethylene membrane with anisotropic wettability, which possesses superior radiative cooling ability (∼2.6 °C lower than that of cotton) without perspiration. Meanwhile, it realizes efficient sweat drainage and good evaporation cooling property (∼1.0 °C lower than that of cotton) in perspiration to avoid sticky and hot sensation. In addition, it can also block water and fine particulate matter owing to the hydrophobic nanoporous structure. By virtue of the outstanding personal thermal and moisture management performance, it is expected that this study provides inspiration for designing new clothing and medical protective suits with more comfortable microclimates and reducing energy consumption for global sustainability.

EIF3C Promotes Lung Cancer Tumorigenesis by Regulating the APP/HSPA1A/LMNB1 Axis.

Objective: This study was designed to explore the role and mechanism of eukaryotic initiation factor 3C (EIF3C) in the proliferation and apoptosis of lung cancer cells. Methods: EIF3C expression in clinic lung cancer tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry assay. Cell transfection with lentivirus EIF3C short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was performed with Lipofectamine 2000. Cell proliferation was evaluated by Celigo and MTT assays. Caspase-3/7 activity was assessed using caspase-3/7 assay kit for cell apoptosis detection. The apoptosis rate of lung cancer cells was assessed by flow cytometry. A transplanted tumor nude-mouse model was established to clarify the role of EIF3C in lung cancer. The potential mechanism of EIF3C was explored by mRNA microarray analysis. Among the top 30 up- and downregulated mRNAs selected for RT-qPCR, 5 were chosen for western blot analysis. Results: EIF3C was abnormally overexpressed in lung cancer cell lines and tissues. Silencing EIF3C suppressed the proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of lung cancer cells. In vivo experiments using transplanted tumor nude-mouse model suggested that EIF3C promoted lung cancer tumorigenesis. Further, mRNA microarray analyses identified 189 upregulated and 83 downregulated differentially expressed mRNA between the KD and negative control groups. After validation by RT-qPCR and western blot, three downstream genes (APP, HSPA1A, and LMNB1) were confirmed. Conclusion: EIF3C overexpression may facilitate the proliferation and hamper the apoptosis of lung cancer cells by regulating the APP/HSPA1A/LMNB1 axis.

CoS2-TiO2@C Core-Shell fibers as cathode host material for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur batteries.

Owing to the low cost, high energy density, and high theoretical specific capacity, lithium-sulfur batteries have been deemed as a potential choice for future energy storage devices. However, they also have suffered from several scientific and technical issues including low conductivity, polysulfides migration, and volume changes. In this study, CoS2-TiO2@carbon core-shell fibers were fabricated through combination of coaxial electrospinning and selective vulcanization method. The core-shell fibers are able to efficiently host sulfur, confine polysulfides, and accelerate intermediates conversion. This electrode delivers an initial specific capacity of 1181.1 mAh g-1 and a high capacity of 736.5 mAh g-1 after 300 cycles with high coulombic efficiency over 99.5% (capacity decay of 0.06% per cycle). This strategy of isolating interactant and selective vulcanization provides new ideas for effectively constructing heterostructure materials for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Interpenetrating Janus Membrane for High Rectification Ratio Liquid Unidirectional Penetration.

Anisotropic interfaces with opposite properties provide numerous unusual physical chemical properties that have played irreplaceable roles in broad domains. Here, we rationally designed an anisotropic Janus membrane with opposite wettability and special interpenetrating interface microstructure, which shows a unidirectional liquid penetration "diode" performance. Liquid is allowed to penetrate from lyophobic to lyophilic direction but is blocked in the reverse direction. Although conventional works suggested the liquid unidirectional penetration is driven by anisotropic wettability in heterogeneous interfaces, here, we theoretically and experimentally reveal that special interpenetrating topology plays another important role in liquid unidirectional penetration. This insight gives a general guide to build a series of Janus membranes for liquid unidirectional penetration with high hydraulic pressure rectification ratio. The liquid diode Janus membrane indicates great promise for liquid manipulation, smart separation membranes, functional textiles, and other fields.

Bioinspired graphene membrane with temperature tunable channels for water gating and molecular separation.

Smart regulation of substance permeability through porous membranes is highly desirable for membrane applications. Inspired by the stomatal closure feature of plant leaves at relatively high temperature, here we report a nano-gating membrane with a negative temperature-response coefficient that is capable of tunable water gating and precise small molecule separation. The membrane is composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) covalently bound to graphene oxide via free-radical polymerization. By virtue of the temperature tunable lamellar spaces of the graphene oxide nanosheets, the water permeance of the membrane could be reversibly regulated with a high gating ratio. Moreover, the space tunability endows the membrane with the capability of gradually separating multiple molecules of different sizes. This nano-gating membrane expands the scope of temperature-responsive membranes and has great potential applications in smart gating systems and molecular separation.