Charge-shifting polyplex as a viral RNA extraction carrier for streamlined detection of infectious viruses.

The recent outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has highlighted the need for rapid, user-friendly nucleic acid testing that involves simple but efficient RNA extraction. Here, we present a charge-shifting polyplex as an RNA extraction carrier for advanced diagnosis of infectious viral diseases. The polyplex comprises poly(2-(dimethylamino) ethyl acrylate) (pDMAEA) electrostatically conjugated with RNA. The pDMAEA film can rapidly dissolve in the viral RNA solution, promoting immediate binding with RNA to form the polyplex, which enables the efficient capture of a substantial quantity of RNA. Subsequently, the captured RNA can be readily released by the quick hydrolysis of pDMAEA at the onset of quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), streamlining the entire process from RNA extraction to analysis. The developed method requires only 5 min of centrifugation and enables the detection of RNA in a one-pot setup. Moreover, the proposed method is fully compatible with high-speed qRT-PCR kits and can identify clinical samples within 1 h including the entire extraction to detection procedure. Indeed, the method successfully detected influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2, and their delta and omicron variants in 260 clinical samples with a sensitivity of 99.4% and specificity of 98.9%. This rapid, user-friendly polyplex-based approach represents a significant breakthrough in molecular diagnostics.

3D Hierarchical Polyaniline-Metal Hybrid Nanopillars: Morphological Control and Its Antibacterial Application.

Effective and reliable antibacterial surfaces are in high demand in modern society. Although recent works have shown excellent antibacterial performance by combining unique hierarchical nanotopological structures with functional polymer coating, determining the antibacterial performance arising from morphological changes is necessary. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical polyaniline-gold (PANI/Au) hybrid nanopillars were successfully fabricated via chemical polymerization (i.e., dilute method). The morphology and structures of the PANI/Au nanopillars were controlled by the reaction time (10 min to 60 h) and the molar concentrations of the monomer (0.01, 0.1, and 1 M aniline), oxidant (0.002, 0.0067, 0.01, and 0.02 M ammonium persulfate), and acid (0.01, 0.1, 1, and 2 M perchloric acid). These complex combinations allow controlling the hierarchical micro- to nanostructure of PANI on a nanopillar array (NPA). Furthermore, the surface of the 3D PANI/Au hierarchical nanostructure can be chemically treated while maintaining the structure using initiated chemical vapor deposition. Moreover, the excellent antibacterial performance of the 3D PANI/Au hierarchical nanostructure (HNS) exceeds 99% after functional polymer coating. The excellent antibacterial performance of the obtained 3D PANI/Au HNS is mainly because of the complex topological and physicochemical surface modification. Thus, these 3D PANI/Au hierarchical nanostructures are promising high-performance antibacterial materials.

All-in-One DNA Extraction Tube for Facilitated Real-Time Detection of Infectious Pathogens.

An "all-in-one tube" platform is developed, where the genetic analysis involving DNA extraction, amplification, and detection can be performed in a single tube. The all-in-one tube consists of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tube in which the inner surface is conformally modified with a tertiary-amine-containing polymer to generate a strong electrostatic interaction with DNA. The all-in-one tube provides high DNA capture efficiency exceeding 80% from Escherichia coli O157: H7 pathogen at a wide range of DNA amount from 0.003 to 3 ng. Indeed, the use of the surface-functionalized PCR tube enables direct amplification and detection of the surface-captured DNA without the modification of standard real-time PCR instrument. Besides, this platform has sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability enough for accurate detection at the minimal infective dose of both gram-positive and negative pathogens. The all-in-one tube enables the direct molecular diagnosis, substantially reducing the labor-intensive pathogen detection steps while providing high compatibility with the currently established real-time PCR instruments, and illustrates its on-site applicability with convenience expandable to various genetic analyses including food safety testing, forensic analysis, and clinical diagnosis.

Surface-Modified Filter-Based Continuous Recovery of Microalgal Lipid-in-Solvent with High Recovery Efficiency, Long-Term Stability, and Cost Competitiveness.

Microalgal lipid-derived biofuels have been regarded as promising candidate materials to replace fossil fuels, but their production cost, especially for lipid extraction, still must be lowered substantially for field application. Although lipid extraction from concentrated wet microalgae using a nonpolar solvent is considered as a feasible method, an effective recovery method to regain the nonpolar solvent with microalgal lipid from the emulsified extraction mixture has not yet been addressed significantly. In this study, microalgal lipid is cost-efficiently recovered in continuous manner directly from the emulsified, highly concentrated extraction mixture by utilizing a surface-modified filter. The surface of a highly porous sponge filter is modified conformally by an oil-absorbing but water-repellent polymer coating via an initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) process. Concentrated wet Schizochytrium sp. ABC101 microalgal cells are disrupted, and the microalgal lipid components are extracted out by adding n-hexane in the aqueous disrupted microalgae. The surface-modified filter is capable of selective permeation of the n-hexane phase with microalgal lipid while blocking the water-phase permeation simply by immersing the filter into the emulsified extraction mixture. The absorbed n-hexane phase is recovered in a continuous manner by pumping it out. The continuous filter-based recovery system shows a high recovery yield of 95% and an extremely high permeation flux of 2640 L m-2 h-1. Moreover, the recovery performance is maintained for more than 24 h without any filter-cleaning step. Techno-economic analysis of the method developed in this study with the conventional phase recovery methods shows that the rapid but highly cost-efficient filter-based recovery method will be a useful platform for scalable, continuous microalgae lipid production.

In situ solvent recovery by using hydrophobic/oleophilic filter during wet lipid extraction from microalgae.

While lipid extraction from wet microalgae has attracted attention as an economical method for microalgal biofuel production, few studies have focused the actual separation of extract phase from the emulsified extraction mixture. Here, a novel approach which utilizes hydrophobic/oleophilic filter was developed for the efficient solvent recovery. The filter was surface-modified by coating a functional polymer via initiated vapor deposition for the selective solvent permeability. While acid-treated Chlorella sorokiniana HS1 and n-hexane was stirred for lipid extraction, tubular filter module was immersed into the mixture for separation. The mixture was kept stirred during the separation to inhibit the buildup of cell debris on the filter by inducing crossflow on the filter. Extract phase was separated directly from the raffinate phase with high separation efficiency (> 98.3%) while maintaining permeation flux. The place-, space- and energy-efficient strategy reported here could be a useful tool for the solvent extraction process.

Effect of a fullerene derivative on the performance of TiO2-nanotube-based dye-sensitized solar cells.

Highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays were prepared by anodic oxidation of Ti foil in an application to dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). A fullerene derivative called PC61BM was used as a material for the surface modification of TiO2 nanotube arrays to improve the power conversion efficiency of DSCs Although open circuit voltages (Voc) were slightly decreased by PC61BM interlayer, short circuit current densities (Jsc) were increased and thus the power conversion efficiencies were improved. EIS (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy) results showed superior properties for PC61BM-coated samples.

Fabrication and gas sensing properties of hollow SnO2 hemispheres.

Close packed arrays of hollow SnO2 hemispheres were prepared using PMMA microspheres as sacrificial templates for subsequent sputter-deposition of SnO2 films, leading to a threefold enhancement in gas sensitivity compared to non-templated (flat) films.

Integration of coplanar (Ba,Sr)TiO3 microwave phase shifters onto Si wafers using TiO2 buffer layers.

In this paper, a Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 (BST) tunable phase shifter with TiO2 films as microwave buffer layer between BST and silicon (Si) substrates is presented. The TiO2 buffer layer is grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto Si substrate followed by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of BST thin films onto the TiO2 buffer layer. The phase shifter fabricated on BST films grown on TiO2/Si substrate shows a good figure of merit (FOM) of 75.4 degrees/dB by exhibiting improved tunablity while retaining an appropriate dielectric Q as compared to 55.1 degrees/dB of BST/MgO structure. The TiO2 buffer layer grown by ALD enables successful integration of BST-based microwave tunable devices with high resistive Si wafer.