Construction and Evaluation of Alginate Dialdehyde Grafted RGD Derivatives/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Cellulose Nanocrystals IPN Composite Hydrogels.

To enhance the mechanical strength and cell adhesion of alginate hydrogel, making it satisfy the requirements of an ideal tissue engineering scaffold, the grafting of Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) polypeptide sequence onto the alginate molecular chain was conducted by oxidation of sodium periodate and subsequent reduction amination of 2-methylpyridine borane complex (2-PBC) to synthesize alginate dialdehyde grafted RGD derivatives (ADA-RGD) with good cellular affinity. The interpenetrating network (IPN) composite hydrogels of alginate/polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanocrystals (ALG/PVA/CNCs) were fabricated through a physical mixture of ion cross-linking of sodium alginate (SA) with hydroxyapatite/D-glucono-δ-lactone (HAP/GDL), and physical cross-linking of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by a freezing/thawing method, using cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as the reinforcement agent. The effects of the addition of CNCs and different contents of PVA on the morphology, thermal stability, mechanical properties, swelling, biodegradability, and cell compatibility of the IPN composite hydrogels were investigated, and the effect of RGD grafting on the biological properties of the IPN composite hydrogels was also studied. The resultant IPN ALG/PVA/CNCs composite hydrogels exhibited good pore structure and regular 3D morphology, whose pore size and porosity could be regulated by adjusting PVA content and the addition of CNCs. By increasing the PVA content, the number of physical cross-linking points in PVA increased, resulting in greater stress support for the IPN composite hydrogels of ALG/PVA/CNCs and consequently improving their mechanical characteristics. The creation of the IPN ALG/PVA/CNCs composite hydrogels' physical cross-linking network through intramolecular or intermolecular hydrogen bonding led to improved thermal resistance and reduced swelling and biodegradation rate. Conversely, the ADA-RGD/PVA/CNCs IPN composite hydrogels exhibited a quicker degradation rate, attributed to the elimination of ADA-RGD by alkali. The results of the in vitro cytocompatibility showed that ALG/0.5PVA/0.3%CNCs and ADA-RGD/PVA/0.3%CNCs composite hydrogels showed better proliferative activity in comparison with other composite hydrogels, while ALG/PVA/0.3%CNCs and ADA-RGD/PVA/0.3%CNCs composite hydrogels displayed obvious proliferation effects, indicating that PVA, CNCs, and ADA-RGD with good biocompatibility were conducive to cell proliferation and differentiation for the IPN composite hydrogels.

Hollow fiber membrane-coated functionalized polymeric ionic liquid capsules for direct analysis of estrogens in milk samples.

Protein removal process is always time-consuming for the analysis of milk samples. In this work, hollow fiber membrane-coated functionalized polymeric ionic liquid (HF-PIL) capsules were synthesized and used as solid-phase microextraction (SPME) sorbent for direct analysis of estrogens in milk samples. The functionalized PIL monolith sorbent was obtained by copolymerization between 1-(3-aminopropyl)-3-(4-vinylbenzyl)imidazolium 4-styrenesulfonate IL monomer and 1,6-di(3-vinylimidazolium) hexane bishexafluorophosphate IL-crosslinking agent. A group of four capsules were installed as SPME device, to determine four kinds of estrogens (estrone, diethylstilbestrol, hexestrol, and 17α-ethynylestradiol) in milk samples, coupled to high performance liquid chromatography. Extraction and desorption conditions were optimized to get satisfactory extraction efficiency. Good linearity was obtained in the range of 5-200 µg L(-1). The limits of detection were 1 µg L(-1) for diethylstilbestrol and 2 µg L(-1) for 17α-ethynylestradiol, estrone, and hexestrol. The present method was applied to analyze the model analytes in different milk samples. Relative recoveries were in the range of 85.5-112%. The HF-PIL SPME capsules showed satisfactory extraction efficiency and high resistance to sample matrix interference.

Development of a functionalized polymeric ionic liquid monolith for solid-phase microextraction of polar endocrine disrupting chemicals in aqueous samples coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been efficiently used as a "designer sorbent" in sample preparation. A novel 1-(3-aminopropyl)-3-(4-vinylbenzyl)imidazolium 4-styrenesulfonate IL monomer was synthesized and copolymerized with 1,6-di(3-vinylimidazolium) hexane bishexafluorophosphate IL as cross-linking agent to prepare a cross-linked polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) monolith. Coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the PILs monolith was used as a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) sorbent to extract some polar endocrine disrupting chemical (EDCs) such as estrogens, bisphenol A, and phthalate esters in aqueous samples. Preparation and extraction conditions were investigated and optimized to obtain satisfactory extraction efficiency. Limits of detection (LODs) of the proposed method for three steroid estrogens and bisphenol A were 0.25 and 0.2 µg L(-1), respectively, which were lower than or comparable to some other sample preparation methods. Intra- and inter-day repeatability for all the analytes was 2.2-12%. The monolith-to-monolith repeatability was 7.4-15%. The extraction performance of the method for analysis of target estrogens in treated domestic wastewater was investigated and compared with a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) method. The proposed SPME method provided better sensitivity and higher resistance to matrix interferences.

Electrophoretic deposition of graphene oxide onto carbon fibers for in-tube solid-phase microextraction.

Carbon fibers (CFs) were functionalized with graphene oxide (GO) by an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method for in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME). GO-CFs were filled into a poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) tube to obtain a fibers-in-tube SPME device, which was connected with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipment to build online SPME-HPLC system. Compared with CFs, GO-CFs presented obviously better extraction performance, due to excellent adsorption property and large surface area of GO. Using ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as model analytes, the important extraction conditions were optimized, such as sample flow rate, extraction time, organic solvent content and desorption time. An online analysis method was established with wide linear range (0.01-50µgL-1) and low detection limits (0.001-0.004µgL-1). Good sensitivity resulted from high enrichment factors (1133-3840) of GO-CFs in-tube device towards PAHs. The analysis method was used to online determination of PAHs in wastewater samples. Some target analytes were detected and relative recoveries were in the range of 90.2-112%. It is obvious that the proposed GO-CFs in-tube device was an efficient extraction device, and EPD could be used to develop nanomaterials functionalized sorbents for sample preparation.

Facile modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes-polymeric ionic liquids-coated solid-phase microextraction fibers by on-fiber anion exchange.

In situ anion exchange has been proved to be an efficient method for facile modification of polymeric ionic liquids (PILs)-based stationary phases. In this work, an on-fiber anion exchange process was utilized to tune the extraction performance of a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-poly(1-vinyl-3-octylimidazolium bromide) (poly(VOIm(+)Br(-)))-coated solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber. MWCNTs were first coated onto the stainless steel wire through a layer-by-layer fabrication method and then the PILs were coated onto the MWCNTs physically. Anion of the MWCNTs-poly(VOIm(+)Br(-)) fiber was changed into bis(triflroromethanesulfonyl)imide (NTf2(-)) and 2-naphthalene-sulfonate (NapSO3(-)) by on-fiber anion exchange. Coupled to gas chromatography, the MWCNTs-poly(VOIm(+)Br(-)) fiber showed acceptable extraction efficiency for hydrophilic and hydrogen-bonding-donating alcohols, with limits of detection (LODs) in the range of 0.005-0.05µgmL(-1); after the anion exchange with NTf2(-), the obtained MWCNTs-poly(VOIm(+)NTf2(-)) fiber brought wide linear ranges for hydrophobic n-alkanes with correlation coefficient (R) ranging from 0.994 to 0.997; aromatic property of the fiber was enhanced by aromatic NapSO3(-) anions to get sufficient extraction capacity for phthalate esters and halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. The MWCNTs-poly(VOIm(+)NapSO3(-)) fiber was finally applied to determine several halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons in groundwater of industrial park.