Electrokinetic Enhancement of Water Flux and Ion Rejection through Graphene Oxide/Carbon Nanotube Membrane.

Graphene oxide (GO) is promising for constructing next-generation high-performance membranes for water treatment and desalination. However, GO-based membranes are still subjected to low ion rejection or limited water flux. Herein, the electrokinetic effect is employed as a new strategy for the coenhancement of water flux and ion rejection through an ethylenediamine-polystyrenesulfonate intercalated graphene oxide/carbon nanotube (GO&EDA-PSS/CNT) asymmetric membrane. Benefiting from the external voltage applied across the GO&EDA-PSS layer, the electrokinetically driven water transport velocity is significantly increased from 0 to 23.7 µm s-1 with increasing the voltage from 0 to 3.0 V. As a result, the water flux is improved from 9.1 to 17.4 L m-2 h-1 under a transmembrane pressure of 1 bar. Simultaneously, the rejection rate for NaCl is increased from 52.4% to 78.3%. Numerical analysis reveals that the increased rejection rate is attributed to the electrokinetic enhancements of water transport through the membrane and ion partitioning between the membrane and bulk solution. These results indicate that the assistance of the electrokinetic effect is an effective means to improve membrane filtration performance, which provides a new perspective on the design of advanced membranes for achieving high water flux and rejection efficiency.

Improving Ion Rejection of Conductive Nanofiltration Membrane through Electrically Enhanced Surface Charge Density.

Nanofiltration (NF) is considered a promising candidate for brackish and seawater desalination. NF exhibits high multivalent ion rejection, but the rejection rate for monovalent ions is relatively low. Besides, great challenges remain for conventional NF membranes to achieve high ion rejection without sacrificing water flux. This work presents an effective strategy for improving the ion rejection of conductive NF membrane without decreasing the permeability through electrically assisted enhancement of surface charge density. When external voltage is increased from 0 to 2.5 V, the surface charge density of the membrane increases from 11.9 to 73.0 mC m-2, which is 6.1× higher than that without external voltage. Correspondingly, the rejection rate for Na2SO4 increases from 81.6 to 93.0% and that for NaCl improves from 53.9 to 82.4%; meanwhile, the membrane retains high permeabilities of 14.0 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 for Na2SO4 filtration and 14.5 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 for NaCl filtration. The Donnan steric pore model analysis suggests that the Donnan potential difference between the membrane and bulk solution is increased under electrical assistance, leading to increased ion transfer resistance for improved ion rejection. This work provides new insight into the development of advanced NF technologies for desalination and water treatment.

Combined Effects of Surface Charge and Pore Size on Co-Enhanced Permeability and Ion Selectivity through RGO-OCNT Nanofiltration Membranes.

Nanofiltration (NF) has received much attention for wastewater treatment and desalination. However, NF membranes generally suffer from the trade-off between permeability and selectivity. In this work, the coenhancement of permeability and ion selectivity was achieved through tuning the surface charge and pore size of oxidized carbon nanotube (OCNT) intercalated reduced graphene oxide (RGO) membranes. With the increase of OCNT content from 0 to 83%, the surface charge and the pore size were increased. The permeability increased to 10.6 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 and rejection rate reached 78.1% for Na2SO4 filtration at a transmembrane pressure of 2 bar, which were 11.8 and 1.3 times higher than those of pristine RGO membrane. The composite membrane also showed 11.1 times higher permeability (11.1 L m-2 h-1 bar-1) and 2.9 times higher rejection rate (35.3%) for NaCl filtration. The analyses based on Donnan steric pore model suggest that the increased permeability is attributed to the combined effects of enlarged pore size and increased surface charge, while the enhanced ion selectivity is mainly dependent on the electrostatic interaction between the membrane and target ions. This finding provides a new insight for the development of high-performance NF membranes in water treatment and desalination.

Electrospinning/3D printing drug-loaded antibacterial polycaprolactone nanofiber/sodium alginate-gelatin hydrogel bilayer scaffold for skin wound repair.

Skin injuries and defects, as a common clinical issue, still cannot be perfectly repaired at present, particularly large-scale and infected skin defects. Therefore, in this work, a drug-loaded bilayer skin scaffold was developed for repairing full-thickness skin defects. Briefly, amoxicillin (AMX) was loaded on polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber via electrospinning to form the antibacterial nanofiber membrane (PCL-AMX) as the outer layer of scaffold to mimic epidermis. To maintain wound wettability and promote wound healing, external human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) was loaded in sodium alginate-gelatin to form the hydrogel structure (SG-rhEGF) via 3D printing as inner layer of scaffold to mimic dermis. AMX and rhEGF were successfully loaded into the scaffold. The scaffold exhibited excellent physicochemical properties, with elongation at break and tensile modulus were 102.09 ± 6.74% and 206.83 ± 32.10 kPa, respectively; the outer layer was hydrophobic (WCA was 112.09 ± 4.67°), while the inner layer was hydrophilic (WCA was 48.87 ± 5.52°). Meanwhile, the scaffold showed excellent drug release and antibacterial characteristics. In vitro and in vivo studies indicated that the fabricated scaffold could enhance cell adhesion and proliferation, and promote skin wound healing, with favorable biocompatibility and great potential for skin regeneration and clinical application.

Reconstruction of Abdominal Wall Defect with Composite Scaffold of 3D Printed ADM/PLA in a Rat Model.

Abdominal wall defects are a frequently occurring condition in surgical practice. The most important are material structure and biocompatibility. In this study, polylactic acid (PLA) mesh composited with a 3D printing of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) material is used to repair abdominal wall defects. The results show that the adhesion score of ADM/PLA composite scaffolds is smaller than PLA meshes. Immunohistochemical assessment reveals that the ADM/PLA composite scaffold can effectively reduce the inflammatory response at the contact surface between the meshes and the abdominal organs. And the ADM/PLA composite scaffold can effectively reduce the expression levels of the inflammation-related factors IL-6 and IL-10. In addition, the ADM/PLA composite scaffold repair is rich in the expression levels of tissue regeneration-related factors vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor ß. Thus, ADM/PLA composite scaffolds can effectively reduce surrounding inflammation to effectively promote the repair of abdominal wall defects.

Designing Double-Layer Multimaterial Composite Patch Scaffold with Adhesion Resistance for Hernia Repair.

Hernia repair mesh is associated with a number of complications, including adhesions and limited mobility, due to insufficient mechanical strength and nonresorbability. Among them, visceral adhesions are one of the most serious complications of patch repair. In this study, a degradable patch with an antiadhesive layer is prepared for hernia repair by 3D printing and electrospinning techniques using polycaprolactone, polyvinyl alcohol, and soybean peptide (SP). The study into the physicochemical properties of the patch is found that it has adequate mechanical strength requirements (16 N cm-1 ) and large elongation at break, which are superior than commercial polypropylene patches. In vivo and in vitro experiments show that human umbilical vein endothelial cells proliferated well on composite patches, and showed excellent biocompatibility with the host and little adhesion through a rat abdominal wall defect model. In conclusion, the results of this study show that composite patch can effectively reduce the occurrence of adhesions, while the addition of SP in the patch further enhances its biocompatibility. It is believed that a regenerative biological patch with great potential in hernia repair provides a new strategy for the development of new biomimetic biodegradable patches.

3D Printing GelMA/PVA Interpenetrating Polymer Networks Scaffolds Mediated with CuO Nanoparticles for Angiogenesis.

Biocompatible hydrogels have been considered one of the most well-known and promising in various materials used in the fabrication of tissue-engineering scaffolds. Although considerable progress has been made in recent decades, many limitations remain, such as poor mechanical and degradation properties of biomaterials. In addition, vascularization of tissue-engineering scaffold is an enduring challenge, which limited the fabrication and application of scaffold with clinically relevant dimension. To cover these challenges, in this work, a novel nanocomposite interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) hydrogel scaffold consists of methacrylated gelatin (GelMA), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) is fabricated by extrusion-based 3D printing. A series of physiochemical and biological characterizations of the nanocomposite GelMA/PVA scaffolds are performed. Results showed that the mechanical and degradation properties of the nanocomposite GelMA/PVA scaffolds are obviously improved compared to GelMA scaffolds with single network. In vitro cell experiments and chick embryo angiogenesis (CEA) assay confirmed good cytocompatibility of the fabricated scaffold and its potential to promote cell migration and angiogenesis. In conclusion, altogether the results demonstrated that GelMA/PVA IPN scaffolds modified with CuONPs have great potential for fabrication of volumetric scaffolds and promote angiogenesis during tissue growth and repair.

Designed and fabrication of triple-layered vascular scaffold with microchannels.

Currently, one of the best preparation strategies for the triple-layered vascular scaffold is to imitate the three-layer structure of natural blood vessels to achieve the biofunctional characteristics of vascular transplantation. Here, we developed a combinatorial method to fabricate triple-layered vascular scaffold (TVS) by using electrospinning and coaxial 3 D printing. First, Polycaprolactone-collagen (PCL-Col) was applied to prepared the inner layer of TVS by electrospinning. Second, egg white/sodium alginate (EW/SA) blend hydrogel was extruded to form hollow filaments by coaxial 3 D printing and crosslinking mechanism, which enwound around the surface of the inner layer in a circumferential direction as the intermediate layer of TVS. Finally, electrospun PCL-Col nanofibers were wrapped on the surface of hydrogel layer as the outer layer of TVS. The morphological characterization and mechanical strength of the fabricated TVS were measured. Compared with natural blood vessels, results shown that ultimate tensile stress (UTS), strain to failure (STF), the estimated burst strength and the suture retention strength (SRS) of TVS were superior. Also, the fabricated TVS exhibits good hydrophilicity and excellent flexibility. Moreover, the biocompatibility of TVS was investigated through human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), the results demonstrated that cells can successfully attach the surface of graft and maintain high viability. In summary, all of results demonstrated that this method could fabricate a novel triple-layered vascular scaffold, possessing appropriate mechanical properties and good biological properties, which has the potential to be used in tissue engineered vascular grafts applications.

Topological Structure Design and Fabrication of Biocompatible PLA/TPU/ADM Mesh with Appropriate Elasticity for Hernia Repair.

The meshes for hernia repair result in many problems that are related to complications including chronic pain and limited movement due to inadequate mechanical strength, non-absorbability, or low elasticity. In this study, degradable polylactic acid (PLA), synthetic thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and acellular dermal matrix (ADM) powders are combined to prepare a novel PLA/TPU/ADM mesh with three different topological structures (square, circular, and diamond) by 3D printing. The physicochemical properties and structural characteristics of mesh are studied, the results show that the diamond structure mesh with the pore size of 3 mm has sufficient elasticity and tensile strength, which provides the efficient mechanical strength required for hernia repair (16 N cm-1 ) and the value more than polypropylene(PP) mesh. Besides, in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate human umbilical vein endothelial cells could successfully proliferate on the PLA/TPU/ADM mesh whose biocompatibility with the host is shown using a rat model of abdominal wall defect. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate that the PLA/TPU/ADM mesh may be considered a good choice for hernia repair as its potential to overcome the elastic and strength challenges associated with a highly flexible abdominal wall, as well as its good biocompatibility.

Preparation and Optimization of a Biomimetic Triple-Layered Vascular Scaffold Based on Coaxial Electrospinning.

Electrospinning is a promising method for preparing bionic vascular scaffolds. In particular, coaxial electrospinning can encapsulate polymer materials in biological materials and provide vascular scaffolds with good biomechanical properties. However, it is difficult to produce a stable Taylor cone during the coaxial electrospinning process. Moreover, glutaraldehyde cross-linked natural biomaterials are cytotoxic. To address these issues, a novel electrospinning process is proposed in this report. A non-ionic surfactant (Tween 80) was added to poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) electrospinning solution and gelatin-collagen electrospinning solution, which prevented the interfacial effect of coaxial electrospinning due to different core/shell solutions. The as-prepared materials were then cross-linked with the non-toxic coupling agents N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS). By comparing the biomechanical properties of EDC/NHS cross-linked vascular scaffold with glutaraldehyde vapor-cross-linked vascular scaffold, it was found that the fracture strain and biological performance of EDC/NHS cross-linked vascular scaffold were better than those of the glutaraldehyde cross-linked scaffold. Finally, a three-layer bionic vascular scaffold was prepared by the proposed electrospinning process. Biomechanical performance tests were carried out and the prepared scaffold was found to meet the requirements of tissue-engineered blood vessels. The research in this paper provides a useful reference for the preparation and optimization of vascular scaffolds.

Fabrication of multilayer tubular scaffolds with aligned nanofibers to guide the growth of endothelial cells.

Aligned electrospun fibers used for the fabrication of tubular scaffolds possess the ability to regulate cellular alignment and relevant functional expression, with applications in tissue engineering. Despite significant progress in the fabrication of small-diameter vascular grafts (SDVGs) over the past decade, several challenges remain; one of the most problematic of these is the fabrication of aligned nanofibers for multilayer SDVGs. Furthermore, delamination between each layer is difficult to avoid during the fabrication of multilayer structures. This study introduces a new fabrication method for minute delamination four-layer tubular scaffolds (FLTSs) that consist of an interior layer with highly longitudinal aligned nanofibers, two middle layers composed of electrospun sloped and circumferentially aligned fibers, and an exterior layer comprising random fibers. These FLTSs are used to simulate the structures and functions of native blood vessels. Here, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/polycaprolactone (PCL)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) were electrospun to fabricate FLTSs or tubular scaffolds with completely random fibers layer (RLTSs). The surface wettability of the TPU/PCL/PEG tubular scaffold was tested by water contact angle analysis. In particular, compared with RLTSs, FLTSs showed excellent mechanical properties, with higher circumferential and longitudinal tensile properties. Furthermore, the high viability of the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on the FLTSs indicated the biocompatibility of the tubular scaffolds comparing to RLTSs. The aligned and random composite structure of the FLTSs are conducive to promoting the growth of HUVECs, and the cell adhesion and proliferation on these scaffolds was found to be superior to that on RLTSs. These results demonstrate that the fabricated FLTSs have the potential for application in vascular tissue regeneration and clinical arterial replacements.

Sulfonated modification of cotton linter and its application as adsorbent for high-efficiency removal of lead(II) in effluent.

Sulfonated modification of cotton linter and its novel application as adsorbent for Pb(2+) in effluent were investigated. Results show that sulfonated cotton linter (SCL) has strong adsorbability for Pb(2+), more than 85% of Pb(2+) can be removed at lower Pb(2+) concentration (<20 mg/L). Its adsorbability for Pb(2+) is related to effluent pH, temperature, and initial Pb(2+) concentration. The adsorption process can reach equilibrium within 8 min, which can be described through the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption isotherm is closely fitted with the Temkin isotherm model, which suggests that the adsorption of Pb(2+) on SCL can be regarded as chemical adsorption. The adsorption process of Pb(2+) on SCL is non-spontaneous and endothermic, based on the value of Gibbs free energy and enthalpy. Compared with commercial activated carbon, SCL is simple to prepare and does not require any special technology.