pH Meter-Assisted Biosensor Based on Glucose Oxidase-Conjugated Magnetic Metal-Organic Framework for On-Site Evaluation of Bacterial Contamination.

There remains a critical need for the detection of bacterial contamination to ensure public health. In this work, we developed a pH meter-assisted biosensor based on glucose oxidase (GOx)-conjugated magnetic zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (mZIF-8) for on-site evaluation of bacterial contamination. The mZIF-8/GOx conjugate was produced from the electrostatic interaction between GOx and mZIF-8 and was demonstrated to inhibit GOx activity without protein denaturation. However, the presence of bacteria can cause the release of GOx from the mZIF-8 surface through competitive binding with mZIF-8, resulting in the recovery of GOx activity, which converts glucose into gluconic acid and provides an amplified pH signal. This finding allows the mZIF-8/GOx conjugate to be a biosensor for on-site detection of bacterial contamination with a pH meter as a readout. Benefiting from the magnetic separation property of mZIF-8, greatly enhanced sensitivity and precision have been achieved with detection limits of 10 cfu/mL for Escherichia coli and 30 cfu/mL for Staphylococcus aureus. Meanwhile, the flexibility of this biosensor was validated by quantitative analysis of mixed bacteria including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with desired performances. The accurate bacterial determination in contaminated drinking water samples demonstrates the applicability of this biosensor for reliable home monitoring of water quality.

Layered filter paper-silver nanoparticle-ZIF-8 composite for efficient multi-mode enrichment and sensitive SERS detection of thiram.

A SERS substrate FP/Ag/ZIF-8 composed of filter paper (FP), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) film arranged in a layered structure was developed for sensitive detection of pesticide thiram in various samples. Roles of these components in analyte adsorption and Raman signal enhancement were studied using a pesticide intermediate 4-Aminothiophenol (4-ATP) as the probe. The substrate showed high adsorption and optimized SERS response with thick metal organic framework (MOF) coating (125 nm), which is different from previous reported plasmonic particle-MOF composite substrate, where thinnest MOF coating produced the strongest SERS signal. Detection limit for 4-ATP improved 1000-fold on FP/Ag/ZIF-8 (3 pM) compared with that on FP/Ag (3 nM). Importantly, the FP/Ag/ZIF-8 with porous and flexible property can efficiently capture pesticide thiram in different real samples using soaking, filtration or swabbing operation. The subsequent SERS detection of thiram showed advantages of low detection limit (soaking, LOD: 0.04 nM in lake water), fast detection (filtration, within 1 min in peach juice) and suitable for curve surface analysis (swabbing, LOD: 0.1 ng/cm2 on apple peel), respectively. The substrate also displayed good reproducibility, high stability and size-selective response for thiram detection. Such a layered plasmonic particle/MOF hybrid may hold great promise for toxicant analysis in environment and food.

A hybrid composed of MoS2, reduced graphene oxide and gold nanoparticles for voltammetric determination of hydroquinone, catechol, and resorcinol.

A ternary hybrid composed of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs@MoS2-rGO) was prepared and used for voltammetric detection of hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC) or resorcinol (RC). The composition and structure of the hybrid were characterized in detail. The electrochemical behaviors of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with the hybrid towards the oxidation of HQ, CC, and RC were investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The results revealed 3D MoS2 is active for the catalytic oxidation of these isomers. Additional integration with rGO and AuNPs further improves catalysis due to their synergistic interaction. The enhanced catalysis leads to oxidation of HQ, CC and RC at 0.074 V, 0.178 V, and 0.527 V (vs. Ag/AgCl; by CV) with reduced overpotential (20-100 mV) and 8-fold or 3-fold increased peak current compared to those obtained on MoS2/GCE, or MoS2-rGO/GCE, respectively. Selective detection of one isomer in the presence of the other two was realized by DPV. The linear ranges are 0.1-950 µM, 3-560 µM, and 40-960 µM for HQ, CC, and RC, and the detection limits are 0.04 µM, 0.95 µM, and 14.6 µM, respectively. The sensor also shows good selectivity and displays satisfactory recovery for real sample analysis. Graphical abstract Schematic illustration of the preparation of AuNPs@MoS2-rGO hybrid by hydrothermal growth of MoS2-rGO and subsequent electrodeposition of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), and its application for selective detection of hydroquinone, catechol and resorcinol by voltammetry.

Uniform arrangement of gold nanoparticles on magnetic core particles with a metal-organic framework shell as a substrate for sensitive and reproducible SERS based assays: Application to the quantitation of Malachite Green and thiram.

Magnetite (Fe3O4) spheres acting as a core were evenly decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and coated with a shell of a metal organic framework (MOF) of type MIL-100(Fe). The resulting hybrid nanomaterial of type Fe3O4-Au@MIL-100(Fe) hybrid is shown to be a viable new SERS substrate. The integration of magnetic core, build-in plasmonic gold nanoparticles and a MOF shell endows the Fe3O4-Au@MIL-100(Fe) with highly efficient magnetic separation and enrichment ability, abundant interparticle hotspots, and significant chemical enhancement effect. This leads to a large enhancement, and greatly improved reproducibility of the SERS signals as shown for Malachite Green (MG) and the fungicide thiram. MG in solution can be quantified with a 50-fold lower detection limit (0.14 nM for peak at 1398 cm-1) and largely improved reproducibility (RSD = 9%, 1398 cm-1) when compared to the use of (a) AuNPs anchored on MIL-100(Fe) (RSD = 27%, 1186 cm-1), or (b) AuNPs embedded in MIL-100(Fe) (RSD = 36%, 1398 cm-1). The method was applied to the quantitation of MG and thiram in spiked water samples. The lower limits of detection are 4.4 nM for MG (1398 cm-1) and 15 nM for thiram (1380 cm-1), respectively, and signals' RSDs are 13% (1398 cm-1) and 5% (1380 cm-1) for MG and thiram, respectively. The substrate is recyclable. Graphical abstract Schematic illustration of the preparation and SERS molecule sensing application of Fe3O4-Au@MIL-100(Fe) hybrid. PMMA: poly(methacrylic acid; BPEI: branched poly(ethyleneimine); BTC: 1,3,5-tricarboxybenzene.

Multifunctional magnetic sphere-MoS2@Au hybrid for surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection and visible light photo-Fenton degradation of aromatic dyes.

A ternary hybrid, MNPs-MoS2@Au, composed of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) grown on a magnetic sphere (MNPs)-MoS2 microflower composite (MNPs-MoS2) was proposed for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection and visible-light photo-Fenton degradation of aromatic dyes. The hybrid was prepared by sequential solvothermal growth of MNPs and MoS2, and electroless deposition of AuNPs. A comparison of results revealed that the synergy among these components endowed the hybrid with a much higher SERS enhancement ability than MNPs, or MNPs@MoS2. The dosage of HAuCl4 and MNPs-MoS2 to prepare the hybrid greatly influenced the SERS activity of the hybrid. Under optimized conditions, quantitative SERS analysis of dyes including CV, MG, and MB was performed with a low detection limit (1 pM, 0.15 nM and 1 nM for CV, MG, and MB, respectively) and adequate reproducibility (RSDs were less than 6% and 11% for CV and MG, respectively). The hybrid could also serve as a visible light-active photo-Fenton catalyst for efficient degradation of aromatic dyes, and the decolorization of 20 mg/L RhB was 90% in 40 min in the presence of H2O2 because of a synergy mechanism among components confirmed by comparison experiment and first-order kinetics study. The multifunctional material prepared here possesses great values in SERS analysis, environmental monitoring, and restoration.

Recent progress on graphene-based substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering applications.

Since the intriguing and inspiring discovery of graphene-enhanced Raman scattering (GERS) in 2010, graphene and graphene-based substrates have attracted significant attention in both theoretical research and application exploration of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS); this makes graphene-involved SERS a burgeoning area in many scientific branches. The introduction of graphene not only overcomes some intrinsic drawbacks of SERS, but also has a great synergistic effect with traditional noble metal nanoparticle enhancement substrates and thus greatly improves the sensing performance of SERS and largely expands its application area. To better learn about the recent progress in graphene-based SERS substrates and shed light on future research, an overview of graphene and graphene-based SERS substrates is presented herein. In this review, the role played by graphene in graphene-based SERS substrates is first summarized, and then, the classification and preparation methods of graphene-based substrates are presented, which are helpful for understanding the structure-property relationship. Furthermore, the SERS applications of graphene-based substrates in biomedical areas, including biomolecule detection, bio-imaging, cancer diagnosis and therapy and drug delivery, are highlighted. Other applications in hot-topic areas such as food safety and environmental monitoring are also briefly discussed. Finally, challenges and perspectives on the deficiencies, future development and achievements are presented.

Terbium (III) coordination polymer-copper (II) compound as fluorescent probe for time-resolved fluorescence 'turn-on' detection of hydrogen sulfide.

With recognition of the biological importance of hydrogen sulfide (H2 S), we present a simple and effective fluorescent probe for H2 S using a Tb3+ coordination polymer-Cu2+ compound (DPA/Tb/G-Cu2+ ). Dipicolinic acid (DPA) and guanosine (G) can coordinate with Tb3+ to form a macromolecular coordination polymer (DPA/Tb/G). DPA/Tb/G specifically binds to Cu2+ in the presence of coexisting cations, and obvious fluorescence quenching is observed. The quenched fluorescence can be exclusively recovered upon the addition of sulfide, which is measured in the mode of time-resolved fluorescence. The fluorescence intensities of the DPA/Tb/G-Cu2+ compound enhance linearly with increasing sulfide concentrations from 1 to 30 µM. The detection limit for sulfide in aqueous solution is estimated to be 0.3 µM (at 3σ). The DPA/Tb/G-Cu2+ compound was successfully applied to sense H2 S in human serum samples and exhibited a satisfactory result. It displays some desirable properties, such as fast detection procedure, high selectivity and excellent sensitivity. This method is very promising to be utilized for practical detection of H2 S in biological and environmental samples.

An analysis of the entrainment effect of dry debris avalanches on loose bed materials.

Substrate entrainment can greatly influence the mass movement process of a debris avalanche because it can enlarge the landslide volume and change the motion characteristics of the sliding masses. To study the interaction between debris avalanches and erodible substrate, physical modeling experiments varying in the mass of granular flow and substrate thickness were performed. The experimental results show that both the entrained materials and the maximum erosion depth are increased with increasing mass of the debris avalanche and decreasing substrate thickness. During the experiment, several tests were recorded using a high-speed digital camera with a frequency of 500 frames per second, so that the process of entrainment could be clearly observed. Combined with the experiment result and results of previous studies from predecessors, the entrainment mechanism during debris avalanches are analyzed and discussed. The entrainment effect of the sliding masses on the loose bed materials include basal abrasion and impact erosion of the avalanche front, the latter of which can contribute to the former by failing or yielding the erodible bed.

A green strategy to prepare metal oxide superstructure from metal-organic frameworks.

Metal or metal oxides with diverse superstructures have become one of the most promising functional materials in sensor, catalysis, energy conversion, etc. In this work, a novel metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-directed method to prepare metal or metal oxide superstructure was proposed. In this strategy, nodes (metal ions) in MOFs as precursors to form ordered building blocks which are spatially separated by organic linkers were transformed into metal oxide micro/nanostructure by a green method. Two kinds of Cu-MOFs which could reciprocally transform by changing solvent were prepared as a model to test the method. Two kinds of novel CuO with three-dimensional (3D) urchin-like and 3D rods-like superstructures composed of nanoparticles, nanowires and nanosheets were both obtained by immersing the corresponding Cu-MOFs into a NaOH solution. Based on the as-formed CuO superstructures, a novel and sensitive nonenzymatic glucose sensor was developed. The small size, hierarchical superstructures and large surface area of the resulted CuO superstructures eventually contribute to good electrocatalytic activity of the prepared sensor towards the oxidation of glucose. The proposed method of hierarchical superstructures preparation is simple, efficient, cheap and easy to mass production, which is obviously superior to pyrolysis. It might open up a new way for hierarchical superstructures preparation.

Lanthanide based dual-emission fluorescent probe for detection of mercury (II) in milk.

It is highly desirable to develop a simple and sensitive method for Hg(2+) detection because of the dangerous nature of Hg(2+). In this work, we prepared a dual-emission fluorescent probe for Hg(2+) detection by combining two lanthanide chelates with different emission wavelengths. Green-emitting terbium (Tb(3+)) chelates as reference signals were embedded into SiO2 nanoparticles and red-emitting europium (Eu(3+)) chelates as response units were covalently linked to the surface of silica shell. Upon the addition of Hg(2+), the fluorescence of Eu(3+) chelates can be selectively quenched, while the fluorescence of Tb(3+) chelates remained unchanged. As a kind of Hg(2+) nanosensor, the dual-emission fluorescent probe exhibited excellent selectivity to Hg(2+) and high sensitivity up to 7.07 nM detection limit. The Hg(2+) levels in drinking water and milk samples were determined by using the dual-emission fluorescent probe with satisfied recovery. Additionally, our probe has a long enough fluorescence lifetime, which can avoid the interference from autofluorescence of the biological samples. We envision that the proposed probe could find great potential applications for ultrasensitive time-resolved fluorometric assays and biomedical imaging in the future.

A sensitive fluorescent assay for thiamine based on metal-organic frameworks with intrinsic peroxidase-like activity.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with tunable structures and properties have recently been emerged as very interesting functional materials. However, the catalytic properties of MOFs as enzymatic mimics remain to be further investigated. In this work, we for the first time demonstrated the peroxidase-like activity of copper-based MOFs (HKUST-1) by employing thiamine (TH) as a peroxidase substrate. In the presence of H2O2, HKUST-1 can catalyze efficiently the conversion of non-fluorescent TH to strong fluorescent thiochrome. The catalytic activity of HKUST-1 is highly dependent on the temperature, pH and H2O2 concentrations. As a peroxidase mimic, HKUST-1 not only has the features of low cost, high stability and easy preparation, but also follows Michaelis-Menten behaviors and shows stronger affinity to TH than horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Based on the peroxidase-like activity of HKUST-1, a simple and sensitive fluorescent method for TH detection has been developed. As low as 1 µM TH can be detected with a linear range from 4 to 700 µM. The detection limit for TH is about 50 fold lower than that of HRP-based fluorescent assay. The proposed method was successfully applied to detect TH in tablets and urine samples and showed a satisfactory result. We believed that the present work could improve the understanding of catalytic behaviors of MOFs as enzymatic mimics and find out a wider application in bioanalysis.

Metal-organic framework-derived copper nanoparticle@carbon nanocomposites as peroxidase mimics for colorimetric sensing of ascorbic acid.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as very fascinating functional materials due to their diversity nature. A nanocomposite consisting of copper nanoparticles dispersed within a carbon matrix (Cu NPs@C) is prepared through a one-pot thermolysis of copper-based metal-organic framework precursors. Cu NPs@C can catalyze the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to form a colored product in the presence of H2 O2 . As a peroxidase mimic, Cu NPs@C not only has the advantages of low cost, high stability, and easy preparation, but also follows Michaelis-Menten behaviors and shows strong affinity to H2 O2 . As the Cu NPs' surfaces are free from stabilizing agent, Cu NPs@C exhibited a higher affinity to H2 O2 than horseradish peroxidase. On the basis of the inhibitory effect of ascorbic acid (AA) on oxidation of TMB, this system serves as a colorimetric method for the detection of AA, suggesting that the present work would expand the potential applications of MOF-derived nanocomposites in biomedical fields.

Functionalized lanthanide coordination polymer nanoparticles for selective sensing of hydrogen peroxide in biological fluids.

Lanthanide coordination polymers have recently emerged as very fascinating sensing materials due to their tunable structures and unique optical properties. However, a major problem concerning the applications of lanthanide coordination polymers for fluorescent sensing is their unselective recognition to analytes. In this work, a direct post-modification strategy was employed to prepare functionalized lanthanide coordination polymer nanoparticles (Phe/Tb-CPBA CPNPs) with specific response ability to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by using phenylalanine (Phe) as bridging ligands, terbium ions (Tb(3+)) as metal nodes and carboxyphenylboronic acids (CPBAs) as guest ligands. Phe/Tb-CPBA CPNPs emit a strong green fluorescence due to the removal of coordinated water molecules and the sensitization effect of CPBA. Upon the addition of H2O2, however, the quenched fluorescence of Phe/Tb-CPBA CPNPs can be observed owing to an intramolecular charge transfer effect. This finding led to a method for the quantitation of H2O2 in the 6 µM to 1 mM concentration range and with a detection limit at 2 µM. Because of the chemoselective H2O2-mediated oxidative deboronation, Phe/Tb-CPBA CPNPs as fluorescent sensors exhibit excellent selectivity to H2O2. Furthermore, Phe/Tb-CPBA CPNPs were successfully used to measure the level of H2O2 in urine samples and showed satisfactory results. We envision that the presented strategy could be extended to design other functionalized coordination polymers with desired functions for various biomedical applications.

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon/Co3O4 nanocomposites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

A simple and industrially scalable approach to prepare porous carbon (PC) with high surface areas as well as abundant nitrogen element as anode supporting materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) was developed. Herein, the N-doped PC was prepared by carbonizing crawfish shell, which is a kind of food waste with abundant marine chitin as well as a naturally porous structure. The porous structure can be kept to form the N-doped PC in the pyrolysis process. The N-doped PC-Co3O4 nanocomposites were synthesized by loading Co3O4 on the N-doped PC as anode materials for LIBs. The resulting N-doped PC-Co3O4 nanocomposites release an initial discharge of 1223 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 100 mA g(-1) and still maintain a high reversible capacity of 1060 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles, which is higher than that of individual N-doped PC or Co3O4. Particularly, the N-doped PC-Co3O4 nanocomposites can be prepared in a large yield with a low cost because the N-doped PC is derived from abundant natural waste resources, which makes it a promising anode material for LIBs.

pH-switchable electrochemical sensing platform based on chitosan-reduced graphene oxide/concanavalin a layer for assay of glucose and urea.

A facile and effective electrochemical sensing platform for the detection of glucose and urea in one sample without separation was developed using chitosan-reduced graphene oxide (CS-rGO)/concanavalin A (Con A) as a sensing layer. The CS-rGO/Con A with pH-dependent surface net charges exhibited pH-switchable response to negatively charged Fe(CN)6(3-). The principle for glucose and urea detection was essentially based on in situ pH-switchable enzyme-catalyzed reaction in which the oxidation of glucose catalyzed by glucose oxidase or the hydrolyzation of urea catalyzed by urease resulted in a pH change of electrolyte solution to give different electrochemical responses toward Fe(CN)6(3-). It was verified by cyclic voltammograms, differential pulse voltammograms, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The resistance to charge transfer or amperometric current changed proportionally toward glucose concentration from 1.0 to 10.0 mM and urea concentration from 1.0 to 7.0 mM. On the basis of human serum experiments, the sensing platform was proved to be suitable for simultaneous assay of glucose and urea in a practical biosystem. This work not only gives a way to detect glucose and urea in one sample without separation but also provides a potential strategy for the detection of nonelectroactive species based on the enzyme-catalyzed reaction and pH-switchable biosensor.

Electrochemical sensing and biosensing platform based on biomass-derived macroporous carbon materials.

A three-dimensional (3D) macroporous carbon (3D-KSCs) derived from kenaf stem (KS) is proposed as a novel supporting material for electrochemical sensing and a biosensing platform. A series of 3D-KSCs/inorganic nanocomposites such as Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles (NPs)-carboxylic group-functionalized 3D-KSCs (PBNPs-3D-FKSCs), CuNiNPs-3D-KSCs, and CoNPs-3D-KSCs were prepared by a facile two-step route consisting of carbonization and subsequent chemical synthesis or one-step carbonization of KS-metal ion complex. The obtained 3D-KSCs/inorganic nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. A whole piece of 3D-KSCs/nanocomposites was used to prepare an integrated 3D-KSCs/nanocomposite electrode. Compared to the electrode modified by graphene, carbon nanotubes and their derivatives, which can form close-packed structure after assembled on electrode surface, the integrated 3D-KSCs/nanocomposite electrode shows a 3D honeycomb porous structure. Such structure provides a large specific surface area, effectively supports a large number of electro-active species, and greatly enhances the mass and electron transfer. The electrochemical behaviors and electrocatalytic performances of the integrated 3D-KSCs/inorganic nanocomposite electrode were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and the amperometric method. The resulted PBNPs-3D-FKSCs, CuNiNPs-3D-KSCs, and CoNPs-3D-KSCs electrode show good electrocatalytic performances toward the reduction of H2O2, the oxidation of glucose and amino acid, respectively. Therefore, the low-cost, renewable, and environmentally friendly 3D-KSCs should be promising supporting materials for an electrochemical sensor and biosensor.

Terbium-based coordination polymer nanoparticles for detection of ciprofloxacin in tablets and biological fluids.

The metal-organic coordination polymers with tunable structures and properties have been rapidly emerging as very important functional materials. In this work, we prepared terbium (Tb(3+))-based coordination polymer nanoparticles (CPNPs) by employing adenine (Ad) as bridging ligands. The CPNPs was further used as a receptor reagent for ciprofloxacin (CF) detection in aqueous solution. Addition of CF induces a typical emission of Tb(3+) due to the formation of Ad/Tb-CF complex and the sensitization of CF. The fluorescent intensity of Tb(3+) was enhanced linearly with increasing the CF concentration from 60 nM to 14 µM. The detection limit for CF in aqueous solution is 60 nM. The Ad/Tb CPNPs was successfully applied to detect CF in tablet and urine samples and showed a satisfactory result. Compared with other methods, the proposed method is advantageous because that it provides a very simple strategy for CF detection, which does not require complicated sample pretreatment processes or special reaction media. The proposed strategy could be contributed to expand the potential applications of lanthanide coordination polymers in biological and environmental fields.

Geotechnical characteristics and stability analysis of rock-soil aggregate slope at the Gushui Hydropower Station, southwest China.

Two important features of the high slopes at Gushui Hydropower Station are layered accumulations (rock-soil aggregate) and multilevel toppling failures of plate rock masses; the Gendakan slope is selected for case study in this paper. Geological processes of the layered accumulation of rock and soil particles are carried out by the movement of water flow; the main reasons for the toppling failure of plate rock masses are the increasing weight of the upper rock-soil aggregate and mountain erosion by river water. Indoor triaxial compression test results show that, the cohesion and friction angle of the rock-soil aggregate decreased with the increasing water content; the cohesion and the friction angle for natural rock-soil aggregate are 57.7 kPa and 31.3° and 26.1 kPa and 29.1° for saturated rock-soil aggregate, respectively. The deformation and failure mechanism of the rock-soil aggregate slope is a progressive process, and local landslides will occur step by step. Three-dimensional limit equilibrium analysis results show that the minimum safety factor of Gendakan slope is 0.953 when the rock-soil aggregate is saturated, and small scale of landslide will happen at the lower slope.

Determination of tetracycline in milk by using nucleotide/lanthanide coordination polymer-based ternary complex.

The meta-organic coordination polymers have been emerged as fascinating nanomaterials because of their tunable nature. In this work, we employed lanthanide coordination polymer self-assembled from adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and europium ion (Eu(3+)) as receptor reagent and citrate (Cit) as ancillary ligand to construct a fluorescent sensor for the detection of tetracycline (Tc) in milk. The co-coordination of Cit and Tc with Eu(3+) on the surface of the coordination polymer AMP/Eu leads to the formation of ternary complex which emitted strong fluorescence due to the removal of coordinated water molecules and an intramolecular energy transfer from Tc to Eu(3+). The fluorescent intensity of Eu(3+) displayed a good linear response to Tc concentrations in the range of 0.1-20 µM with a detection limit of 60 nM. This method was successfully applied to determine the levels of Tc in milk, which is the first application of coordination polymer as a fluorescent sensor in real sample. Compared with other Eu(3+)-based fluorescent methods for Tc detection, the presented method allows simple, direct analysis of Tc without requiring special reaction media or complicated prepreparation processes. This straightforward strategy could be extended to the preparation of other lanthanide coordination polymer-based fluorescent probes for applications in biosensing, imaging, drug delivery, and so on.

Experimental research on the dam-break mechanisms of the Jiadanwan landslide dam triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake in China.

Dam breaks of landslide dams are always accompanied by large numbers of casualties, a large loss of property, and negative influences on the downstream ecology and environment. This study uses the Jiadanwan landslide dam, created by the Wenchuan earthquake, as a case study example. Several laboratory experiments are carried out to analyse the dam-break mechanism of the landslide dam. The different factors that impact the dam-break process include upstream flow, the boulder effect, dam size, and channel discharge. The development of the discharge channel and the failure of the landslide dam are monitored by digital video and still cameras. Experimental results show that the upstream inflow and the dam size are the main factors that impact the dam-break process. An excavated discharge channel, especially a trapezoidal discharge channel, has a positive effect on reducing peak flow. The depth of the discharge channel also has a significant impact on the dam-break process. The experimental results are significant for landslide dam management and flood disaster prevention and mitigation.