Acidified sucralfate encapsulated chitosan derivative nanoparticles as oral vaccine adjuvant delivery enhancing mucosal and systemic immunity.

Oral vaccines are generally perceived to be safe, easy to administer, and have the potential to induce both systemic and mucosal immune responses. However, given the challenges posed by the harsh gastrointestinal environment and mucus barriers, the development of oral vaccines necessitates the employment of a safe and efficient delivery system. In recent years, nanoparticle-based delivery has proven to be an ideal delivery vector for the manufacture of oral vaccines. Hence, considering the above, the sucralfate acidified (SA) encapsulated N-2-Hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (N-2-HACC)/N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) nanoparticles (SA@N-2-HACC/CMCS NPs) were prepared, and the BSA was used as a model antigen to investigate the immune responses. The SA@N-2-HACC/CMCS NPs had a particle size of 227 ± 7.0 nm and a zeta potential of 8.43 ± 2.62 mV. The NPs displayed slow and sustained release and high stability in simulated gastric juice and intestinal fluid. RAW 264.7 macrophage-like cell line demonstrated enhanced uptake of the SA@N-2-HACC/CMCS/BSA Nps. The vaccine via oral administration markedly enhanced the residence time of BSA in the intestine for more than 12 h and elicited the production of IgG and sIgA. The SA@N-2-HACC/CMCS NPs developed here for oral administration is an excellent technique for delivering antigens and provides a path of mucosal vaccine research.

Functionalized γ-Boehmite Covalent Grafting Modified Polyethylene for Lithium-Ion Battery Separator.

In the field of lithium-ion batteries, the challenges posed by the low melting point and inadequate wettability of conventional polyolefin separators have increased the focus on ceramic-coated separators. This study introduces a highly efficient and stable boehmite/polydopamine/polyethylene (AlOOH-PDA-PE) separator. It is crafted by covalently attaching functionalized nanosized boehmite (γ-AlOOH) whiskers onto polyethylene (PE) surfaces. The presence of a covalent bond increases the stability at the interface, while amino groups on the surface of the separator enhance the infiltration of the electrolyte and facilitate the diffusion of lithium ions. The PE-PDA-AlOOH separator, when used in lithium-ion batteries, achieves a discharge capacity of 126 mAh g-1 at 5 C and retains 97.1% capacity after 400 cycles, indicating superior cycling stability due to its covalently bonded ceramic surface. Thus, covalent interface modification is a promising strategy to prevent delamination of ceramic coatings in separators.

3D Cold-Trap Environment Printing for Long-Cycle Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries.

Zn powder (Zn-P)-based anodes are always regarded as ideal anode candidates for zinc ion batteries owing to their low cost and ease of processing. However, the intrinsic negative properties of Zn-P-based anodes such as easy corrosion and uncontrolled dendrite growth have limited their further applications. Herein, a novel 3D cold-trap environment printing (3DCEP) technology is proposed to achieve the MXene and Zn-P (3DCEP-MXene/Zn-P) anode with highly ordered arrangement. Benefitting from the unique inhibition mechanism of high lattice matching and physical confinement effects within the 3DCEP-MXene/Zn-P anode, it can effectively homogenize the Zn2+ flux and alleviate the Zn deposition rate of the 3DCEP-MXene/Zn-P anode during Zn plating-stripping. Consequently, the 3DCEP-MXene/Zn-P anode exhibits a superior cycling lifespan of 1400 h with high coulombic efficiency of ≈9.2% in symmetric batteries. More encouragingly, paired with MXene and Co doped MnHCF cathode via 3D cold-trap environment printing (3 DCEP-MXene/Co-MnHCF), the 3DCEP-MXene/Zn-P//3DCEP-MXene/Co-MnHCF full battery delivers high cyclic durability with the capacity retention of 95.7% after 1600 cycles. This study brings an inspired universal pathway to rapidly fabricate a reversible Zn anode with highly ordered arrangement in a cold environment for micro-zinc storage systems.

Computation of Binding Energy of MCS and GO-Grafted MCS with Waterborne Epoxy Resin Using Density Functional Theory Method: Investigating the Corrosion Resistance of the Composite Coatings.

In order to overcome the problems of poor corrosion resistance and low hydrophobicity of water-based coatings. Two corrosion-inhibiting materials, graphene oxide (GO) and modified chitosan (MCS), were added to the coatings to obtain a new type of coating with comprehensive properties. The composite material formed by PVA cross-linked waterborne epoxy resin was named "substrate". The density functional theory (DFT) calculation was used to explore the binding ability of MCS and GO-grafted MCS to the substrate, respectively. The results showed that the complex cross-linked network structure formed by the grafting of GO and MCS not only improved the intermolecular interaction force but also improved the binding ability to the substrate, and the coating is denser, effectively delaying the erosion to the coating by the corrosive medium. The composite coating exhibited excellent dual functional properties of hydrophobicity and corrosion resistance at the coating-metal interface, and a stronger protective effect was formed upon the steel plate. Studies showed that this composite coating has good hydrophobic properties. (The contact angle of the composite waterborne coating reaches 87°.) It also has low self-corrosion current (0.28/cm-2) and high corrosion voltage (-0.45 V). The maximum inhibition efficiency of the coating is 99.97%.

Core-shell structured nanocomposites formed by silicon coated carbon nanotubes with anti-oxidation and electromagnetic wave absorption.

The silicon coated Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanocomposite (CNTs@Si) with a shell structure was successfully synthesized by a simple chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. In this work, the CNTs@Si is not only introduced as a structural material providing oxidation performance, but also as an extremely effective electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption nanocomposite. Dielectric characteristics EMW absorption properties within the frequency range of 2-18 GHz of CNTs@Si were studied, and the oxidation resistance of CNTs@Si was characterized. Due to the dense space conductive network formed by CNTs, the EMW absorbing properties of CNTs@Si nanocomposite features excellent electromagnetic wave absorption capacity at a filling amount of 1%. The maximum reflection loss (RL) reaches -61.57 dB at the thickness of 1.8 mm, and a wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL < -10 dB) of 2.88 GHz is achieved. The obtained CNTs@Si core-shell nanocomposites exhibit excellent antioxidant performance and absorbing performance due to silicon bridging. Efficient electromagnetic wave absorption and excellent oxidation resistance of CNTs@Si can be regarded as a brand-new competitive candidate for EMW absorption materials in harsh environment.