Immunoaffinity extraction followed by enzymatic digestion for the isolation and identification of proteins employing automated μSPE reactors and mass spectrometry.

This work describes a novel automated and rapid method for bottom-up proteomics combining protein isolation with a micro-immobilised enzyme reactor (IMER). Crosslinking chemistry based on 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) coupling was exploited to immobilise trypsin and antibodies onto customisable silica particles coated with carboxymethylated dextran (CMD). This novel silica-CMD solid-phase extraction material was characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), conductometric titrations and enzymatic colorimetric assays.

Micro solid-phase extraction for the analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in environmental waters.

Growing concern over the environmental and health impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) has led to the development of increasingly stringent regulatory guidelines. To meet these guidelines for the determination of PFASs in surface-water, solid-phase extraction (SPE) is commonly implemented for clean-up and pre-concentration of samples. In this paper a micro-SPE method for the clean-up and pre-concentration of PFASs from surface-water was developed.

Patterned Polymer Coatings Increase the Efficiency of Dew Harvesting.

Micropatterned polymer surfaces, possessing both topographical and chemical characteristics, were prepared on three-dimensional copper tubes and used to capture atmospheric water. The micropatterns mimic the structure on the back of a desert beetle that condenses water from the air in a very dry environment. The patterned coatings were prepared by the dewetting of thin films of poly-4-vinylpyridine (P4VP) on top of polystyrene films (PS) films, upon solvent annealing, and consist of raised hydrophilic bumps on a hydrophobic background.

Doped graphene/Cu nanocomposite: A high sensitivity non-enzymatic glucose sensor for food.

An amperometric non-enzymatic glucose sensor was developed based on nitrogen-doped graphene with dispersed copper nanoparticles (Cu-NGr). The sensing element was tested in conjunction with a modified glassy carbon electrode for glucose detection. The Cu-NGr composite was prepared by one pot synthesis from a mixture of graphene oxide, copper nitrate and uric acid, followed by thermal annealing at 900°C for 1h.

Relationship between nanotopographical alignment and stem cell fate with live imaging and shape analysis.

The topography of a biomaterial regulates cellular interactions and determine stem cell fate. A complete understanding of how topographical properties affect cell behavior will allow the rational design of material surfaces that elicit specified biological functions once placed in the body. To this end, we fabricate substrates with aligned or randomly organized fibrous nanostructured topographies.

A New Raman Metric for the Characterisation of Graphene oxide and its Derivatives.

Raman spectroscopy is among the primary techniques for the characterisation of graphene materials, as it provides insights into the quality of measured graphenes including their structure and conductivity as well as the presence of dopants. However, our ability to draw conclusions based on such spectra is limited by a lack of understanding regarding the origins of the peaks. Consequently, traditional characterisation techniques, which estimate the quality of the graphene material using the intensity ratio between the D and the G peaks, are unreliable for both GO and rGO.

Self-Assembled N/S Codoped Flexible Graphene Paper for High Performance Energy Storage and Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

A novel flexible three-dimensional (3D) architecture of nitrogen and sulfur codoped graphene has been successfully synthesized via thermal treatment of a liquid crystalline graphene oxide-doping agent composition, followed by a soft self-assembly approach. The high temperature process turns the layer-by-layer assembly into a high surface area macro- and nanoporous free-standing material with different atomic configurations of graphene. The interconnected 3D network exhibits excellent charge capacitive performance of 305 F g(-1) (at 100 mV s(-1)), an unprecedented volumetric capacitance of 188 F cm(-3) (at 1 A g(-1)), and outstanding energy density of 28.

Co-Doping of Activated Graphene for Synergistically Enhanced Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Doping of graphene has emerged as a key strategy to improve the electrocatalytic performance of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Activated graphene co-doped with iodine and nitrogen atoms (NIG) was developed in this work using a facile scalable approach. The onset potential, current density, and four-electron reduction pathway of the newly developed catalyst were significantly improved.

Towards the Knittability of Graphene Oxide Fibres.

Recent developments in graphene oxide fibre (GO) processing include exciting demonstrations of hand woven textile structures. However, it is uncertain whether the fibres produced can meet the processing requirements of conventional textile manufacturing. This work reports for the first time the production of highly flexible and tough GO fibres that can be knitted using textile machinery.

Development of a Multidimensional Additive Points System for Determining Access to Rheumatology Services.

Objective: In many countries, including New Zealand, the demand for rheumatology services exceeds their supply, resulting in some patients experiencing long delays or being denied access. The principal aim of this work was to create a validated, transparent, and fair system for determining access to rheumatology services.

Methods: A panel of 5 rheumatologists, 6 primary care physicians, and 4 nurse specialists ranked a series of 25 clinical scenarios in order of priority to see a rheumatologist.

Hypothesis: bones toughness arises from the suppression of elastic waves.

Bone and other natural material exhibit a combination of strength and toughness that far exceeds that of synthetic structural materials. Bone's toughness is a result of numerous extrinsic and intrinsic toughening mechanisms that operate synergistically at multiple length scales to produce a tough material. At the system level however no theory or organizational principle exists to explain how so many individual toughening mechanisms can work together.

Edge-enriched graphene quantum dots for enhanced photo-luminescence and supercapacitance.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with their edge-bound nanometer-size present distinctive properties owing to quantum confinement and edge effects. We report a facile ultrasonic approach with chemical activation using KOH to prepare activated GQDs or aGQDs enriched with both free and bound edges. Compared to GQDs, the aGQDs we synthesized had enhanced BET surface area by a factor of about six, the photoluminescence intensity by about four and half times and electro-capacitance by a factor of about two.

High-performance multifunctional graphene yarns: toward wearable all-carbon energy storage textiles.

The successful commercialization of smart wearable garments is hindered by the lack of fully integrated carbon-based energy storage devices into smart wearables. Since electrodes are the active components that determine the performance of energy storage systems, it is important to rationally design and engineer hierarchical architectures atboth the nano- and macroscale that can enjoy all of the necessary requirements for a perfect electrode. Here we demonstrate a large-scale flexible fabrication of highly porous high-performance multifunctional graphene oxide (GO) and rGO fibers and yarns by taking advantage of the intrinsic soft self-assembly behavior of ultralarge graphene oxide liquid crystalline dispersions.

A simple gas-solid route to functionalize ordered carbon.

The reaction of nitric oxide (NO) and carbonaceous materials generates nitrogen functionalities on and in graphitic carbons and oxidizes some of the carbon. Here, we have exploited these phenomena to provide a novel route to surface-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). We investigated the impacts of NO on the physical and chemical properties of industrially synthesized multiwalled carbon nanotubes to find a facile treatment that increased the specific surface area (SBET) of the MWCNTs by ∼20%, with only a minimal effect on their degree of graphitization.

Synergistically enhanced electrochemical (ORR) activity of graphene oxide using boronic acid as an interlayer spacer.

Herein, boronic acid is incorporated into a graphene oxide (GO) structure in order to synthesise a graphene organic framework (GOF) with enhanced electrochemical performance. The results obtained indicate that the GOF favours a 4e(-) reduction pathway in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

High-yield aqueous phase exfoliation of graphene for facile nanocomposite synthesis via emulsion polymerization.

Aqueous phase exfoliation was developed for producing high-yield graphene nanosheets from expanded graphite (EG). The process included ultrasonication with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) emulsion in aqueous phase. The high throughput exfoliation process was characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Scalable solid-template reduction for designed reduced graphene oxide architectures.

Herein, we report a solid-state reduction process (in contrast to solution-based approach) by using an environmentally friendly reductant, such as vitamin C (denoted VC), to be directly employed to solid-state graphene oxide (GO) templates to give the highly active rGO architecture with a sheet resistance of as low as 10 Ω sq(-1). In addition, predesigned rGO patterns/tracks with tunable resistivity can be directly "written" on a preprepared solid GO film via the inkjet-printing technique using VC/H2O as the printing-ink. This advanced reduction process allows foreign active materials to be preincorporated into the GO matrix to form quality active composite architectures.

Carbon nanotubes: their potential and pitfalls for bone tissue regeneration and engineering.

Unlabelled: The extracellular environment which supports cell life is composed of a hierarchy of maintenance, force and regulatory systems which integrate from the nano- through to macroscale. For this reason, strategies to recreate cell supporting environments have been investigating the use of nanocomposite biomaterials. Here, we review the use of carbon nanotubes as part of a bottom-up approach for use in bone tissue engineering.

Effect of CeO₂ addition to Al₂O₃ supports for Pt catalysts on the aqueous-phase reforming of glycerol.

A series of Pt catalysts supported on Al₂O₃ that was doped with different amounts of CeO₂ was developed, characterized, and tested in the aqueous-phase reforming (APR) of glycerol to H₂. Catalyst 3Pt/3CeAl, which bore 3 wt% Pt on a support that contained 3 wt % CeO₂, showed the highest carbon conversion to gas (85%) and the highest H₂ yield (80%) for a feedstock of 1 wt% glycerol in water at 240 °C and 40 bar. A CeO₂/Al₂O₃ support with only 1 wt% Pt also showed high H₂ selectivity and carbon conversion to gas, as well as a much lower CH₄ yield than the benchmark 3Pt/Al catalyst, clearly demonstrating that doping the support with 3 wt% CeO2 improved the APR of glycerol.

Pretreatment control of carbon nanotube array growth for gas separation: alignment and growth studied using microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering.

Aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays were prepared using chemical vapor deposition of C2H4 on Fe catalyst at 750 °C. CNT array height and alignment depends strongly on the duration of H2 pretreatment, with optimal height and alignment achieved using 10-15 min pretreatment. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to quantify the alignment, distribution, and size of the CNTs in arrays produced from varying pretreatment times and the results correlated with microscopy measurements.

BiVO(4)/CeO(2) nanocomposites with high visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity.

Preparation of bismuth vanadate and cerium dioxide (BiVO4/CeO2) nanocomposites as visible-light photocatalysts was successfully obtained by coupling a homogeneous precipitation method with hydrothermal techniques. The BiVO4/CeO2 nanocomposites with different mole ratios were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Absorption range and band gap energy, which are responsible for the observed photocatalyst behavior, were investigated by UV-vis diffuse reflectance (UV-vis DR) spectroscopy.

Microwave decoration of Pt nanoparticles on entangled 3D carbon nanotube architectures as PEM fuel cell cathode.

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are expected to provide a complementary power supply to fossil fuels in the near future. The current reliance of fuel cells on platinum catalysts is undesirable. However, even the best-performing non-noble metal catalysts are not as efficient.

Carbon nanotube nanoweb-bioelectrode for highly selective dopamine sensing.

A highly sensitive and selective dopamine sensor was fabricated with the unique 3D carbon nanotube nanoweb (CNT-N) electrode. The as-synthesised CNT-N was modified by oxygen plasma to graft functional groups in order to increase selective electroactive sites at the CNT sidewalls. This electrode was characterized physically and electrochemically using HRSEM, Raman, FT-IR, and cyclic voltammetry (CV).