Single nozzle electrospinning promoted hierarchical shell wall structured zinc oxide hollow tubes for water remediation.

Hypothesis: Electrospun metal oxide hollow tubes are of great interest owing to their unique structural advantages compared to solid nanofibers. Although intensive research on preparation of hollow tubes have been devoted, formation of hierarchical shells remains a significant challenge.

Experiments: Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of highly uniform, reproducible and industrially feasible ZnO hollow tubes (ZHT) with two-level hierarchical shells via a simple and versatile single-nozzle electrospinning strategy coupled with subsequent controlled thermal treatment.

Progress in the design and development of "fast-dissolving" electrospun nanofibers based drug delivery systems - A systematic review.

Electrospinning has emerged as most viable approach for the fabrication of nanofibers with several beneficial features that are essential to various applications ranging from environment to biomedicine. The electrospun nanofiber based drug delivery systems have shown tremendous advancements over the controlled and sustained release complemented from their high surface area, tunable porosity, mechanical endurance, offer compatible environment for drug encapsulation, biocompatibility, high drug loading and tailorable release characteristics. The dosage formulation of poorly water-soluble drugs often faces several challenges including complete dissolution with maximum therapeutic efficiency over a short period of time especially through oral administration.

Functionalized Electrospun Nanofibers as a Versatile Platform for Colorimetric Detection of Heavy Metal Ions in Water: A Review.

The increasing heavy metal pollution in the aquatic ecosystem mainly driven by industrial activities has raised severe concerns over human and environmental health that apparently necessitate the design and development of ideal strategies for the effective monitoring of heavy metals. In this regard, colorimetric detection provides excellent opportunities for the easy monitoring of heavy metal ions, and especially, corresponding solid-state sensors enable potential opportunities for their applicability in real-world monitoring. As a result of the significant interest originating from their simplicity, exceptional characteristics, and applicability, the electrospun nanofiber-based colorimetric detection of heavy metal ions has undergone radical developments in the recent decade.

Functionalized Electrospun Nanofibers as Colorimetric Sensory Probe for Mercury Detection: A Review.

Mercury is considered the most hazardous pollutant of aquatic resources; it exerts numerous adverse effects on environmental and human health. To date, significant progress has been made in employing a variety of nanomaterials for the colorimetric detection of mercury ions. Electrospun nanofibers exhibit several beneficial features, including a large surface area, porous nature, and easy functionalization; thus, providing several opportunities to encapsulate a variety of functional materials for sensing applications with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity, and a fast response.

Hydrochromic carbon dots as smart sensors for water sensing in organic solvents.

Smart, stimuli-responsive, photoluminescent materials that undergo a visually perceptible emission color change in the presence of an external stimulus have long been attractive for use in sensor platforms. When the stimulus is the presence of water, the materials that undergo changes in their light emission properties are called hydrochromic and they can be used for the development of sensors to detect and quantify the water content in organic solvents, which is fundamental for laboratory safety and numerous industrial applications. Herein, we demonstrate the preparation of structurally different carbon dots with tunable emission wavelengths a simple carbonization approach under controlled temperature and time, involving commercial brown sugar as a starting material.

Rational Design and Development of Electrospun Nanofibrous Biohybrid Composites.

Bioencapsulation has gained substantial attention in a wide spectrum of applications including bioremediation, sensing, and catalysis over the past few decades. However, such biohybrid systems suffer with many drawbacks in terms of low viability, low diffusion, and loss of biological activity. Therefore, it is more important to preserve the pristine characteristics and activity of biological elements against various environmental factors.

Ultrasensitive electrospun fluorescent nanofibrous membrane for rapid visual colorimetric detection of H2O2.

We report herein a flexible fluorescent nanofibrous membrane (FNFM) prepared by decorating the gold nanocluster (AuNC) on electrospun polysulfone nanofibrous membrane for rapid visual colorimetric detection of H2O2. The provision of AuNC coupled to NFM has proven to be advantageous for facile and quick visualization of the obtained results, permitting instant, selective, and on-site detection. We strongly suggest that the fast response time is ascribed to the enhanced probabilities of interaction with AuNC located at the surface of NF.

Glucose sensors based on electrospun nanofibers: a review.

The worldwide increase in the number of people suffering from diabetes has been the driving force for the development of glucose sensors. The recent past has devised various approaches to formulate glucose sensors using various nanostructure materials. This review presents a combined survey of these various approaches, with emphasis on the current progress in the use of electrospun nanofibers and their composites.

Immobilization of gold nanoclusters inside porous electrospun fibers for selective detection of Cu(II): A strategic approach to shielding pristine performance.

Here, a distinct demonstration of highly sensitive and selective detection of copper (Cu(2+)) in a vastly porous cellulose acetate fibers (pCAF) has been carried out using dithiothreitol capped gold nanocluster (DTT.AuNC) as fluorescent probe. A careful optimization of all potential factors affecting the performance of the probe for effective detection of Cu(2+) were studied and the resultant sensor strip exhibiting unique features including high stability, retained parent fluorescence nature and reproducibility.

Highly Fluorescent Pyrene-Functional Polystyrene Copolymer Nanofibers for Enhanced Sensing Performance of TNT.

A pyrene-functional polystyrene copolymer was prepared via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction (Sharpless-type click recation) between azide-functional styrene copolymer and 1-ethynylpyrene. Subsequently, nanofibers of pyrene-functional polystyrene copolymer were obtained by using electrospinning technique. The nanofibers thus obtained, found to preserve their parent fluorescence nature, confirmed the avoidance of aggregation during fiber formation.

Real-time selective visual monitoring of Hg(2+) detection at ppt level: An approach to lighting electrospun nanofibers using gold nanoclusters.

In this work, fluorescent gold nanocluster (AuNC) decorated polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers (AuNC*PCL-NF) for real time visual monitoring of Hg(2+) detection at ppt level in water is demonstrated. The resultant AuNC*PCL-NF exhibiting remarkable stability more than four months at ambient environment and facilitates increased accessibility to active sites resulting in improved sensing performance with rapid response time. The fluorescence changes of AuNC*PCL-NF and their corresponding time dependent spectra, upon introduction of Hg(2+), led to the visual identification of the sensor performance.

Ultrafast on-site selective visual detection of TNT at sub-ppt level using fluorescent gold cluster incorporated single nanofiber.

In this communication, a fluorescent gold cluster incorporated electrospun nanofibrous membrane and single nanofiber for selective and sensitive detection of TNT at sub-ppt level are demonstrated.

An investigation on co-precipitation derived ZnO nanospheres.

This paper describes a simple chemical co-precipitation method for preparing nano-sized zinc oxide (ZnO) nanospheres. The morphological, thermal, structural, and chemical features of ZnO nanospheres were systematically studied and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo gravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The SEM micrographs reveal that the particles are spherical in nature and the precipitating agent ammonia plays a critical role in controlling the morphology of the nanospheres.