Antibiofilm Effects of Modifying Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membranes with Polyethylenimine, Poly(acrylic acid) and Graphene Oxide.

Biofouling in membrane filtration systems poses significant operational challenges, leading to decreased permeate flux. The aim of this work was to study the anti-biofilm properties of new nanofiltration membranes produced via layer-by-layer, LBL, assembly by coating a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) support with a polyethylenimine (PEI) and poly(acrylic acid)/graphene oxide (PAA-GO) mixture. The membranes were characterized according to contact angle, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy and their Z-potential.

"Reactive" Chemical Strategy to Attain Substrate Independent "" Omniphobic Solid Anti-Biofouling Coatings.

Covalent and defect-free surface-grafted solid lubricating chains that can impart slippery behavior have proven advantageous over lubricant infused and textured anti-wetting surfaces. Herein, the co-hydrolysis and co-condensation of a mixture of organosilanes followed by the epoxy-amine ring opening reaction at the interface results in a highly robust, transparent and solid slippery omniphobic coating (LL-OSC). The presence of the epoxy-terminated organosilane a) acts as a molecular spacer in between the low-surface energy, rigid fluorine terminated silane and b) provides 'reactive' epoxy groups for covalent binding to a pre-functionalized amine surface for potential applicability in droplet transport and manipulation, diagnostics etc.

Comparison of Oxytetracycline and Sulfamethazine Effects Over Root Elongation in Selected Wild and Crop Plants Commonly Present in the Mediterranean Cropland and Pasture Scenarios.

Fertilization with animal manure and sewage sludge, and the use of sewage water for irrigation, can lead to high antimicrobial concentrations in agricultural soils. Once in soil, antimicrobials can exert direct and indirect toxic effects on plants by misbalancing plant-microbe symbiotic relationships. We performed germination tests to determine the optimum germination conditions of 24 plant species (10 crop and 14 wild species).