Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) sensing: A focus on representatively sampling soil vadose zones linked to nano-sensors.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of organo-fluorine compounds that have been broadly used in consumer and industrial products spanning virtually all sectors. They can be found as surfactants, coatings and liners, polymer additives, fire retardants, adhesives, and many more. The chemical stability of the carbon fluorine bond and amphiphilic nature of PFAS result in their persistence and mobility in the environment via soil porewater, surface water and groundwater, with potential for adverse effects on the environment and human health.

Gelatin/β-Cyclodextrin Bio-Nanofibers as respiratory filter media for filtration of aerosols and volatile organic compounds at low air resistance.

Air pollution is a universal concern. The suspended solid/liquid particles in the air and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous. Synthetic polymer-based air filter media not only has disposal issues but also is a source of air and water pollution at the end of their life cycle.

Lithium-Ion Battery Separators for Ionic-Liquid Electrolytes: A Review.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are widely studied as a safer alternative electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries. The properties of IL electrolytes compared to conventional electrolytes make them more thermally stable, but they also have poor wetting with commercial separators. In a lithium-ion battery, the electrolyte should completely wet out the separator and electrodes to reduce the cell internal resistance.

Immobilization and stabilization of alcohol dehydrogenase on polyvinyl alcohol fibre.

A polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibrous carrier has been chemically modified for the immobilization of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) with an aim to increase its stability over a wide pH range, prolong its activity upon storage, and enhance its reusability. The strategy for immobilization involved functionalization of the fibrous carrier with chloropropinoyl chloride followed by amination with ethylenediamine. Tethering of the ADH enzyme to the PVA scaffold was achieved with glutaraldehyde.

Detection of vapor-phase organophosphate threats using wearable conformable integrated epidermal and textile wireless biosensor systems.

Flexible epidermal tattoo and textile-based electrochemical biosensors have been developed for vapor-phase detection of organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents. These new wearable sensors, based on stretchable organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) enzyme electrodes, are coupled with a fully integrated conformal flexible electronic interface that offers rapid and selective square-wave voltammetric detection of OP vapor threats and wireless data transmission to a mobile device. The epidermal tattoo and textile sensors display a good reproducibility (with RSD of 2.

Wearable Flexible and Stretchable Glove Biosensor for On-Site Detection of Organophosphorus Chemical Threats.

A flexible glove-based electrochemical biosensor with highly stretchable printed electrode system has been developed as a wearable point-of-use screening tool for defense and food security applications. This disposable-mechanically robust "lab-on-a-glove" integrates a stretchable printable enzyme-based biosensing system and active surface for swipe sampling on different fingers, and is coupled with a compact electronic interface for electrochemical detection and real-time wireless data transmission to a smartphone device. Stress-enduring inks are used to print the electrode system and the long serpentine connections to the wireless electronic interface.

Polyvinyl alcohol composite nanofibres containing conjugated levofloxacin-chitosan for controlled drug release.

A range of biodegradable drug-nanofibres composite mats have been reported as drug delivery systems. However, their main disadvantage is the rapid release of the drug immediately after application. This paper reports an improved system based on the incorporation of drug conjugated-chitosan into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers.

Surface activation of CNT Webs towards layer by layer assembly of biosensors.

Several surface activation methods such as chemical, electrochemical and plasma have been used for enhancing the electrochemical performance of carbon based electrodes for various applications. However, some of these surface activation methods may not be useful depending on the chemical and physical properties of the activated surface. Herein we investigate the surface activation of carbon nanotube (CNT) webs by electrochemical and plasma techniques to enhance their electrochemical performance and enable the fabrication of a biosensor using the layer-by-layer (LBL) approach.

Bioremediation of pesticide contaminated water using an organophosphate degrading enzyme immobilized on nonwoven polyester textiles.

Bioremediation using enzymes has become an attractive approach for removing hazardous chemicals such as organophosphate pesticides from the environment. Enzymes immobilized on solid carriers are particularly suited for such applications. In this study, the organophosphate degrading enzyme A (OpdA) was covalently immobilized on highly porous nonwoven polyester fabrics for organophosphate pesticide degradation.

Continuous production of flexible fibers from transgenically produced honeybee silk proteins.

Flexible and solvent stable fibers are produced after concentrated recombinant honeybee protein solutions are extruded into a methanol bath, dried, drawn in aqueous methanol, then covalently cross-linked using dry heat. Proteins in solution are predominantly coiled coil. Significant levels of non-orientated ß-sheets form during drying or after coagulation in aqueous methanol.

Combinatorial approach for the rapid determination of thermochromic behavior of binary and ternary cholesteric liquid crystalline mixtures.

A combinatorial approach was developed for the rapid determination of thermochromic behavior of a large number of binary and ternary sterol based thermochromic liquid crystalline formulations. A binary mixture containing cholesteryl oleyl carbonate and cholesteryl nonanoate, and ternary mixtures also containing a third component, either cholesteryl oleate, cholesteryl benzoate, cholesteryl 2,4-dichlorobenzoate or cholesteryl propionate, were formulated via solvent deposition into a black Teflon coated aluminum 96 well plate. The temperature of the well plate was then varied, and the color appearance of the deposited mixture in each well was recorded.

A comparison of the effects of fibre alignment of smooth and textured fibres in electrospun membranes on fibroblast cell adhesion.

A polyester polycaprolactone-based polyurethane elastomer (PU) and poly-(l-lactide) (PLLA), two common biomaterials, were electrospun to produce membranes with fibres either randomly orientated or aligned. PU was used to produce membranes consisting of smooth fibres. PLLA was used to prepare fibres with a textured surface.