Zwitterionic Polymers for Biomedical Applications: Antimicrobial and Antifouling Strategies toward Implantable Medical Devices and Drug Delivery.

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is extensively utilized in biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility; however, its thermal instability and susceptibility to oxidative degradation significantly constrain its long-term effectiveness. Zwitterionic polymers, characterized by their distinctive structure, enhanced stability, and superior biocompatibility, offer a more advantageous alternative. These polymers exhibit super hydrophilicity, resist nonspecific protein adsorption, and maintain stability in biological environments due to their charge-neutral ionic nature.

Room-Temperature Columnar Liquid Crystals from Twisted and Macrocyclic 9,9'-Bifluorenylidene Mesogen with Ambipolar Carrier Transport Properties.

We herein report the synthesis and characterization of a series of twisted and conjugated 9,9'-bifluorenylidene () derivatives and a ladder-shaped cyclic dimer () bearing eight long alkoxy chains at peripheral positions. These contorted aromatics formed hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline mesophases over a wide temperature range, including room temperature. Ambipolar carrier transport properties with electron and hole mobility values of approximately 10 and 10 cm V s, respectively, were achieved for the derivatives forming a monodomain orientation at ambient temperature.

Recent Advances in Organic Molecular-to-Supramolecular Self-Assembled Room-Temperature Phosphorescent Materials for Biomedical Applications.

This minireview focuses on recent advancements in organic molecular-to-supramolecular self-assembled room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials and their prospective biomedical applications. RTP materials, having their unique capacity to emit long-lasting phosphorescence at ambient temperature, have piqued researchers' interest in various biological applications, including biosensing, bioimaging, drug delivery, and photodynamic therapy (PDT). These materials have several benefits, including high sensitivity, remarkable photostability, and low cytotoxicity.

Bismuth-Decorated Beta Zeolites Catalysts for Highly Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Cellulose to Biomass-Derived Glycolic Acid.

Catalytic conversion of cellulose to liquid fuel and highly valuable platform chemicals remains a critical and challenging process. Here, bismuth-decorated β zeolite catalysts (Bi/β) were exploited for highly efficient hydrolysis and selective oxidation of cellulose to biomass-derived glycolic acid in an O atmosphere, which exhibited an exceptionally catalytic activity and high selectivity as well as excellent reusability. It was interestingly found that as high as 75.

Preparation and Characterization of Graphene Oxide/Polyaniline/Polydopamine Nanocomposites towards Long-Term Anticorrosive Performance of Epoxy Coatings.

To address the challenging issues of metal materials corrosion in industries, which has caused huge economic losses and security threats to many facilities in marine environments, functional polymer coatings have been widely used and regarded as one of the simplest and most effective methods to prevent such an undesirable event. In this study, a new type of coating filler consisting of graphene oxide/polyaniline/polydopamine (GO-PANI-PDA) nanocomposites has been successfully synthesized. The morphology, structure, composition, and corrosion resistance performance of the GO-PANI-PDA (GPP) nanocomposites were investigated via a series of characterization methods.

Backbone Effects on the Thermoelectric Properties of Ultra-Small Bandgap Conjugated Polymers.

Conjugated polymers with narrower bandgaps usually induce higher carrier mobility, which is vital for the improved thermoelectric performance of polymeric materials. Herein, two indacenodithiophene (IDT) based donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated polymers (PIDT-BBT and PIDTT-BBT) were designed and synthesized, both of which exhibited low-bandgaps. PIDTT-BBT showed a more planar backbone and carrier mobility that was two orders of magnitude higher (2.

Zwitterionic liquid crystalline polythiophene as an antibiofouling biomaterial.

To address a key challenge of conjugated polymers in biomedical applications having poor antifouling properties that eventually leads to the failure and reduced lifetime of bioelectronics in the body, herein we describe the design, synthesis, and evaluation of our newly designed multifunctional zwitterionic liquid crystalline polymer PCBTh-C8C10, which is facilely synthesized using oxidative polymerization. A conjugated polythiophene backbone, a multifunctional zwitterionic side chain, and a mesogenic unit are integrated into one segment. By DSC and POM characterization, we verify that the introduction of 3,5-bis(2-octyl-1-dodecyloxy)benzene as a mesogenic unit into the polythiophene backbone allows the formation of the liquid crystalline mesophase of the resulting polymer.

Structure and Doping Optimization of IDT-Based Copolymers for Thermoelectrics.

π-conjugated backbones play a fundamental role in determining the thermoelectric (TE) properties of organic semiconductors. Understanding the relationship between the structure-property-function can help us screen valuable materials. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of conjugated copolymers (, , and ) based on an indacenodithiophene (IDT) building block.

Zwitterionic Porous Conjugated Polymers as a Versatile Platform for Antibiofouling Implantable Bioelectronics.

Here, we describe the design, synthesis, and evaluation of two kinds of multifunctional zwitterionic linear poly(carboxybetaine thiophene) (PCBTh) and porous poly(carboxybetaine thiophene--9,9'-bifluoreneylidene) (PCBTh-BF) polymers, which can be facilely synthesized using Yamamoto and Suzuki polycondensation, respectively. The integrations of zwitterionic polymer-based biomaterials that consist of conjugated polymer backbones, multifunctional zwitterionic side chains, and distorted units are designed and studied to address a key challenge of conjugated polymers in biomedical applications: biofouling phenomena that eventually lead to the failure and reduced lifetime of bioelectronics in the body. The introduction of a twisting unit into the polymer backbone allows us to tune the porosity, morphology, optical properties, and efficiency of antibiofouling features of resulting polymers.

One-Step Large-Scale Nanotexturing of Nonplanar PTFE Surfaces to Induce Bactericidal and Anti-inflammatory Properties.

Here we demonstrate a simple and scalable nanotexturing method for both planar (films) and nonplanar (tubes) polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surfaces using a commercial desktop oxygen plasma etcher. The simple process can generate semiordered nanopillar structures on both tubular and planar samples with high radial and axial uniformity. We found that the resulting surfaces exhibit good bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties.

Pyrolytic preparation and modification of carbon black recovered from waste tyres.

The medium temperature pyrolysis process using a fixed-bed reactor at atmospheric pressure was utilised to recover carbon black from motorcycle and automobile tyres. Experimental results have shown that the ash and volatile contents of several recovered carbon blacks are high, the elongation at break of the vulcanised natural rubber filled with recovered carbon blacks from motorcycle tyres is better than that from motorcycle tyres and standard carbon black 7#, while the other mechanical properties are worse. In order to improve the reinforcing effect of recovered carbon blacks, the modification of recovered carbon black was performed by high-energy electron bombardment and non-oxidising acid.

Correction: Bismuth oxyiodide coupled with bismuth nanodots for enhanced photocatalytic bisphenol A degradation: synergistic effects and mechanistic insight.

Correction for 'Bismuth oxyiodide coupled with bismuth nanodots for enhanced photocatalytic bisphenol A degradation: synergistic effects and mechanistic insight' by Shunqin Luo et al., Nanoscale, 2017, DOI: 10.1039/c7nr05320g.

Bismuth oxyiodide coupled with bismuth nanodots for enhanced photocatalytic bisphenol A degradation: synergistic effects and mechanistic insight.

Bismuth based semiconductor photocatalysts are being generated as promising materials for photocatalysis. In this work, hydrothermal methods have been utilized to synthesize a bismuth oxyiodide semiconductor with deposited Bi nanodots (Bi-BiOI), which could create oxygen defects and accelerate photoinduced charge migration simultaneously. The resulting Bi-BiOI strongly demonstrates the high photocatalytic performance for bisphenol A and methylene blue degradation under visible light.

Red-Green-Blue Trichromophoric Nanoparticles with Dual Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer: Highly Sensitive Fluorogenic Response Toward Polyanions.

A red-green-blue (RGB) trichromophoric fluorescent organic nanoparticle exhibiting multi-colour emission was constructed; the blue-emitting cationic oligofluorene nanoparticle acted as an energy-donor scaffold to undergo fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to a red-emitting dye embedded in the nanoparticle (interior FRET) and to a green-emitting dye adsorbed on the surface through electrostatic interactions (exterior FRET). Each FRET event occurs independently and is free from sequential FRET, thus the resultant dual-FRET system exhibits multi-colour emission, including white, in aqueous solution and film state. A characteristic white-emissive nanoparticle showed visible responses upon perturbation of the exterior FRET efficiency by acceptor displacement, leading to highly sensitive responses toward polyanions in a ratiometric manner.

Phosphorescence from a pure organic fluorene derivative in solution at room temperature.

A fluorene derivative having both bromo and formyl groups exhibited bright phosphorescence emission in common organic solvents at room temperature. The absolute phosphorescence quantum yield reached 5.9% in chloroform at 298 K.