Optimizing Immunofunctionalization and Cell Capture on Micromolded Hydrogels via Controlled Oxygen-Inhibited Photopolymerization.

With circulating tumor cells (CTCs) playing a critical role in cancer metastasis, the quantitation and characterization of CTCs promise to provide precise diagnostic and prognostic information in service of personalized therapies. However, as CTCs are extremely rare, high yield, high purity strategies are required to target and isolate CTCs from patient samples. Recently, we demonstrated the selective capture of CTCs upon antibody-functionalized polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels photopolymerized within polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic molds.

Molecular Interactions and Layer Stacking Dictate Covalent Organic Framework Effective Pore Size.

Interactions among ions, molecules, and confining solid surfaces are universally challenging and intriguing topics. Lacking a molecular-level understanding of such interactions in complex organic solvents perpetuates the intractable challenge of simultaneously achieving high permeance and selectivity in selectively permeable barriers. Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have demonstrated ultrahigh permeance, high selectivity, and stability in organic solvents.

Synthesis, Postsynthetic Modifications, and Applications of the First Quinoxaline-Based Covalent Organic Framework.

We report a new synthetic protocol for preparing highly ordered two-dimensional nanoporous covalent organic frameworks (2D-COFs) based on a quinoxaline backbone. The quinoxaline framework represents a new type of COF that enables postsynthetic modification by placing two different chemical functionalities within the nanopores including layer-to-layer cross-linking. We also demonstrate that membranes fabricated using this new 2D-COF perform highly selective separations resulting in dramatic performance enhancement post cross-linking.

Investigation on the Mass Distribution and Chemical Compositions of Various Ionic Liquids-Extracted Coal Fragments and Their Effects on the Electrochemical Performance of Coal-Derived Carbon Nanofibers (CCNFs).

Coal-derived carbon nanofibers (CCNFs) have been recently found to be a promising and low-cost electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors. However, the knowledge gap still exists between holistic understanding of coal precursors derived from different solvents and resulting CCNFs' properties, prohibiting further optimization of their electrochemical performance. In this paper, assisted by laser desorption/ionization (LDI) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technologies, a systematic study was performed to holistically characterize mass distribution and chemical composition of coal precursors derived from various ionic liquids (ILs) as extractants.

The Influence of Disorder in the Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of a Modifiable Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Framework.

Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D-COFs) have been of increasing interest in the past decade due to their porous structures that ideally can be highly ordered. One of the most common routes to these polymers relies on Schiff-base chemistry, i.e.

Elucidation of Titanium Dioxide Nucleation and Growth on a Polydopamine-Modified Nanoporous Polyvinylidene Fluoride Substrate via Low-Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition.

Interfaces combining polydopamine (PDA) and nanoparticles have been widely utilized for fabricating hybrid colloidal particles, thin films, and membranes for applications spanning biosensing, drug delivery, heavy metal detection, antifouling membranes, and lithium ion batteries. However, fundamental understanding of the interaction between PDA and nanoparticles is still limited, especially the impact of PDA on nanoparticle nucleation and growth. In this work, PDA is used to generate functional bonding sites for depositing titanium dioxide (TiO) via atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto a nanoporous polymer substrate for a range of ALD cycles (<100).

Engineering functional hydrogel microparticle interfaces by controlled oxygen-inhibited photopolymerization.

Functional poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel microparticles for the detection of bioactive macromolecules were fabricated via oxygen-inhibited photopolymerization in a droplet microfluidic device. Hydrogel network functionalization and architecture were characterized using a biotin-avidin binding assay, which revealed radial network inhomogeneities dependent on exposure conditions. Empirical results were corroborated using a reaction-diffusion model, describing the effects of exposure intensity on the spatial photopolymerization kinetics and resulting polymeric mesh network.

A Highly Ordered Nanoporous, Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Framework with Modifiable Pores, and Its Application in Water Purification and Ion Sieving.

The preparation of membranes with high selectivity based on specific chemical properties such as size and charge would impact the efficiency of the world's energy supply, the production of clean water, and many other separation technologies. We report a flexible synthetic protocol for preparing highly ordered two-dimensional nanoporous polymeric materials (termed covalent organic frameworks or COFs) that allow for placing virtually any function group within the nanopores. We demonstrate that membranes, fabricated with this new family of materials with carboxylated pore walls, are very water permeable, as well as highly charged and size selective.