Colloidal Gold Nanoclusters Spiked Silica Fillers in Mixed Matrix Coatings: Simultaneous Detection and Inhibition of Healthcare-Associated Infections.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are the infections that patients get while receiving medical treatment in a medical facility with bacterial HAIs being the most common. Silver and gold nanoparticles (NPs) have been successfully employed as antibacterial motifs; however, NPs leaching in addition to poor dispersion and overall reproducibility are major hurdles to further product development. In this study, the authors design and fabricate a smart antibacterial mixed-matrix membrane coating comprising colloidal lysozyme-templated gold nanoclusters as nanofillers in poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(butylene terephthalate) amphiphilic polymer matrix.

Hollow ZIF-8 Nanoworms from Block Copolymer Templates.

Recently two quite different types of "nano-containers" have been recognized as attractive potential drug carriers; these are wormlike filamenteous micelles ("filomicelles") on the one hand and metal organic frameworks on the other hand. In this work we combine these two concepts. We report for the first time the manufacturing of metal organic framework nanotubes with a hollow core.

Zeolite-imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) membrane synthesis on a mixed-matrix substrate.

A thin, dense, compact and hydrogen selective ZIF-8 membrane was synthesized on a polymer/metal oxide mixed-matrix support by a secondary seeding method. The new concept of incorporating ZnO particles into the support and PDMS coating of the ZIF-8 layer is introduced to improve the preparation of ZIF-polymer composite membranes.

Block copolymer hollow fiber membranes with catalytic activity and pH-response.

We fabricated block copolymer hollow fiber membranes with self-assembled, shell-side, uniform pore structures. The fibers in these membranes combined pores able to respond to pH and acting as chemical gates that opened above pH 4, and catalytic activity, achieved by the incorporation of gold nanoparticles. We used a dry/wet spinning process to produce the asymmetric hollow fibers and determined the conditions under which the hollow fibers were optimized to create the desired pore morphology and the necessary mechanical stability.

Selective separation of similarly sized proteins with tunable nanoporous block copolymer membranes.

An integral asymmetric membrane was fabricated in a fast and one-step process by combining the self-assembly of an amphiphilic block copolymer (PS-b-P4VP) with nonsolvent-induced phase separation. The structure was found to be composed of a thin layer of densely packed highly ordered cylindrical channels with uniform pore sizes perpendicular to the surface on top of a nonordered sponge-like layer. The as-assembled membrane obtained a water flux of more than 3200 L m(-2) h(-1) bar(-1), which was at least an order of magnitude higher than the water fluxes of commercially available membranes with comparable pore sizes, making this membrane particularly well suited to size-selective and charge-based separation of biomolecules.

From micelle supramolecular assemblies in selective solvents to isoporous membranes.

The supramolecular assembly of PS-b-P4VP copolymer micelles induced by selective solvent mixtures was used to manufacture isoporous membranes. Micelle order in solution was confirmed by cryo-scanning electron microscopy in casting solutions, leading to ordered pore morphology. When dioxane, a solvent that interacts poorly with the micelle corona, was added to the solution, polymer-polymer segment contact was preferential, increasing the intermicelle contact.

Switchable pH-responsive polymeric membranes prepared via block copolymer micelle assembly.

A process is described to manufacture monodisperse asymmetric pH-responsive nanochannels with very high densities (pore density >2 × 10(14) pores per m(2)), reproducible in m(2) scale. Cylindric pores with diameters in the sub-10 nm range and lengths in the 400 nm range were formed by self-assembly of metal-block copolymer complexes and nonsolvent-induced phase separation. The film morphology was tailored by taking into account the stability constants for a series of metal-polymer complexes and confirmed by AFM.