Metal-Phenolic Film Coated Quartz Crystal Microbalance as a Selective Sensor for Methanol Detection in Alcoholic Beverages.

The facile real-time monitoring of methyl content in fermented beverages is of fundamental significance in the alcohol and restaurant industry, since as little as 4 mL of methanol entering the blood may cause intoxication or blindness. So far, the practical applicability of available methanol sensors, including the piezoresonance analogs, is somewhat limited to laboratory use due to the complexity and bulkiness of the measuring equipment involving multistep procedures. This article introduces a hydrophobic metal-phenolic film-coated quartz crystal microbalance (MPF-QCM) as a novel streamlined detector of methanol in alcoholic drinks.

On the Development of Ultradurable Extremely Water-Repellent and Oleophobic Soot-Based Fabrics with Direct Relevance to Sperm Cryopreservation.

Nowadays, the tremendous progress of nanotechnologies and materials science facilitates the fabrication of universal and multifunctional superhydrophobic surfaces on a large scale. Yet, integrating icephobic and anti-bioadhesive properties in an individual water-repellent functional coating, for addressing the difficulties faced by cryobiologists, aircraft, and seacraft manufacturers, is quite tricky but feasible if using nonpolar soot nanoparticles, whose fragility, however, impedes their industrial applicability. Here, we advance the current state-of-the-art to an extent, permitting the introduction of economically affordable and ultradurable non-wettable soot-based coatings.

When condensed matter physics meets biology: Does superhydrophobicity benefiting the cryopreservation of human spermatozoa?

With the increasing demand in regenerative and reproductive medicine for successful conservation of living matter, the need of reliable platform in cell banking seems inevitable. Whilst the cells storage at cryogenic temperatures is a well-developed method, far less is known about the efficiency of nanotechnology in cryogenics. The primary objective of this study is to represent the first of its kind experimental results related to cryopreservation of human spermatozoa by means of superhydrophobic carbon soot coatings.