A comprehensive review on synthesis, characterization, and applications of polydimethylsiloxane and copolymers

Direct writing concave structure on viscoelastic substrate for loading and releasing liquid on skin surface

Droplet deposition on deformable matrix has a broad application prospect. Regular deposition and diffusion of droplet on the substrate is the key to prepare flexible concave structure. Direct writing technique is an advanced method for depositing ink droplet on various substrates, which could produce a variety of deposition forms. Meanwhile, direct writing technique has the characteristics of simplicity, convenience and strong controllability. In this work, patterned concave structure was fabricated with viscoelastic substrate by direct writing technology, depositing behavior of ink droplet, formation condition and shape control of concave structure were studied with viscoelastic substrate, and practical application of the patterned concave structure was explored in loading and releasing liquid on skin surface. This study provides an efficient method for the preparation and application of controllable concave surface.

Particle Counting Methods Based on Microfluidic Devices

Particle counting serves as a pivotal constituent in diverse analytical domains, encompassing a broad spectrum of entities, ranging from blood cells and bacteria to viruses, droplets, bubbles, wear debris, and magnetic beads. Recent epochs have witnessed remarkable progressions in microfluidic chip technology, culminating in the proliferation and maturation of microfluidic chip-based particle counting methodologies. This paper undertakes a taxonomical elucidation of microfluidic chip-based particle counters based on the physical parameters they detect. These particle counters are classified into three categories: optical-based counters, electrical-based particle counters, and other counters. Within each category, subcategories are established to consider structural differences. Each type of counter is described not only in terms of its working principle but also the methods employed to enhance sensitivity and throughput. Additionally, an analysis of future trends related to each counter type is provided.

A versatile “3M” methodology to obtain superhydrophobic PDMS-based materials for antifouling applications

Fouling, including inorganic, organic, bio-, and composite fouling seriously affects our daily life. To reduce these effects, antifouling strategies including fouling resistance, release, and degrading, have been proposed. Superhydrophobicity, the most widely used characteristic for antifouling that relies on surface wettability, can provide surfaces with antifouling abilities owing to its fouling resistance and/or release effects. PDMS shows valuable and wide applications in many fields, and due to the inherent hydrophobicity, superhydrophobicity can be achieved simply by roughening the surface of pure PDMS or its composites. In this review, we propose a versatile “3M” methodology (materials, methods, and morphologies) to guide the fabrication of superhydrophobic PDMS-based materials for antifouling applications. Regarding materials, pure PDMS, PDMS with nanoparticles, and PDMS with other materials were introduced. The available methods are discussed based on the different materials. Materials based on PDMS with nanoparticles (zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional nanoparticles) are discussed systematically as typical examples with different morphologies. Carefully selected materials, methods, and morphologies were reviewed in this paper, which is expected to be a helpful reference for future research on superhydrophobic PDMS-based materials for antifouling applications.

Synthesis and Hydrophilicity Analysis of bis(propane-1,2-diol) Terminated Polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMSs)

Among silicone oligomers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is widely used industrially and has the advantage of improving the properties of other compounds, such as flame-retardant polyurethane (PU). However, as there are barriers to the synthesis of PU-grafted siloxane, owing to the polarity difference between isocyanate and PDMS, numerous research efforts are being aimed at improving the hydrophilicity of PDMS. To improve the hydrophilicity and reactivity of hydroxyl PDMS, bis(propane-1,2-diol)-terminated PDMS (G-PDMS-G) with four hydroxy (-OH) groups was synthesized through ring-opening addition to replace both ends of linear α,ω-hydroxyl PDMS (HO-PDMS-OH) with glycidol, resulting in hydrophilic PDMS rather than dihydroxy PDMS. In all cases of G-PDMS-G, the contact angle and viscosity both decreased by more than 20%, confirming the improved hydrophilicity. In particular, G-PDMS-G-3, which has the largest molecular weight, demonstrated the greatest decrease in viscosity and contact angle (33%).

Classifying deep eutectic solvents for polymer solvation via intramolecular dimer formation

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as versatile and inexpensive solubilizing media with widely varying physicochemical properties. Establishing characteristics of a novel solvent milieu for polymer dissolution is an important...

Viscosity Approximation of PDMS Using Weibull Function

The viscosity of a fluid is one of its basic physico-chemical properties. The modelling of this property as a function of temperature has been the subject of intensive studies. The knowledge of how viscosity and temperature variation are related is particularly important for applications that use the intrinsic friction of fluids to dissipate energy, for example viscous torsional vibration dampers using high viscosity poly(dimethylsiloxane) as a damping factor. This article presents a new method for approximating the dynamic viscosity of poly(dimethylsiloxane). It is based on the three-parameter Weibull function that far better reflects the relationship between viscosity and temperature compared with the models used so far. Accurate mapping of dynamic viscosity is vitally important from the point of view of the construction of viscous dampers, as it allows for accurate estimation of their efficiency in the energy dissipation process.

New Force-Field for Organosilicon Molecules in the Liquid Phase

In this paper, we present a new molecular model that can accurately predict thermodynamic liquid state and phase-change properties for organosilicon molecules including several functional groups (alkylsilane, alkoxysilane, siloxane, and silanol). These molecules are of great importance in geological processes, biological systems, and material science, yet no force field currently exists that is widely applicable to organosilicates. The model is parametrized according to the recent Polarization-Consistent Approach (PolCA), which allows for polarization effects to be incorporated into a nonpolarizable model through post facto correction terms and is therefore consistent with previous parametrizations of the PolCA force field. Alkyl groups are described by the United-Atom approach, bond and angle parameters were taken from previous literature studies, dihedral parameters were fitted to new quantum chemical energy profiles, point charges were calculated from quantum chemical optimizations in a continuum solvent, and Lennard-Jones dispersion/repulsion parameters were fitted to match the density and enthalpy of vaporization of a small number of selected compounds. Extensive validation efforts were carried out, after careful collection and curation of experimental data for organosilicates. Overall, the model performed quite well for the density, enthalpy of vaporization, dielectric constant, and self-diffusion coefficient, but it slightly overestimated the magnitude of self-solvation free energies. The modular and transferable nature of the PolCA force field allows for further extensions to other types of silicon-containing compounds.

A review on the applications of electrospun chitosan nanofibers for the cancer treatment

In recent years, the incidence of cancer is increasing every day due to poor quality of life (industrialization of life). Therefore, the treatment of cancer has received much attention from therapists. So far, many anticancer drugs have been used to treat cancer patents. However, the direct use of the anticancer drugs has the adverse side effects for patents and several limitations to treat process. Natural chitosan nanofibers prepared by electrospinning method have unique properties such as high surface area, high porosity, suitable mechanical properties, nontoxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, biorenewable, low immunogenicity, better clinical functionality, analogue to extracellular model, and easy production in large scale. Therefore, this bio-polymer is a very suitable case to deliver of the anti-cancer drugs to treat cancer patents. In this review summarizes the electrospinning synthesis of chitosan and its therapeutic application for the various cancer treatment.

Impact of ion suppression by sample cap liners in lipidomics

Contamination from the polymeric material released by vial caps used for sample introduction in liquid chromatography can significantly affect the signal of the analyte of interest. In particular, repeated injections from the same sample vial can enhance this suppressing effect. Multiple injections of the same sample are often used in metabolomics and lipidomics during routine analyses. Here we demonstrate how the presence of contaminant polymers, originating from the vial closures, significantly influences the estimation of the relative amount of endogenous lipids in human plasma. Furthermore, this can negatively impact other operations in mass spectrometric analysis, such as instrument equilibration and tuning or the common use of technical replicates to improve confidence in data interpretation. Our observations provide critical information on how to improve future analyses through the use of appropriate vial caps, solvents, chromatographic separations and equipment.