Facile preparation of superhydrophobic conductive textiles and the application of real-time sensor of joint motion sensor

Preparation of Time-Sequential Functionalized ZnS-ZnO Film for Modulation of Interfacial Behavior of Metals in Biological Service Environments

Blood-contact devices are prone to inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, coagulation, and the uncontrolled release of metal ions during implantation and service. Therefore, it is essential to make these multifunctional. Herein, a superhydrophobic DE@ZnS-ZnO@SA film (composed of dabigatran ester, zinc sulfite, zinc oxide, and stearic acid, respectively) is produced. The prepared film has non-adhesion and antibacterial properties, superior mechanical stability, durability, corrosion resistance, and is self-cleaning and blood-repellent. The results of the hemolysis, cytotoxicity, and other anticoagulant experiments revealed that the film had good blood compatibility, no cytotoxicity, and excellent anticoagulant properties. The film displays anticoagulant properties even after being immersed in Phosphate-Buffered Saline (PBS) for 7 days. Furthermore, the film can spontaneously release H2S gas for 90 h after soaking in an acidic environment (pH = 6) for 90 h. This property improves the acidic microenvironment of the lesion and promotes the proliferation of endothelial cells by using H2S gas. In addition, the film can inhibit the uncontrollable release of Zn2+ ions, avoiding its toxicity even when immersed in an acid environment for 35 days. This time-sequential functionalized surface has the potential to typify the future of blood-contacting scaffolds for long-lasting use.

Combining Chitosan, Stearic Acid, and (Cu-, Zn-) MOFs to Prepare Robust Superhydrophobic Coatings with Biomedical Multifunctionalities

There is an urgent need to develop a series of multifunctional materials with good biocompatibility, high mechanical strength, hemostatic properties, antiadhesion, and anti-infection for applications in wound care. However, successfully developing multifunctional materials is challenging. In this study, two superhydrophobic composite coatings with good biocompatibility, high mechanical strength, strong antifouling and blood repellency, fast hemostasis, and good antibacterial activity are prepared on cotton fabric surface by simple, green, and low-cost one-step dip-coating technology. The results discussed in the manuscript reveals that the two superhydrophobic composite coatings can maintain good mechanical stability, strong water repellency, and durability under various types of mechanical damage, high-temperature treatment, and long-term strong light irradiation. The coatings also exhibit good repellency to various solid pollutants, highly viscous liquid pollutants, and blood. In vitro and in vivo hemostatic experiments show that both composite coatings have good hemostatic and anticlot adhesion properties. More importantly, this superhydrophobic coating prevents bacterial adhesion and growth and released Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions and chitosan to achieve bactericidal properties, thereby protecting injured skin from bacterial infection. The two superhydrophobic coatings enhance the antifouling, antiadhesion, hemostatic, and antibacterial functions of blood-repellent dressings and therefore have broad application prospects in medical and textile fields.

Superhydrophobic Flexible Strain Sensors Constructed Using Nanomaterials: Their Fabrications and Sustainable Applications

Superhydrophobic flexible strain sensors, which combine superhydrophobic coatings with highly sensitive flexible sensors, significantly enhance sensor performance and expand applications in human motion monitoring. Superhydrophobic coatings provide water repellency, surface self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, and anti-fouling properties for the sensors. Additionally, they enhance equipment durability. At present, many studies on superhydrophobic flexible sensors are still in the early research stage; the wear resistance and stability of sensors are far from reaching the level of industrial application. This paper discusses fundamental theories such as the wetting mechanism, tunneling effect, and percolation theory of superhydrophobic flexible sensors. Additionally, it reviews commonly used construction materials and principles of these sensors. This paper discusses the common preparation methods for superhydrophobic flexible sensors and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each method to identify the most suitable approach. Additionally, this paper summarizes the wide-ranging applications of the superhydrophobic flexible sensor in medical health, human motion monitoring, anti-electromagnetic interference, and de-icing/anti-icing, offering insights into these fields.

Construction of Hierarchical Micro/Nanostructured ZnO/Cu-ZnMOFs@SA Superhydrophobic Composite Coatings with Excellent Multifunctionality of Anticorrosion, Blood-Repelling, and Antimicrobial Properties

Naked medical devices are often damaged by blood, bacteria, and other extreme environmental conditions (heat, humidity, acid, alkali, salts, and others), causing device failure and increasing difficulty for the operator. They can also cause inflammation and coagulation resulting in severe complications and even death. In this work, the superhydrophobic ZnO/copper-zinc metal-organic frameworks@stearic acid (ZnO/Cu-ZnMOFs@SA) composite coatings with hierarchical micro/nanostructures were fabricated on Zn substrates via a one-step hydrothermal method. The effects of hierarchical micro/nanostructures on surface wettability, physicochemical stability, and biological properties have been studied in this manuscript. The structure not only provided the coatings with robust waterproofing, abrasive resistance, durability, and thermal and light irradiation stability but also successfully recovered their superhydrophobicity by remodifying the surface with SA, showing excellent repeatability. In addition, the coating demonstrates excellent corrosion resistance and self-cleaning ability and rejects various solid and liquid contaminants. The superhydrophobic ZnO/Cu-ZnMOFs@SA composite coatings also exhibited excellent antibacterial and thrombosis resistance. The findings indicated that the superhydrophobic composite coatings have a strong potential for application in medical instruments for exhibiting multifunctional properties in various extreme environments.

A Review of Electro Conductive Textiles Utilizing the Dip-Coating Technique: Their Functionality, Durability and Sustainability

The presented review summarizes recent studies in the field of electro conductive textiles as an essential part of lightweight and flexible textile-based electronics (so called e-textiles), with the main focus on a relatively simple and low-cost dip-coating technique that can easily be integrated into an existing textile finishing plant. Herein, numerous electro conductive compounds are discussed, including intrinsically conductive polymers, carbon-based materials, metal, and metal-based nanomaterials, as well as their combinations, with their advantages and drawbacks in contributing to the sectors of healthcare, military, security, fitness, entertainment, environmental, and fashion, for applications such as energy harvesting, energy storage, real-time health and human motion monitoring, personal thermal management, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) shielding, wireless communication, light emitting, tracking, etc. The greatest challenge is related to the wash and wear durability of the conductive compounds and their unreduced performance during the textiles' lifetimes, which includes the action of water, high temperature, detergents, mechanical forces, repeated bending, rubbing, sweat, etc. Besides electrical conductivity, the applied compounds also influence the physical-mechanical, optical, morphological, and comfort properties of textiles, depending on the type and concentration of the compound, the number of applied layers, the process parameters, as well as additional protective coatings. Finally, the sustainability and end-of-life of e-textiles are critically discussed in terms of the circular economy and eco-design, since these aspects are mainly neglected, although e-textile' waste could become a huge problem in the future when their mass production starts.