Hyperbranched exopolysaccharide-enhanced foam properties of sodium fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether sulfate

Plant polyphenol surfactant construction with strong surface activity and chelation properties as efficient decontamination of UO22+ on cotton fabric

Chemically synthesized surfactants have promising applications in the treatment of uranium, however, their hazardous environmental effects, non-biodegradability, and numerous drawbacks prevent them from being widely used in practice. Herein, we successfully synthesized a green chelating and foaming integrated surfactant (BTBS) by Mannich reaction and acylation of bayberry tannin for the effective removal of UO22+ from aqueous environments or solid surfaces. The as-prepared surfactant was systematically characterized by FT-IR, showing that the hydrophobic groups were successfully grafted onto tannin. The modified material showed better foaming and emulsifying properties, which proved this method could improve the amphiphilicity of tannin. Moreover, for the first time, a foam fractionation method in conjunction with a tannin-based surfactant was applied for UO22+ removal from water. This surfactant was used as a co-surfactant and could readily remove 90 % of UO22+ (20 mg L-1) from water. The removal of UO22+ could be completed in a short time (30 min), and the maximum adsorption capacity was determined as 175.9 mg g-1. This surfactant can also be used for efficient decontamination of uranium-contaminated cotton cloth with a high removal rate of 94.55 %. In addition, the mechanism studies show that the adsorption of BTBS for UO22+ can be mainly attributed to a chelating mechanism between UO22+ and the adjacent phenolic hydroxyls. The novel biomass-derived BTBS with advantages such as high capture capacity, environmental friendliness, and cost-effectiveness suggests that it plays an important role in the remediation of radionuclide pollution.

Preliminary study of improving immune tolerance in vivo of bioprosthetic heart valves through a novel antigenic removal method

The durability of bioprosthetic heart valves is always compromised by the inherent antigenicity of biomaterials. Decellularization has been a promising approach to reducing the immunogenicity of biological valves. However, current methods are insufficient in eliminating all immunogenicity from the biomaterials, necessitating the exploration of novel techniques. In this study, we investigated using a novel detergent, fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether sodium sulfate (AES), to remove antigens from bovine pericardium. Our results demonstrated that AES treatment achieved a higher pericardial antigen removal rate than traditional detergent treatments while preserving the mechanical properties and biocompatibility of the biomaterials. Moreover, we observed excellent immune tolerance in the in vivo rat model. Overall, our findings suggest that AES treatment is a promising method for preparing biological valves with ideal clinical application prospects.

High-Efficient Dust Trapping Performance of AES/Polyacrylamide Strengthen Foam Based on the Structure Stability and Dust Wettability

The atmospheric dust has a great negative impact on the societal harmonious development that starves for an efficient dust suppressant. This paper proposes a novel AES/polyacrylamide strengthen foam (APSF) to improve the dust trapping effectiveness. The APSF structure property and dust suppression capacity are studied and evaluated through the molecular dynamics simulation and experimental tests. The results express that APSF exhibits the stronger structure stability, superior water retention, and slower drainage performance than the traditional water-based foam (WBF). APSF dynamic simulation is studied by the relative concentration, radial distribution function, head group orientation, and mean square displacement. Research shows that APSF introduces water to thicken the hydration layer. The interaction strength between water and surfactant head groups is enhanced by 22.62 and 31.37% in the first and second hydrated water shells. APSF improves the sodium fatty alcohol ether sulfate (AES) orientation and weakens the diffusion of water molecules, which favors the foam stability. APSF exerts a better wettability on the coal dust through the wet settlement and contact angle tests. The APSF liquid film thickness reduces to 58.05 from 64.80 μm that is 3.14 times of WBF according to the foam liquid film decay experiment. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis indicates that there is an evident reinforcement on the coal surface absorption peak intensity of hydroxyl- and oxygen-containing functional groups treated by APSF. FTIR results are further determined by energy-dispersion spectrum analysis.

Prospective bioremediation of toxic heavy metals in water by surfactant exopolysaccharide of Ochrobactrum pseudintermedium using cost-effective substrate

Globally, the underlying peril of cumulative toxicity of heavy metals in water bodies contaminated by industrial effluents is a matter of great concern to the environmentalists. Heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and nickel are particularly liable for this. Such toxic water is not only hazardous to human health but also harmful to aquatic animals. Remedial measures are being taken by physico-chemical techniques, but most of them are neither eco-friendly nor cost-effective. Biological means like bioaccumulation of heavy metals by viable bacteria are often tedious. In the present study, biosorption of heavy metals is successfully expedited by surfactant exopolysaccharide (SEPS) of Ochrobactrum pseudintermedium C1 as a simple, safe, and economically sustainable option utilizing an easily available and cost-effective substrate like molasses extract. Its efficacy in bioremediation of toxic heavy metals like cadmium, nickel, and lead have been studied by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and verified by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). FTIR and zeta potential studies have also been carried out to explore this novel biosorption potential. Results are conclusive and promising. Moreover, this particular SEPS alone can remediate all these three toxic heavy metals in water. For futuristic applications, it might be a prospective and cost-effective resource for bioremediation of toxic heavy metals in aqueous environment.

Synthesis and property of alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside

Due to the inherent defects of the long alkyl chain in the related hydrophilicity and water solubility, alkyl α-D-xylosides (7) had hardly the practical application as sugar-based surfactants and should be reconstructed to obtain alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5) with dioxyethylene fragment (-(OCH2CH2)2-)) as the hydrophilic spacer to increase the related TPSA value. With D-xylose as the raw material, 1,2-cis alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5a-5f, n = 6-12) were stereoselectively synthesized. Their physicochemical properties including water solubility, surface tension, foamability, emulsification, thermotropic liquid crystal, and hygroscopicity had been investigated. Their water solubility was found to decrease gradually whereas their calculated HLB numbers were 14.72 → 11.67 (n = 6 → 12) with increasing alkyl chain length (n). Dodecyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5f) had not water solubility because the HLB number was low. Furthermore, their CMC values decreased with increasing the alkyl chain length, and the CMC value of decyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5e) was as low as 9.21 × 10-5 mol·L-1. Octyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5c) had the lowest surface tension (27.25 mN·m-1) at the CMC. Both of nonyl and decyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5d & 5e) possessed good foaming power and foam stability. Decyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5e) had the strongest emulsifying property either in the toluene/water system or in the octane/water system. Nonyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides (5d) had the most stylish SA texture. Hexyl dioxyethyl α-D-xyloside (5a) possessed the strongest hygroscopicity. Therefore, the alkyl dioxyethyl α-D-xylosides as a class of novel sugar-based surfactants will be widely considered as promising candidates for various practical applications.

Improvement of Foaming Ability of Surfactant Solutions by Water-Soluble Polymers: Experiment and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Aqueous foam is widely used in fire extinguishing and dust suppression technologies. Improving the foaming ability is the key to reducing the added concentration of foaming agents as well as the economic cost. In this work, the effect of a water-soluble polymer (polyvinyl alcohol, PVA) on the foaming ability of anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl ether sulfate, SDES) was studied by an experiment and molecular dynamics simulation. The experimental results showed that PVA greatly improves the foaming ability of SDES solutions when the surfactant concentration is less than 0.1%, which is attributed to the fact that the polymer can enhance the stability of bubble films and reduce the bubble rupture rate during the foam generation process. The simulation results indicate that PVA can enhance the hydration of surfactant head groups and contribute to the formation of a three-dimensional hydrogen bond network between surfactants, polymers, and water molecules, thus greatly improving the stability of bubble liquid films. The above results suggest that water-soluble polymers can be used to improve the foaming ability of surfactant solutions by enhancing the bubble film stability, which is beneficial as it reduces the added concentration of foaming agents in aqueous foam applications.

Water Solubility and Surface Property of Alkyl Di-/Tri-/Tetraoxyethyl β-d-Xylopyranosides

Alkyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl β-d-xylopyranosides as derivatives of alkyl xylosides are a class of non-ionic sugar-based surfactants. They were stereoselectively synthesized by the Helferich method. Their properties including hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number, water solubility, surface property, foam property, emulsifying property, and thermotropic liquid crystal property were mainly investigated. The results showed that their water solubility decreased with increasing the alkyl chain length and increasing the number of the oligooxyethyl fragment. The critical micelle concentration had a monotonous decreasing trend with increasing the alkyl chain length. Nonyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl β-d-xylopyranosides [-(OCH₂CH₂)_m-, where m = 2, 3, and 4] exhibited the most excellent foaming ability and foam stability. In the n-octane/water system, dodecyl tetraoxyethyl β-d-xylopyranosides and tetradecyl tetraoxyethyl β-d-xylopyranosides had the strongest emulsion ability. In addition, some alkyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl β-d-xylopyranosides had thermotropic liquid crystal properties. Such sugar-based surfactants, alkyl di-/tri-/tetraoxyethyl β-d-xylopyranosides, will be expected to develop for a variety of practical application.

Biomimetic Fibrous Murray Membranes with Ultrafast Water Transport and Evaporation for Smart Moisture-Wicking Fabrics

Both antigravity directional water transport and ultrafast evaporation are critical to achieving a high-performance moisture-wicking fabric. The transpiration in vascular plants possess both of these features, which is due to their optimized hierarchical structure composed of multibranching porous networks following Murray's law. However, it remains a great challenge to simultaneously realize the ultrafast water transport and evaporation by mimicking nature's Murray networks in the synthetic materials. Here, we report a synergistic assembly strategy to create a biomimetic micro- and nanofibrous membrane with antigravity directional water transport and quick-dry performance by combining a multibranching porous structure and surface energy gradient, overcoming previous limitations. The resulting fiber-based porous Murray membranes exhibit an ultrahigh one-way transport capability ( R) of 1245%, a desired overall moisture management capability (OMMC) of 0.94, and an outstanding water evaporation rate of 0.67 g h^-1 (5.8 and 2.1 times higher than the cotton fabric and Coolmax fabric, respectively). Overall, the successful synthesis of these biomimetic porous Murray membranes should serve as a source of inspiration for the development of moisture-wicking technologies, providing personal comfort in hot or humid environments.

Modulation of the surface properties of protein particles by a surfactant for stabilizing foams

In this study, a detailed investigation into the behavior of foams stabilized by mixtures of zein/TA colloidal particles (ZTP) with a conventional anion surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) has been made.