Formation, Removal, and Reformation of Surface Coatings on Various Metal Oxide Surfaces Inspired by Mussel Adhesives

Bioinspired colloidal crystal hydrogel pressure sensors with Janus wettability for uterus cervical canal tension perception

The pursuit of flexible, sensitive, and cost-effective pressure sensors plays a pivotal role in medical diagnostics, particularly in the domain of cervical health monitoring. However, significant challenges remain in the economical production of flexible piezoresistive materials and the integration of microstructures aimed at enhancing sensor sensitivity. This urge highlights the use of innovative, stable hydrogel films that demonstrate robust adherence to soft biological tissues, thereby enabling prolonged bio-signal monitoring. In this study, we introduce an innovative integration of a flexible pressure electrical signal sensor with structural color hydrogel scaffolds. This integration leverages the tunability of the inverse opal structure to fine-tune the scaffold's adherence to the endocervical wall under varying environmental conditions and to amplify the sensitivity of pressure measurements. Our findings indicate that this novel approach holds promise for substantial enhancements in the manufacturing and functional capabilities of cervical pressure sensors, potentially revolutionizing personalized medical treatments and improving patient monitoring.

Stimuli-responsive temporary adhesives: enabling debonding on demand through strategic molecular design

Stimuli-responsive temporary adhesives constitute a rapidly developing class of materials defined by the modulation of adhesion upon exposure to an external stimulus or stimuli. Engineering these materials to shift between two characteristic properties, strong adhesion and facile debonding, can be achieved through design strategies that target molecular functionalities. This perspective reviews the recent design and development of these materials, with a focus on the different stimuli that may initiate debonding. These stimuli include UV light, thermal energy, chemical triggers, and other potential triggers, such as mechanical force, sublimation, electromagnetism. The conclusion discusses the fundamental value of systematic investigations of the structure-property relationships within these materials and opportunities for unlocking novel functionalities in future versions of adhesives.

Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Water-Glass-Based Silica Aerogels via Catechol-Based Modifier

Silica aerogels have attracted much attention owing to their excellent thermal insulation properties. However, the conventional synthesis of silica aerogels involves the use of expensive and toxic alkoxide precursors and surface modifiers such as trimethylchlorosilane. In this study, cost-effective water-glass silica aerogels were synthesized using an eco-friendly catechol derivative surface modifier instead of trimethylchlorosilane. Polydopamine was introduced to increase adhesion to the SiO₂ surface. The addition of 4-tert-butyl catechol and hexylamine imparted hydrophobicity to the surface and suppressed the polymerization of the polydopamine. After an ambient pressure drying process, catechol-modified aerogel exhibited a specific surface area of 377 m²/g and an average pore diameter of approximately 21 nm. To investigate their thermal conductivities, glass wool sheets were impregnated with catechol-modified aerogel. The thermal conductivity was 40.4 mWm⁻¹K⁻¹, which is lower than that of xerogel at 48.7 mWm⁻¹K⁻¹. Thus, by precisely controlling the catechol coating in the mesoporous framework, an eco-friendly synthetic method for aerogel preparation is proposed.

Thermal Welding by the Third Phase Between Polymers: A Review for Ultrasonic Weld Technology Developments

Ultrasonic welding (USW) is a promising method for the welds between dissimilar materials. Ultrasonic thermal welding by the third phase (TWTP) method was proposed in combination with the formation of a third phase, which was confirmed as an effective technology for polymer welding between the two dissimilar materials compared with the traditional USW. This review focused on the advances of applying the ultrasonic TWTP for thermoplastic materials. The research development on the ultrasonic TWTP of polycarbonate (PC) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polylactic acid (PLA) and polyformaldehyde (POM), and PLA and PMMA are summarized according to the preparation of the third phase, welded strength, morphologies of rupture surfaces, thermal stability, and others. The review aimed at providing guidance for using ultrasonic TWTP in polymers and a basic understanding of the welding mechanism, i.e., interdiffusion and molecular motion mechanisms between the phases.

Photoswitchable Macroscopic Solid Surfaces Based On Azobenzene-Functionalized Polydopamine/Gold Nanoparticle Composite Materials: Formation, Isomerization and Ligand Exchange

The facile preparation of dynamic interfaces is presented based on the combination of photoisomerizable azobenzenes and polydopamine (PDA)/Au nanoparticle composite materials. Azobenzenes with different spacer lengths (C₃ , C₆ ) and surface-binding groups (SH, NH₂ ) were synthesized. The polymer layer on macroscopic quartz surface was prepared by the facile aerobic autopolymerisation of dopamine hydrochloride under basic conditions. The presence of redox-active catechol moieties meant that gold nanoparticles were formed on the polymer surface. The obtained UV-Vis spectroscopic results confirmed that following their successful assembly, the switching of azobenzenes on PDA/Au was not affected by the surface binding group and the spacer length of the azobenzene molecules under the measurement conditions. Furthermore, facilitated by the curved nature of the Au particles, the surface-bound azobenzene layer could be reconstructed by ligand-exchange processes, and the photochemical characterization of the mixed layer was performed.

Poisonous Caterpillar-Inspired Chitosan Nanofiber Enabling Dual Photothermal and Photodynamic Tumor Ablation

As caterpillars detect the presence of predators and secrete poison, herein, we show an innovative and highly effective cancer therapeutic system using biocompatible chitosan nanofiber (CNf) installed with a pH-responsive motif that senses tumor extracellular pH, pH_e, prior to delivering dual-modal light-activatable materials for tumor reduction. The filamentous nanostructure of CNf is dynamic during cell interaction and durable in blood circulation. Due to its amine group, CNf uptakes a large amount of photothermal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs, >25 wt %) and photodynamic chlorin e6 (Ce6, >5 wt %). As the innovative CNf approaches tumors, cationic CNf effectively discharges AuNPs connected to the pH-responsive motif via electrostatic repulsion and selectively binds to tumor cells that are generally anionic, via the electrostatic attraction accompanied by CNf. We demonstrated via these actions that the endocytosed Ce6 (on CNf) and AuNPs (free from CNf) significantly elicited tumor cell death under light irradiation. As a result, the synergistic interplay of thermogenesis and photodynamic action was observed to switch on at the pH_e, resulting in a striking reduction in tumor formation and growth rate upon light exposure.

Material-Independent Surface Chemistry beyond Polydopamine Coating

Various methods have been developed in surface chemistry to control interface properties of a solid material. A selection rule among surface chemistries is compatibility between a surface functionalization tool and a target material. For example, alkanethiol deposition on noble metal surfaces, widely known as the formation of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), cannot be performed on oxide material surfaces. One must choose organosilane molecules to functionalize oxide surfaces. Thus, the surface chemistry strictly depends on the properties of the surface. Polydopamine coating is now generally accepted as the first toolbox for functionalization of virtually any material surface. Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly is a widely used method to modify properties of versatile surfaces, including organic materials, metal oxides, and noble metals, along with polydopamine coating. On flat solid substrates, the two chemistries of polydopamine coating and LbL assembly provide similar levels of surface modifications. However, there are additional distinct features in polydopamine. First, polydopamine coating is effective for two- or three-dimensional porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), synthetic polyolefin membranes, and others because small-sized dopamine (MW = 153.18 u) and its oxidized oligomers are readily attached onto narrow-spaced surfaces without exhibiting steric hindrance. In contrast, polymers used in LbL assembly are slow in diffusion because of steric hindrance due to their high molecular weight. Second, it is applicable to structurally nonflat surfaces showing special wettability such as superhydrophobicity or superoleophobicity. Third, a nonconducting, insulating polydopamine layer can be converted to be a conducting layer by pyrolysis. The product after pyrolysis is a N-doped graphene-like material that is useful for graphene or carbon nanotube-containing composites. Fourth, it is a suitable method for engineering the surface properties of various composite materials. The surface properties of participating components in composite materials can be unified by polydopamine coating with a simple one-step process. Fifth, a polydopamine layer exhibits intrinsic chemical reactivity by the presence of catecholquinone moieties and catechol radical species on surfaces. Nucleophiles such as amine and thiolate spontaneously react with the functionalized layer. Applications of polydopamine coating are exponentially growing and include cell culture/patterning, microfluidics, antimicrobial surfaces, tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, photothermal therapy, immobilization of photocatalysts, Li-ion battery membranes, Li-sulfur battery cathode materials, oil/water separation, water detoxification, organocatalysts, membrane separation technologies, carbonization, and others. In this Account, we describe various polydopamine coating methods and then introduce a number of chemical derivatives of dopamine that will open further development of material-independent surface chemistry.

Dissimilar Materials Bonding Using Epoxy Monolith

The epoxy monolith with a highly porous structure is fabricated by the thermal curing of 2,2-bis(4-glycidyloxyphenyl)propane and 4,4'-methylenebis(cyclohexylamine) in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) as the porogen via polymerization-induced phase separation. In this study, we demonstrated a new type of dissimilar material bonding method for various polymers and metals coated with the epoxy monolith. On the basis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, the pore size and number of epoxy monoliths were evaluated to be 1.1-114 μm and 8.7-48 200 mm^-2, respectively, depending on the ratio of the epoxy resin and cross-linking agent used for the monolith fabrication. Various kinds of thermoplastics, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyoxymethylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, polycarbonate bisphenol-A, and poly(ethylene terephthalate), were bonded to the monolith-modified metal plates by thermal welding. The bond strength for the single lap-shear tensile test of stainless steel and copper plates with the thermoplastics was in the range of 1.2-7.5 MPa, which was greater than the bond strength value for each bonding system without monolith modification. The SEM observation of fractured test pieces directly confirmed an anchor effect on this bonding system. The elongated deformation of the plastics that filled in the pores of the epoxy monolith, was observed. It was concluded that the bond strength significantly depended on the intrinsic strength of the used thermoplastics. The epoxy monolith bonding of hard plastics, such as polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate), was performed by the additional use of adhesives, solvents, and a reactive monomer. The epoxy monolith sheets were also successfully fabricated and applied to dissimilar material bonding.

Sustainable Boron Nitride Nanosheet-Reinforced Cellulose Nanofiber Composite Film with Oxygen Barrier without the Cost of Color and Cytotoxicity

This paper introduces a boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS)-reinforced cellulose nanofiber (CNF) film as a sustainable oxygen barrier film that can potentially be applied in food packaging. Most commodity plastics are oxygen-permeable. CNF exhibits an ideal oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of <1 cc/m²/day in highly controlled conditions. A CNF film typically fabricated by the air drying of a CNF aqueous solution reveals an OTR of 19.08 cc/m²/day. The addition of 0⁻5 wt % BNNS to the CNF dispersion before drying results in a composite film with highly improved OTR of 4.7 cc/m²/day, which is sufficient for meat and cheese packaging. BNNS as a 2D nanomaterial increases the pathway of oxygen gas and reduces the chances of pinhole formation during film fabrication involving water drying. In addition, BNNS improves the mechanical properties of the CNF films (Young's modulus and tensile strength) without significant elongation reductions, probably due to the good miscibility of CNF and BNNS in the aqueous solution. Addition of BNNS also produces negligible color change, which is important for film aesthetics. An in vitro cell experiment was performed to reveal the low cytotoxicity of the CNF/BNNS composite. This composite film has great potential as a sustainable high-performance food-packaging material.

A versatile platform to achieve mechanically robust mussel-inspired antifouling coatings via grafting-to approach

A facile and efficient method to fabricate robust antifouling coatings via a grafting-to approach based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based biomimetic substrates is reported.

Ultrathin Covalently Bound Organic Layers on Mica: Formation of Atomically Flat Biofunctionalizable Surfaces

Mica is the substrate of choice for microscopic visualization of a wide variety of intricate nanostructures. Unfortunately, the lack of a facile strategy for its modification has prevented the on-mica assembly of nanostructures. Herein, we disclose a convenient catechol-based linker that enables various surface-bound metal-free click reactions, and an easy modification of mica with DNA nanostructures and a horseradish peroxidase mimicking hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme.

Functional droplets that recognize, collect, and transport debris on surfaces

We describe polymer-stabilized droplets capable of recognizing and picking up nanoparticles from substrates in experiments designed for transporting hydroxyapatite nanoparticles that represent the principal elemental composition of bone. Our experiments, which are inspired by cells that carry out materials transport in vivo, used oil-in-water droplets that traverse a nanoparticle-coated substrate driven by an imposed fluid flow. Nanoparticle capture is realized by interaction of the particles with chemical functionality embedded within the polymeric stabilizing layer on the droplets. Nanoparticle uptake efficiency is controlled by solution conditions and the extent of functionality available for contact with the nanoparticles. Moreover, in an elementary demonstration of nanoparticle transportation, particles retrieved initially from the substrate were later deposited "downstream," illustrating a pickup and drop-off technique that represents a first step toward mimicking point-to-point transportation events conducted in living systems.