Encapsulation of a Monolayer WSe2 Phototransistor with Hydrothermally Grown ZnO Nanorods

Preparation of chitin/MXene/poly(L-arginine) composite aerogel spheres for specific adsorption of bilirubin

Currently, hemoperfusion is clinically the most rapid and effective treatment for removing toxins from the blood. The core of hemoperfusion is the sorbent inside the hemoperfusion device. Due to the complex composition of the blood, adsorbents tend to adsorb substances such as proteins in the blood (non-specific adsorption) while adsorbing toxins. Hyperbilirubinemia is caused by excessive levels of bilirubin in the human blood, causing irreversible damage to the patient's brain and nervous system, and even leading to death. High adsorption and high biocompatibility adsorbents with specific bilirubin adsorption are urgently needed to treat hyperbilirubinemia. Herein, poly(L-arginine) (PLA) which can specifically adsorb bilirubin, was introduced into chitin/MXene (Ch/MX) composite aerogel spheres. Ch/MX/PLA prepared by supercritical CO₂ technology had higher mechanical properties than Ch/MX and can withstand 50,000 times its own weight. The in vitro simulated hemoperfusion test showed that the adsorption capacity of Ch/MX/PLA was as high as 596.31 mg/g, which was 15.38 % higher than that of Ch/MX. Binary and ternary competitive adsorption tests showed that Ch/MX/PLA also had good adsorption capacity in the presence of a variety of interfering molecules. In addition, hemolysis rate testing and CCK-8 testing confirmed that Ch/MX/PLA had better biocompatibility and hemocompatibility. Ch/MX/PLA can meet the required properties of clinical hemoperfusion sorbents and has the ability to produce mass production. It has good application potential in the clinical treatment of hyperbilirubinemia.

Colloidal MoS2 van der Waals Template for Growing Highly Uniform Nanomaterials

The van der Waals (vdW) structures of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have been studied extensively owing to the excellent electronic, optoelectronic, and catalytic performance with the atomic-scale sharpness of the interfaces. In addition, the presence of substitution and redox reactions in the vdW gaps also provides huge potential to be employed as a nanoscale reactor. Herein, the vdW gap of colloidal MoS₂ is reported as a natural template for the formation of CoMo bimetallic oxide nanoparticles (BMONPs) with highly uniform size (∼4 nm), which resulted in further synthesis of the thin multiwalled carbon nanotubes with extremely narrow diameter distribution. This study not only pioneers a new application of TMDCs but also provides an efficient means to control the size of nanomaterials, which directly affect material properties.