Tailoring of Durable Conductive and UV-Shielding Properties on Cotton and Polyester Fabrics by PEDOT:PSS Screen-Printing

Single-cell RNA-seq analysis decodes the kidney microenvironment induced by polystyrene microplastics in mice receiving a high-fat diet

In recent years, the environmental health issue of microplastics has aroused an increasingly significant concern. Some studies suggested that exposure to polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) may lead to renal inflammation and oxidative stress in animals. However, little is known about the essential effects of PS-MPs with high-fat diet (HFD) on renal development and microenvironment. In this study, we provided the single-cell transcriptomic landscape of the kidney microenvironment induced by PS-MPs and HFD in mouse models by unbiased single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). The kidney injury cell atlases in mice were evaluated after continued PS-MPs exposure, or HFD treated for 35 days. Results showed that PS-MPs plus HFD treatment aggravated the kidney injury and profibrotic microenvironment, reshaping mouse kidney cellular components. First, we found that PS-MPs plus HFD treatment acted on extracellular matrix organization of renal epithelial cells, specifically the proximal and distal convoluted tubule cells, to inhibit renal development and induce ROS-driven carcinogenesis. Second, PS-MPs plus HFD treatment induced activated PI3K-Akt, MAPK, and IL-17 signaling pathways in endothelial cells. Besides, PS-MPs plus HFD treatment markedly increased the proportions of CD8+ effector T cells and proliferating T cells. Notably, mononuclear phagocytes exhibited substantial remodeling and enriched in oxidative phosphorylation and chemical carcinogenesis pathways after PS-MPs plus HFD treatment, typified by alterations tissue-resident M2-like PF4+ macrophages. Multispectral immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry identified PF4+ macrophages in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and adjacent normal tissues, indicating that activate PF4+ macrophages might regulate the profibrotic and pro-tumorigenic microenvironment after renal injury. In conclusion, this study first systematically revealed molecular variation of renal cells and immune cells in mice kidney microenvironment induced by PS-MPs and HFD with the scRNA-seq approach, which provided a molecular basis for decoding the effects of PS-MPs on genitourinary injury and understanding their potential profibrotic and carcinogenesis in mammals.

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.

Review on PEDOT:PSS-Based Conductive Fabric

This article reviews conductive fabrics made with the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), their fabrication techniques, and their applications. PEDOT:PSS has attracted interest in smart textile technology due to its relatively high electrical conductivity, water dispersibility, ease of manufacturing, environmental stability, and commercial availability. Several methods apply PEDOT:PSS to textiles. They include polymerization of the monomer, coating, dyeing, and printing methods. In addition, several studies have shown the conductivity of fabrics with the addition of PEDOT:PSS. The electrical properties of conductive textiles with a certain sheet resistance can be reduced by several orders of magnitude using PEDOT:PSS and polar solvents as secondary dopants. In addition, several studies have shown that the flexibility and durability of textiles coated with PEDOT:PSS can be improved by creating a composite with other polymers, such as polyurethane, which has high flexibility and extensibility. This improvement is due to the stronger bonding of PEDOT:PSS to the fabrics. Sensors, actuators, antennas, interconnectors, energy harvesting, and storage devices have been developed with PEDOT:PSS-based conductive fabrics.

Surface acoustic wave sensor based on Au/TiO2/PEDOT with dual response to carbon dioxide and humidity

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) gas sensor with an Au/TiO₂/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT, which is a conductive polymer with photoelectric conversion function) sensing film was constructed for the quantitative detection of water vapor and CO₂. The Au/TiO₂/PEDOT sensing film was assembled on the delayed region of the 204 MHz SAW delay line, which was used as the base device for the gas sensor. The center frequency of the sensor decreases with an increase in relative humidity (RH), and the center frequency increases with increasing CO₂ concentration, so that not only can the two gases be identified, but quantitative analysis can also be performed. The SAW sensor has a response range of 5%-90% for RH and a response range of 500-2000 ppm for CO₂ gas. The shifts in center frequency varied linearly with the concentrations, giving rise to the sensitivities of -0.0068 and -0.1880 kHz %^-1 for RH and ∼0.003 kHz ppm^-1 CO₂. The response/recovery time is 9 s/9.2 s for 700 ppm CO₂ and 15 s/14 s for 70% RH. The experimental results show that the SAW sensor offers excellent selectivity, wide response range, rapid response, and good stability and repeatability. The mechanism of humidity and CO₂ sensing is attributed to the hydrophilic porous structure of the Au/TiO₂/PEDOT sensing film, and also to the reversible variation of its viscoelasticity under illumination conditions. The sensor, combined with the communication function of its own SAW device, has several prospective applications in the monitoring of atmospheric conditions.

Metallisation of Textiles and Protection of Conductive Layers: An Overview of Application Techniques

The rapid growth in wearable technology has recently stimulated the development of conductive textiles for broad application purposes, i.e., wearable electronics, heat generators, sensors, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, optoelectronic and photonics. Textile material, which was always considered just as the interface between the wearer and the environment, now plays a more active role in different sectors, such as sport, healthcare, security, entertainment, military, and technical sectors, etc. This expansion in applied development of e-textiles is governed by a vast amount of research work conducted by increasingly interdisciplinary teams and presented systematic review highlights and assesses, in a comprehensive manner, recent research in the field of conductive textiles and their potential application for wearable electronics (so called e-textiles), as well as development of advanced application techniques to obtain conductivity, with emphasis on metal-containing coatings. Furthermore, an overview of protective compounds was provided, which are suitable for the protection of metallized textile surfaces against corrosion, mechanical forces, abrasion, and other external factors, influencing negatively on the adhesion and durability of the conductive layers during textiles' lifetime (wear and care). The challenges, drawbacks and further opportunities in these fields are also discussed critically.