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Topic Review
Carbon Nanodots: Antimicrobial Photosensitizers
Carbon nanodots are fluorescent, quasi-spherical nanoparticles that have been investigated and modified for numerous applications. In recent years, the utility of these structures for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (APDT) has been of increasing interest. For this technology, light is used to trigger the generation of reactive oxygen species which subsequently inactivate or kill pathogenic microorganisms. Carbon nanodots are of interest for this application due to their simple, "green" synthesis methods and their tunable organic structures and luminescent properties. Herein we share some recent developments in the field of antimicrobial carbon nanodots, highlighting their increasing relevance and potential in this area.
  • 2.8K
  • 25 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Biofouling on Stainless Steel
In humid environments, the formation of biofilms and microfouling are known to be the detrimental processes that first occur on stainless steel surfaces. This is known as biofouling. Subsequently, the conditions created by metabolites and the activity of organisms trigger corrosion of the metal and accelerate corrosion locally, causing a deterioration in, and alterations to, the performance of devices made of stainless steel. The microorganisms which thus affect stainless steel are mainly algae and bacteria.
  • 2.8K
  • 24 Feb 2022
Topic Review
DNA Circuits
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a genetic material, encodes all living information and living characteristics, e.g., in cell, DNA signaling circuits control the transcription activities of specific genes. In recent years, various DNA circuits have been developed to implement a wide range of signaling and for regulating gene network functions. In particular, a synthetic DNA circuit, with a programmable design and easy construction, has become a crucial method through which to simulate and regulate DNA signaling networks. Importantly, the construction of a hierarchical DNA circuit provides a useful tool for regulating gene networks and for processing molecular information. Moreover, via their robust and modular properties, DNA circuits can amplify weak signals and establish programmable cascade systems, which are particularly suitable for the applications of biosensing and detecting. Furthermore, a biological enzyme can also be used to provide diverse circuit regulation elements. 
  • 2.8K
  • 13 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Antibiotics-Coated Gold Nanoparticles to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become an alarming threat to the successful treatment of rapidly growing bacterial infections because of the abuse and misuse of antibiotics. Traditional antibiotics bear many limitations including restricted bioavailability, inadequate penetration and the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms. Recent advances in nanotechnology for the introduction of nanoparticles with fascinating physicochemical characteristics have been predicted as an innovative means of defence against antimicrobial-resistant diseases. The use of nanoparticles renders several benefits including improved tissue targeting, better solubility, improved stability, enhanced epithelial permeability and minimal side effects.
  • 2.8K
  • 07 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Aromatic Water Pollutants
In recent years, the intensification of human activities including rapid urbanization, industrialization, population, and economic growth, led to an increase in waste production and energy demand. Most importantly such activities pose concerns for health, energy security and climate changes. Hazardous volatile organic compounds, VOC, and aromatic organic compounds, AOC, are being generated from the activities of many vital industries like mining and petrochemicals. They are instrumental in the economic growth of many countries and their products are regarded as privileges to modern communities. Nevertheless, they are toxic and carcinogenic thus, these wastes have been classified as “hazardous”. The simultaneous treatment of organic pollutants and energy recovery is an attractive solution to reduce pollution in water, air, and soil as well as provide alternative clean energy sources. Hydrogen could be generated from organic pollutants in water through photocatalysis. Photocatalysis refers to the oxidation and reduction, redox, reactions on semiconductor surfaces, mediated by the valence band holes and conduction band electrons, which are generated by the absorption of ultraviolet or visible light radiation. Compared to traditional oxidation processes, photocatalytic redox reaction operates at ambient conditions without a high temperature or high pressure, and many recalcitrant organic contaminants can be degraded without the addition of chemical oxidants, hence it is fully green process. Among the various photocatalysts, TiO2, as the most widely employed “golden” photocatalyst, has been largely used in photocatalysis, due to its chemical stability, nontoxicity, and low cost. In the last two decades, TiO2 photocatalysis has expanded very quickly, having undergone various development‐related energy issues and environmental issues, such as direct solar H2O splitting into H2 and the decomposition of pollutants in air and H2O at low concentrations. Although great progress has been made in TiO2 photocatalysis, much remains unknown, which raises an interesting challenge not only for engineers but also for basic scientists. a typical photocatalytic reaction in TiO2 photocatalysis contains many fundamental processes, including charge carrier formation, separation, relaxation, trapping, transfer, recombination, and transportation.
  • 2.8K
  • 24 May 2021
Topic Review
Flexible Stretchable Electrode
Flexible electrode technology is the key to the wide application of flexible electronics. However, flexible electrodes will break when large deformation occurs, failing flexible electronics. It restricts the further development of flexible electronic technology. Flexible stretchable electrodes are a hot research topic to solve the problem that flexible electrodes cannot withstand large deformation. Flexible stretchable electrode materials have excellent electrical conductivity, while retaining excellent mechanical properties in case of large deformation.
  • 2.8K
  • 27 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Applications of Flexible Strain Sensors
Based on the ingenious design and distinguished performance of the reported flexible strain sensors, there are a great deal of applications that have been demonstrated for various occasions. The in vitro detections for human health and implantable in vivo devices for biomedical engineering, as well as human-machine interface and soft robotics applications are reviewed. 
  • 2.8K
  • 11 May 2021
Topic Review
Production of Mono-, Few-, and Multi-Layer Graphene
Mono-, few-, and multi-layer graphene can be synthesized using various methods, including micromechanical exfoliation, chemical vapour deposition, and chemical methods such as oxidizing graphene into graphene oxide and then reducing it chemically or thermally.
  • 2.7K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Thin Film Superconductors
Thin superconducting films have been a significant part of superconductivity research for more than six decades. They have had a significant impact on the existing consensus on the microscopic and macroscopic nature of the superconducting state. Thin-film superconductors are frequently considered to be Type II superconductors even when they are from Type I materials because of the strong effect of the stray magnetic fields outside the superconductive sample. Thin films can be defined as materials, where one dimension is highly constrained relative to the other two dimensions or a system whose properties are determined by the surface energy. Thin films consist of two main components: the microstructure and the surface morphology. The microstructure refers to the microscopic crystal structure of the thin film. Thin films fabrication has a virtually unlimited ability to synthesise materials with new or improved properties. This means new devices and applications can be realized.
  • 2.7K
  • 06 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Self-Assembly Based on DNA Nanotechnology
Using DNA self-assembly, materials can be controlled at the nano scale to achieve atomic- or nano-scaled fabrication. The programmability and addressability of DNA molecules can be applied to realize the self-assembly of materials from the bottom-up, which is called DNA nanotechnology. DNA nanotechnology does not focus on the biological functions of DNA molecules, but combines them into motifs, and then assembles these motifs to form ordered two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) lattices. These lattices can serve as general templates to regulate the assembly of guest materials.
  • 2.7K
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
Dynamic Light Scattering and Its Applications
Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is a widely utilized technique in many scientific and industrial sectors where the distribution of particle size and behavior of particles in solutions is crucial. Having the capacity to measure particle size and distribution, besides measuring zeta potential and some other colloidal properties, such as molecular weight, makes DLS a practical device for various applications.
  • 2.7K
  • 03 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Nanojoining
Nanojoining is the process of joining two or more surfaces together using nanomaterials as the primary building blocks. This includes, but is not limited to, nanosoldering, nanobrazing, nanowelding, nanoscale diffusion bonding, and additive manufacturing. Note that, like with conventional soldering and brazing, only the filler metal undergoes melting, not the base material. Nanomaterials are materials in which at least one dimension 100 nm or less and include 0-D (e.g. nanoparticles, 1-D (e.g. nanowires and nanorods), 2-D (e.g. graphene), and 3-D (e.g. nanofoam) materials. Nanomaterials exhibit several notable properties that allow joining to occur at temperatures lower than the melting temperature of their bulk counterpart. For example, the melting temperature of Ag is 961.78 °C, but Ag nanomaterials begin to melt at a much lower temperature that is dependent depending on the size and shape. These properties include high surface area to volume ratio, the Gibbs-Thompson effect, and high surface energy. The low joining temperature of nanomaterials has been exploited numerous times for flexible electronics, printable electronics, and soldering applications; only within the last two decades have they been explored for high-temperature joining applications (>450 °C).
  • 2.7K
  • 07 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Carbon Nanomaterials
Being a member of nanofamily, carbon nanomaterials exhibit specific properties that mostly arise from their small size. They have proved as very promising for the application in the technical and biomedical fields. A wide spectrum of use implies the inevitable presence of carbon nanomaterials in the environment, thus potentially endangering the whole nature. Although scientists worldwide have conducted researches investigating the impact of these materials, it is evident that there are still significant gaps concerning the knowledge of their mechanisms, as well as prolonged and chronic exposure and effects. Thinking small can greatly help us improve our lives, but also obliges us to deeply and comprehensively investigate all the possible consequences that could arise from our pure-hearted scientific ambitions and work.
  • 2.7K
  • 07 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Aerogel
Aerogels are one of the most interesting materials of the 21st century owing to their high porosity, low density, and large available surface area. Historically, aerogels have been used for highly efficient insulation and niche applications, such as interstellar particle capture. Recently, aerogels have made their way into the composite universe.
  • 2.6K
  • 14 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-Based Biosensor
Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensors are being fabricated for specific detection of biomolecules or changes in the microenvironment. FRET is a non-radiative transfer of energy from an excited donor fluorophore molecule to a nearby acceptor fluorophore molecule. In a FRET-based biosensor, the donor and acceptor molecules are typically fluorescent proteins or fluorescent nanomaterials such as quantum dots (QDs) or small molecules that are engineered to be in close proximity to each other. When the biomolecule of interest is present, it can cause a change in the distance between the donor and acceptor, leading to a change in the efficiency of FRET and a corresponding change in the fluorescence intensity of the acceptor. This change in fluorescence can be used to detect and quantify the biomolecule of interest.
  • 2.6K
  • 18 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Applications of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Food/Agriculture
Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have gained significant interest in the agricultural and food industry as a means of killing or reducing the activity of microorganisms. The antibacterial properties of ZnO-NPs may improve food quality, which has a direct impact on human health. ZnO-NPs are one of the most investigated inorganic nanoparticles and have been used in various related sectors, with the potential to rapidly gain attention and increase interest in the agriculture and food industries. 
  • 2.6K
  • 20 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Graphene-based Membranes for H2 Separation
Hydrogen is an industrial gas that has showcased its importance in several well-known processes such as ammonia, methanol and steel productions, as well as in petrochemical industries. Besides, there is a growing interest in hydrogen production and purification owing to the global efforts to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases. Nevertheless, hydrogen which is produced synthetically is expected to contain other impurities and unreacted substituents (e.g., carbon dioxide, nitrogen and methane), such that subsequent purification steps are typically required for practical applications. In this context, membrane-based separation has attracted a vast amount of interest due to its desirable advantages over conventional separation processes, such as the ease of operation, low energy consumption and small plant footprint. Efforts have also been made for the development of high-performance membranes that can overcome the limitations of conventional polymer membranes. In particular, the studies on graphene-based membranes have been actively conducted most recently, showcasing outstanding hydrogen-separation performances.
  • 2.6K
  • 26 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Applications of Carbon Dots
Although there is significant progress in the research of carbon dots (CDs), some challenges such as difficulty in large-scale synthesis, complicated purification, low quantum yield, ambiguity in structure-property correlation, electronic structures, and photophysics are still major obstacles that hinder the commercial use of CDs. The unique properties of CDs, such as good biocompatibility, high photostability, excellent light-harvesting, up-conversion, effective electron transfer, and bandgap narrowing, make the CDs promising nanomaterials for applications in many fields. 
  • 2.6K
  • 25 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Main Raw Materials from Pineapple Biomass
Pineapple is a highly demanded fruit in international markets due to its unique appearance and flavor, high fiber content, vitamins, folic acid, and minerals. It makes pineapple production and processing a significant source of income for producing countries. The lignocellulosic biomass obtained from pineapple agro-industrial residues is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin; a compilation of information for these three compounds is presented below, with a specific focus on treatments and pretreatments that can be employed to obtain and purify them, as well as the most common applications of each.
  • 2.6K
  • 18 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Perovskite Semiconductor Field–Effect Transistors
Perovskite materials are considered as the most alluring successor to the conventional semiconductor materials to fabricate solar cells, light emitting diodes and electronic displays. However, the use of the perovskite semiconductors as a channel material in field effect transistors (FET) are much lower than expected due to the poor performance of the devices. Despite low attention, the perovskite FETs are used in widespread applications on account of their unique opto-electrical properties. 
  • 2.5K
  • 27 Jul 2022
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