Seconds Timescale Synthesis of Highly Stretchable Antibacterial Hydrogel for Skin Wound Closure and Epidermal Strain Sensor.

Effective wound healing is critical for patient care, and the development of novel wound dressing materials that promote healing, prevent infection, and are user-friendly is of great importance, particularly in the context of point-of-care testing (POCT). This study reports the synthesis of a hydrogel material that can be produced in less than 10 s and possesses antibacterial activity against both gram-negative and gram-positive microorganisms, as well as the ability to inhibit the growth of eukaryotic cells, such as yeast. The hydrogel is formed wholly based on covalent-like hydrogen bonding interactions and exhibits excellent mechanical properties, with the ability to stretch up to more than 600% of its initial length. Furthermore, the hydrogel demonstrates ultra-fast self-healing properties, with fractures capable of being repaired within 10 s. This hydrogel can promote skin wound healing, with the added advantage of functioning as a strain sensor that generates an electrical signal in response to physical deformation. The strain sensor composed of a rubber shell realizes fast and responsive strain sensing. The findings suggest that this hydrogel has promising applications in the field of POCT for wound care, providing a new avenue for improved patient outcomes.

Universal Fully Integrated Wearable Sensor Arrays for the Multiple Electrolyte and Metabolite Monitoring in Raw Sweat, Saliva, or Urine.

Fully integrated wearable sensors are capable of dynamically, directly, and independently tracking biomarkers in raw noninvasive biofluids without any other equipment or accessories by integrating the unique on-body monitoring feature with the special complete functional implementation attribute. Sweat, saliva, and urine are three important noninvasive biofluids, and changes in their biomarkers hold great potential for revealing physiological conditions. However, it is still a challenge to design single fully integrated wearable sensor arrays (FIWSAs) that are universally able to concurrently measure electrolytes and metabolites in three of the most common noninvasive biofluids including sweat, saliva, and urine. Here, we propose the first single universal FIWSAs for wirelessly, noninvasively, and simultaneously measuring various metabolites (i.e., uric acid) and electrolytes (i.e., Na+ and H+) in raw sweat, saliva, or urine under subjects' exercise by integrating the specifically designed microfluidic, sensing, and electronic modules in a seamless manner. We evaluate its utility for noninvasive gout management in healthy subjects and in gout patients through a purine-rich meal challenge and with a medicine-treatment control, respectively. Noninvasive monitoring of multiple electrolytes and metabolites in a variety of raw noninvasive biofluids via such single universal FIWSAs may enrich the understanding of the biomarkers' levels in the body and would also facilitate self-health management.

Synthesis of a clustered carbon aerogel interconnected by carbon balls from the biomass of taros for construction of a multi-functional electrochemical sensor.

In this study, a clustered carbon aerogel interconnected by carbon balls (CCAI-CB) was prepared as an electrode material to construct a multi-functional electrochemical sensor. CCAI-CB derived from taros (Colocasia esculenta (L). Schott) possesses meso-macroporous structure and plenty of defective sites, and shows notable activity in electrocatalysis as an electrode material. We investigated the application of CCAI-CB modified glassy carbon electrode (CCAI-CB/GCE) for determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Compared with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified GCE (CNTs/GCE) and bare GCE, CCAI-CB/GCE shows lower detection limit (0.23 µM for AA and 1.31 µM, S/N = 3), higher sensitivities (220.53, 148.86 or 94.39 µA mM-1 cm-2 for AA and 83.06 or 49.07 µA mM-1 cm-2 for H2O2). Concentrations of AA and H2O2 in real samples were determined at CCAI-CB/GCE with satisfactory detection results obtained. In addition, when the CCAI-CB/GCE was used for electrocatalysis of other biomolecules, it also exhibits high electrochemical activity. Thus, CCAI-CB could be a promising electrode material for the construction of multi-functional electrochemical sensors.

Sweet potato derived three-dimensional carbon aerogels with a hierarchical meso-macroporous and branching nanostructure for electroanalysis.

In this paper, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are used as low-cost precursors to synthesize carbon aerogels with a hierarchical meso-macroporous and branching nanostructure (HMM-BNCA). An HMM-BNCA-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) (HMM-BNCA/GCE) exhibits high electrocatalytic activity for some electroactive biomolecules. For ascorbic acid (AA), the HMM-BNCA/GCE exhibits low oxidation peak potential and detection limit (-0.005 V and 0.45 µM, S/N = 3), high sensitivities (195.43 and 121.00 µA mM-1 cm-2) and wide linear ranges (10-1250 µM and 1250-4750 µM), which are superior to those obtained at the GCE and carbon nanotube (CNT)-modified GCE (CNT/GCE). The HMM-BNCA/GCE exhibits significant resistance to fouling and the interfering substances for the detection of AA. The successful and accurate detection of AA in real samples (such as vitamin C injections and vitamin C soft drinks) in this work demonstrates the feasibility and tremendous potential of HMM-BNCA/GCE for the analysis of AA in complex systems.

Eggerthella lenta bloodstream infections: two cases and review of the literature.

Eggerthella lenta is an emerging and uncommon human pathogen that has been under recognized due to the limitations of phenotypic identification. Here we describe two cases of bacteremia caused by E. lenta and summarize the results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing according to some previous literatures, which illustrate the importance of identification and treatment of unusual organisms. The most reliable antibiotic treatment options to E. lenta appear to be metronidazole, amoxicillin-clavulanate, carbapenems, vancomycin, cefoxitin, chloramphenicol and clindamycin.

Biomass derived worm-like nitrogen-doped-carbon framework for trace determination of toxic heavy metal lead (II).

The worm-like nitrogen-doped-carbon framework (WNCF) with abundant edge-plane-like defective sites (EDSs) was synthesized by using natural wax gourd (Benincasa hispida) as the main carbon precursor and milk yielded by Chinese Holstein cattle (Holstein Friesian) as the nitrogen precursor for the first time. The Nafion-dispersed WNCF (Nafion-WNCF) was employed to design a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for the trace determination of toxic heavy metal lead (II) (Pb2+) by the differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Some key experimental factors including calcination temperature of WNCF, pH value of the buffer solution, deposition potential, deposition time and the concentration of bismuth (Bi3+) were optimized for the stripping analysis of Pb2+. Under the optimum experimental condition, Nafion-WNCF modified bismuth film glassy carbon electrode (Nafion-WNCF/BFGCE) exhibits a wide linear range from 0.5 µg L-1 to 100 µg L-1 and a low detection limit of 0.2 µg L-1 (S/N = 3) for detecting Pb2+. Especially, Nafion-WNCF/BFGCE was successfully applied to determine Pb2+ in tap water and lake water samples. All the results suggest that the WNCF can be considered as a green and low-cost nanomaterial for the precision detection of Pb2+ in real samples.

Ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence biosensing platform for miRNA-21 and MUC1 detection based on dual catalytic hairpin assembly.

Multi-target detection has been widely applied for the sensitive measurement of cancer-related biomarkers; however, the design and application of single platforms for diverse target detection are still challenging. Herein, a robust and sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensing platform was constructed for the measurement of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) and mucin 1 (MUC1) based on dual catalytic hairpin assembly (DCHA). The catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) process (Cycle I) was initiated by the target miRNA-21 to introduce abundant CdS:Mn quantum dots (CdS:Mn QDs) on the electrode surface, leading to a considerable ECL response and the sensitive detection of miRNA-21 with a limit of detection as low as 11 aM. Subsequently, the second CHA process (Cycle II) was triggered by the MUC1-aptamer complex, which allowed copious amounts of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) to approach the CdS:Mn QDs. A decreased ECL signal was obtained due to the ECL resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) effect between the CdS:Mn QDs and AuNPs; meanwhile, MUC1 was sensitively detected with a limit of detection of 0.40 fg mL-1. This single sensing platform achieved dual cancer-related biomarker detection, which could provide a rational approach for future clinical analyse.