Multispectral bioactivity studies of N-terminal fatty acid modified antimicrobial peptide Andricin B.

A series of Andricin B derivatives were designed and synthesized using fatty acid modification at N-terminus of the antimicrobial peptides. The hydrophobicity of Andricin B was altered through fatty acid modification, and the bioactivity was investigated. The interaction between Andricin B and its derivatives with DNA was measured using multi-spectroscopy. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that Andricin B and its derivatives can interact with ct-DNA and G-quadruplexes DNA, and the interaction related with the length of fatty acid chain. Antimicrobial activity tests showed a significant increase using peptides with 8-10 carbons fatty acid chain. C10-Andricin B exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity, with up to a 16-fold enhancement compared to the original peptide Andricin B. Meanwhile, the protease hydrolysis stability test showed that fatty acid modification improved the stability of Andricin B against protease. Scanning electron microscopy results distinctly showed that C8-Andricin B could rupture the cell wall of bacteria. All results indicated that fatty acid modification peptides are an effective strategy for enhancing activity and stability of antimicrobial peptides. This research provides valuable insights for further research on antimicrobial peptides.

Ultrahigh Transparent Safety Film for Spectrally Selective Photo/Electrothermal Conversion via Surface-Enhanced Plasma Resonance Dynamics.

Traditional deicing methods are increasingly insufficient for modern technologies like 5G infrastructure, photovoltaic systems, nearspace aerocraft, and terrestrial observatories. To address the challenge of combining anti-icing efficiency with operational performance, an innovative, spectrally selective, photo/electrothermic, ice-phobic film was prepared through a cost-effective mist deposition method. By manipulating the diameter ratio and density of nanowires, the local density of free electrons within this film is controlled to precisely dictate the position and intensity of surface plasmon resonance to achieve spectrally selective photo/electrothermal conversion. Additionally, the synthesized hydrophobic N-Boroxine-PDMS/SiO2 layer improves thermal stability and accelerates the deicing process. It achieves rapid deicing within 86 s under photothermal conditions and 65 s with Joule heating while maintaining high optical transmittance. The film improves the operational efficiency and thermal safety of equipment while preserving aesthetics and stability, thereby underscoring its broad suitability for advanced outdoor installations in cold environments.

Chitosan nanocoatings N-acylated with decanoic anhydride: Hydrophobic, hygroscopic and structural properties.

Thin (ca. 340 nm) chitosan coatings were deposited onto glass substrates via dip-coating, then modified with the methanol solution of decanoic anhydride (0.17-56 mM). NMR, FTIR and XPS measurements confirmed that the acylation degree increased from 18 % to 45 %, and at the highest degree, the whole layer was acylated homogeneously by the reagent molecules. The coating thickness increased (up to 60 %), and the refractive index decreased (from 1.541 to 1.532) due to the acylation, that was determined by UV-visible spectroscopy. The AFM did not reveal morphological changes, but wetting tests showed that the acylation rendered the coating hydrophobic (water contact angle increased from ca. 75° to 100°). The contact angle, however, decreased to 85° due to the development of a second molecular layer of the decanoic acid by-product at the highest (over 25 mM) reagent concentrations. XRD studies showed a self-assembling structuring of the alkyl-chains in the bulk phase, which occurred in the case of the highest degree of acylation. This also manifested itself in a significant decrease of the layer hygroscopicity: the swelling degree decreased from 40 % to 8 % in a saturated water atmosphere monitored by spectroscopic ellipsometry.

Substrates with Tunable Hydrophobicity for Optimal Cell Adhesion.

Electrospinning is a technique used to create nano/micro-fibrous materials from various polymers for biomedical uses. Polymers like polycaprolactone (PCL) are commonly used, but their hydrophobic properties can limit their applications. To enhance hydrophilicity, nonionic surfactants such as sorbitane monooleate (Span80) and poloxamer (P188) can be added to the PCL electrospinning solution without altering its net charge density. These additions enable the successful production of PCL/P188 and PCL/Span80 fibrous substrates. In this study, P188 and Span80 are incorporated into the PCL solutions; they are successfully electrospun into PCL/P188 and PCL/Span80 substrates, respectively. PCL/P188 substrates show that until a specific P188 concentration, fiber and pore sizes are similar to PCL substrates. However, exceeding 0.30% P188 concentration enlarges fibers, impacting fiber uniformity at higher concentrations. Conversely, higher concentrations of Span80 result in thicker, less uniform fibers, indicating potential disruptions in the electrospinning process. Notably, both surfactants significantly improve substrate hydrophilicity, enhancing the adhesion and proliferation of fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells. P188, in particular, shows superior efficacy in promoting cell adhesion and growth at concentrations optimized for different cell types. Therefore, precise surfactant concentrations in the electrospinning solution can lead to the optimization of electrospun substrates for tissue engineering applications.

Ultrasensitive detection of contaminants in milk using a novel NMS-Ag modified water-resistant paper substrate.

Rapid and precise detection of harmful substances in food products is essential for ensuring public health and safety. This study introduces a novel surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate, composed of a molybdenum disulfide­silver nanocomposite, applied to flexible, water-resistant filter paper for detecting melamine and bisphenol A (BPA) in milk. Optimized molybdenum disulfide (NMS) nanoflowers (NFs) were synthesized through hydrothermal methods and high-temperature annealing, then modified with silver (Ag) nanoparticles to form the NMS-Ag nanocomposite (NMSA6). This substrate greatly enhances the Raman signal, achieving an enhancement factor of approximately 1.49 × 107 and a detection limit as low as 10-11 M for simultaneous multi-component analysis. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations confirm the enhancement mechanism. The NMSA6 substrate demonstrates remarkably low detection limits for BPA and melamine, facilitating the analysis of various hazardous substances. These findings highlight the substrate's potential for highly sensitive, label-free detection, presenting a viable tool for food safety monitoring.

Oral formulations for highly lipophilic drugs: Impact of surface decoration on the efficacy of self-emulsifying drug delivery systems.

AIM: To evaluate the impact of the surface decoration of cannabidiol (CBD) loaded self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) on the efficacy of the formulations to cross the various barriers faced by orally administered drugs. METHODS: Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-free polyglycerol (PG)-based SEDDS, mixed zwitterionic phosphatidyl choline (PC)/PEG-containing SEDDS and PEG-based SEDDS were compared regarding stability against lipid degrading enzymes, surface properties, permeation across porcine mucus, cellular uptake and cytocompatibility. RESULTS: SEDDS with a size of about 200 nm with narrow size distributions were developed and loaded with 20-21 % of CBD. For PG containing PEG-free SEDDS increased degradation by lipid degrading enzymes was observed compared to PEG-containing formulations. The surface hydrophobicity of placebo SEDDS increased in the order of PG-based to mixed PC/PEG-based to PEG-based SEDDS. The influence of this surface hydrophobicity was also observed on the ability of the SEDDS to cross the mucus gel layer where highest mucus permeation was achieved for most hydrophobic PEG-based SEDDS. Highest cellular internalization was observed for PEG-based Lumogen Yellow (LY) loaded SEDDS with 92 % in Caco-2 cells compared to only 30 % for mixed PC/PEG-based SEDDS and 1 % for PG-based SEDDS, leading to a 100-fold improvement in cellular uptake for SEDDS having highest surface hydrophobicity. For cytocompatibility all developed placebo SEDDS showed similar results with a cell survival of above 75 % for concentrations below 0.05 % on Caco-2 cells. CONCLUSION: Higher surface hydrophobicity of SEDDS to orally deliver lipophilic drugs as CBD seems to be a promising approach to increase the intracellular drug concentration by an enhanced permeation through the mucus layer and cellular internalization.

Quaternary phosphonium AIEgens nanoparticles as innovative agents for developing latent fingerprints.

Quaternary phosphonium salts, a significant category of organophosphorus compounds, have garnered substantial attention from chemists due to their wide range of applications across various research areas. These compounds are utilized in organic synthesis, catalysis, medicinal chemistry, natural materials, and coordination chemistry. Their versatility and effectiveness in these fields make them valuable tools in scientific research. Despite their extensive use in various applications, the potential of quaternary phosphonium compounds as fluorescent agents for revealing latent fingerprints (LFPs) remains largely unexplored, presenting an exciting opportunity for further research and development in forensic science. In this study, we designed molecules that combine the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) chromophore with triphenylphosphine to create a series of novel AIE amphiphiles, namely TPP1, TPP2, and TPP3. Through precise adjustment of the carbon chain length between the phenoxy group and the terminal triphenylphosphine, we were able to finely tune the nanostructures and hydrophobicity of the materials. TPP3 emerged as the optimal candidate, possessing the ideal particle size and hydrophobicity to effectively bind to LFPs, thus enabling efficient fingerprint visualization with enhanced fluorescence upon aggregation. Our findings introduce an innovative approach to fingerprint visualization, offering high selectivity, superior imaging of level 3 structures, and long-term effectiveness (up to 30 days). Additionally, TPP3's outstanding performance in imaging level 3 structures of LFPs is beneficial for analyzing incomplete LFPs and identifying individuals. By significantly improving the detection and analysis of LFPs, this approach ensures more accurate and reliable identification, making it invaluable for forensic investigations and security measures. The adaptability of these compounds to various fingerprint surfaces highlights their potential in diverse practical applications, enhancing their utility in both forensic science and security fields. This versatility allows for precise fingerprint visualization across different scenarios, making them a critical tool for advancing biometric and security technologies.

Bovine serum albumin as a nanocarrier for efficient encapsulation of hydrophobic garcinol-A strategy for modifying the in vitro drug release kinetics.

Garcinia indica, known as kokum, has been extensively researched for its therapeutic potential. Among the wide variety of phytoconstituents, garcinol is the most efficacious, holding anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-diabetic properties. Hydrophobicity and a certain level of toxicity have constrained the drug's application and necessitated a modified dosage form design. The drug has been well explored in the form of extracts but bears very limited application in dosage forms. These prompted in implementation of protein polymers, due to non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. BSA encapsulates the drug, by the desolvation method. The unavailability of past exploration of garcinol with protein polymer accelerated the novelty of this study, to improve the solubility and bioavailability of the drug, modify the drug release kinetics, and ascertain the effectiveness of the NPs to combat inflammation in-vitro. NPs were characterized and satisfactory outcomes were retrieved in terms of all characterizations. The drug release studies depicted a sustained release of up to 85 % over 16 h, ensuring that garcinol can be modulated to give a desired scale of modified release. In vitro cellular uptake studies suggested a substantial uptake of NPs in cell lines and its effectiveness to mitigate inflammation was affirmed by in-vitro anti-inflammatory studies, using ELISA.

Effect of different chain-length fatty acids on the retrogradation properties of rice starch.

In order to delay the retrogradation of rice starch, the effects of three different chain length fatty acids (lauric acid, myristic acid and palmitic acid) on rice starch were studied. The fatty acids with longer carbon chains had strong steric hindrance and hydrophobicity, which formed a more compact structure in the helical cavity of amylose, and significantly reduced degree of expansion, migration of water, short-range ordered structure, number of double helical structures and crystallinity. These structural changes endowed the rice starch-long chain fatty acid complexes with better gel viscosity, liquid fluidity and thermal stability than in the rice starch-short chain fatty acid complexes. The results showed that fatty acids with longer chain length inhibited the retrogradation of rice starch, most obviously when 5% palmitic acid was added. This study provides an important reference for the processing of rice starch-based foods.

Characterization of probiotics isolated from dietary supplements and evaluation of metabiotic-antibiotic combinations as promising therapeutic options against antibiotic-resistant pathogens using time-kill assay.

BACKGROUND: The global probiotics dietary supplements market size is continuously growing. To overcome probiotics' health concerns, metabiotics are recognized as a safer alternative. Aiming to deal with the escalating antimicrobial resistance, the current work demonstrates synergistic metabiotic-antibiotic combinations against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. METHODS: The probiotic properties of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from 3 commercial dietary supplements were characterized in vitro. The combinations of the cell-free supernatants (CFS) of selected probiotic strains and conventional antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli clinical isolates were evaluated using the time-kill assay. To our knowledge, the current literature lacks sufficient time-kill assay studies revealing the kinetics of such metabiotic-antibiotic combinations against S. aureus and E. coli. RESULTS: Four LAB strains isolated from dietary supplements as well as two reference strains were included in this study. The isolated LAB strains were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as follows: P2: Lactobacillus acidophilus, P3: Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, P4: Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, and P5: Pediococcus acidilactici. The identification matched with that annotated by the manufacturers, except for P3. The tested strains could resist the acidic environment at pH 3. Excluding P2, the examined strains showed less than 1 log reduction in survivors upon the addition of reconstituted skimmed milk to pepsin at pH 2 and displayed an acceptable tolerance to 0.3% ox-bile. All the strains tolerated pancreatin. The hydrophobicity and autoaggregation capacities ranged between 7-92% and 36-66%, respectively. P2 was excluded owing to its inferior probiotic potential. Although the remaining strains showed excellent growth at 0.2% phenol, their growth was reduced at higher concentrations. L. plantarum and P. acidilactici strains possessed bile salt hydrolysis activity. The time-kill assay revealed promising synergistic activities of the combinations of CFS of L. rhamnosus P4 with either ceftazidime or gentamicin against E. coli and with only ceftazidime against S. aureus, as well as CFS of P. acidilactici P5 and ceftazidime against S. aureus. CONCLUSIONS: Strict identification and evaluation of the probiotic strains incorporated in dietary supplements is crucial to ensure their safety and efficacy. The CFS of probiotics could be utilized to formulate novel biotherapeutics targeting problematic pathogens. However, future in vivo studies are required to evaluate the appropriate treatment regimen.

Hydrophobic Multilayered PEG@PAN/MXene/PVDF@SiO2 Composite Film with Excellent Thermal Management and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding for Electronic Devices.

With the rapid development of electronic industry, it's pressing to develop multifunctional electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials to ensure the stable operation of electronic devices. Herein, multilayered flexible PEG@PAN/MXene (Ti3C2Tx)/PVDF@SiO2 (PMF) composite film has been constructed from the level of microstructure design via coaxial electrospinning, coating spraying, and uniaxial electrospinning strategies. Benefiting from the effective encapsulation for PEG and high conductivity of MXene coating, PEG@PAN/MXene composite film with MXene coating loading density of 0.70 mg cm-2 exhibits high thermal energy storage density of 120.77 J g-1 and great EMI shielding performance (EMI SE of 34.409 dB and SSE of 49.086 dB cm3 g-1) in X-band (8-12 GHz). Therefore, this advanced composite film can not only help electronic devices prevent the influence of electromagnetic pollution in the X-band but also play an important role in electronic device thermal management. Additionally, the deposition of nano PVDF@SiO2 fibers (289 ± 128 nm) endowed the PMF composite film with great hydrophobic properties (water contact angle of 126.5°) to ensure the stable working of hydrophilic MXene coating, thereby breaks the limitation of humid application environments. The finding paves a new way for the development of novel multifunctional EMI shielding composite films for electronic devices.

Counterintuitive Trend of Intrusion Pressure with Temperature in the Hydrophobic Cu2(tebpz) MOF.

Liquid porosimetry experiments reveal a peculiar trend of the intrusion pressure of water in hydrophobic Cu2(3,3',5,5'-tetraethyl-4,4'-bipyrazolate) MOF. At lower temperature (T) range, the intrusion pressure (Pi) increases with T. For higher T values, Pi first reaches a maximum and then decreases. This is at odds with the Young-Laplace law, which for systems showing a continuous decrease of contact angle with T predicts a corresponding reduction of the intrusion pressure. Though the Young-Laplace law is not expected to provide quantitative predictions at the subnanoscale of Cu2(tebpz) pores, the physical intuition suggests that to a reduction of their hydrophobicity corresponds a reduction of the Pi. Molecular dynamics simulations and sychrothron experiments allowed to clarify the mechanism of the peculiar trend of Pi with T. At increasing temperatures the vapor density within the MOF' pores grows significantly, bringing the corresponding partial pressure to ≈5 MPa. This pressure, which is consistent with the shift of Pi observed in liquid porosimetry, represents a threshold to be overcame before intrusion takes place. Beyond some value of temperature, the phenomenon of reduction of hydrophobicity (and water surface tension) dominated over the opposite effect of increase of vapor pressure and Pi inverts its trend with T.

Multiscale Tunable Nanorings Based on Bi-Component Micellar-Configuration-Transformation Induced by Hydrophobicity.

Ringy nanostructures are amazing materials, displaying unique optical, magnetic, and electronic properties highly related to their dimensions. A strategy capable of continuously tailoring the diameter of nanorings is the key to elucidating their structure-function relationship. Herein, a method of bi-component micellar-configuration-transformation induced by hydrophobicity for the synthesis of nanorings with diameters ranging from submicron (≈143 nm) to micron (≈4.8 µm) and their carbonaceous analogs is established. Remarkably, the nanorings fabricated with this liquid phase strategy achieve the record for the largest diameter span. Through varying the molecular lengths of fatty alcohols and copolymers, shortening the molecular length of fatty alcohol can swell the primary micelles, improve the exposure of hydrophobic component and boost the assembly kinetics for ultra-large nanorings is shown here. On the other hand, shortening the molecular length of the copolymer will give rise to ultra-small nanorings by reducing the size of primary micelles and shortening the assembly time. When assembling the nanorings into monolayer arrays and then depositing Au, such substrate displays enhanced surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance. This research develops a facile method for the controllable synthesis of ringy materials with multiscale tunable diameters and may inspire more interesting applications in physics, optical, and sensors.

The dynamic ethylene adsorption on carbon xerogels as a three-way game between porosity, surface chemistry and humidity.

Novel carbon xerogels doped with heteroatoms (O, N, S) were prepared by sol-gel polymerization of resorcinol with heterocyclic aldehydes containing them. All doped materials presented higher O-contents than the reference material prepared with formaldehyde, and significant S- or N-loadings in the corresponding samples. Carbon xerogels were micro-mesoporous and N-doping favoured the formation of mesopores. Their efficiency in the dynamic ethylene adsorption is presented as an interplay between porosity, surface chemistry and humidity. The surface hydrophilicity was also studied by water adsorption assays, a quick adsorption being favoured in microporous samples with hydrophilic O-groups. Breakthrough curves for ethylene adsorption were recorded in both dry and humid conditions and analysed according to the mass transference zone (MTZ). The material behaviour was correlated with the physicochemical properties, elucitating the mechanism of the simultaneous water/ethylene adsorption. The adsorption capacity depended linearly on the microporous characteristics of samples; however, MTZ parameters (efficiency of the column) varied linearly with the electronegativity of the dopant element. Both doping and humidity in the stream hindered the ethylene adsorption kinetic and capacity (up to 33% for N-doped material under humidity compared to undoped-material under dry conditions), due to reduced adsorbate-adsorbent interactions and the accessibility into narrow pores.

Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Heterogeneous Polysorbate 80 Surfactants and their Interactions with Small Molecules and Proteins.

Polysorbate 80 (PS80) is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations, and its commercial grades exhibit certain levels of structural heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to apply coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to better understand the effect of PS80 heterogeneity on micelle self-assembly, the loading of hydrophobic small molecules into the micelle core, and the interactions between PS80 and a protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA). Four representative PS80 variants with different head and tail structures were studied. Our simulations found that PS80 structural heterogeneity could affect blank micelle properties such as solvent-accessible surface area, aggregation number, and micelle aspect ratio. It was also found that hydrophobic small molecules such as ethinyl estradiol preferentially partitioned into the PS80 micelle core and PS80 dioleates formed a more hydrophobic core compared to PS80 monooleates. Furthermore, multiple PS80 molecules could bind to BSA, and PS80 heterogeneity profoundly changed the binding ratio as well as the surfactant-protein contact area.

Electroreduction of CO to 2.8 A cm⁻2 C2+ Products: Maximizing Efficiency with Minimalist Electrode Design Featuring a Mesopore-Rich Hydrophobic Copper Catalyst Layer.

This work shows how hydrophobicity and porosity can be incorporated into copper catalyst layers (CLs) for the efficient electroreduction of CO (CORR) in a flow cell. Oxide-derived (OD) Cu catalysts are synthesized using K+ and Cs+ as templates, termed respectively as OD-Cu-K and OD-Cu-Cs. CLs, assembled from OD-Cu-K and OD-Cu-Cs, exhibit enhanced CORR performance compared to "unmodified" OD-Cu CL. OD-Cu-Cs can notably reduce CO to C2+ products with Faradaic efficiencies (FE) as high as 96% (or 4% FE H2). During CO electrolysis at -3000 mA cm-2 (-0.73 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode), C2+ products and the alcohols are formed with respective current densities of -2804 and -1205 mA cm- 2. The mesopores in the OD-Cu-Cs CL act as barriers against electrolyte flooding. Contact angle measurements confirm the CL's hydrophobicity ranking: OD-Cu-Cs > OD-Cu-K > OD-Cu. The enhanced hydrophobicity of a catalyst is proposed to allow more triple-phase (CO-electrolyte-catalyst) interfaces to be available for CORR. This study shows how the pore size-hydrophobicity relationship can be harvested to guide the design of a less-is-more Cu electrode, which can attain high CORR current density and selectivity, without the additional use of hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene particles or dopants, such as Ag.

Novel Approach for the Preparation of a Highly Hydrophobic Coating Material Exhibiting Self-Healing Properties.

A concept to prepare a highly hydrophobic composite with self-healing properties has been designed and verified. The new material is based on a composite of a crystalline hydrophobic fluoro wax, synthesized from montan waxes and perfluoroethylene alcohols, combined with spherical silica nanoparticles equipped with a hydrophobic shell. Highly repellent layers were prepared using this combination of a hydrophobic crystalline wax and silica nanoparticles. The novel aspect of our concept was to prepare a ladder-like structure of the hydrophobic shell allowing the inclusion of a certain share of wax molecules. Wax molecules trapped in the hydrophobic structure during mixing are hindered from crystallizing; therefore, these molecules maintain a higher mobility compared to crystallized molecules. When a thin layer of the composite material is mechanically damaged, the mobile wax molecules can migrate and heal the defects to a certain extent. The general preparation of the composite is described and XRD analysis demonstrated that a certain share of wax molecules in the composite are hindered to crystallize. Furthermore, we show that the resulting material can recovery its repellent properties after surface damage.

Direct Acrylation of Soybean Oil and the Influence of the Acrylation Degree on Waterborne Acrylic Systems.

The direct acrylation of soybean oil was investigated by the activation of soybean oil's (SO's) internal fatty unsaturation with acidic catalysts. The effect of the catalyst and the reactant ratio with respect to the unsaturation and reaction time on the direct acrylation process were explored. ASO (acrylated soybean oil) with acrylation degrees (the number of acrylate molecules introduced in a triglyceride molecule) between 1.6 and 2.55 were obtained. The effect of the ASO acrylation degree on copolymerization processes was investigated. The resulting monomers were successfully copolymerized with meth(acrylate) monomers by the miniemulsion polymerization process, favoring the droplet nucleation mechanism and showing conversions higher than 97%. The acrylic-ASO copolymers presented lower Tg and higher hydrophobicity and oleophobicity than the acrylic copolymer.

The Mechanical and Electrochemical Stability of Trimethysilane Plasma Nanocoatings Deposited onto Cobalt Chromium Cardiovascular Stents.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the coating integrity performance and corrosion protection property of trimethylsilane (TMS) plasma nanocoatings that were directly deposited onto cobalt chromium (CoCr) L605 cardiovascular stents. Hydrophilic surfaces were achieved for the TMS plasma nanocoatings that were deposited onto the coronary stents through NH3/O2 (2:1 molar ratio) plasma post-treatment. With a coating thickness of approximately 20-25 nm, the TMS plasma nanocoatings were highly durable and able to resist delamination and cracking from crimping and expansion by a Model CX with a J-Crimp Station. The stent surface that was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) showed no indications of pitting, corrosion, or adsorption products on either the luminal or abluminal surfaces of the stents, in contrast to the uncoated stent surface. The TMS plasma nanocoatings significantly enhanced the stent's corrosion resistance in immersion experiments that followed the ASTM F2129-15 corrosion protocol, evident in the increase of the open circuit potential (OCP) from 0.01 V for the uncoated L605 stent to 0.18 V for the plasma-nanocoated L605 stent, reducing potential cytotoxic metal ion release. Cyclic polarization (CP) curves show that the corrosion rate (density level) observed in plasma-nanocoated L605 stents was approximately half an order of magnitude lower than that of the uncoated stents, indicating improved corrosion protection of the stents. CP curves of the TMS plasma-nanocoated stents with different coating thicknesses show that, in the range of 20-65 nm, the coating thickness does not result in any difference in the corrosion resistance of the stents.

Construction of a durable, halogen-free, and phosphorus-free flame retardant cotton fabric system with hydrophobic properties by phase separation and interface polymerization.

Inspired by the synthesis of polyurethane, a multifunctional fabric with hydrophobic and long-lasting flame retardancy was prepared through the phase separation and interfacial reaction process between PEI (polyethyleneimine)/BX (borax) aqueous solution and isocyanate terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS-NCO) in tetrahydrofuran solution. The limit oxygen index of the treated fabric increased from 18.0 % to 33.7 %, and the total heat release decreased by 34.2 %. The enhancement of flame retardant performance and thermal stability is attributed to the enhanced char-forming capacity. After 50 cycles of water washing, the cotton fabric can still pass the vertical flammability test because of the curing effect of PDMS-NCO on functional additives. Furthermore, SEM analysis revealed that the formation of nano-rough structures on the fibers was promoted by phase separation, thus leading an increased water contact angle of sample to 139°. The materials utilized in this modified process do not contain elements such as F, Cl, Br, and P, indicating its potential as an environmentally friendly methodology for fabric functionalization.