Language：English   Publisher：ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces  

Although thin-film composite membranes have achieved great success in CO2 separation, further improvements in the CO2 permeance are required to reduce the size and cost of the CO2 separation process. Herein, we report the fabrication of composite membranes with high CO2 permeability using a laser-patterned porous membrane as the support membrane. High-aspect-ratio micropatterns with well-defined micropores on their surface were carved on microporous polymer supports by a direct laser writing process using a short-pulsed laser. By using a Galvano scanner and optimizing the laser conditions and target materials, in-plane micropatterns, such as microhole arrays, microline grating, microlattices, and out-of-plane hierarchical micropatterns, were created on porous membranes. An aqueous suspension of hydrogel microparticles doped with an amine-based mobile carrier was sprayed onto the patterned surface to form a defect-free thin separation layer. The surface area of the separation layer on the patterned support is up to 80% larger than that of flat pristine membranes, resulting in a 52% higher CO2 permeance (1106 GPU) with a CO2/N2 selectivity of 172. The laser-patterned porous membranes allow the development of inexpensive and high-performance functional membranes not only for CO2 separation but also for other applications, such as water treatment, cell culture, micro-TAS, and membrane reactors.

DOI： 10.1021/acsami.4c01260

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

Publisher：Carbon  

Near-infrared light in the second region (NIR-II, ∼1000–1400 nm) can penetrate biological tissues with minimal absorption and scattering, making it ideal for in vivo diagnostic imaging. However, most NIR-II-fluorescent materials lack adequate brightness and biocompatibility. One such example is single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT). In this study, we improved fluorescence brightness and biocompatibility of SWCNTs by coating them with gel of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based cross-linked polymers, which was prepared by a one-pot method called “carbon nanotube micelle polymerization (CMP)”. The PEG confers SWCNT biocompatibility, and structural defects of SWCNT induced by CMP enhanced NIR-II fluorescence intensity. Due to these improvements, the gel-coated SWCNTs clearly imaged vasculatures in mice at a low dose of 8.4 μg/mouse, proving the potential use of gel-coated SWCNTs as high-quality bio-imaging agents.

DOI： 10.1016/j.carbon.2023.118728

Web of Science

Scopus

Publisher：Carbon  

Serum albumin (SA) is a protein found in biofluids that is useful for diagnosing kidney and liver-related diseases. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) showing photoluminescence (PL) in the near-infrared (NIR) region are prospective candidates for diagnosis NIR probes. Their NIR PL enhancement has been reported by defect introduction techniques based on local chemical functionalization of SWCNTs. The locally functionalized (lf-)SWCNTs exhibit a bright defect PL (>1000 nm) from the defect sites and its sensitive wavelength shifts in response to surrounding dielectric atmospheres have been reported. Here, we used the sensitive defect PL responses of lf-SWCNTs to establish a NIR sensing system for SA detection. A palmitic acid group that binds to SA strongly and selectively, was functionalized at the defect site of lf-SWCNTs (lf-SWCNTs-p). Compared to typical PL of unmodified SWCNTs, selective defect PL red-shifts (of 2.5 nm max.) were clearly observed according to the addition of SA in phosphate-buffered saline. The defect PL responsiveness could detect different SA from human, bovine, and mouse. The red-shifts of the defect PL occurred by formation of a high dielectric environment based on the specific binding between SA and the palmitic acid groups on the defect sites. The lf-SWCNTs-p detected SA-spiked serum and albuminuria of diabetic mouse in body fluids. The findings show that the lf-SWCNTs-p offer an NIR PL analytical tool for SA in body fluids applicable to a disease diagnosis and expand the bioapplications of lf-SWCNTs based on their molecular design-based defect engineering.

DOI： 10.1016/j.carbon.2023.118533

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：English   Publisher：Nature Communications  

The delivery of genetic material into plants has been historically challenging due to the cell wall barrier, which blocks the passage of many biomolecules. Carbon nanotube-based delivery has emerged as a promising solution to this problem and has been shown to effectively deliver DNA and RNA into intact plants. Mitochondria are important targets due to their influence on agronomic traits, but delivery into this organelle has been limited to low efficiencies, restricting their potential in genetic engineering. This work describes the use of a carbon nanotube-polymer hybrid modified with functional peptides to deliver DNA into intact plant mitochondria with almost 30 times higher efficiency than existing methods. Genetic integration of a folate pathway gene in the mitochondria displays enhanced plant growth rates, suggesting its applications in metabolic engineering and the establishment of stable transformation in mitochondrial genomes. Furthermore, the flexibility of the polymer layer will also allow for the conjugation of other peptides and cargo targeting other organelles for broad applications in plant bioengineering.

DOI： 10.1038/s41467-022-30185-y

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

Language：English  

The delivery of genetic material into plants has been historically challenging due to the cell wall barrier, which blocks the passage of many biomolecules. Carbon nanotube-based delivery has emerged as a promising solution to this problem and has been shown to effectively deliver DNA and RNA into intact plants. Mitochondria are important targets due to their influence on agronomic traits, but delivery into this organelle has been limited to low efficiencies, restricting their potential in genetic engineering. This work describes the use of a carbon nanotube-polymer hybrid modified with functional peptides to deliver DNA into intact plant mitochondria with almost 30 times higher efficiency than existing methods. Genetic integration of a folate pathway gene in the mitochondria displays enhanced plant growth rates, suggesting its applications in metabolic engineering and the establishment of stable transformation in mitochondrial genomes. Furthermore, the flexibility of the polymer layer will also allow for the conjugation of other peptides and cargo targeting other organelles for broad applications in plant bioengineering.

CiNii Research