Electrospun Microfibrous Membranes Based on PIM-1/POSS with High Oil Wettability for Separation of Oil–Water Mixtures and Cleanup of Oil Soluble Contaminants

A series of PIM-1/POSS microfibrous membranes were fabricated by electrospinning technology. The addition of POSS particles could greatly enhance the hydrophobicity, and a superhydrophobic–superoleophilic membrane was obtained as the POSS concentration increased to 40 wt %. The scanning electron microscopy images indicate that the incorporation of POSS particles results in formations of hierarchical structures on the surface of the PIM-1/POSS fibers. Both the intrinsic hydrophobic nature of POSS and the increase in the fiber surface roughness led to the superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity. The 40 wt % PIM-1/POSS fibrous membrane could not only separate a wide range of immiscible oil–water mixtures with efficiencies higher than 99.95% but also separate water-in-oil emulsions with efficiencies higher than 99.97%. Furthermore, because of the ultrahigh intrinsic microporosity of the PIM-1 polymer, the PIM-1 fibrous membrane exhibited the ability to adsorb a large amount of contaminants such as oil red O and solvent blue 35 from oils. Therefore, these membranes are multifunctional and can be applied to treating immiscible water–oil mixtures, water-in-oil emulsions, and cleanup of oil soluble contaminants

Fabrication of Superhydrophobic–Superoleophilic Fabrics by an Etching and Dip-Coating Two-Step Method for Oil–Water Separation

A dual-scale roughness structure superhydrophobic–superoleophilic fabric was fabricated by first etching the microscale fibers with alkali and then dip-coating in a mixed solution of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) and fluorinated alkylsilane (PTES). Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the etching process created nanoscale pits on the fiber surface and subsequently formed hierarchical structures on the fabric surface. Coating of PIM-1–PTES on the etched fibers significantly lowered the surface energy of the fibers, thus causing the fabric surface to possess superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 158° and superoleophilicity with an oil contact angle of 0°. The obtained superwettable fabric was mounted in a leak-proof manner on the open-end glass bottle, like an oil skimmer container. Such a new surface-tension-driven, gravity-assisted, one-step, oil–water separation device was used to separate the oil–water mixture with a separation efficiency as high as 99.96% after 30 recycles

<i>In Situ</i> Formation of Microfibrillar PBAT in PGA Films: An Effective Way to Robust Barrier and Mechanical Properties for Fully Biodegradable Packaging Films

Poly­(glycolic acid) (PGA) is a semicrystalline biodegradable polyester with high gas barrier properties. However, due to its poor processability and low ductility, PGA could hardly find applications in the packaging field. Here, a strategy was adopted for in situ generation of high-aspect-ratio flexible microfibrils with strong interface affinity for the PGA matrix. Because poly­(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) possesses impressive ductility, it was selected as the “fibrillar toughening phase” to enhance the ductility of PGA. Moreover, a chain extender was used to enhance the interfacial adhesion between the two polymers. The extrusion blown film technique was then used to develop fully biodegradable PGA/PBAT films with a superior combination of excellent barrier performance and robust mechanical properties. The PBAT phase can in situ form microfibrils under the influence of extensional flow. Simultaneously, the synergetic function of the extensional flow field could effectively promote the motion of the PGA molecular chain to develop an oriented crystalline microstructure. Because of the aligned oriented lamellar crystal of PGA and oriented PBAT fibril structures serving as robust “barrier walls” 60PGA/ADR blown films demonstrated dramatically improved resistance to oxygen and water vapor, with 59 and 44 times lower oxygen permeability and water vapor permeability, respectively, when compared to the neat PBAT blown film. As a result, PGA/PBAT blown films offer a variety of benefits, including superior ductility, toughness, and a strong gas barrier property. The potential of these films to degrade makes them a viable contender for replacing classical nondegradable packing films

Adsorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Fluoranthene and Anthracenemethanol) by Functional Graphene Oxide and Removal by pH and Temperature-Sensitive Coagulation

A new kind of functional graphene oxide with fine stability in water was fabricated by mixing graphene oxide (GO) and brilliant blue (BB) with a certain weight ratio. The adsorption performance of this mixture of BB and GO (BBGO) to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (anthracenemethanol (AC) and fluoranthene (FL)) was investigated, and the results indicated BBGO possessed adsorption capacity of 1.676 mmol/g and removal efficiency of 72.7% as to AC and adsorption capacity of 2.212 mmol/g and removal efficiency of 93.2% as to FL. After adsorption, pH and temperature-sensitive coagulation (PTC) method was used to remove the AC/BBGO or FL/BBGO complex and proved to be an effective approach to flocculate the AC/BBGO or FL/BBGO complex into large flocs, which tended to be removed from the aqueous solution

Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework Nanochannels for Salinity Gradient Energy Conversion

The salinity gradient at the seawater and river water interfaces is an abundant renewable energy source, which can be converted into electrical power through the selective nanofluidic nanochannel membranes. However, the practical applications of reported nanomaterials are limited by the poor ion selectivity and low ion flux. Herein, we demonstrate hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) nanochannels for osmotic power generation. The porous structure formed by hydrogen bonds and π-π interactions and the internal unprotonated carboxyl groups endow the HOF nanochannels with great cation selectivity and high ion flux. By mixing seawater and river water, 44.4 wt % HOF nanochannel membranes exhibit a maximum output power density of 6.04 W/m2, which outperforms the commercial benchmark of 5 W/m2. This study lays the foundation for the applications of HOF to the harvest of salinity gradient energy

Additional file 1 of CD19/CD20 dual-targeted chimeric antigen receptor-engineered natural killer cells exhibit improved cytotoxicity against acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Additional file 1: Figure S1. a Flow cytometry gating strategy of NK cells. Nucleated cell gates were gated based on sample size and complexity (FCS-A and SSC-A, respectively). Nucleated cells were further gated in FSC-A and FSC-H to screen single cells and exclude double cells. CD3−NK cells were gated based on single-cell gates, and CD56+ CD16+ NK cells were identified using CD56-PE and CD16-APC, and gated based on CD3−NK (SSC-A and CD3-FITC). b Expression of CD19 and CD20 antigens on different blood tumor cells. c Cytotoxicity of UCB-NK cells to different blood tumor cells under different effector-target ratios. (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, n = 3). d Expression of NK cell activity marker CD69 at different times during culture. Figure S2. Detection of CAR expression on NK cells after different concentrations of mRNA electroporation (rest for 8 h after electroporation). Figure S3. a Levels of perforin, IFN-γ, and IL-15 secreted by NK and CAR-NK cells in the supernatant of 4 h cultures as detected by ELISA (n = 3; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001). b Expression of CD69 on NK/CAR-NK cells as detected by flow cytometry. c Cytokine production of CAR-NK cells as analyzed by flow cytometry. Lymphocyte cells were determined by forward and side scatter and then gated to single cells. They were further gated to CD56+ NK cells, and flow cytometry analysis was performed for CD107a, CD69, and IFN-γ in CD56+ NK cells

Simple Way to Fabricate Emissive Boron-Containing Covalent Organic Frameworks

Highly fluorescent covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are rarely obtained because of the π–π stacked layers with aggregation-caused quenching behavior. Unarguably, highly fluorescent COFs with tunable emission colors are even more rarely achieved. Herein, a general strategy to modify the classical COF material (named COF-1) by different fluorescent molecules via N → B interaction was developed. In this method, the boron-containing COF-1 acted as a porous and crystalline matrix as well as a reaction partner of Lewis acid; after interacting with fluorescent molecules with the anchoring group of pyridine (Lewis base), COF-1 takes a gorgeous transfiguration from a non-emissive powder into a highly fluorescent COF material with tunable emission colors. This disclosed method endowed the typical COFs with new emissive life and is speculated with the general research concept for all boron-containing COFs. Benefiting from the prominent fluorescent emission in the aggregation state, sensitive probes toward amines are achieved

Image_1_Mutational Profile and Potential Molecular Therapeutic Targets of Pheochromocytoma.tif

PurposePheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PCC/PGL; collectively known as PPGL) can be driven by germline and somatic mutations in susceptibility genes. We aimed to investigate the mutation profile and clinical features of pathogenic genes in highly genetically heterogeneous PPGL and to preliminary explore molecular therapeutic targets in PPGL.MethodsWe established a panel of 260 genes, including susceptibility genes of PPGL and other important tumorigenic genes to sequence 107 PPGL tissues.ResultsOverall, 608 genomic mutations were identified in 107 PPGL tissues. Almost 57% of PPGL tissue samples exhibited pathogenic mutations, and the most frequently mutated gene was SDHB (15/107, 14%). SDHB and HRAS were the most commonly mutated genes in germline-mutated PPGL (25/107, 23%) and nongermline-mutated PPGL (36/107, 34%), respectively. In addition, novel pathogenic mutations were detected in sporadic PPGL. PPGL with mutations in the hypoxia pathway had an earlier onset and higher norepinephrine level than those in the kinase pathway. Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK; 22%, 24/107), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; 14%, 15/107), and tyrosine kinase (TK; 2%, 2/107) pathways were the most frequently mutated pathways in PPGL.ConclusionOur results provided the genetic mutation profile in PPGL tissues. Genetic mutations in PPGL were mainly concentrated in the RTK, TK, and MAPK pathways, suggesting potential molecular therapeutic targets for PPGL.</p

Image_2_Mutational Profile and Potential Molecular Therapeutic Targets of Pheochromocytoma.tif

PurposePheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PCC/PGL; collectively known as PPGL) can be driven by germline and somatic mutations in susceptibility genes. We aimed to investigate the mutation profile and clinical features of pathogenic genes in highly genetically heterogeneous PPGL and to preliminary explore molecular therapeutic targets in PPGL.MethodsWe established a panel of 260 genes, including susceptibility genes of PPGL and other important tumorigenic genes to sequence 107 PPGL tissues.ResultsOverall, 608 genomic mutations were identified in 107 PPGL tissues. Almost 57% of PPGL tissue samples exhibited pathogenic mutations, and the most frequently mutated gene was SDHB (15/107, 14%). SDHB and HRAS were the most commonly mutated genes in germline-mutated PPGL (25/107, 23%) and nongermline-mutated PPGL (36/107, 34%), respectively. In addition, novel pathogenic mutations were detected in sporadic PPGL. PPGL with mutations in the hypoxia pathway had an earlier onset and higher norepinephrine level than those in the kinase pathway. Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK; 22%, 24/107), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; 14%, 15/107), and tyrosine kinase (TK; 2%, 2/107) pathways were the most frequently mutated pathways in PPGL.ConclusionOur results provided the genetic mutation profile in PPGL tissues. Genetic mutations in PPGL were mainly concentrated in the RTK, TK, and MAPK pathways, suggesting potential molecular therapeutic targets for PPGL.</p

Table_1_Mutational Profile and Potential Molecular Therapeutic Targets of Pheochromocytoma.xlsx

PurposePheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PCC/PGL; collectively known as PPGL) can be driven by germline and somatic mutations in susceptibility genes. We aimed to investigate the mutation profile and clinical features of pathogenic genes in highly genetically heterogeneous PPGL and to preliminary explore molecular therapeutic targets in PPGL.MethodsWe established a panel of 260 genes, including susceptibility genes of PPGL and other important tumorigenic genes to sequence 107 PPGL tissues.ResultsOverall, 608 genomic mutations were identified in 107 PPGL tissues. Almost 57% of PPGL tissue samples exhibited pathogenic mutations, and the most frequently mutated gene was SDHB (15/107, 14%). SDHB and HRAS were the most commonly mutated genes in germline-mutated PPGL (25/107, 23%) and nongermline-mutated PPGL (36/107, 34%), respectively. In addition, novel pathogenic mutations were detected in sporadic PPGL. PPGL with mutations in the hypoxia pathway had an earlier onset and higher norepinephrine level than those in the kinase pathway. Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK; 22%, 24/107), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; 14%, 15/107), and tyrosine kinase (TK; 2%, 2/107) pathways were the most frequently mutated pathways in PPGL.ConclusionOur results provided the genetic mutation profile in PPGL tissues. Genetic mutations in PPGL were mainly concentrated in the RTK, TK, and MAPK pathways, suggesting potential molecular therapeutic targets for PPGL.</p