Properties of Degraded Waste PET-Modified Styrene-Acrylic Emulsions for Cement Slurry Materials

The properties of a modified cement slurry based on degraded waste PET-modified styrene-acrylic emulsions are studied. The effects of the modified styrene-acrylic emulsion on water consumption, setting time, retarding effect, water retention, impermeability, and mechanical properties of the cement slurry are comprehensively studied. The results show that the modified styrene-acrylic emulsion has the following impacts on the cement slurry: it significantly reduces the water consumption required to reach a standard consistency, slows down the initial and final setting times, and greatly improves the water retention rate and water reduction rate. When the content of modified styrene-acrylic emulsion is 7.5%, the water reduction rate is 36% and the water retention rate is 97%. The solidified cement slurry with a modified styrene-acrylic emulsion content less than 7.5% has lower permeability and higher flexural strength than a common cement slurry. The compressive strength is reduced but can still reach required values. According to SEM observations, the modified styrene-acrylic emulsion can enhance the bonding strength between the cement particles, reduce the porosity of the structure, and improve the performance of cement-based composites

Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Combined with Separation and Enrichment of Phosphopeptides by Titania Coated Magnetic Mesoporous Silica Microspheres for Screening of Protein Kinase Inhibitors

We describe herein the development of a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) approach for screening of protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs). MS quantification of phosphopeptides, the kinase-catalyzed products of nonphosphorylated substrates, is a great challenge due to the ion suppression effect of highly abundant nonphosphorylated peptides in enzymatic reaction mixtures. To address this issue, a novel type of titania coated magnetic hollow mesoporous silica spheres (TiO₂/MHMSS) material was fabricated for capturing phosphopeptides from the enzymatic reaction mixtures prior to MS analysis. Under optimized conditions, even in the presence of 1000-fold of a substrate peptide of tyrosine kinase epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), the phosphorylated substrates at the femtomole level can be detected with high accuracy and reproducibility. With a synthetic nonisotopic labeled phosphopeptide, of which the sequence is similar to that of the phosphorylated substrate, as the internal standard, the MS signal ratio of the phosphorylated substrate to the standard is linearly correlated with the molar ratio of the two phosphopeptides in peptide mixtures over the range of 0.1 to 4 with <i>r</i>² being 0.99. The IC₅₀ values of three EGFR inhibitors synthesized in our laboratory were then determined, and the results are consistent with those determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The developed method is sensitive, cost/time-effective, and operationally simple and does not require isotope/radioative-labeling, providing an ideal alterative for screening of PKIs as therapeutic agents

A universal interface for plug-and-play assembly of stretchable devices

Stretchable hybrid devices have enabled high-fidelity implantable1-3 and on-skin4-6 monitoring of physiological signals. These devices typically contain soft modules that match the mechanical requirements in humans7,8 and soft robots9,10, rigid modules containing Si-based microelectronics11,12 and protective encapsulation modules13,14. To make such a system mechanically compliant, the interconnects between the modules need to tolerate stress concentration that may limit their stretching and ultimately cause debonding failure15-17. Here, we report a universal interface that can reliably connect soft, rigid and encapsulation modules together to form robust and highly stretchable devices in a plug-and-play manner. The interface, consisting of interpenetrating polymer and metal nanostructures, connects modules by simply pressing without using pastes. Its formation is depicted by a biphasic network growth model. Soft-soft modules joined by this interface achieved 600% and 180% mechanical and electrical stretchability, respectively. Soft and rigid modules can also be electrically connected using the above interface. Encapsulation on soft modules with this interface is strongly adhesive with an interfacial toughness of 0.24 N mm-1. As a proof of concept, we use this interface to assemble stretchable devices for in vivo neuromodulation and on-skin electromyography, with high signal quality and mechanical resistance. We expect such a plug-and-play interface to simplify and accelerate the development of on-skin and implantable stretchable devices.National Research Foundation (NRF)Submitted/Accepted versionG.L. and Zhiyuan Liu acknowledge support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant no. 2021YFF0501601) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 81927804 and U1913601) and NSFC-Shenzhen Robotics Basic Research Center Program (grant no. U2013207). This project is supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore (NRF) under NRF’s Medium Sized Centre: Singapore Hybrid-Integrated Next-Generation μ-Electronics (SHINE) Centre funding programme