A polyclonal antibody against ochratoxin A (OTA) was produced from rabbits immunized with the OTA-BSA conjugate. A competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cdELISA) and a membrane-base colloidal gold immunoassay in flow-through format were developed for the rapid detection of OTA in various food matrices. In the cdELISA, the concentration causing 50% inhibition was 0.07 ng mL(-1), and the effects of different chemical conditions (ionic strength, pH value, and organic solvent) were studied. The sensitivity of the assay was higher than those previously reported. A simple, rapid, and efficient extraction method was developed and 74-110% recoveries of spiked samples were obtained. Fifty percent methanol extracts of some food samples such as barley, wheat, oat, corn, rice, and raisins could be analyzed directly by immunoassay after dilution in PBS; grape juice and beer samples could be analyzed directly after dilution with PBS; for coffee samples, a more complex method was used to remove the matrix effect effectively. Membrane-based colloidal gold immunoassays had a visual detection limit of 1.0 ng mL(-1) for OTA with a detection time of less than 10 min. For the validation of the cdELISA and membrane-based colloidal gold immunoassay, samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The correlation between data obtained using the microwell assay and HPLC was good (R2 = 0.984). The developed immunoassay methods are suitable for the rapid quantitative or qualitative determination of OTA in food samples.

The effective acquisition of clean water from atmospheric water offers a potential sustainable solution for increasing global water and energy shortages. In this study, an asymmetric amphiphilic surface incorporating self-driven triboelectric adsorption was developed to obtain clean water from the atmosphere. Inspired by cactus spines and beetle elytra, the asymmetric amphiphilic surface was constructed by synthesizing amphiphilic cellulose ester coatings followed by coating on laser-engraved spines of fluorinated ethylene propylene. Notably, the spontaneous interfacial triboelectric charge between the droplet and the collector was exploited for electrostatic adsorption. Additionally, the droplet triboelectric nanogenerator converts the mechanical energy generated by droplets falling into electrical energy through the volume effect, achieving an excellent output performance, and further enhancing the electrostatic adsorption by means of external charges, which achieved a water harvesting efficiency of 93.18 kg/m2 h. This strategy provides insights for the design of water harvesting system.

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High-air humidity, especially condensation into droplets under the influence of temperature, can pose a serious threat to air purification filters. This report introduces the use of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) for the silanization hydrophobic modification of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and obtains an air filter with super-hydrophobicity (CA = 152.4°) and high-efficiency filtration of particulate matter (PM) through the freeze-drying technology. The antihumidity performance of CNFs filters that undergo hydrophobic modification in high-humidity air is improved. Especially in the case of high-humidity air forming condensed water droplets, the increase in the rate of filtration resistance of the hydrophobically modified CNFs filter is much lower than that of the unmodified filter. In addition, the water-vapor-transmission rate of the hydrophobically modified filter is improved. More importantly, adding MTMS can regulate the porous structure of CNFs filters and improve the filtration performance. The specific surface area and the porosity of the filter are 26.54 m2/g and 99.21%, respectively, and the filtering effects of PM1.0 and PM2.5 reach 99.31 and 99.75%, respectively, while a low-filtration resistance (42 Pa) and a quality factor of up to 0.122 Pa–1 are achieved. This work has improved the application potential of high-performance air-purification devices to remove particulate pollution and may provide useful insights to design next-generation air filters suitable for application in high-air humidity.

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Carbon dots (CDs) have great application potential due to superior chemical and optical properties. In this work, a class of biomass-based carbon dots (BD-CDs) with multifunctionalities were synthesized by solvothermal treatment of the leaves of Cinnamomum plants. The BD-CDs can respond to Al 3+ and H 2 O by distinctive emission wavelength at 470 and 670 nm under a single excitation. The emission at 470 nm is significantly enhanced by Al 3+ , and the fluorescence at 670 nm is quenched in the presence of H 2 O. A smartphone-based portable detection platform was developed for online analysis of Al 3+ and H 2 O content. The BD-CDs based fluorescence sensing system and the detection platform showed excellent performance in the analysis of tap water and alcoholic drink samples, demonstrating great potential for application in food safety and environmental monitoring.

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