Herein we demonstrate a bioinspired method involving macromolecular assembly of anionic polypeptide with cationic peptide-oligomer that allows for in situ encapsulation of antibiotics like tetracycline in CaCO3 microstructure. In a single step one-pot process, the encapsulation of the drug occurs under desirable environmentally benign conditions resulting in drug loaded CaCO3 microspheres. While this tetracycline-loaded sample exhibits pH dependent in vitro drug-release profile and excellent antibacterial activity, the encapsulated drug or the dye-conjugated peptide emits fluorescence suitable for optical imaging and detection, thereby making it a multitasking material. The efficacy of tetracycline loaded calcium carbonate microspheres as pH dependent drug delivery vehicles is further substantiated by performing cell viability experiments using normal and cancer cell lines (in vitro). Interestingly, the pH-dependent drug release enables selective cytotoxicity toward cancer cell lines as compared to the normal cells, thus having the potential for further development of therapeutic applications.
A bio-inspired approach for the fabrication of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) embedded ZnO nanostructure has been attempted to address issues pertaining to charge recombination and photocorrosion in ZnO for application as an effective photocatalyst. Herein we demonstrate the synthesis of rGO-ZnO nanostructures in a single step using polyamines, which simultaneously aid in the mineralization of ZnO nanostructures from zinc nitrate, reduction of graphene oxide (GO), and finally their assembly to form rGO-ZnO composite structures under environmentally benign conditions. The interspersed nanocomponents in the assembled heterostructures result in enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV light, indicating an effective charge separation of the excited electrons. Furthermore, the composite structure provides stability against photocorrosion for efficient recyclability of the catalyst.
Additive manufacturing industries have been focusing on the development of novel ink formulation strategies, that can incorporate functional materials for printing high-efficient electronic patterns for flexible devices. As such printed...
The advents in flexible and smart technology like wearable electronics have accelerated the demand for high‐performance energy‐storage devices. These devices could significantly reduce the size of the next‐generation wearable smart electronics. A selection of suitable printing technology and its product typically offer a reasonable manufacturing pathway like high deposition rate, low materials waste, scalable fabrication, and high‐performance production. Therefore, the production of novel functional inks with desirable rheological properties that authorize high‐resolution printing, are some major challenges of this technology. This work has an emphasis on the recent advancements in supporting and utilizing liquid metals chemistry to synthesis high‐quality and scalable 2D nanomaterials by liquid‐phase free exfoliation and facile sonication‐assisted methods. These are novel concepts in synthesizing 2D nanomaterials particularly for those which either have not intrinsic layered crystal structures or those with strong interaction between their crystal layers which are difficult to synthesized using conventional approaches. It also provides some potentials to make sustainable ink formulation of such 2D nanostructures for the fabrication of high‐quality screen‐printed patterns for sustainable energy applications. Subsequently, it deals with the possibilities and challenges of printing such 2D nanomaterials (namely, 2D metal oxides) for micro‐supercapacitor and micro‐battery applications on an industrially viable scale.
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