Self-assembled peptide and protein amyloid nanostructures have traditionally been considered only as pathological aggregates implicated in human neurodegenerative diseases. In more recent times, these nanostructures have found interesting applications as advanced materials in biomedicine, tissue engineering, renewable energy, environmental science, nanotechnology and material science, to name only a few fields. In all these applications, the final function depends on: (i) the specific mechanisms of protein aggregation, (ii) the hierarchical structure of the protein and peptide amyloids from the atomistic to mesoscopic length scales and (iii) the physical properties of the amyloids in the context of their surrounding environment (biological or artificial). In this review, we will discuss recent progress made in the field of functional and artificial amyloids and highlight connections between protein/peptide folding, unfolding and aggregation mechanisms, with the resulting amyloid structure and functionality. We also highlight current advances in the design and synthesis of amyloid-based biological and functional materials and identify new potential fields in which amyloid-based structures promise new breakthroughs.
Graphene (G)-based nanocomposites have received much attention in various disciplines due to their high specific surface area, good compatibility, low mass density, elegant flexibility as well as the excellent synergistic effect of G with other nanomaterials. Numerous studies have been attempted to fabricate G-based polymer composites with novel and improved properties. However, the dispersion behavior of G in polymer matrix and the interfacial bonding between G and polymers still restrict the better performances and broader applications of the fabricated G-polymer nanocomposites. In this review, we summarized the most recent studies on the modification of G with polymers and the subsequent synthesis and applications of the high quality G-polymer nanocomposites. The strategies for surface modification of G with polymers, including various covalent and non-covalent techniques, are introduced in detail. In addition, a series of effective processing routes for producing high quality G-polymer nanocomposites, such as melt compounding, solution blending, insitu polymerization, latex mixing, and electropolymerization are introduced and discussed. Finally, the potential applications of the synthesized G-polymer nanocomposites in electrocatalyts, drug delivery, high performance materials, biosensors, and biomedical materials are presented.
Graphene-based materials have attracted increasing attention due to their atomically-thick two-dimensional structures, high conductivity, excellent mechanical properties, and large specific surface areas. The combination of biomolecules with graphene-based materials offers a promising method to fabricate novel graphene-biomolecule hybrid nanomaterials with unique functions in biology, medicine, nanotechnology, and materials science. In this review, we focus on a summarization of the recent studies in functionalizing graphene-based materials using different biomolecules, such as DNA, peptides, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, and viruses. The different interactions between graphene and biomolecules at the molecular level are demonstrated and discussed in detail. In addition, the potential applications of the created graphene-biomolecule nanohybrids in drug delivery, cancer treatment, tissue engineering, biosensors, bioimaging, energy materials, and other nanotechnological applications are presented. This review will be helpful to know the modification of graphene with biomolecules, understand the interactions between graphene and biomolecules at the molecular level, and design functional graphene-based nanomaterials with unique properties for various applications.
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a typical layered transition-metal dichalcogenide material, which has aroused a great deal of interest in the past few years. Recently, more and more attention has been focused on the synthesis and applications of MoS2-based nanocomposites. In this review, we aimed to present a wider view of the synthesis of various MoS2-based nanocomposites for sensor and biosensor applications. We highlighted the potential methods like self-assembly, hydrothermal reaction, chemical vapour deposition, electrospinning, as well as microwave and laser beam treatments for the successful preparation of MoS2-based nanocomposites. On the other hand, three representative types of detection devices fabricated by the MoS2-based nanocomposites, field-effect transistor, optical, and electrochemical sensors, were introduced in detail and discussed fully. The relationships between the sensing performances and the special nanostructures within the MoS2-based nanocomposites were presented and discussed.
The influence of two kinds of polymers (polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile−styrene copolymer (SAN))
on the crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) has been investigated by means of wide-angle
X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polarized optical microscopy (POM).
The current experimental results indicated that these two kinds of polymers with low concentration, as special
β-nucleating agents, can induce the β-iPP polymorph during quiescent melt crystallization. The nucleating activity
of SAN or PS significantly depends on its concentration, molecular structure, and thermal history of processing.
The content of β-crystal form increases with the increasing crystallization temperature or nucleating agent (SAN
or PS) percentage, reaches a maximum value, and then decreases as the temperature or nucleating agent percentage
further increases. Under the same crystallization condition, SAN is more effective than PS on inducing a higher
level of β-crystal form in iPP. Besides, variable temperature WAXD and POM experiments have been used to
investigate the polymorphism and the crystalline phase transformation of iPP. It was proved that the β-crystal
form of iPP is a thermodynamically metastable structure and will gradually transform to a new kind of α‘-crystal
form with the rise in crystallization temperature. Because of different structural characteristics, the polymeric
nucleating agents exhibit nucleation and crystallization mechanism which differ from the traditional low molecular
weight β-nucleating agents of iPP.
The increased interest in electrospinning (ES) and its recent applications for fabrication of sensors and biosensors is driven by the development of materials science and nanotechnology. Compared with other fabrication processes, ES is versatile and superior for producing and constructing ordered and complex nanofibrous materials. The introduction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) into the electrospun polymeric nanofibers (NFs) extends their potential applications as electrical and electrochemical sensors and biosensors. In this review, we summarize the recent progress using the ES technique to fabricate different polymeric NFs doped with CNTs and various MNPs, as well as their applications for detecting alcohols, H 2 S, H 2 , glucose, H 2 O 2 , and urea. The fabrication, intrinsic fundamentals, and optimization design of the sensors were introduced and discussed in detail. In addition, the improvements and challenges of ES techniques were mentioned. It is expected that this review will promote development in the ES field and guide studies to create nanofibrous hybrid materials as novel sensors and biosensors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.