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Han X, Zhang Q, Zhang G, Sun B, Wu L, Li G. Controllable Fabrication of Highly Ordered Spherical Microcavity Arrays by Replica Molding of In Situ Self-Emulsified Droplets. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:26886-26898. [PMID: 38717383 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c02176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2024]
Abstract
Ordered spherical hollow micro- and nanostructures hold great appeal in the fields of cell biology and optics. However, it is extremely challenging for standard lithography techniques to achieve spherical micro-/nanocavities. In this paper, we describe a simple, cost-effective, and scalable approach to fabricate highly ordered spherical microcavity arrays by replica molding of in situ self-emulsified droplets. The in situ self-emulsion involves a two-step process: discontinuous dewetting-induced liquid partition and interfacial tension-driven liquid spherical transformation. Subsequent replica molding of the droplets creates spherical microcavity arrays. The shapes and sizes of the microcavities can be easily modulated by varying the compositions of the droplet templates or utilizing an osmotically driven water permeation. To demonstrate the utility of this method, we employed it to create a spherical microwell array for the mass production of embryoid bodies with high viability and minimal loss. In addition, we also demonstrated the optical functions of the generated spherical microcavities by using them as microlenses. We believe that our proposed method will open exciting avenues in fields ranging from regenerative medicine and microchemistry to optical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Han
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education, Defense Key Disciplines Lab of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education, Defense Key Disciplines Lab of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Guoyuan Zhang
- State Key Lab of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
| | - Bangyong Sun
- School of Future Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
| | - Lei Wu
- State Key Lab of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
| | - Gang Li
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education, Defense Key Disciplines Lab of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
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Zhou D, Fu P, Lin WT, Li WL, Xu ZK, Wan LS. Poly( N, N-diethylacrylamide)-endowed spontaneous emulsification during the breath figure process and the formation of membranes with hierarchical pores. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:1905-1912. [PMID: 38323340 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01603j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
The spontaneous emulsification for the formation of water-in-oil (W/O) or oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions needs the help of at least one kind of the third component (surfactant or cosolvent) to stabilize the oil-water interface. Herein, with the water/CS2-soluble polymer poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) (PDEAM) as a surfactant, the spontaneous formation of water-in-PDEAM/CS2 emulsions is reported for the first time. The strong affinity between PDEAM and water or the increase of PDEAM concentration will accelerate the emulsification process with high dispersed phase content. It is demonstrated that the spontaneous emulsification of condensed water droplets into the PDEAM/CS2 solution occurs during the breath figure process, resulting in porous films with two levels of pore sizes (i.e., micron and submicron). The emulsification degree and the amounts of submicron-sized pores increase with PDEAM concentration and solidifying time of the solution. This work brings about incremental interest in spontaneous emulsification that may happen during the breath figure process. The combination of these two simultaneous processes provides us with an option to build hierarchically porous structures with condensed and emulsified water droplets as templates. Such porous membranes may have great potential in fields such as separation, cell culture, and biosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Zhou
- MOE Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment Technology, and MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Ping Fu
- MOE Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment Technology, and MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Wan-Ting Lin
- MOE Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment Technology, and MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Wan-Long Li
- MOE Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment Technology, and MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Zhi-Kang Xu
- MOE Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment Technology, and MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Ling-Shu Wan
- MOE Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment Technology, and MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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Dent FJ, Harbottle D, Warren NJ, Khodaparast S. Exploiting breath figure reversibility for in situ pattern modulation and hierarchical design. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:2737-2744. [PMID: 36987660 PMCID: PMC10091834 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01650h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The breath figure (BF) method employs condensation droplets as dynamic templates for patterning polymer films. In the classical approach, dropwise condensation and film solidification are simultaneously induced through solvent evaporation, leading to empirically derived patterns with limited predictability of the final design. Here we use the temporally arrested BF methodology, controlling condensation and polymerisation independently to create diverse BF patterns with varied pore size, arrangement and distribution. External temperature control enables us to further investigate and exploit the inherent reversibility of the phase change process that governs the pattern formation. We modulate the level of subcooling and superheating to achieve subsequent regimes of condensation and evaporation, permitting in situ regulation of the droplet growth and shrinkage kinetics. The full reversibility of the phase change processes joined with active photopolymerisation in the current approach thus allows arresting of predictable BF kinetics at intermediate stages, thereby accessing patterns with varied pore size and spacing for unchanged material properties and environmental conditions. This simultaneous active control over both the kinetics of phase change and polymer solidification offers affordable routes for the fabrication of diverse predictable porous surfaces; manufacture of monolithic hierarchical BF patterns are ultimately facilitated through the advanced control of the BF assembly using the method presented here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis J Dent
- School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
| | - David Harbottle
- School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Nicholas J Warren
- School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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Li Z, Shang Y, Liu L, Long H, Feng Y, Billon L, Yin H. Selenium-decorated biocompatible honeycomb films with redox-switchable surface for controlling cell adhesion/detachment. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 635:503-513. [PMID: 36599247 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS Selenium (Se)-containing compound is sensitive to redox stimulation, showing hydrophobic-hydrophilic reversible transition. Introduction of such compound into honeycomb film could confer on it redox-switchable surface wettability, which is expected to control cell adhesion/detachment behavior. EXPERIMENTS Didodecyl selenide was designed and mixed with polystyrene to prepare honeycomb films using "breath figure" method. The film microstructures were characterized by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy, and the arrangement of Se atoms in honeycomb film was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. The variation of film wettability upon the alternating stimulation of H2O2 and Vc was examined. Then the cell adhesion, proliferation, and controlled detachment on honeycomb films were conducted. FINDINGS The introduction of didodecyl selenide helps to form ordered honeycomb film, and Se atoms were found to located on the bottom, pore walls, and top surface of the film. The presence of didodecyl selenide not only greatly improves film biocompatibility by enhancing cell thioredoxin reductase activity, but also imparts the film with H2O2-/vitamin C-regulated tunable wettability that controls cell adhesion and detachment. H2O2 treatment produces a hydrophilic surface for cell adhesion and proliferation, whereas the addition of vitamin C generates hydrophobic surfaces and allows cells to detach while remaining alive with high activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongcheng Li
- Polymer Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, PR China
| | - Yuting Shang
- Polymer Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, PR China
| | - Lu Liu
- Department of Orthodontics, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China
| | - Hu Long
- Department of Orthodontics, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China
| | - Yujun Feng
- Polymer Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, PR China
| | - Laurent Billon
- Bio-Inspired Materials: Functionalities & Self-Assembly, Universite de Pau & Pays Adour, Helioparc, 2 avenue Angot, Pau 64053, France
| | - Hongyao Yin
- Polymer Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, PR China.
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Yan W, Xue S, Bin Xiang, Zhao X, Zhang W, Mu P, Li J. Recent advances of slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces with anti-corrosion. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:2182-2198. [PMID: 36723187 DOI: 10.1039/d2cc06688b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Metal materials are susceptible to the influence of environmental media, and chemical or electrochemical multiphase reactions occur on the metal surface, resulting in the corrosion of metal materials, which can directly damage the geometry and reduce the physical properties of metal materials. This corrosion damage can seriously affect the long-term use of metal materials in marine equipment and the aerospace industry, and other fields. Inspired by the special microstructure and slippery properties of natural nepenthes intine, researchers have prepared slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) with a stable continuous lubricant layer by injecting low-surface-energy lubricants into a substrate with a micro/nano-porous structure. This surface has excellent hydrophobicity, low friction, non-adhesiveness, and self-healing properties. The broad application prospects of SLIPS in the fields of anti-corrosion, anti-icing, anti-bacteria, and anti-fouling have made it a hot research topic directing the study of biomimetic materials at present. However, SLIPS are susceptible to environmental shear forces, such as ocean flow or extraneous fluids, resulting in destruction of the porous structure and loss of surface lubricant, thereby depriving SLIPS of the ability to protect metals from corrosion. Therefore, it is important for metal corrosion protection to find ways to improve the stability and extend the service life of SLIPS. Over the last several years, research into and development of SLIPS have come a long way. Herein, a summary of available reports on SLIPS is given in terms of design principles and their performance characteristics, the construction of rough/porous substrate structures, the choice of low-surface-energy modifiers and lubricants, and lubricant infusion methods. Ways of constructing different substrate structures and the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of choosing various modifiers and lubricants to prepare the surface are compared. Finally, a comprehensive summary and outlook of SLIPS with anti-corrosion properties are provided. We are convinced that a comprehensive review of SLIPS will provide important guidance and strong reference for the design and preparation of green and economical SLIPS with anti-corrosion capabilities in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhao Yan
- Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
| | - Shuaiya Xue
- Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
| | - Bin Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
| | - Xuerui Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
| | - Wei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
| | - Peng Mu
- Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
| | - Jian Li
- Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
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Brun PT. Fluid-Mediated Fabrication of Complex Assemblies. JACS AU 2022; 2:2417-2425. [PMID: 36465550 PMCID: PMC9709784 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.2c00427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
This Perspective accounts for recent progress in the directed control of interfacial fluid flows harnessed to assemble architected soft materials. We are focusing on the paradigmatic problem of free-surface flows in curable elastomers. These elastomers are initially liquid and cure into elastic solids whose shape is imparted by concomitant and competing phenomena: flow-induced deformations and curing. Particular attention is given to the role of capillary forces in these systems. Originating from the cohesive nature of liquids and thus favoring smooth interfaces, capillary forces can also promote the destabilization of interfaces, e.g., into droplets. In turn, such mechanical instabilities tend to grow into regular patterns, e.g., forming hexagonal lattices. We discuss how the universality, robustness, and ultimate regularity of these out-of-equilibrium processes could serve as a basis for new fabrication paradigms, where instabilities are directed to generate target architected solids obtained without each element laid in place by direct mechanized intervention.
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Self JL, Xiao H, Hausladen MM, Bramanto RA, Usgaonkar SS, Ellison CJ. Camphene as a Mild, Bio-Derived Porogen for Near-Ambient Processing and 3D Printing of Porous Thermoplastics. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:49244-49253. [PMID: 36279408 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c16192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Porous structures are ubiquitous in nature due to their advantageous mechanical and transport properties. These structures have inspired various synthetic porous polymer technologies, including lightweight structural materials and membranes. While many manufacturing processes have been developed to generate porous thermoplastics, these usually include hazardous processes, such as high pressures and temperatures, or chemical components. Furthermore, few are compatible with additive manufacturing methods, such as 3D printing. Herein, we introduce bio-derived terpene camphene as a solvent and porogen for the freeze-casting of thermoplastic parts under mild conditions. Enabled by a low melting point (50 °C), camphene is used as a solvent for melt processing camphene-polymer solutions at moderate temperatures that later undergo room-temperature crystallization to template polymer-rich domains. Due to its high vapor pressure, camphene can be sublimed directly from these biphasic structures, resulting in an interconnected microporous polymer structure. Various polymers are demonstrated to be soluble in camphene, including polystyrene, an olefinic elastomer, a polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene elastomer, a cyclic olefin copolymer, and poly(ethyl methacrylate). Porous samples of each polymer were generated from camphene mixtures via compression molding, cooling, and subsequent vacuum annealing at room temperature to remove camphene. The porosity and pore structures were dependent on solution composition, including both the polymer type and polymer loading. Across the compositions investigated, porosity decreased monotonically from 93 to 65% with increasing polymer content. In the case of polystyrene, samples with pore diameters varying from ∼20 to <5 μm were generated. Rheological measurements were conducted on a series of polystyrene-camphene solutions to understand and optimize the formulation and conditions for direct ink write 3D printing. Porous parts with complex structures were successfully printed under mild conditions. These results underscore the advantages of camphene as a sustainable, nontoxic porogen and will inform future development of porous polymer systems derived from these methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey L Self
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Han Xiao
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Matthew M Hausladen
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Rafael A Bramanto
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Saurabh Shenvi Usgaonkar
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Christopher J Ellison
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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