Toehold-mediated nonenzymatic amplification circuit on graphene oxide fluorescence switching platform for sensitive and homogeneous microRNA detection

A novel graphene oxide (GO) fluorescence switch-based homogenous system has been developed to solve two problems that are commonly encountered in conventional GO-based biosensors. First, with the assistance of toehold-mediated nonenzymatic amplification (TMNA), the sensitivity of this system greatly surpasses that of previously described GO-based biosensors, which are always limited to the nM range due to the lack of efficient signal amplification. Second, without enzymatic participation in amplification, the unreliability of detection resulting from nonspecific desorption of DNA probes on the GO surface by enzymatic protein can be avoided. Moreover, the interaction mechanism of the double-stranded TMNA products contains several single-stranded toeholds at two ends and GO has also been explored with combinations of atomic force microscopy imaging, zeta potential detection, and fluorescence assays. It has been shown that the hybrids can be anchored to the surface of GO through the end with more unpaired bases, and that the other end, which has weaker interaction with GO, can escape GO adsorption due to the robustness of the central dsDNA structures. We verified this GO fluorescence switch-based detection system by detecting microRNA 21, an overexpressed non-encoding gene in a variety of malignant cells. Rational design of the probes allowed the isothermal nonenzymatic reaction to achieve more than 100-fold amplification efficiency. The detection results showed that our strategy has a detection limit of 10 pM and a detection range of four orders of magnitude.     

Functionalization of Graphene Oxide with 3‐Mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane and Its Electrocatalytic Activity in Aqueous Medium

In this work, a highly dispersed graphene oxide (GO) was successfully functionalized with 3‐mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS) molecule by silanization method. The chemically generated GO and MPTS functionalized GO (MPTS‐GO) were structurally characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDAX), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) and ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV‐Vis) techniques. The MPTS‐GO is highly suspensable in water. The thermal and conductivity results for MPTS‐GO are significantly increased compared to GO. Moreover, glassy carbon electrode modified with MPTS‐GO hybrid (MPTS‐GO/GCE) was prepared by casting of the MPTS‐GO solution on GCE. The MPTS‐GO/GCE showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards methionine (Met). This was understood from the observed less positive oxidation potential and higher oxidation current when compared to bare GC electrode. The MPTS‐GO has excellent electrocatalytic activity, making it an ideal candidate for sensor applications.     

Real‐time electro‐diffusion method to discriminate carbon nanomaterials

We report both the experimental and theoretical insights of differential electro‐diffusion behavior of carbon nanomaterials (e.g. single wall, multiwall carbon nanotubes, and graphene). We thus discriminate one from the other in a soft gel system. The differential mobility of such material depends on their intrinsic properties, both extend and rate of migration bearing the discriminatory signature. The mobility analysis is made by a real time monitoring of the respective bands.     

Preparation and characterization of functionalized graphene oxide/carbon fiber/epoxy nanocomposites

Graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized using three different diamines, namely ethylenediamine (EDA), 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) and p-phenylenediamine (PPD) to reinforce an epoxy adhesive, with the aim of improving the bonding strength of carbon fiber/epoxy composite. The chemical structure of the functionalized GO (FGO) nanosheets was characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR and XRD. Hand lay-up, as a simple method, was applied for 3-ply composite fabrication. In the sample preparation, the fiber-to-resin ratio of 40:60 (w:w) and fiber orientations of 0°, 90°, and 0° were used. The GO and FGO nanoparticles were first dispersed in the epoxy resin, and then the GO and FGO reinforced epoxy (GO- or FGO-epoxy) were directly introduced into the carbon fiber layers to improve the mechanical properties. The GO and FGO contents varied in the range of 0.1–0.5 wt%. Results showed that the mechanical properties, in terms of tensile and flexural properties, were mainly dependent on the type of GO functionalization followed by the percentage of modified GO. As a result, both the tensile and flexural strengths are effectively enhanced by the FGOs addition. The tensile and flexural moduli are also increased by the FGO filling in the epoxy resin due to the excellent elastic modulus of FGO. The optimal FGO content for effectively improving the overall composite mechanical performance was found to be 0.3 wt%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the failure mechanism of carbon fibers pulled out from the epoxy matrix contributed to the enhancement of the mechanical performance of the epoxy. These results show that diamine FGOs can strengthen the interfacial bonding between the carbon fibers and the epoxy adhesive.     

Incorporation of graphene oxide nanosheets into boronate‐functionalized polymeric monolith to enhance the electrochromatographic separation of small molecules

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were incorporated into an organic polymer monolith containing 3‐acrylamidophenylboronic acid (AAPBA) and pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) to form a novel monolithic stationary phase for CEC. The effects of the mass ratio of AAPBA/PETA, the amount of GO, and the volume of porogen on the morphology, permeability and pore properties of the prepared poly(AAPBA‐GO‐PETA) monoliths were investigated. A series of test compounds including amides, alkylbenzenes, polycyclic aromatics, phenols, and anilines were used to evaluate and compare the separation performances of the poly(AAPBA‐GO‐PETA) and the parent poly(AAPBA‐co‐PETA) monoliths. The results indicated that incorporation of GO into monolithic column exhibited much higher resolutions (>1.5) and column efficiency (62 000 ～ 110 000 plates/m for toluene, DMF, formamide, and thiourea) than the poly(AAPBA‐co‐PETA). The successful application in isocratic separation of peptides suggests the potential of the GO incorporated monolithic column in complex sample analysis. In addition, the reproducibility and stability of the prepared poly(AAPBA‐GO‐PETA) monolith was assessed. The run‐to‐run, column‐to‐column and batch‐to‐batch reproducibilities of this monolith for alkylbenzenes’ retention were satisfactory with the RSDs less than 1.8% (n = 5), 3.7% and 5.6% (n = 3), respectively, indicating the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method.     

基于石墨烯的毒死蜱分子印迹电化学传感器的制备及对毒死蜱的测定

利用分子印迹技术,以马来松香丙烯酸乙二醇酯为交联剂,使用自由基热聚合法在石墨烯修饰的玻碳电极表面合成毒死蜱( CPF)分子印迹聚合膜,制得了CPF分子印迹电化学传感器。采用循环伏安法、线性扫描伏安法和电化学交流阻抗法等,考察了此CPF分子印迹膜的电化学性能。在最佳检测条件下,传感器的峰电流与CPF浓度在2.0×10-7~1.0×10-5mol/L范围内呈线性关系,线性方程为Ip(μA)=-7.1834-0.2424C (μmol/L),相关系数r2=0.9959,检出限为6.7×10-8 mol/L(S/N=3)。构建了CPF分子印迹电化学传感器的动力学吸附模型,测得印迹传感器的印迹因子β=2.59,结合速率常数k=12.2324 s。传感器表现出良好的重现性和稳定性,并成功用于实际水样和蔬菜样品中CPF的测定,加标回收率为94.1%~101.4%。     

g-C3N4/rGO杂化催化剂的简易合成及其对罗丹明B的光催化降解作用

在空气中直接加热三聚氰胺和氧化石墨烯(GO)的混合物制备了g-C3N4/rGO杂化催化剂.实验结果表明,混合物中的g-C3N4保留了石墨型氮化碳原始的特征结构, g-C3N4和还原的氧化石墨烯(rGO)之间的异质结主要通过π-π作用构筑.当原料中三聚氰胺/GO的质量比是800/1时,所得催化剂对罗丹明B的催化作用最强,其一阶动力学常数是纯g-C3N4的2.6倍.这种强化作用主要是由于rGO促进了光生电子-空穴对的分离.此外, g-C3N4/rGO还表现出显著的pH值敏感特性,催化降解速率随pH的降低而增加.当pH =1.98时,其一阶动力学常数是纯g-C3N4的8.6倍.这是由于酸性条件下质子(H+)消耗掉光生电子,促进了空穴对罗丹明B的氧化作用,其中rGO充当了一个快速的光生电子转移平台.     

石墨烯衍生物负载的纳米催化剂用于氧还原反应

综述了用于燃料电池中氧还原反应(ORR)的石墨烯衍生物负载的各种纳米催化剂的最新进展。介绍了用于表征石墨烯基电催化剂的常规电化学技术以及石墨烯基电催化剂最新的研究进展。负载于还原氧化石墨烯(RGO)上的Pt催化剂的电化学活性和稳定性均得到显著提高。其它贵金属催化剂,如Pd, Au和Ag也表现出较高的催化活性。当以RGO或少层石墨烯为载体时, Pd催化剂的稳定性提高。讨论了氧化石墨烯负载Au或Ag催化剂的合成方法。另外,以N4螯合络合物形式存在的非贵过渡金属可降低氧的电化学性能。 Fe和Co是可替代的廉价ORR催化剂。在大多数情况下,这些催化剂稳定性和耐受性的问题均可得到解决,但其整体性能还很难超越Pt/C催化剂。     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/GO-MMT nanocomposites: Preparation,structure and properties

A facile, efficient and environment friendly method is established to prepare poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) based graphene oxide-montmorillonite(GO-MMT) nanocomposites in aqueous media. GO-MMT nanohybrid is obtained by the combination of GO and MMT in water without any reducing or stabilizing agents. The formation of GO-MMT nanohybrid is due to the hydrogen bonding and crosslinking effects. The sodium ions within MMT sheets act as crosslinkers between GO sheets and MMT platelets. The resultant nanocomposites are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) and mechanical testing. Compared to that of pure PVA, PVA nanocomposites show enhanced thermal stabilities and mechanical properties, which results from strong interfacial adhesion of the nanoadditives in PVA matrix. The further increase in the tensile strength and modulus results from strong interaction between PVA chains and layered GO-MMT as well as good mechanical properties of GO-MMT hybrid, compared to PVA/GO and PVA/MMT nanocompsoites.     

石墨烯非共价功能化及其应用

石墨烯的湿法化学修饰,主要包括共价及非共价两种,是目前广泛采用的宏量功能化策略,亦是有效避免其团聚而充分发挥其优异纳米性能的重要修饰方法。非共价功能化因可同时保持原有及引入物质的物化性质,并可充分发挥协同作用,近年来已受到比共价修饰更多的研究关注,并已在生物科学与技术、可持续能源储存及转化、医疗和复合材料等诸多领域得到了广泛应用。本文综述了以应用为导向的石墨烯非共价功能化的构建策略,期望文中涉及的湿法组装策略能为进一步构建性能提升的新材料提供参考。