Recent advancements in comprehensive two-dimensional separations with chemometrics

Comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) separations provide the analyst with a tremendous amount of complex data. In order to glean useful information from this complex data, advancements in commercially available software that implement chemometrics are currently available and continue to evolve. Future advancements will no doubt involve commercializing (or adapting) specialized, in-house chemometric techniques that are currently found only in the hands of technical experts and researchers in industry, government, and academia. In order to make timely advancements, future commercialization of novel chemometric techniques should involve collaborations among instrument software manufacturers, professional programmers, technical experts, and researchers. During the last decade, this field has seen a steady advancement from single analyte target analysis to comprehensive non-target analysis of entire multidimensional sample profiles (involving sample classification and/or data mining for discovery-based sample comparisons). The advancements in instrumentation and chemometric software tools have a tremendous impact in various applications: fuels, food, environmental, pharmaceuticals, metabolomics, etc. Most of the development has been for software to apply with gas chromatography-based instrumentation, such as comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOF-MS). More recently there have been notable advancements in liquid-phase instrumentation as well.     

Recent advancements in the homoallylamine chemistry

New advances in preparation of homoallylamines are discussed. Novel syntheses of saturated nitrogen‐containing heterocycles from N‐substituted homoallylic amines are reviewed.     

Recent advancements in 2D nanomaterials for cancer therapy

Since mechanical exfoliation of graphene in 2004, unprecedented scientific and technological advances have been achieved in the development of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials. These 2D nanomaterials exhibit various unique mechanical, physical and chemical properties on account of their ultrathin thickness, which are highly desirable for many applications such as catalysis, optoelectronics, energy storage/conversion, as well as disease diagnosis and therapeutics. In this review, we summarized recent progress on the design and fabrication of functional 2D nanomaterials capable of being applied for the cancer treatment including drug delivery, photodynamic therapy, and photothermal therapy. Their anticancer mechanisms were discussed in detail, and the related safety concerns were analyzed based on current research developments. This review is expected to provide an insight in the field of 2D nanostructured materials for anticancer applications.     

白光有机发光二极管的最新进展

有机发光二极管(Organic Light-Emitting Diodes,OLEDs)以其制备工艺简单、成本低、发光颜色可在可见光区内任意调节以及易于大面积制作和柔韧弯曲等优点,被认为是未来重要的显示技术之一,在未来照明光源领域也显示了诱人的应用前景.一般认为,如果OLED的发光效率超过100 lm/W,就有可能取代一般照明.本文综述了实现白光OLED的方法及其最新进展,并对白光OLED存在的问题及其发展趋势进行了讨论.     

Recent advancements in palladium-catalyzed reactions involving molecular oxygen

Oxidation reactions have significant value in organic chemistry, having been in focus continuously due to the high efficiency in building up molecular complexity. In the past few decades, transition metal-catalyzed oxidation reactions have been significantly explored and have played important roles in organic synthesis. Compared to the widely-used oxidants, such as inorganic salts, peroxides, hypervalent iodine reagents and quinones, molecular oxygen (O₂), which is natural, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly, is a highly appealing oxidant in academic and industry area for green and sustainable chemistry. Recently, significant advances have been made in palladium-catalyzed reactions using O₂ as the oxidant. This critical review highlights some of the recent developments in molecular oxygen-involved Pd-catalyzed oxidation reactions with a focus on mechanistic strategies and new reaction developments.     

Recent advancements in real-world microbial fuel cell applications

This short review focuses on the recent developments of the Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology, its scale-up and implementation in real world applications. Microbial Fuel Cells produce (bio)energy from waste streams, which can reduce environmental pollution, but also decrease the cost of the treatment. Although the technology is still considered “new”, it has a long history since its discovery, but it is only now that recent developments have allowed its implementation in real world settings, as a precursor to commercialisation.     

Adapting resistive sensors for monitoring moisture in smart wound dressings

Moisture plays a critical role in the wound healing process and, given the multitude of electrochemical sensors aimed at measuring humidity, it is somewhat surprising that there are few systems dedicated to this particular application. The issues relating to wound moisture and the practical challenges facing the adaptation of generic resistive moisture sensors to this area are considered along with the potential impact such systems could have on nursing practice.     

Ultrasonic quantification using smart hydrogel sensors

Analyte quantification in samples with extensive matrix effects can be challenging using conventional analytical techniques. Ultrasound has been shown to easily penetrate samples that can be difficult to measure optically or electrochemically, though it provides little chemical information. Recent ultrasound contrast agents provide highly localized contrast within a sample based on concentration. We have developed a general approach for creating smart biosensors based on molecularly imprinted hydrogel polymers that recognize and bind a target analyte, changing ultrasonic properties with analyte concentration. Multilinear analyte calibration in hydrogel solutions provided quantification of the chosen analyte, theophylline, from 8.4 μM to 6.1 mM with a high degree of linearity (correlation coefficient exceeding 0.99). Simultaneous quantification of both theophylline and of an interfering species, caffeine, was also carried out, providing an avenue for simultaneous analyte analysis with one smart biosensor that can be dispersed and remotely detected.     

Recent advancements in LiCoPO4 cathodes using electrolyte additives

Olivine-type LiCoPO₄ proves its intriguing electrochemical properties as a highly valuable voltage cathode material for the next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIB) with the benefits of a high operating potential of ～4.8 V versus Li and a high theoretical capacity of ～167 mAh g^?1. However, several limitations in attaining high coulombic efficiency, good rate capability, and long cycle stability need to be improved before implementing into commercial applications. Thus, various strategies involve advancing the LiCoPO₄ performances via synthesis routes, surface modification, doping with iso- and alio-valent substitutions, etc., to achieve competitive performance with other commercial cathodes. Apart from these strategies, suitable electrolytes and additives are equally important to alleviate the electrolyte oxidation at high voltages to develop next-generation LIBs. In this work, we summarize the structural and physical properties of LiCoPO₄ with information about the strategies to enhance the performance of LiCoPO₄ in the beginning and discuss the method of electrolyte optimization using various additives in detail. Future perspectives dictate the important insights into practical issues that can accelerate the progress of LiCoPO₄-based LIBs in energy storage applications toward practical use.     

Recent advancements in amino acid analysis using capillary electrophoresis

Recent advances in the analysis of amino acids using capillary electrophoresis are addressed. This area of research continues to receive increased attention as is evident from the 62 references reviewed. This review discusses current detection strategies including UV absorbance, laser-induced fluorescence, electrochemical, and others. Separation methodologies for both derivatized and underivatized amino acids are reviewed. Both direct and indirect enantiomeric resolution of amino acids are addressed. Applications utilizing capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of amino acids are discussed. This review covers literature published in 1997 and 1998.     

Recent advances in DNA sensors

The concept of DNA biosensors is sustained by the need for rapid and highly sensitive analytical tools for genetic detection. Their implementation is based on three key steps: (i) immobilization of single-stranded oligonucleotide probes onto a substrate; (ii) hybridization and (iii) reading. These steps involve complementary knowledge in various disciplinary fields such as surface physics and chemistry, molecular electrochemistry, micro-technologies, optics, electronics and biochemistry. We present here, in a non-exhaustive way, the recent advances in the two steps of immobilization and detection that rely upon increasing integration of the number of reading points or/and of the reading strategy.     

Recent advancements of photo-and electro-active hydrogenbonded organic frameworks

The development of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks(HOFs) with predictable topologies and robust structures for targeted functionality was initially hindered by the relatively weak H-bonding interactions as many HOFs would collapse upon guest solvent removal. Recently, the design of tectons with large π-conjugated systems that form intermolecular shape-fitted π–πstacking interactions has proven to be an effective strategy to create chemically and thermally stable HOFs. More importantly,these H...     

Recent advancements in graphene adsorbents for wastewater treatment: Current status and challenges

From emerging pollutants to emerged threat, researchers are continuously looking for promising technologies for wastewater treatment. Adsorption has been identified as the most convenient approach for treating wastewater at low-cost and with high-efficiency. Recently, graphene and its derivatives have gained heightened attention as novel adsorbents because of their unique molecular structure and outstanding physicochemical properties. Heavy metals, dyes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other pollutants, which are widely concerned recently, all show different adsorption behaviors. Numerous functional groups, resonating and delocalized π-electron system of graphene derivatives lead to the formation of various adsorptive interactions i.e., π-π interactions, electrostatic interactions, H-bonding, etc. with these venomous pollutants, and quarantine them in solution. The pristine form of graphene subsidiaries tends to exhibit low sorption efficiency due to high propensity of agglomeration, lack of selectivity, hydrophobicity and difficulty in phase separation after treatment. Therefore, designing of efficient graphene composites through the surface modification with numerous functional groups, polymers or nanoparticles is an ongoing challenge. Complex graphene composites are increasingly reported, but the fate of pollutants and adsorption mechanisms are still far to be fully clarified. This review summarizes the recent progresses in the application of graphene-based adsorbents for eliminating a wide range of organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewater. A critical explanation is provided on the synthesis of graphene adsorbents, systematic adsorption and desorption mechanisms along with their pollutant removal performances under different experimental conditions. A brief perspective on upcoming research needs and challenges involved in the designing of high-quality graphene-based adsorbents are highlighted.     

Raman spectroscopy: Recent advancements,techniques and applications

Vibrational spectroscopy has proven itself to be a valuable contributor in the study of various fields of science, primarily due to the extraordinary versatility of sampling methods. Raman measurement gives the vibrational spectrum of the analyte, which can be treated as its “fingerprint,” allows easy interpretation and identification. Over the last years, there has been tremendous technical improvement in Raman spectroscopy, as overcome by the problems like fluorescence, poor sensitivity or reproducibility. This article reviews the recent advances in Raman spectroscopy and its new trend of applications ranging from ancient archaeology to advanced nanotechnology. It includes the aspects of Raman spectroscopic measurements to the analysis of various substances categorized into distinct application areas such as biotechnology, mineralogy, environmental monitoring, food and beverages, forensic science, medical and clinical chemistry, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, material science, surface analysis, etc. Advances in the instrumental design of Raman spectrometers coupled with newly developed sampling methodologies have also been described which enable trace level detection and satisfactory analysis.     

Recent progress in graphene-material-based optical sensors

Graphene material has been widely used for optical sensors owing to its excellent properties, including high-energy transfer efficiency, large surface area, and great biocompatibility. Different analytes such as nucleic acids, proteins, and small molecules can be detected by graphene-material-based optical sensors. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of graphene-material-based optical sensors focusing on detection mechanisms and biosensor designs. Challenges and future perspectives for graphene-material-based optical sensors are also presented.     

Recent advancements in surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry

The overall history and recent advances in surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) technology is reviewed herein. Fundamentals of SELDI-TOF analysis are presented while drawing comparisons with other laser-based mass spectrometry techniques. The application of SELDI-TOF-MS to functional genomics and biomarker discovery is discussed and exemplified by elucidating a biomarker candidate for prostatic carcinoma. Finally, a short discussion regarding future SELDI requirements and developments is supplied.     

Recent advances of aptamer sensors

Aptamers are a series of high-affinity and high-specificity oligoneucleotides (single-stranded DNA or RNA) to the target, usually selected by the combinatorial chemistry SELEX technique (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment). Aptamers have proved to be one kind of novel functional molecules in life science and chemistry. After being labeled by signaling groups, the aptamer probe can conveniently transfer the characteristics of aptamer-target recognition to a form of high-sensitive signal, and the high-affinity, high-specificity measurements of metal ion, organic molecules, nucleic acid, proteins, or cells become possible. This article summarizes the recent advances of aptamer probes in different sensing fields, with special emphasis on aptamer probes as fluorescent sensors.     

Recent advances in electrochemical sensors for antibiotics and their applications

The abuse of antibiotics will cause an increase of drug-resistant strains and environmental pollution,which in turn will affect human health.Therefore,it is important to develop effective detection techniques to determine the level of antibiotics contamination in various fields.Compared with traditional detection methods,electrochemical sensors have received extensive attention due to their advantages such as high sensitivity,low detection limit,and good selectivity.In this mini review,we summarized the latest developments and new trends in electrochemical sensors for antibiotics.Here,modification methods and materials of electrode are discussed.We also pay more attention to the practical applications of antibiotics electrochemical sensors in different fields.In addition,the existing problems and the future challenges ahead have been proposed.We hope that this review can provide new ideas for the development of electrochemical sensors for antibiotics in the future.