Size‐Controlled Soft‐Template Synthesis of Carbon Nanodots toward Versatile Photoactive Materials

Size‐controlled soft‐template synthesis of carbon nanodots (CNDs) as novel photoactive materials is reported. The size of the CNDs can be controlled by regulating the amount of an emulsifier. As the size increases, the CNDs exhibit blue‐shifted photoluminescence (PL) or so‐called an inverse PL shift. Using time‐correlated single photon counting, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and low‐temperature PL measurements, it is revealed that the CNDs are composed of sp² clusters with certain energy gaps and their oleylamine ligands act as auxochromes to reduce the energy gaps. This insight can provide a plausible explanation on the origin of the inverse PL shift which has been debatable over a past decade. To explore the potential of the CNDs as photoactive materials, several prototypes of CND‐based optoelectronic devices, including multicolored light‐emitting diodes and air‐stable organic solar cells, are demonstrated. This study could shed light on future applications of the CNDs and further expedite the development of other related fields.     

Antioxidant activities of phlorotannins purified from Ecklonia cava on free radical scavenging using ESR and H2O2-mediated DNA damage

The potential antioxidant activities of three phlorotannins (phloroglucinol, eckol and dieckol) purified from Ecklonia cava collected in Jeju Island were investigated to evaluate their potential value as the natural products for foods or cosmetic application. In this study, antioxidant activities were measured by electron spin resonance spectrometry (ESR) technique for scavenging effects of free radicals such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), alkyl, hydroxyl (HO^•) and superoxide anion radical (O₂ ^•−) and by comet assay for protecting effects against H₂O₂-mediated DNA damage. The results show that all the phlorotannins have the potential DPPH, alkyl, hydroxyl and superoxide radical scavenging activities. Especially, eckol samples scavenged around 93% of DPPH at 0.25, 0.5, 1 mg/mL of concentrations and were higher than the other phlorotannins, such as phloroglucinol and dieckol samples. Also, protecting effects of the phlorotannins against H₂O₂-mediated DNA damage increased with increased concentrations of the samples in the L5178 mouse T-cell lymphoma cell lines (L5178Y-R). In conclusion, these results suggest that the three phlorotannins purified from E. cava have the potential inhibitory effect on H₂O₂-mediated DNA damage and harmful free radicals and can be used as antioxidants in cosmetic, foods and drug industry.     

Additional Lithium Storage on Dynamic Electrode Surface by Charge Redistribution in Inactive Ru Metal

Beyond a traditional view that metal nanoparticles formed upon electrochemical reaction are inactive against lithium, recently their electrochemical participations are manifested and elucidated as catalytic and interfacial effects. Here, ruthenium metal composed of ≈5 nm nanoparticles is prepared and the pure ruthenium as a lithium‐ion battery anode for complete understanding on anomalous lithium storage reaction mechanism is designed. In particular, the pure metal electrode is intended for eliminating the electrochemical reaction‐derived Li₂O phase accompanied by catalytic Li₂O decomposition and the interfacial lithium storage at Ru/Li₂O phase boundary, and thereby focusing on the ruthenium itself in exploring its electrochemical reactivity. Intriguingly, unusual lithium storage not involving redox reactions with electron transfer but leading to lattice expansion is identified in the ruthenium electrode. Size‐dependent charge redistribution at surface enables additional lithium adsorption to occur on the inactive but more environmentally sensitive nanoparticles, providing innovative insight into dynamic electrode environments in rechargeable lithium chemistry.     

In Vivo Photoacoustic Imaging of Livers Using Biodegradable Hyaluronic Acid‐Conjugated Silica Nanoparticles

The diagnosis of liver diseases is generally carried out via ultrasound imaging, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. The emerging photoacoustic imaging is an attractive alternative to diagnose even early stage of liver diseases providing high‐resolution anatomical and functional information in deep tissue noninvasively. However, the liver has insufficient photoacoustic contrast due to low optical absorbance in the near‐infrared windows. Here, a new hyaluronate–silica nanoparticle (HA–SiNP) conjugate for liver‐specific delivery and imaging for the diagnosis of liver diseases is developed. The HA–SiNP conjugates show high liver‐specific targeting efficiency, strong optical absorbance near‐infrared windows, excellent biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The liver‐specific targeting efficiency is verified by in vitro cellular uptake test, and in vivo and ex vivo photoacoustic imaging. In vivo photoacoustic imaging shows that photoacoustic amplitude in the liver injected with HA–SiNP conjugates is 4.4 times higher than that of the liver injected with SiNP. The biocompatibility and biodegradability of HA–SiNP conjugates are verified by cell viability test, optical spectrum analysis of urine, and inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectroscopy (ICP‐MS) analysis. Taken together, HA–SiNP conjugates may be developed as a promising liver targeted photoacoustic imaging contrast agent and liver‐targeted drug delivery agent.     

Detecting single viruses and nanoparticles using whispering gallery microlasers

There is a strong demand for portable systems that can detect and characterize individual pathogens and other nanoscale objects without the use of labels, for applications in human health, homeland security, environmental monitoring and diagnostics. However, most nanoscale objects of interest have low polarizabilities due to their small size and low refractive index contrast with the surrounding medium. This leads to weak light-matter interactions, and thus makes the label-free detection of single nanoparticles very difficult. Micro- and nano-photonic devices have emerged as highly sensitive platforms for such applications, because the combination of high quality factor Q and small mode volume V leads to significantly enhanced light-matter interactions. For example, whispering gallery mode microresonators have been used to detect and characterize single influenza virions and polystyrene nanoparticles with a radius of 30 nm (ref. 12) by measuring in the transmission spectrum either the resonance shift or mode splitting induced by the nanoscale objects. Increasing Q leads to a narrower resonance linewidth, which makes it possible to resolve smaller changes in the transmission spectrum, and thus leads to improved performance. Here, we report a whispering gallery mode microlaser-based real-time and label-free detection method that can detect individual 15-nm-radius polystyrene nanoparticles, 10-nm gold nanoparticles and influenza A virions in air, and 30 nm polystyrene nanoparticles in water. Our approach relies on measuring changes in the beat note that is produced when an ultra-narrow emission line from a whispering gallery mode microlaser is split into two modes by a nanoscale object, and these two modes then interfere. The ultimate detection limit is set by the laser linewidth, which can be made much narrower than the resonance linewidth of any passive resonator. This means that microlaser sensors have the potential to detect objects that are too small to be detected by passive resonator sensors.     

Combined effect of ultrasound and organic acids to reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes on organic fresh lettuce

This study was performed to compare the effectiveness of individual treatments (ultrasound and organic acids) and their combination on reducing foodborne pathogens on organic fresh lettuce. Lettuce leaves were inoculated with a cocktail of three strains each of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes and treated with ultrasound (40 kHz) alone, organic acids (0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, and 2.0% — malic acid, lactic acid, and citric acid) alone and combined with ultrasound and organic acids for 5 min. For all 3 pathogens, the combined treatment of ultrasound and organic acids resulted in additional 0.8 to 1.0 log reduction compared to individual treatments, without causing significant quality change (color and texture) on lettuce during 7 day storage. The maximum reductions of E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium, and L. monocytogenes were 2.75, 3.18, and 2.87 log CFU/g observed after combined treatment with ultrasound and 2% organic acid for 5 min, respectively. Our results suggest that the combined treatment of ultrasound with organic acids was effective at increasing pathogen reduction compared to individual treatments without significantly affecting quality, and demonstrates its potential as a novel method to increase the microbial safety on organic fresh lettuce.     

Growth Characteristics and Biofilm Formation of Various Spoilage Bacteria Isolated from Fresh Produce

This study investigated the characteristics of spoilage bacteria isolated from fresh produce including growth at various temperatures, biofilm formation, cell hydrophobicity, and colony spreading. The number of spoilage bacteria present when stored at 35 °C was significantly greater than when stored at lower temperatures, and maximum population size was achieved after 10 h. However, Bacillus pumilus, Dickeya zeae, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. Carotovorum Pcc21, and Bacillus pumilus (RDA‐R) did not grow at the storage temperature of 5 °C. The biofilm formation by Clavibacter michiganensis, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and A. calcoaceticus (RDA‐R) are higher than other spoilage bacteria. Biofilm formation showed low correlation between hydrophobicity, and no significant correlation with colony spreading. These results might be used for developing safe storage guidelines for fresh produce at various storage temperatures, and could be basic information on the growth characteristics and biofilm formation properties of spoilage bacteria from fresh produce.     

Combined effect of calcium oxide and sonication to reduce foodborne pathogens on fresh produce

This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity of calcium oxide (CaO), sonication, and their combination against foodborne pathogens on several fresh produce. The results showed that combined treatment inhibited Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella Typhimurium on fresh produce. However, the effectiveness of treatments for reducing populations of foodborne pathogens varied depending on the types and condition of the fresh produce. This study demonstrated that the antibacterial potency of CaO and its application with sonication could be one of alternatives for controlling foodborne pathogens on fresh produce.     

Effect of Adventitious Carbon on Pit Formation of Monolayer MoS2

Forming pits on molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) monolayers is desirable for (opto)electrical, catalytic, and biological applications. Thermal oxidation is a potentially scalable method to generate pits on monolayer MoS₂, and pits are assumed to preferentially form around undercoordinated sites, such as sulfur vacancies. However, studies on thermal oxidation of MoS₂ monolayers have not considered the effect of adventitious carbon (C) that is ubiquitous and interacts with oxygen at elevated temperatures. Herein, the effect of adventitious C on the pit formation on MoS₂ monolayers during thermal oxidation is studied. The in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy measurements herein show that pit formation is preferentially initiated at the interface between adventitious C nanoparticles and MoS₂, rather than only sulfur vacancies. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the C/MoS₂ interface favors the sequential adsorption of oxygen atoms with facile kinetics. These results illustrate the important role of adventitious C on pit formation on monolayer MoS₂.     

Fully‐Inkjet‐Printed Ag‐Coil/NiZn‐Ferrite for Flexible Wireless Power Transfer Module: Rigid Sintered Ceramic Body into Flexible Form

Despite the material performances being superior to those of organic materials, inorganic materials are typically excluded for use in flexible and deformable electronic systems because of their rigid nature and the requirement for high processing temperature. This work presents a novel method of utilizing rigid NiZn‐ferrite films in a flexible platform and offers an opportunity to realize a flexible wireless power transfer (WPT) module. Inkjet printing is introduced in this study since it can coat NiZn‐ferrite films as well as pattern inductor coils for WPTs. A thermochemically inert buffer layer is selected based on a thermodynamic analysis and is introduced as a buffer layer for the NiZn‐ferrite to prevent chemical reaction between the ferrite film and the substrate and ensure that the ferrite film can be easily separated from the substrate during a high‐temperature sintering process. A Ag‐inductor coil is printed on the NiZn‐ferrite layer, and then the entire layer is embedded into polydimethylsiloxane, which renders the WPT module flexible. The flexibility of the WPT module is characterized by a bending test, and the structural and magnetic properties are also investigated. The performance of the flexible WPT module is demonstrated by transmitting wireless power to a light emitting diode.