Solid-state contact ion-selective electrodes (SC-ISEs) are an efficacious means of monitoring heavy metal contamination. Instability of the electrode potential is a key factor limiting their development, with biofouling in real water samples posing a significant challenge to maintaining stability. Therefore, addressing biofouling is crucial for optimizing solid-state ion-selective electrodes. In this work, high stability and antibiofouling capability in a solid-state contact lead ion-selective electrode (SC-Pb2+-ISE) based on polyaniline (PANI) was achieved through cathodic polarization. Specifically, PANI played a dual role in the ion-selective membrane (ISM) as an ion-to-electron transducer and antifouling agent. Given the excellent electrochemical performance of PANI, the prepared electrode (GC/PANI-Pb2+-ISM) demonstrated a remarkable antibiofouling efficiency of 98.2% under a cathodic polarization of -0.2 V. Furthermore, a standard deviation of standard potential (Eθ) as low as ± 0.5 mV was realized successfully. The excellent chrono-potentiometric stability of 17.0 ± 2.9 μV/s was also demonstrated. The electrode maintained a Nernstian response slope of 30.7 ± 0.2 (R2 = 0.998) after applying a cathode potential (-0.2 V) for 30 min. The developed GC/PANI-Pb2+-ISM electrode is suitable for practical applications in real environmental water sample monitoring.

This review focuses on the use of a sulfonated pentablock copolymer commercialized as NexarTM in water purification applications. The properties and the use of sulfonated copolymers, in general, and of NexarTM, in particular, are described within a brief reference focusing on the problem of different water contaminants, purification technologies, and the use of nanomaterials and nanocomposites for water treatment. In addition to desalination and pervaporation processes, adsorption and photocatalytic processes are also considered here. The reported results confirm the possibility of using NexarTM as a matrix for embedded nanoparticles, exploiting their performance in adsorption and photocatalytic processes and preventing their dispersion in the environment. Furthermore, the reported antimicrobial and antibiofouling properties of NexarTM make it a promising material for achieving active coatings that are able to enhance commercial filter lifetime and performance. The coated filters show selective and efficient removal of cationic contaminants in filtration processes, which is not observed with a bare commercial filter. The UV surface treatment and/or the addition of nanostructures such as graphene oxide (GO) flakes confer NexarTM with coating additional functionalities and activity. Finally, other application fields of this polymer are reported, i.e., energy and/or gas separation, suggesting its possible use as an efficient and economical alternative to the more well-known Nafion polymer.

A validation study using recycled ultrafiltration membranes (r-UF) on an aerobic membrane bioreactor (aMBR) was conducted for the first time. Four different polyethersulfone (PES) membranes were tested using synthetic urban wastewater (COD 0.4-0.5 g/L) during two experimental periods: (i) recycled ultrafiltration membrane (r-UF) and commercial UF membrane (molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) 150 kDa) (c-150 kDa); (ii) r-UF membrane modified by dip-coating using catechol (CA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) (mr-UF) and c-20 kDa membrane. Permeability, fouling behavior, and permeate quality were evaluated. Extensive membrane characterization was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Permeate quality for r-UF and mr-UF membranes was excellent and comparable to that obtained using commercial membranes under similar conditions. Additionally, r-UF and mr-UF membranes presented a steadier performance time. Additionally, r-UF membrane demonstrated less tendency to be fouled (Rf, m-1) r-UF 7.92 ± 0.57 × 1012; mr-UF 9.90 ± 0.14 × 1012, c-150 kDa 1.56 ± 0.07 × 1013 and c-20 kDa 1.25 ± 0.50 × 1013. The r-UF membrane showed an excellent antibiofouling character. Therefore, r-UF membranes can be successfully implemented for wastewater treatment in aMBR, being a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to commercial membranes that can contribute to overcome membrane fouling and membrane replacement issues.

The sensitivity and accuracy of fluorescence probes for biological samples are affected by not only interfering molecule compounds but also the nonspecific adsorption of proteins and other macromolecules. Herein, fluorescence probe based on zwitterionic sulfobetaine methacrylate polymer (PSBMA) as an antibiofouling layer and amino boric acid carbon dots encapsulated in the metal-organic framework UiO-66-NH2 (UiO-66-NH2/BN-CDs) as a target recognition site was designed for the detection of baicalin (BAI). Owing to the introduction of BN-CDs into UiO-66-NH2 with high specific surface area, the prepared UiO-66-NH2/BN-CDs@PSBMA probe exhibited a high adsorption capacity of 78.9 mg g-1, while presented fluorescence enhancing and superior fluorescence selectivity to BAI at excitation and emission wavelengths of 400 and 425 nm, respectively. Connecting PSBMA with good hydrophilicity to UiO-66-NH2, resulted in an anti-protein capacity of over 96.3 %, effectively inhibiting protein interference with the fluorescence signal. By virtue of its good antibiofouling and recognizing capacities, the fluorescence probe exhibited a satisfactory detection range of 10-80 nmol L-1, with a fairly low detection limit of 0.0064 μmol L-1. Using the method to detect BAI in Goji berry, Sophora and Yinhuang oral solution, demonstrating its potential for the accurate and quantitative detection of BAI in complex biological samples.

Inspired by animals with a slippery epidermis, durable slippery antibiofouling coatings with liquid-like wetting buckled surfaces are successfully constructed in this study by combining dynamic-interfacial-release-induced buckling with self-assembled silicon-containing diblock copolymer (diBCP). The core diBCP material is polystyrene-block-poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PS-b-PDMS). Because silicon-containing polymers with intrinsic characters of low surface energy, they easily flow over and cover a surface after it has undergone controlled thermal treatment, generating a slippery wetting layer on which can eliminate polar interactions with biomolecules. Additionally, microbuckled patterns result in curved surfaces, which offer fewer points at which organisms can attach to the surface. Different from traditional slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces, the proposed liquid-like PDMS wetting layer, chemically bonded with PS, is stable and slippery but does not flow away. PS-b-PDMS diBCPs with various PDMS volume fractions are studied to compare the influence of PDMS segment length on antibiofouling performance. The surface characteristics of the diBCPs─ease of processing, transparency, and antibiofouling, anti-icing, and self-cleaning abilities─are examined under various conditions. Being able to fabricate ecofriendly silicon-based lubricant layers without needing to use fluorinated compounds and costly material precursors is an advantage in industrial practice.

Uranium as a nuclear fuel, its source and aftertreatment has been a hot topic of debate for developers. In this paper, amidoxime and guanidino-modified cotton fibers (DC-AO-PHMG) were synthesized by the two-step functionalization approach, which exhibited remarkable antimicrobial and high uranium recovery property. Adsorption tests revealed that DC-AO-PHMG had excellent selectivity and anti-interference properties, the maximum adsorption capacity of 609.75 mg/g. More than 85 % adsorption capacity could still be kept after 10 adsorption-desorption cycles, and it conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model as a spontaneous heat-absorbing chemical monolayer process. FT-IR, EDS and XPS analyses speculated that the amidoxime and amino synergistically increased the uranium uptake. The inhibitory activities of DC-AO-PHMG against three aquatic bacteria, BEY, BEL (from Yellow River water and lake bottom silt, respectively) and B. subtilis were significantly stronger, and the uranium adsorption was not impacted by the high bacteria content. Most importantly, DC-AO-PHMG removed up to 94 % of uranium in simulated seawater and extracted up to 4.65 mg/g of uranium from Salt Lake water, which demonstrated its great potential in the field of uranium resource recovery.

The cost of treatment of antibiotic-resistant pathogens is on the level of tens of billions of dollars at the moment. It is of special interest to reduce or solve this problem using antimicrobial coatings, especially in hospitals or other healthcare facilities. The bacteria can transfer from medical staff or contaminated surfaces to patients. In this paper, we focused our attention on the antibacterial and antibiofouling activities of two types of photodynamic polyurethane composite films doped with carbon polymerized dots (CPDs) and fullerene C60. Detailed atomic force, electrostatic force and viscoelastic microscopy revealed topology, nanoelectrical and nanomechanical properties of used fillers and composites. A relationship between the electronic structure of the nanocarbon fillers and the antibacterial and antibiofouling activities of the composites was established. Thorough spectroscopic analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was conducted for both composite films, and it was found that both of them were potent antibacterial agents against nosocomial bacteria (Klebsiela pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonela enterica, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus epidermis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Antibiofouling testing of composite films indicated that the CPDs/PU composite films eradicated almost completely the biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus and about 50% of Escherichia coli biofilms.

Laser-scribed graphene electrodes (LSGEs) are promising platforms for the development of electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care settings and continuous monitoring and wearable applications. However, the frequent occurrence of biofouling drastically reduces the sensitivity and selectivity of these devices, hampering their sensing performance. Herein, we describe a versatile, low-impedance, and robust antibiofouling interface based on sulfobetaine-zwitterionic moieties. The interface induces the formation of a hydration layer and exerts electrostatic repulsion, protecting the electrode surface from the nonspecific adsorption of various biofouling agents. We demonstrate through electrochemical and microscopy techniques that the modified electrode exhibits outstanding antifouling properties, preserving more than 90% of the original signal after 24 h of exposure to bovine serum albumin protein, HeLa cells, and Escherichia coli bacteria. The promising performance of this antifouling strategy suggests that it is a viable option for prolonging the lifetime of LSGEs-based sensors when operating on complex biological systems.

Poly(2-oxazoline) is a promising new class of polymeric materials due to their antibiofouling properties and good biocompatibility. Poly(2-oxazoline) coatings can be deposited on different substrates via plasma polymerization, which can be more advantageous than other coating methods. The aim of this study is to deposit poly(2-oxazoline) coatings using a surface dielectric barrier discharge burning in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure using 2-methyl-2-oxazoline and 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline vapours as monomers and compare the film properties. For the comparison, the antibacterial and cytocompatibility tests were peformed according to ISO norms. The antibacterial tests showed that all the deposited films were highly active against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. The chemical composition of the films was studied using FTIR and XPS, and the film surface\'s properties were studied using AFM and surface energy measurement. The cytocompatibility tests showed good cytocompatibility of all the deposited films. However, the films deposited from 2-methyl-2-oxazoline exhibit better cytocompatibility. This difference can be explained by the different chemical compositions and surface morphologies of the films deposited from different monomers.

Nuclear power has experienced rapid development as a green energy source due to the increasing global demand for energy. Uranium, as the primary fuel for nuclear reactions, plays a crucial role in nuclear energy production, and seawater-uranium extraction has gained significant attention. However, the extraction of uranium is usually susceptible to contamination by microorganisms, such as bacteria, which can negatively affect the adsorption performance of uranium adsorption materials. Therefore, an important challenge lies in the development of new antibacterial and antiadhesion materials to inhibit the attachment of marine microorganisms. These advancements aim to reduce the impact on the adsorption capability of the adsorbent materials. This paper reviews the antibiofouling materials used for extracting seawater uranium, and corresponding mechanisms are discussed.