Recent advances of plasmonic nanoparticles include fascinating developments in the fields of energy, catalyst chemistry, optics, biotechnology, and medicine. The plasmonic photothermal properties of ...metallic nanoparticles are of enormous interest in biomedical fields because of their strong and tunable optical response and the capability to manipulate the photothermal effect by an external light source. To date, most biomedical applications using photothermal nanoparticles have focused on photothermal therapy; however, to fully realize the potential of these particles for clinical and other applications, the fundamental properties of photothermal nanoparticles need to be better understood and controlled, and the photothermal effect‐based diagnosis, treatment, and theranostics should be thoroughly explored. This Progress Report summarizes recent advances in the understanding and applications of plasmonic photothermal nanoparticles, particularly for sensing, imaging, therapy, and drug delivery, and discusses the future directions of these fields.
Photothermally active plasmonic nanoparticles are of great interest in biomedical science due to their tunable resonance wavelength, high spatiotemporal resolution, photothermal therapeutic potential, and remote‐controllability by an external light source. Fundamentals in the design, synthesis, and properties of photothermal nanomaterials and the recent key advances in their biomedical applications, including in biosensors, imaging, therapy, drug delivery, and theranostics, are summarized and discussed.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper provides a state-of-the-art report on the up-to-date research on the emerging 3D concrete printing technology from the concrete materials perspective. It reviews the recent research ...focused on understanding and characterizing the rheological necessities of the concrete printing process and discusses how the researchers are tailoring compatible mix proportions for the 3D concrete printing process by using eco-friendly binders, waste aggregates, chemical admixtures, and nano-additives. This paper systematically evaluates anisotropic behavior in the mechanical properties of printed concrete and establishes an order for anisotropic behavior in the compressive, flexural, and tensile strengths along three different axes (
,
, and
axes) of printed concrete. It evaluates the ratio of flexural strength to the compressive strength of printed concrete along the above three axes. This article explains the influence of variation of printing process parameters on the mechanical properties and discusses reinforcement approaches used for increasing structural performance. The microstructure at the interface of adjacent layers and also at the interface of the reinforcement-cement matrix is discussed. The recent research on the durability performance of printed concrete is critically discussed and future research needs for 3D concrete printing are identified in this paper.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Recent advances in mobility, manipulation, and intelligence of robots have promoted the usability of humanoid robots to support humans in their daily lives in the future. The multi-axis force-torque ...sensor is an essential sensor for the biped humanoid robot to maintain balance during walking and running since it is used to calculate the zero-moment point, the criterion of dynamic stability. Forcetorque sensors will be widely used in the future because they are essential for service robots to interact with people in unstructured environments. However, due to special design considerations and requirements, it is difficult to find a suitable commercial force-torque sensor for biped humanoid robots and the price is very expensive. This paper reviews the multi-axis force-torque sensor used in current state-of-the-art humanoid robots based on the understanding of biped walking, zero-moment point, and ground reaction force. From an in-depth analysis of relevant information, sensor requirements are discussed with the robot performance. In addition, the structural design of the sensors is classified into four types and described in detail. This comprehensive review will facilitate the development of force-torque sensors in humanoid robots and will be helpful in extending their application in the various fields of service robots.
Monitoring the body temperature with high accuracy provides a fast, facile, yet powerful route about the human body in a wide range of health information standards. Here, the first ever ...ultrasensitive and stretchable gold‐doped silicon nanomembrane (Au‐doped SiNM) epidermal temperature sensor array is introduced. The ultrasensitivity is achieved by shifting freeze‐out region to intrinsic region in carrier density and modulation of fermi energy level of p‐type SiNM through the development of a novel gold‐doping strategy. The Au‐doped SiNM is readily transferred onto an ultrathin polymer layer with a well‐designed serpentine mesh structure, capable of being utilized as an epidermal temperature sensor array. Measurements in vivo and in vitro show temperature coefficient of resistance as high as −37270.72 ppm °C−1, 22 times higher than existing metal‐based temperature sensors with similar structures, and one of the highest thermal sensitivity among the inorganic material based temperature sensors. Applications in the continuous monitoring of body temperature and respiration rate during exercising are demonstrated with a successful capture of information. This work lays a foundation for monitoring body temperature, potentially useful for precision diagnosis (e.g., continuous monitoring body temperature in coronavirus disease 2019 cases) and management of disease relevance to body temperature in healthcare.
Thermal monitoring of the human body with high accuracy provides a fast, facile, but powerful route in a wide range of health information standards. Ultrasensitive, and stretchable Au‐doped silicon nanomembrane (SiNM) epidermal temperature sensor array achieved by property modulations of SiNM with the development of a novel gold‐doping strategy offers a general foundation for continuous monitoring of human body temperature.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
For the efficient production of heterologous proteins in the yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
, we screened for a novel fusion partner from the yeast secretome. From twenty major proteins identified ...from the yeast secretome, we selected Scw4p, a cell wall protein with similarity to glucanase, and modified to develop a general fusion partner for the secretory expression of heterologous proteins in yeast. The optimal size of the
SCW4
gene to act as an efficient fusion partner was determined by C-terminal truncation analysis; two of the variants, S1 (truncated at codon 115Q) and S2 (truncated at codon 142E), were further used for the secretion of heterologous proteins. When fused with S2, the secretion of three target proteins (hGH, exendin-4, and hPTH) significantly increased. Conserved
O
-glycosylation sites (Ser/Thr-rich domain) and hydrophilic sequences of S2 were deemed important for the function of S2 as a secretion fusion partner. Approximately 5 g/L of the S2-exendin-4 fusion protein was obtained from fed-batch fermentation. Intact target proteins were easily purified by affinity chromatography after in vitro processing of the fusion partner. This system may be of general application for the secretory production of heterologous proteins in
S. cerevisiae
.
Key points
• Target proteins were efficiently secreted with their N-terminus fused to Scw4p.
• O-glycosylation and hydrophilic stretches in Scw4p were important for protein secretion.
• A variant of Scw4p (S2) was successfully applied for the secretory expression of heterologous proteins.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, EMUNI, FZAB, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
There is increasing interest in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) for large scale-energy storage systems. Vanadium electrolytes which function as both the electrolyte and active material are ...highly important in terms of cost and performance. Although vanadium electrolyte technologies have notably evolved during the last few decades, they should be improved further towards higher vanadium solubility, stability and electrochemical performance for the design of energy-dense, reliable and cost-effective VRFBs. This timely review summarizes the vanadium electrolyte technologies including their synthesis, electrochemical performances, thermal stabilities, and spectroscopic characterizations and highlights the current issues in VRFB electrolyte development. The challenges that must be confronted to further develop vanadium electrolytes may stimulate more researchers to push them forward.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Proteins with novel functions or advanced activities developed by various protein engineering techniques must have sufficient solubility to retain their bioactivity. However, inactive protein ...aggregates are frequently produced during heterologous protein expression in Escherichia coli. To prevent the formation of inclusion bodies, fusion tag technology has been commonly employed, owing to its good performance in soluble expression of target proteins, ease of application, and purification feasibility. Thus, researchers have continuously developed novel fusion tags to expand the expression capacity of high-value proteins in E. coli.
A novel fusion tag comprising carbohydrate-binding module 66 (CBM66) was developed for the soluble expression of heterologous proteins in E. coli. The target protein solubilization capacity of the CBM66 tag was verified using seven proteins that are poorly expressed or form inclusion bodies in E. coli: four human-derived signaling polypeptides and three microbial enzymes. Compared to native proteins, CBM66-fused proteins exhibited improved solubility and high production titer. The protein-solubilizing effect of the CBM66 tag was compared with that of two commercial tags, maltose-binding protein and glutathione-S-transferase, using poly(ethylene terephthalate) hydrolase (PETase) as a model protein; CBM66 fusion resulted in a 3.7-fold higher expression amount of soluble PETase (approximately 370 mg/L) compared to fusion with the other commercial tags. The intact PETase was purified from the fusion protein upon serial treatment with enterokinase and affinity chromatography using levan-agarose resin. The bioactivity of the three proteins assessed was maintained even when the CBM66 tag was fused.
The use of the CBM66 tag to improve soluble protein expression facilitates the easy and economic production of high-value proteins in E. coli.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
One of the major merits of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite as an efficient absorber material for the photovoltaic cell is its long carrier lifetime. We investigate the role of the intrinsic defects of ...CH3NH3PbI3 on its outstanding photovoltaic properties using density-functional studies. Two types of defects are of interest, i.e., Schottky defects and Frenkel defects. Schottky defects, such as PbI2 and CH3NH3I vacancy, do not make a trap state, which can reduce carrier lifetime. Elemental defects like Pb, I, and CH3NH3 vacancies derived from Frenkel defects act as dopants, which explains the unintentional doping of methylammonium lead halides (MALHs). The absence of gap states from intrinsic defects of MALHs can be ascribed to the ionic bonding from organic–inorganic hybridization. These results explain why the perovskite MALHs can be an efficient semiconductor, even when grown using simple solution processes. It also suggests that the n-/p-type can be efficiently manipulated by controlling growth processes.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Levan is a fructose polymer with diverse applications in the food and medical industries. In this study, levansucrase from
Rahnella aquatilis
(RaLsrA) was hyper-secreted using a
Saccharomyces ...cerevisiae
protein secretion system. An optimal secretion signal, a translation fusion partner (TFP) containing an N-terminal 98 amino acid domain from a mitochondrial inner membrane protein, UTH1, was employed to secrete approximately 50 U/mL of bioactive RaLsrA into culture media with 63% secretion efficiency by fed-batch fermentation. Although the purified RaLsrA was useful for enzymatic conversion of high-molecular-weight levan of approximately 3.75 × 10
6
Da, recombinant yeast secreting RaLsrA could produce levan more efficiently by microbial fermentation. In a 50-L scale fermenter, 76-g/L levan was directly converted from 191-g/L sucrose by recombinant yeast cells, attaining an 80% conversion yield and 3.17-g/L/h productivity. Thus, we developed a cost-effective and industrially applicable production system for food-grade levan.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
This article presents a 36-channel scanning light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor with an on-chip single-photon avalanche diode array. The sensor has an area-efficient 11-bit in situ ...histogramming time-to-digital converter with a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">3000 \times 78\,\,\mu \text {m}^{2} </tex-math></inline-formula> per channel area based on a mixed-signal accumulator, though it is incorporated with histogramming and filtering capabilities. Furthermore, owing to its embedded interference (IF) filter, the sensor can perform reliable direct time-of-flight measurements even with IF from 32 different LiDAR sensors. The LiDAR system also has a beam scanner that comprises dual laser diodes for IF elimination and a hybrid mirror such that high-resolution images with a resolution of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">2200 \times 36 </tex-math></inline-formula> can be acquired with a wide field-of-view of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">120^{\circ } \times 8^{\circ } </tex-math></inline-formula>.
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