Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) inspired by Nepenthes have attracted much attention owing to their potential application in various cutting-edge fields. However, the performance of SLIPSs is impeded by surface damage and lubricant depletion, thereby limiting their further application. Herein, a UV-responsive slippery surface (SMEMG) was fabricated by introducing the UV-responsive functional group coumarin into the polymer side chain through random copolymerization, followed by crosslinking, curing and impregnation with vegetable oil. The self-healing ability and lubricant self-replenishing performance of the SMEMG were investigated. The results show that upon exposure to UV light, the damaged surface substrate can be repaired through a reversible photodimerization reaction between coumarin groups. Meanwhile, the lubricant oil within the bulk of the SMEMG substrate can be extruded to the surface during the photodimerization reaction, facilitating the recovery of surface wettability. The SMEMG exhibited excellent self-cleaning and anti-algal properties as well as durability in a harsh environment, demonstrating its promising application in marine anti-fouling.
Oral cancers pose a significant challenge to global public health with devastating incidence and poor prognosis, highlighting the urgent need for early detection and intervention. Herein, inspired by the unique water-collecting structure (peristome) of the Nepenthes pitcher plant, an innovative saliva-amassing low-dosed risk-factor alerted detecting (SALAD) system was integrated into the wearable mouthguard for in situ , specific, and sensitive detection of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in saliva, serving as a potential early indicator for oral cancers. This system employed an efficient liquid amassing (LA) module to collect and immobilize intraoral biomarkers in dynamic and complex saliva environments. Moreover, the Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE)-related fluorescent signal was activated directly in the center of the mouthguard in conjunction with a household UV lamp, simplifying the detection process and amplifying the visibility of the diagnostic readings. Encouragingly, the SALAD mouthguard demonstrated exceptional capability in detecting target biomarkers in simulated intraoral environments. Promisingly, it received highly positive support from the volunteers who underwent preliminary testing with the SALAD mouthguard. Overall, validated by numerous simulated and realistic in vitro and in vivo tests, the SALAD mouthguard was demonstrated to act as a promising candidate for forewarning of oral cancer, highlighting potential for clinical translation and improving patient care experiences.
The inefficacy of repelling water droplets laden with macromolecules (complex droplets or diluted polymer solution) is a long-standing shortcoming of superhydrophobic surfaces, which severely limits their reliability in practical applications. Here, we design a surface termed the superhydrophobicity–slipperiness switchable surface (3S surface), which demonstrates superhydrophobicity at room temperature and slipperiness when heated. The 3S surface is composed of magneto-responsive wires coated with superhydrophobic nanoparticles and impregnated with thermoresponsive paraffin, exhibiting lotus leaf-inspired passive water repellency and respiratory cilia-inspired active water repellency at room temperature. When heated, the impregnated paraffin melts and forms a lubricant layer atop the surface structures, exhibiting the pitcher-plant-inspired removal of complex droplets that remain pinned on conventional superhydrophobic surfaces. The counterintuitive integration of superhydrophobicity (a liquid–solid–gas composite system) and slipperiness (a liquid–lubricant–gas system) into a surface and the on-demand switch between them are not only important to the applicability of self-cleaning surfaces to real-world environments, where complex liquids are inevitable, but also provide insights into various interface-related applications.
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）