Frequent oil spills pose significant threats to ecosystems; therefore, strict requirements are needed for prompt remediation and reclamation of spilled oil. Influenced by the structure of coniferous trees and their water transport, this experiment used cellulose nanofiber (CNF), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) to prepare radially centrosymmetric aerogels. By utilizing the in-situ polycondensation reaction of MTMS, CNF, and PVA were connected, and the hydrophobicity and mechanical properties of the aerogel were greatly enhanced. Furthermore, the introduction of graphene oxide (GO), enshrouded within the cross-linked network, engenders heightened photo-thermal effects. The resultant composite aerogel exhibits expeditious oil absorption under solar irradiation and radial layered channel architecture, significantly curtailing the crude oil absorption timeframe (achieving a maximum absorption capacity of 51.7 g/g). Moreover, it demonstrates superior performance in rapidly and repeatedly adsorbing highly viscous crude oil, surpassing existing literature. Notably, continuous absorption of high-viscosity crude oil is achieved by integrating the composite aerogel with a peristaltic pump. This study offers a novel approach to the absorption and retrieval of high-viscosity crude oil, broadening the potential application horizons of CNF-based aerogels within environmental remediation.
Lang Zhang,Wen Yin,Yanli Tong,Yanfei Zhang,Yuzhi Xu,Si-Yang Liu,Zong Dai,Xiaoyong Zou
Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) play important roles in mediating intercellular communication and regulating biological processes. Facile sEV isolation is the essential and preliminary issue for their function investigation and downstream biomedical applications, while the traditional methods are challenged by tedious procedures, low purity, low yield, and potential damage. In this work, we developed an sEV isolation paper-based device (sEV-IsoPD) based on a three-dimensional (3D) paper chip, which is composed of a porous membrane for size exclusion and a metal–organic framework (MOF)/antibody-modified paper for immunoaffinity capture. In combination with a peristaltic pump-driven flow system, the sEV-IsoPD can efficiently isolate EV from cell culture medium and serum. Compared with the ultracentrifugation method, sEV-IsoPD exhibited a 5.1 times higher yield (1.7 × 109 mL–1), 1.6 times higher purity (1.6 × 1011 mg–1), and 7.5 times higher recovery (77.3%) with only 8.3% of the time (30 min) and 1.0% of the instrument cost ($710). Moreover, sEV concentration can be visually detected in a quantitative manner with this paper-based device with a linear range from 3.0 × 106 to 3.0 × 1010 mL–1 and a detection limit of 2.2 × 106 mL–1. The sEV-IsoPD provides an efficient and practical approach for the rapid isolation and visible detection of sEVs, which are promising for the preparation of sEVs and diagnosis of disease.