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Opis: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath have shown promise as biomarkers in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We analysed breath from 57 people with IPF using thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to identify VOCs related to lung function change over 12 months. A LASSO regression model selected 63 VOCs associated with relative change in forced vital capacity (8 with correlation coefficient (CC) ≥0.20 on Spearman’s rank analysis), and 28 associated with relative change in diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide % predicted (12 with CC ≥0.20). Secondary analyses demonstrated a correlation between VOCs and baseline lung function parameters and association with survival. This study suggests that there may be a volatile signature of prognosis in IPF that merits further validation.
Ključne besede: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, volatile organic compound, thermal desorption mass spectrometry, exhaled breath
Objavljeno v RUNG: 13.05.2025; Ogledov: 70; Prenosov: 1
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Opis: Emissions of green-house gasses have been in the forefront of scientific research in recent decades. One of the approaches towards reducing the amount of green gas CO2 in the atmosphere is its capture and storage with subsequent conversion where pure enough CO2 can be regenerated. While CO2 capture widely utilizes two mature technologies, amine absorption and cryogenic distillation, they both have significant downsides, in either cost or potential new danger to the environment. To that end an adsorption-based CO2 capture has seen quite a lot of interest in recently. Nanoporous materials have been extensively studied for this application, starting with zeolites, followed by aluminophosphates and also the new members of the porous materials group, the so called reticular porous materials. Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), the first discovered reticular porous materials have shown very promising results for post combustion CO2 capture and recently also for in-door and direct air capture. MOFs are in general enough thermally stable for CO2 capture, their main weakness for wide applicability is sometimes lower selectivity for CO2 in real gas mixtures and lower stability in humid conditions. Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), a subgroup of MOFs, have in recent years been extensively studied for sorption applications, also CO2, due to their superior stability and kinetics for vapour/gas adsorption if compared to carboxylate-based MOFs. While extensively studied, an overview of articles shows that most research is limited to a limited set group of frameworks, with ZIF-8 being used in more than half of ZIF papers. While ZIF-8 has successfully been prepared in water and even in solvent-free conditions, the rest of the ZIFs synthesis still heavily rely on solvothermal synthesis with formamide based solvent systems and synthesis times upwards of 5 days. Even in the case of ZIF-8, while greener synthesis approaches are available, dimethylformamide (DMF) synthesis still prevails in the cases tested for CO2 capture, mainly due to the increased CO2 uptake resulting from the synergistic contribution of the remaining DMF solvent in the pores. The goal of this thesis was to develop green synthesis approaches, both solvothermal and mechanochemical, for known ZIFs and then to extend the scope towards preparation of new ZIF materials. The goal for latter was to experimentally determine the optimal topology and functionality of ZIFs for CO2 adsorption in humid conditions. Model humid gas isotherms were developed and measured for a series of ZIFs with mostly SOD (sodalite) and RHO framework topologies and Zn and Ni as metal nodes. Finally, some novel bio-based binder materials were tested for the use with ZIFs. The sorption tests revealed than the SOD topology ZIFs have high potential for CO2 sorption applications, as the adsorption is rapid and further combination of terminally functionalised imidazoles in those frameworks drastically increases the frameworks affinity for CO2 at lower pressures. With most common 4,5- functionalised imidazole having hydrophilic functional groups, the challenge of competitive water sorption still remains. On the other hand some hydrophobic 4,5-substituted sodalite ZIFs, both with 4,5-dichloroimidazole, show excellent CO2 sorption and even complete hydrophobicity. The results led us to hypothesize that further research on ZIFs- for CO2 capture has to shift form 2 substituted sodalite frameworks to 4,5 substituted frameworks with strongly dipolar hydrophobic groups. The hydrophilic polar groups currently in use lead to issues with competitive water adsorption, due to their potential to form hydrogen bonds with water. Furthermore, some new agar and alginate based shaping methods were tested, as both potential binders are not environmentally toxic and are already used on the industrial scale world-wide for other applications.
Ključne besede: carbon capture, synthesis, metal-organic frameworks, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, nanoporous materials, dissertations
Objavljeno v RUNG: 10.09.2024; Ogledov: 1371; Prenosov: 34
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Opis: Particle size is an important physical parameter in any nanomaterial designed for biomedical applications. It critically influences the biological fate of nanoparticles. It is generally believed that a range between 10 and 200 nm is most relevant to physical and biochemical targeting through both intravascular and site-specific deliveries.1 High porosity, purely organic nature, structural tunability and the ability to gradually release therapeutically-relevant cargo have rendered covalent organic frameworks (COFs) promising materials in biomedical research. While several COF-based drug delivery systems have been reported, particle aggregation and the associated particle size pose a significant barrier to real-life implementation of these systems.2 In the current talk, two strategies to address these issues will be presented as they have been applied to biosensing and delivery applications. Firstly, prolonged ultrasonication has proven an effective method of reducing the COF particle size while maintaining the material’s chemical properties.3 A fluorescent COF, that was post-synthetically modified to incorporate a hypoxia-targeting nitroimidazole moiety, was exposed to prolonged ultrasonication which effectively reduced the particle size from several µm to <170 nm.4 The ultrasonication treatment did not significantly hamper the material’s physical or chemical properties, such as crystallinity, and it even enhanced its fluorescence signal by overcoming aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ). The material and its constituent building blocks were shown to have minimal or no cytotoxicity. The COF’s internalization was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy, and it preferentially accumulated in cells exposed to hypoxic environment, thus serving as a fluorescent biosensor for hypoxia. Another strategy of limiting the COF particle size is to grow the material on nano-sized substrates. Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have been shown as effective intracellular sensors5 and single-cell endoscopic tools.6 We have prepared AgNWs with diameters below 200 nm and have employed various synthetic methods to coat them with thiol-functionalized COFs. Favorable coordination bonds that form between Ag and the thiol functional group in the COF linkers drive the assembly process. Both bottom-up synthetic approaches, where the COF is grown on the surface of AgNWs, and top-down strategies, where pre-synthesized COF particles are attached onto AgNWs surface have been successful. The inorganic-organic hybrid materials were characterized by various techniques, including electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and powder X-ray diffraction. All characterizations combined suggest that the diameter of the COF-coated AgNWs remains well in the nanometer-size regime. References: (1) Hickey, J. W.; Santos, J. L.; Williford, J.-M.; Mao, H.-Q. Control of Polymeric Nanoparticle Size to Improve Therapeutic Delivery. J. Control. Release 2015, 219, 536–547. (2) Esrafili, A.; Wagner, A.; Inamdar, S.; Acharya, A. P. Covalent Organic Frameworks for Biomedical Applications. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 2021, 10 (6), 2002090. (3) Skorjanc, T.; Heinrich, J.; Makuc, D.; Kulak, N.; Valant, M. Sustained Delivery of Cu(II)-Based DNA Intercalators by Nanometer-Sized Cyclodextrin-Based Porous Polymers. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2023, 6 (22), 21162–21168. (4) Skorjanc, T.; Shetty, D.; Kumar, S.; Makuc, D.; Mali, G.; Volavšek, J.; Bergant Marušič, M.; Valant, M. Nitroreductase-Sensitive Fluorescent Covalent Organic Framework for Tumor Hypoxia Imaging in Cells. Chem. Commun. 2023, 59 (38), 5753–5756. (5) Zhang, Q.; Inose, T.; Ricci, M.; Li, J.; Tian, Y.; Wen, H.; Toyouchi, S.; Fron, E.; Ngoc Dao, A. T.; Kasai, H.; Rocha, S.; Hirai, K.; Fortuni, B.; Uji-i, H. Gold-Photodeposited Silver Nanowire Endoscopy for Cytosolic and Nuclear PH Sensing. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2021, 4 (9), 9886–9894. (6) Ricci, M.; Fortuni, B.; Vitale, R.; Zhang, Q.; Fujita, Y.; Toyouchi, S.; Lu, G.; Rocha, S.; Inose, T.; Uji-I, H. Gold-Etched Silver Nanowire Endoscopy: Toward a Widely Accessible Platform for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Analysis in Living Cells. Anal. Chem. 2021, 93 (12), 5037–5045.
Ključne besede: covalent organic frameworks, imaging, delivery, nanoendoscopy, nanowire
Objavljeno v RUNG: 22.07.2024; Ogledov: 1762; Prenosov: 3
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Opis: In summary, this chapter discussed the richness of COFs that have been utilized in luminescence-based sensing of various analytes. Literature reports were classified based on the analyte type and a section was dedicated to each explosive compounds, metal cations, biological molecules, pH, VOCs, amines and water, anions, and enantiomers. Different design strategies implemented to develop sensors for each analyte were highlighted as were the detection mechanisms and key parameters of the performance, such as LODs. In comparison to the state-of-the-art prior to 2020, we note several changes in the most recent developments of luminescent COF sensors.
Ključne besede: ensors, covalent organic frameworks, fluorescence, biosensor, explosives
Objavljeno v RUNG: 01.07.2024; Ogledov: 1527; Prenosov: 3
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Opis: Submicron aerosol chemical composition was studied during a year-long period (26 July 2016–31 July 2017) and two wintertime intensive campaigns (18 December 2013–21 February 2014 and 23 December 2015–17 February 2016), at a central site in Athens, Greece, using an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM). Concurrent measurements included a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS-IC), a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), an AE-33 Aethalometer, and ion chromatography analysis on 24 or 12 h filter samples. The aim of the study was to characterize the seasonal variability of the main submicron aerosol constituents and decipher the sources of organic aerosol (OA). Organics were found to contribute almost half of the submicron mass, with 30 min resolution concentrations during wintertime reaching up to 200 µg m−3. During winter (all three campaigns combined), primary sources contributed about 33 % of the organic fraction, and comprised biomass burning (10 %), fossil fuel combustion (13 %), and cooking (10 %), while the remaining 67 % was attributed to secondary aerosol. The semi-volatile component of the oxidized organic aerosol (SV-OOA; 22 %) was found to be clearly linked to combustion sources, in particular biomass burning; part of the very oxidized, low-volatility component (LV-OOA; 44 %) could also be attributed to the oxidation of emissions from these primary combustion sources. These results, based on the combined contribution of biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA) and SV-OOA, indicate the importance of increased biomass burning in the urban environment of Athens as a result of the economic recession. During summer, when concentrations of fine aerosols are considerably lower, more than 80 % of the organic fraction is attributed to secondary aerosol (SV-OOA 31 % and LV-OOA 53 %). In contrast to winter, SV-OOA appears to result from a well-mixed type of aerosol that is linked to fast photochemical processes and the oxidation of primary traffic and biogenic emissions. Finally, LV-OOA presents a more regional character in summer, owing to the oxidation of OA over the period of a few days.
Ključne besede: ACSM, organic aerosol, PMF, source apportionment
Objavljeno v RUNG: 13.05.2024; Ogledov: 1827; Prenosov: 5
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