This study aims to mitigate thermal cracking in mass concrete, a phenomenon resulting from heat release during cement hydration. To this end, a novel hydration heat inhibitor was prepared by modifying dextrin through esterification and polymerization with acrylic acid. The inhibitor, abundant in hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, is slowly released within cement's weakly alkaline environment. Once released, it adsorbs onto cement particles, leading to a significant increase in the absolute zeta-potential of the paste. The inhibitor effectively retards the hydration process, achieving a temporary delay in the occurrence time of the temperature peak and a significant 20.33 degrees C reduction in the peak temperature. Additionally, it prolongs the initial and final setting times by 197 min and 245 min, respectively. While it exhibits a temporary inhibitory effect on the compressive strength at early ages (3 days and 7 days), the 28-day compressive strength is improved by approximately 7 %. This study has prepared and tested a cement hydration heat inhibitor, which can realize the regulation of hydration heat and the enhancement of compressive strength in the application of mass concrete.

The combination of membranes with coacervates has been regarded as an effective approach to stabilize coacervates and modify their surface properties. Here, we achieved the construction of a functional coacervate system by localizing nanovesicles assembled by elastin-like peptide-block-collagen-like peptides (ELP-CLPs) on the surface of polyelectrolyte coacervates. The formation of the ELP-CLP coating was driven by electrostatic interactions between negatively charged ELP-CLP vesicles and positively charged coacervates. Altering the surface charge of ELP-CLP vesicles or coacervates disrupted the formation of coatings, and the formulation parameters, such as different mixing protocols and the order of adding the components, could be used to control the coating process. The ELP-CLP vesicle coating successfully functionalized the coacervates and presented the ability to control the diffusion of molecules based on their different molecular weights. Our results demonstrated approaches to control the coating process and coating functionality of ELP-CLP vesicle coatings and highlighted their potential application as a novel surface modification to provide selective permeability to current coacervate systems.

ABSTRACT Phenolic foams (PFs) play a crucial role in mine sealing due to fire resistance, high thermal insulation efficiency, and chemical corrosion resistance. However, phenol, the primary raw material, is derived from fossil sources. To address this challenge, phenol is partially replaced with renewable lignin to synthesize an environment‐friendly lignin‐modified phenolic foam (LPF). LPF samples with substitution ratios of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 wt% were prepared to compare with pure PF. The results showed that lignin substitution significantly enhances the compressive strength, pulverization resistance, and flame retardancy of the foams. Among all formulas, 20LPF exhibits the most balanced performance, with compressive strength improved by 273% compared to that of the PF, a compact and uniform cell structure, and only a moderate increase in water absorption. However, higher substitution ratios (≥ 25%) lead to markedly increased water absorption and potential long‐term stability concerns, suggesting the need for further optimization.

To address safety hazards such as gas leakage and spontaneous combustion of coal seams in coal mining, silane-modified tannin phenolic foam (T-KPF), a three-dimensional flexible crosslinked network, was prepared by modifying phenolic resin with tannic acid and the silane coupling agent KH-560. Surprisingly, the formation of Si-O-C bonds with the resin endows the foam with outstanding properties during the hydrolyzation of KH-560. The optimal properties were achieved with a 6% KH-560 loading, showing a compressive strength of 134 kPa, a powdering rate of 3.2%, a water absorption of 25.6%, a limiting oxygen index of 43.2%, and a uniform pore structure. This modification strategy overcomes the brittleness and high-temperature decomposition limitations during the traditional phenolic foam preparation procedure, providing a high-performance material for coal mine safety sealing and promoting the sustainable application of natural polymer materials.

The phase selectivity of materials is an effective strategies for improving electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA) and .ultraviolet (UV) shielding. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) has become a highly promising EWA and...

The detrimental effects of ultraviolet (UV) and electromagnetic (EM) radiation on human health and physiological functions are well documented. The development of efficient shielding materials to mitigate these effects is therefore an urgent necessity. In this study, Zn/Ti-LDH@Ce/Fe-MOF@PPy composites were successfully prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and interfacial polymerisation. The properties of the composites were compared and analysed with those of pure Zn/Ti-LDH and Ce/Fe-MOF, and the results show that the prepared materials have excellent comprehensive properties, with a broad EAB of 5.2 GHz and a RLmin of -46.2 dB at 14.8 GHz at the thickness of 3 mm, while exhibiting excellent UV shielding capability.The present study offers novel concepts and efficacious methodologies for the engineering of high-performance microwave absorbing and UV shielding materials.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation accelerates material degradation and poses health risks, which drives the demand for effective UV-shielding materials. Halloysite is an aluminosilicate mineral with characteristic tubular morphology that has been widely attracted attention for its broad technological applications. In this study, halloysite nanotube efficient combination with tungsten oxide (WO3) and polydopamine (PDA), then product was integrated into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix and prepared composite films. The results showed the modified halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) (HNTs@WO3/PDA) had a better dispersion in the PVC matrix. The UV transmittance of PVC films creased comparison with the pure PVC, with 2.0 wt% particles was able to shield about 55.1% UVA and 62.8% UVB, respectively, and UPF value reached 2.36. Meanwhile, for (2.0%-0.0%) particles/PVC films, the Rh B solution was degraded at value 89-71, after 240 min of UV irradiation. Thermal analyses revealed that HNTs@WO3/PDA can improve the PVC's thermal stability compared with unmodified HNTs.

The architectural control of the self-assembly of a series of block polypeptides comprising a concatenation of an elastin-like peptide and a coiled-coil, bundle-forming peptide (ELP-BFPs), has been demonstrated. Assembly of the polypeptides is controlled by coacervation of the hydrophobic ELP domain, while the type of coiled-coil assembly of the BFP and the specific placement of short histidine tags significantly tunes assembly behavior. Spectrophotometric analysis of self-assembly demonstrated that the transition temperature of assembly can be controlled by the design of the BFP domain and positioning of the His-tags in the constructs. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy of assembled polypeptides confirmed distinct morphologies including core-shell particles and multilayer vesicles, depending on the parallel or antiparallel bundle architecture of the block polypeptide. The results have applications in materials design and highlight the potential for controlling multi-stimuli responsiveness and morphologies through fine control of the architectural features of the component polypeptide domains.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) yield solutions with tunable phase transition behavior and have been widely applied in designing stimuli-responsive materials. Understanding interactions between amino acid residues of the IDP sequence is critical to designing new IDP-based materials with selective phase behavior, assembly, and mechanical properties. The lack of defined structure for this class of proteins complicates accurate prediction of their molecular-scale behavior. In this review, recent progress is presented in the development and application of simulation methods to describe the behavior of IDPs. Results for elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) and resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs) are highlighted, focusing on studies that compare simulation results with experimental findings.

The side effects of small molecule chemotherapeutic drugs (SMCD) have brought great pain to the cancer patients. Many nanodrug carriers can relieve the shortcomings of SMCD, but they have complex synthesis processes and lack biodegradability. To overcome both problems, we synthesized a pH responsive biodegradable zwitterionic molecules (EK-D) by linking zwitterionic polypeptide (EK7) and dodecyl acrylate through a simple click reaction. Subsequently, doxorubicin (DOX) was physically encapsulated within the EK-D micelles to produce EK-D-DOX micelles, and polyethylene glycol monooleate (POO) employed as a comparative group for the preparation of POO-DOX micelles. The results show that EK-D-DOX micelles have good aqueous stability and anti-protein non-specific adsorption performance at pH 7.4, but EK-D-DOX micelles aggregate under the condition of pH = 5.5 due to the biodegradability of EK-D. The tumor cell uptake rate of EK-D-DOX micelles is higher than that of POO-DOX micelles and free DOX, which makes EK-D-DOX micelles the highest cytotoxic. Additionally, EK-D-DOX micelles release more DOX in a slightly acidic environment than at pH 7.4, and the release of DOX reaches a significant cumulative value of 75.20 % under pH conditions of 5.5. More importantly, EK-D-DOX micelles exhibit superior in vivo tumor inhibitory efficacy compared to free DOX, resulting in a remarkable tumor inhibition rate of 95.7 %. EK-D-DOX micelles not only have lower biological toxicity to normal tissues than free DOX, but also have a longer blood circulation time in mice. The method of EK-D-DOX micelles preparation represents a new method to prepare biodegradable zwitterionic nanodrug.

Single-modality cancer therapies face limitations from tumor heterogeneity, drug resistance, and immune evasion. Combination therapies, particularly those that merge nucleic acid-based and immune-based therapeutics, offer promise by leveraging synergy; however, both face delivery challenges. This study reports a liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)-driven therapeutic coacervate system designed to simultaneously deliver nucleic acid drugs and immunostimulators for synergistic antitumor treatment. Short elastin-like polypeptide-antisense oligonucleotide (E-ASO) conjugates are synthesized to form membraneless coacervates via LLPS. These E-ASO coacervates directly internalize into cells and potently silence anti-apoptotic gene, Bcl-2, across six distinct cancer cell lines. By incorporating the stimulator of interferon gene (STING) agonist cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), E-ASO-cGAMP coacervates are generated, which simultaneously downregulate Bcl-2 and activate the STING pathway, triggering cytokine production and immune activation. In melanoma and hypopharyngeal carcinoma mouse models, E-ASO-cGAMP coacervates demonstrate significantly enhanced antitumor efficacy compared to monotherapies, with potent and consistent tumor suppression across both immunologically distinct tumor types. The platform shows no observable systemic toxicity in vital organs. This LLPS-driven coacervate system establishes a new model for combined anticancer therapy, overcoming delivery barriers to synergistically integrate gene silencing and immune activation and provide a translatable strategy for solid tumor treatment.

Weakly acidic pH, low oxygen and high glutathione levels are the main characteristics of tumor cells. Taking advantage of the unique acidic microenvironment of tumor cells, acid-responsive mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (AMON) were designed for nitric oxide (NO)-sensitized chemotherapy of tumors. AMON served as a nanocarrier co-loaded with a nitric oxide donor (NOD) and chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX). Transferrin (Tf) was modified on the surface as a targeting ligand to form NOD&DOX@AMON. In vitro experiments showed that AMON could be completely degraded under acidic conditions (pH 5.0) after 48h. NOD&DOX@AMON entered cells via transferrin receptor-mediated internalization and degraded in the acidic microenvironment to release its payloads. NOD released NO in presence of one-electron reducing substances like Glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid, inhibiting P-glycoprotein(P-gp) function and thereby increasing the intracellular concentration of DOX. In vivo distribution studies revealed that the nanohybrids accumulated maximally in tumor tissue 12h after intravenous injection and exhibited significant inhibitory effects on HepG2 xenograft tumors. Western blot experiments demonstrated that NOD&DOX@AMON could inhibit the expression of drug resistance-associated proteins and was expected to be employed as a therapeutic approach for drug-resistant ttumors.

Exploring new material structures of low photocatalytic degradation activity for ultraviolet screening is one of the important methods for improving polyvinylchloride (PVC) performance. As an important kind of ultraviolet (UV) shielding agent material, nano zinc oxide (ZnO) has been applied extensively in many fields due to its outstanding properties. However, the severe aggregation behavior between nanoparticles (NPs) and photocatalytic activity greatly limits the application. In this work, surface modification of ZnO with hydroxyapatite and chitosan (ZnO–Hap/CS) was fabricated. Then via a solution casting technique dispersed within the PVC matrix. The results demonstrated that the obtained composite exhibited the best ultraviolet screening performance greatly decreasing the photocatalytic degradation activity of ZnO. It is expected that this approach is prospective for the large-scale preparation of nano ZnO with excellent UV-blocking performance and low photocatalytic degradation activity.

As an important kind of material with porous structure, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been applied extensively in many fields due to their some outstanding properties. Herein, we proposed a facile approach for preparing bimetallic MOF (Ce/Fe-NH2-UiO-66) with excellent ultraviolet (UV)-blocking properties. Based on the as-obtained particles, flexible MOF/polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composite films were readily fabricated. According to the characterizations, these as-prepared composite films exhibited splendid performance on UV-blocking, the rhodamine B (Rh B) solution showed a much slower degradation rate under the radiation of UV light with the protection of MOF/PVC composite films, which demonstrated the distinguished UV-blocking ability of these as-prepared MOF particles, but the PVC thermal degradation is not fully developed, the UV shielding and thermal stabiliztion mechanism for PVC was discussed. Therefore, It is expected that this approach is prospective for the large-scale preparation of MOF materials with excellent UV-blocking performance.

The unique biophysical and biochemical properties of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and their recombinant derivatives, intrinsically disordered protein polymers (IDPPs) offer opportunities for producing multistimuli-responsive materials; their sequence-encoded disorder and tendency for phase separation facilitate the development of multifunctional materials. This review highlights the strategies for enhancing the structural diversity of elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) and resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs), and their self-assembled structures via genetic fusion to ordered motifs such as helical or beta sheet domains. In particular, this review describes approaches that harness the synergistic interplay between order-promoting and thermoresponsive building blocks to design hybrid biomaterials, resulting in well-structured, stimuli-responsive supramolecular materials ordered on the nanoscale.

RGD-based self-assembling nanodrugs are a promising advancement in targeted cancer therapy, combining the specificity of RGD peptides with the benefits of nanotechnology. These nanodrugs enhance tumor targeting and cellular uptake while reducing off-target effects. RGD peptides facilitate the self-assembly of stable nanostructures, ensuring efficient drug delivery. Despite their potential, challenges such as immunogenicity, stability, tumor heterogeneity, and manufacturing scalability need to be addressed. Future research should focus on improving biocompatibility, advanced targeting strategies, personalized medicine approaches, and innovative manufacturing techniques. Overcoming these challenges will pave the way for the successful clinical translation of RGD-based nanodrugs, offering more effective and safer cancer treatments.

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is one of the most used polymers, but the mechanical and esthetic properties can deteriorate for use outdoors because of ultraviolet (UV) light or heat. The addition of stabilizers is indispensable method for improving the stability of PVC. In this work, a facile synthetic method of CeO 2 quantum dots (QDs) was used, for achieving the best dispersion and improvement of anti-UV properties, the surface of CeO 2 QDs was modified by ethyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (EDHB), which was dispersed within the PVC matrix using the casting method to investigate the anti-UV and thermal properties. X-ray powder diffraction spectra (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV spectrophotometry and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were applied to characterize the structures, morphologies, and properties. The results highlighted that EDHB/CeO 2 can help reduce damages of PVC upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and heat.

Abstract Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is one of the most used polymers, but the mechanical and esthetic properties can deteriorate for use outdoors because of ultraviolet (UV) light or heat. The addition of stabilizers is indispensable method for improving the stability of PVC. In this work, a facile synthetic method of CeO 2 quantum dots (QDs) was used, for achieving the best dispersion and improvement of anti-UV properties, the surface of CeO 2 QDs was modified by ethyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (EDHB), which was dispersed within the PVC matrix using the casting method to investigate the anti-UV and thermal properties. X-ray powder diffraction spectra (XRD), Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV spectrophotometr and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were applied to characterized the structures, morphologies and properties. The results highlighted that EDHB/CeO 2 can help reduce damages of PVC upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and heat.

A three-phase foam is considered one of the promising advanced materials for fighting fires. However, the preparation conditions, cost and effect are key factors for industrial applications. In this study, new three-phase foam systems with fly ash and a complex surfactant are proposed. Five types of surfactants alcohol polyoxyethylene ether sodium sulfate, coconut oil diethanolamine, sodium lauryl sulfate, polyacrylamide and polyether-modified silicone resin emulsion were selected as foaming agents. Through laboratory experiments, the effect on the expansion ratio and foam stability of the surfactant type/concentration, fly ash particle concentration/size and pH were investigated. The foaming condition was determined by numerical optimization. The results of this study may serve as a reference for understanding the preparation of a novel threephase foam. It is hoped that this work could provide useful guidance for the preparation of efficient three-phase fire-extinguishing foam for the safe guarding of process safety in the field of chemical production, transportation, and storage suitable for drug delivery than Al12P12 and Al12N12 based on their recovery times.