Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) is one of the top pathogens of interest for the development of rapid diagnostic systems for food and water samples. The objective of this research is to develop a rapid, novel electrochemical biosensor based on the use of polypropylene microfiber membranes coated with a conductive polypyrrole and antibody functionalized for the biological capture and d...

In this study, we measured the thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of single Sb2Se3 nanowires and nanowire bundles with a high resistivity (σ ~ 4.37 × 10-4 S/m). Microdevices consisting of two adjacent suspended silicon nitride membranes were fabricated to measure the thermal transport properties of the nanowires in vacuum. Single Sb2Se3 nanowires with different diameters and nanowire ...

In the present work, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated by incorporating transparent electrodes of ordered free-standing TiO2 nanotube (TNT) arrays with both ends open transferred onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass. The high-quality TiO2 membranes used here were obtained by a self-detaching technique, with the superiorities of facile but reliable procedures. Af...

The mechanisms of three protocellular functions have been studied using molecular modeling techniques. These functions are (1) the transport of ions across membranes, (2) the formation of photoactivated proton gradient that could drive chemical synthesis in the protocell, and (3) the organization of small peptides necessary for catalytic activity. In all these processes, membranes play an essen...

High temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells are being lately investigated because of their high energy efficiency, superior heat/water management, CO tolerance, and electrode reaction kinetics. To further advance this technology, the polymer portfolio performance should be improved for intermediate or operation (>100 °C). In work we present new poly(diallylmethylammonium) conducting me...

The nature of tip-sample interaction forces in atomic force microscopy (AFM) phase imaging strongly affects the resolution of proton conducting domains mapped at the surface of Nafion membranes. Images acquired in repulsive mode overestimated the area of individual proton conducting domains by a factor of 4 (360 vs 90 nm(2)) and underestimated the number of these domains by a factor of 3 (0.9 d...

Proton transfer into and out of proteins is important, both for many enzyme reaction mechanisms and proton pumping across membranes. Recent work on several proteins has revealed stringent requirements for amino-acid side chains and subtle reorganisation of hydrogen-bond networks involving bound water molecules.

Various polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based ion-exchange films were prepared and thoroughly characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, proton conductivity, and water uptake for possible use as fuel cell membranes. Upon the increase in the flexibility of the PBI-based polymer films (e.g., poly(oxyphenylene benzimidazole) (OPBI) and sulfonated OPBI (s-OPBI)), the membranes exhibi...

V-ATPases (vacuolar ATPases) are membrane-bound multiprotein complexes that are localized in the endomembrane systems of eukaryotic cells and in the plasma membranes of some specialized cells. They couple ATP hydrolysis with the transport of protons across membranes. On nutrient shortage, V-ATPases disassemble into a membrane-embedded part (V0), which contains the proton translocation machinery...