Project description:Mechanical energy–driven portable water disinfection has attracted attention for its electricity-free operation, but this approach generally faces bottlenecks such as a high mechanical activation threshold, energy dispersion, and low interfacial reaction efficiency, making it difficult to achieve rapid and stable pathogen inactivation in practical scenarios. Here we report a manually operated portable water disinfection system that can inactivate 99.9999% of V. cholerae within 1 minute and demonstrate broad-spectrum disinfection against bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Amino-modified SiO₂ nanoparticles loaded with Au nanoparticles capture hydrated electrons and transfer them to the electret surface to generate localized nanoscale electric fields, which are further strengthened by hydrophobic fluorinated groups. This interfacial architecture not only promotes charge accumulation and transfer, but also leverages the intensified electric field to actively drive reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation at the solid–liquid–air interface, thereby markedly enhancing disinfection rate and efficacy compared with existing contact electrification–based disinfection technologies. Owing to its ease of operation, ourinterfacial electric-field-enhanced (IEFE) disinfection system is readily deployable in disaster relief and resource-constrained regions.
Project description:Air-transmitted pathogens may cause severe epidemics showing huge threats to public health. Microbial inactivation in the air is essential, whereas the feasibility of existing air disinfection technologies meets challenges including only achieving physical separation but no inactivation, obvious pressure drops, and energy intensiveness. Here we report a rapid disinfection method toward air-transmitted bacteria and viruses using the nanowire-enhanced localized electric field to damage the outer structures of microbes. This air disinfection system is driven by a triboelectric nanogenerator that converts mechanical vibration to electricity effectively and achieves self-powered. Assisted by a rational design for the accelerated charging and trapping of microbes, this air disinfection system promotes microbial transport and achieves high performance: >99.99% microbial inactivation within 0.025 s in a fast airflow (2 m/s) while only causing low pressure drops (<24 Pa). This rapid, self-powered air disinfection method may fill the urgent need for air-transmitted microbial inactivation to protect public health.
Project description:The circRNA, lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA levels of both the direct-current electric field and control groups of adipose-derived stem cells were obtained by RNA sequencing.
Project description:Copper has well-known anti-microbial properties but is typically not considered for drinking water disinfection because of its health risk to human at efficient biocidal concentrations. Locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT) is a cutting-edge technique that aims to inactivate bacteria by generating aqueous pores on the cell membrane through the application of a strong electric field. LEEFT can also increase the permeability of the cell membrane, which promotes the uptake of chemical disinfectants to reduce the required biocidal concentrations. Previously, a coaxial-electrode copper ionization cell (CECIC) was developed to combine copper disinfection with LEEFT, demonstrating superior disinfection efficiency with low effluent copper concentrations (<0.5 mg/L). However, using direct-current (DC) voltages results in a dilemma that a higher voltage is necessary for effective LEEFT disinfection, but a lower voltage is required to limit Cu release. Here, asymmetric electric pulses are employed to decouple the LEEFT intensity from copper release in the CECIC. In this case, LEEFT intensity is primarily determined by the pulse amplitude while the copper release is controlled by the pulse offset. We have demonstrated that the use of asymmetric electric pulses achieves significantly higher inactivation efficiency compared to the DC voltages with the similar level of Cu release. For the water with conductivity similar to tap water (∼100 μS/cm), a high inactivation efficiency of 4.7-log is achieved with only 0.49 mg/L copper release. These findings highlight the potential of asymmetric electric pulses as a promising alternative to DC voltages for the practical application of LEEFT-Cu systems in the future.
Project description:The aim of our study was to analyze cell response to nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) at the gene expression level. TM3 Leydig cells were used as a model. Transcriptomics analysis was carried out immediately after exposure (0 h) and 4 or 24 h after treatment.
Project description:We grew MDA-MB231 cells in a media that had been reconstituted with water that was treated by the Bio-Electric Field Enhancement device generated direct current dielectrophoretic electromagnetic field (Treated group) and cells that were grown in media that was reconstituted with water that was not treated by the BEFE device dc DEP EMF. They were grown for 3 days in each of these media and then analyzed with Affymetrix 2.0 Microarrary Analyses. It was an experimental controlled design.
Project description:Study on changes in gene expression in primary cultures of neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes to electric stimulation. Through comparing non-stimulated, stimulated and blebbistatin supplemented and stimulated cultures we set out to identify the genes that are specifically activated by electric pulsing separate from cardiomyocyte contractions. After initial recovery phase, primary cultures of neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes were cultured for 3 days without pulsing, with electric pulsing or with electric pulsing combined with blebbistatin. Per treatment: 3 arrays, with samples obtained from 3 separate series of cardiomyocyte isolation and culturing. Per array: sample prepared from pooled (1:1) RNA from duplicate experiments.
Project description:We report the transcriptomic changes in Salmonella Typhimurium exposed to sub-lethal sonophotocatalytic disinfection. The current data suggests that more than 120 genes are significantly expressed during the process. The genes associated with the flagellar assembly were found to be significantly up-regulated during the disinfection, which may have impacts on the phenotypic attributes of the bacteria.
Project description:Study on changes in gene expression in primary cultures of neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes to electric stimulation. Through comparing non-stimulated, stimulated and blebbistatin supplemented and stimulated cultures we set out to identify the genes that are specifically activated by electric pulsing separate from cardiomyocyte contractions.