This work presented a unique alginate hydrogel film fortified by truxillic calcium skeleton with notable physicochemical and mechanical properties, as well as the promising application in fruit preservation. A series of truxillic-calcium-alginate (CBDA-Ca/SA) films were prepared. It was found that CBDA-10-Ca/SA can block over 50 % of UV-visible light. The maximum breaking strengths of (6 % CBDA-1-Ca)/SA and (2 % CBDA-10-Ca)/SA are 82 MPa and 79 MPa, about twice that of Ca/SA. CBDA-11-Ca/SA showed the highest WVP of 2.18 x 10 - 10 g center dot m - 1 center dot s - 1 center dot Pa- 1 and CBDA-10-Ca showed the best performance in reducing the OTR of the films by 4.1x 10 -5 cm3 center dot cm center dot m- 2 - 24 h - 1 - Pa- 1 . With water absorption ranging from 3480 % in an acidic environment to 9520 % in an alkaline environment, the CBDA-10-Ca/SA film demonstrated exceptional pH responsiveness. The degradation rate of all films was around 70 % after four weeks of burial under the soil. The above studies indicate that polyphenols can not only act as hooks to grasp Ca2+ to form supramolecular skeleton structure improving the mechanical strength of SA-based films, but also act as active components to endure the functional properties of SA-based films with antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

The high-speed impact-resistanct materials are of great significance while their development is hindered by the intrinsic tradeoff between mechanical strength and energy dissipation capability. Herein, the new chemical system of molecular granular material (MGM) is developed for the design of impact-resistant materials from the supramolecular complexation of sub-nm molecular clusters (MCs) and hyper-branched polyelectrolytes. Their hierarchical aggregation provides the origin of the decoupling of mechanical strengths and structural relaxation dynamics. The MCs' intrinsic fast dynamics afford excellent high-speed impact-resistance, up to 5600 s-1 impact in a typical split-Hopkinson pressure bar test while only tiny boundary cracks can be observed even under 7200 s-1 impact. The high loadings of MCs and their hierarchical aggregates provide high-density sacrificial bonding for the effective dissipation of the impact energy, enabling the protection of fragile devices from the direct impact of over 200 m s-1 bullet. Moreover, the MGMs can be conveniently processed into protective coatings or films with promising recyclability due to the supramolecular interaction feature. The research not only reveals the unique relaxation dynamics and mechanical properties of MGMs in comparison with polymers and colloids, but also develops new chemical systems for the fabrication of high-speed impact-resistant materials. Molecular granular material is proposed for the design of impact resistance materials from the supramolecular complexation of sub-nm molecular clusters and hyperbranched polymers with the decoupling of mechanical strengths and the fast relaxation dynamics of sub-nm particles. The fast dynamics afford excellent high-speed impact resistance while the hierarchical aggregates provide high-density, multi-mode bonding for effective dissipation of the impact energy. image

Buprofezin (BUP) is an effective insecticide against Homopteran and Thysanoptera pests. However, exposure to BUP may result in several harmful effects on the non-target organism including human body, such as hepatotoxicity and DNA damage. Therefore, development of a reliable analytical method for BUP holds paramount importance. This study presents a novel albumin-based supramolecular biosensor, DPP@ALB, designed for the sensitive detection of BUP in environmental matrices, including water, soil, and real food samples. The features of this biosensor include a fast response, high sensitivity, and visually detectable fluorescence color change, enabling on-site detection of BUP based on the portable paper strips and 3D-printed miniaturized testing system. Overcoming challenges associated with the low chemical reactivity of BUP, this supramolecular biosensor emerges as the very first fluorescent sensor for efficient and reliable monitoring of BUP with applications in broader areas of environmental analysis and food safety.

Contact herbicides are widely used if rapid weeds eradication is required despite of a number of inherent disadvantages (transfer to water and soil, damage of non-target plants, promotion of resistant weeds expansion, etc.). Supramolecular chemistry can solve the problems associated with herbicide degradation and spreading, as well as suppress their harmful effects on humans and the environment. Pillar[n]arene derivatives are of special interest among other macrocyclic platforms due to their ability to implement various substrates in the macrocycle cavity. However, most of the works devoted to the interaction of pillararenes with pesticides considers binding of paraquat and its derivatives. In this work, water soluble derivatives of pillar[5]arene containing Ltryptophan residues have been proposed for binding a range of herbicides including paraquat dichloride, pyridate, 3-(methylphosphinico)propionic acid, and glufosinate-ammonium. The ester derivative of pillar[5]arene was found to be able to bind the above species. The betaine derivative showed selective and efficient interaction with pyridate (logKa = 4.02) and paraquat (logKa = 3.17). The effect of the charge of the pillar[5]arene substituent on the toxicity of the macrocyclic platform towards A549 and LEK cell lines was demonstrated. Introduction of carboxylate functions to form betaine fragments compensated for the positive charge of the macrocycle substituent and decreased its toxicity by three orders of magnitude for A549 cell line (167.0 mu M), and by two orders of magnitude for LEK cells (56.0 mu M) compared to ester derivative of pillar[5]arene (3.1 and 3.6 mu M respectively). The results obtained confirmed the prospects of the use of amino acid derivatized pillar[5] arenes in the development of new approaches to the removal of the herbicides from the environment that are demanded both in agriculture and aquaculture.

Rubber can improve the mechanical properties of the coated nitrogen fertilizers (CNFs), but the biomass components cause holes in the urea release process, thus accelerating the release of urea. In this study, a self-healing rubber (SHR) shell/hydrogel core based on a supramolecular network was fabricated as a coating material for CNFs to improve the above problems. The core of CNFs consists of vanillin(Van)-cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) hydrogel, prepared by a freeze-thaw cycle. The shell of CNFs was prepared by soaking Van-cross-linked natural rubber (NR)/chitosan (CS)/PVA material in Zn2+ solution. A green core-shell structured CNF with hydrogen bonding and metal coordination was finally prepared, which has improved the mechanical properties, slow-release effect, and soil water retention capacity of the CNF. The effects of CS and PVA contents and the impregnation of Zn2+ on the physical and chemical properties of the SHR supramolecular composite and its self-healing ability were investigated, and the urea release kinetics were analyzed. The CNFs could reach release equilibrium in water for 10 days, with a slow-release rate of 62.7%, and the urea release kinetics were in accordance with the Korsmeyer-Peppas model (R-2 >= 0.90), with a possible release mechanism of Fickian diffusion.