Sea sponge-inspired 3D nanofiber sponge for higher bacteria acquisition

초록

Collecting microbial and viral samples is crucial step for the early diagnosis of pathogenic infections. In particular, since the emergence of the COVID-19 virus at the end of 2019, self-diagnosis test machines have been developed that allow users to quickly diagnose themselves anywhere without the help of hospitals or skilled people. However, in the case of cotton swabs used for sample collection for such self-diagnosis, the problem of false negativity is suggested due to the lack of sample collection and recovery rate. Therefore, there is a need for a structure that allows more samples to be collected and recovered in the same area. It is known that the sponges of the sea can collect and recover their volume of water every 5 seconds. This effect is obtained due to biostructures such as the high specific surface area of marine sponges, porosity, and pore interconnectivity. Recently, as a nanofiber 3D structure through electrospinning is superior to a 2D structure in various fields such as tissue engineering, diagnosis, filter, adsorption system, etc., research on 3D electrospinning has attracted much attention. However, in the case of 3D electrospinning currently being studied, other systems such as 3D printing and special current collectors are introduced, or additional processes such as gas saturation and freeze-drying are required. Polystyrene can be expanded into a 3D macrostructure quickly with self-assembly without these additional systems and different processes. However, there is a disadvantage in that it is difficult to collect samples due to their solid hydrophobic characteristics. Sericin is a by-product discarded as textile industry waste for thousands of years and has caused environmental pollution. Moreover, it is currently being studied in various fields as excellent biological activity, and antioxidant properties have been revealed. Sericin has a high water-containing ability due to its high content of hydrophilic amino acids such as serine. Tan