The design of an ideal monodisperse microcapsulation system, which could meet the need for prolonged and better control of drug administration, is a great challenge. Herein cyanobacteria cells served as a natural environmentally-friendly wall material to encapsulate the fungicide tebuconazole (TEB), and then urea–formaldehyde (UF) resins were automatically coated on it via electrostatic interactions. By this means, monodisperse TEB–PCC@UF microcapsules were achieved, which not only can effectively control the drug release rate but also depress the initial “burst effect” to some degree. A bioactivity experiment showed that TEB–PCC@UF microcapsules authentically prolonged the antifungal effects, and were very efficacious in controlling wheat powdery mildew compared with the commercial formulation.

•Magnetic silica microspheres (MSMs) were prepared using cyanobacteria cells as biotemplates.•The cells play dual roles as the biotemplate and the biosorbent.•The MSMs retained the original morphology and uniformity of the template.•The MSMs demonstrated ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature.Biotemplating is an effective strategy to obtain morphology-controllable materials with structural specificity, complexity, and corresponding unique functions. Herein we take advantage of the unique heavy-metal-ion biosorption behavior of cyanobacteria cells to fabricate Fe3O4/cell composites. Meanwhile, cyanobacteria cells served as a biotemplate for fabricating solid and hollow magnetic silica microspheres (MSMs). The obtained MSMs retained the original morphology of the cells, and exhibited excellent monodispersity and uniform spherical shape with narrow size distribution. Furthermore, they demonstrated ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature when measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer.The solid and hollow magnetic silica microspheres (MSMs) were successfully prepared using cyanobacteria cells as biotemplates. The cells play dual roles as the biotemplate and the biosorbent.

A series of functionalized polymer ionic liquids (PILs) were synthesized and immobilized onto a 4 Å molecular sieve. The catalytic activity of the resulting heterogeneous catalyst toward the synthesis of ethylene carbonate (EC) via the cycloaddition reaction of ethylene oxide (EO) and CO2 was studied. The effects of the reaction conditions such as reaction temperature, pressure, time, and the amount of catalyst used, were systematically investigated. A high yield of EC and excellent selectivity could be obtained under optimized conditions. The catalyst is thermally stable and shows good reusability. Based on the experimental results, a plausible reaction mechanism has been proposed for the catalytic reaction.

•(PDA/AgNPs)n was fabricated by alternatively dropping dopamine and Ag+ solution.•PDA has the ability of exceptional adhesion and reductive self-polymerization.•A nonenzymatic H2O2 sensor was developed based on (PDA/AgNPs)n modified electrode.•This sensor had a favorable catalytic ability for the reduction of H2O2.A non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor has been developed based on the polydopamine (PDA)/silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) multilayer film (PDA/AgNPs)n modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The (PDA/AgNPs)n multilayer film was fabricated by alternatively dropping dopamine and silver ion solution on GCE taking advantages of the exceptional adhesive and reductive properties of self-polymerized PDA. Electrochemical property of (PDA/AgNPs)n modified GCE was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Results showed that the as-constructed (PDA/AgNPs)n based sensor possesses encouraging catalytic ability for the reduction of H2O2. The sensor has been employed to test real samples and shows strong potential in practical application.Graphical abstract

A novel technique for synthesis of monodisperse silica microparticles (MSMs), using spherical synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 as bio-templates, has been successfully developed. Various approaches including FESEM, TEM, FTIR and Small-angle X-ray scattering were used to characterize the intermediate and the final products. The results showed that MSMs retained the original morphology and uniformity of the PCC 6803 cells, and the average diameter of MSMs is almost the same with the cells. The possible mechanism for the formation of MSMs is proposed. With the surface modification by Sepharose CL-6B, the resultant MSMs were demonstrated as the good chromatography packings for protein separation. Therefore, this convenient, low cost and reproducible synthesis process may be used to prepare the MSMs with various sizes and shapes by the proper selection of original bio-templates.Highlights► Monodisperse silica microspheres were prepared using Synechocystis as biotemplate. ► The silica microspheres retained the original morphology of the template. ► The mean diameter of the particles is uniform and coincides with the template. ► The silica particles modified with agarose are effective in separating protein.

Cyanobacteria (Cyb), an environment waste, was first utilized as a carrier for controlled release of avermectin (Av) and improvement of pesticide photostability. Microalgae powder prepared from Cyb blooms was characterized by elemental analysis (EA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The globular morphology and the size (∼3.5 μm) of Cyb do not change significantly, with increase of roughness, after Av adsorption and Carbopol coating. Av manifests considerable binding affinity to Cyb in isopropanol and adsorption decreases in more polar solvents at 25 °C. An extended release of Av from Cyb-Av in ethanol/water (v/v, 4:1) mixture was obtained and the release was further controlled by the Carbopol resin coated on Cyb-Av. Thicker Carbopol coating results in larger lag time (t0), slower release rate, and less total release amount. The release process was found to be controlled by a diffusion mechanism, but was strongly affected by polymer matrix–Av interaction and polymer relaxation. Finally, adsorbed Av on Cyb exhibits much greater UV-stability than free Av.Graphical abstractHighlights► An environment waste (Cyb) was first used for the controlled release of pesticide (Av). ► Cyb retains the globular shape and size after Av adsorption and Carbopol coating. ► Cyb-Av shows controlled release of Av by changing the coating thickness of Carbopol. ► Cyb-Av presents increased photostability of Av under UV irradiation.