A lithium extraction composite comprising: (i) a porous support and (ii) particles of a lithium-selective sorbent material coated on at least one surface of the support, wherein the support has a planar membrane, fiber (or rod), or tubular shape. A method for extracting and recovering a lithium salt from an aqueous solution by use of the above-described composition is also described, the method comprising (a) flowing the aqueous source solution through a first zone or over a first surface of the lithium extraction composite to result in selective lithium intercalation in the lithium-selective sorbent material in the first zone or first surface; and (b) simultaneously recovering lithium salt extracted in step (a) from said lithium-selective sorbent material by flowing an aqueous stripping solution through a second zone or over a second surface of the lithium extraction composite in which lithium ions from the first zone or first surface diffuse.

A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane wherein a spinning stock solution containing 10 mass % or more and 40 mass % or less of a polysulfone-based resin, 1 mass % or more and 30 mass % or less of polyvinylpyrrolidone, and 1 mass % or more and 80 mass % or less of N,N-dimethylformamide is discharged together with a core liquid from a double-ring nozzle to produce a hollow fiber membrane by dry-wet spinning, and then the hollow fiber membrane is subjected to a dry heat treatment at a temperature of 80? C. or higher and 100? C. or lower for 48 hours or longer and 168 hours or shorter.

A porous membrane has a thickness of 150 m or greater. The pore diameters of a first surface are smaller than the pore diameters of a second surface. The average value of the pore diameters of the first surface is 60 nm or less, and the coefficient of variation of the pore diameters is 10% or greater and 50% or less.

A medical material is capable of suppressing adhesion of platelets and proteins even when in contact with biological components such as blood for an extended period of time. The medical material is a copolymer including hydrophobic units and hydrophilic units in which the hydrophobic units have a C2-20 terminal alkyl group in a side chain, the static contact angle of water in the copolymer is at least 30 and less than 70, and the glass transition temperature of the copolymer exists at only one point in the range from 45 C. to less than 90 C.

A hand-carry gravity-driven water filter with high throughput and water disinfection performance is formed. Membranes used for this water filter can be fabricated using electrospun method and non-solvent induced phase inversion method. A novel composite membrane structure (interwoven composite structure) was designed for further enhances water permeability and mechanical strength. The composite membrane can be composed of nanofibers with different diameter from the same polymer or different polymers. Membrane porosity and surface pore size can be controlled. Silver nanoparticles can be in-situ loaded on the surface of the membranes. The developed filter is effective for removal of a wide range of contaminants (e.g., pathogens, suspended solids and heavy metals). The purification process can be carried out under the drive of gravity (with an option for mechanically-enhanced filtration) without electricity.

A copolymer has blood compatibility and antithrombotic properties of greatly suppressing protein adhesion to be usable even when in contact with a biological component such as blood for a long period of time, and a medical device uses the copolymer. The copolymer is characterized by including a hydrophilic unit and a hydrophobic unit, wherein the hydrophobic unit contains at least one type of a carboxylic acid vinyl unit, and the number of carbon atoms at the terminal of a side chain of the carboxylic acid vinyl unit is 2-7.

Described herein are passive samplers, making of such samplers, and methods of use. In an example embodiment, a passive sampling membrane comprises, for example, a continuous mesoporous sequestration media having a sequestration phase and a support membrane configured to support the sequestration phase. The sequestration phase may include a hydrophobic region and a hydrophilic region. The continuous mesoporous sequestration media may be configured to simultaneously sequester polar and non-polar organic substances.

The present invention relates to a biocompatible membrane, specifically to a minimally swellable biocompatible membrane and the preparation method thereof. The preparation method of the minimally swellable biocompatible membrane comprises the following steps: synthesis of a copolymer containing a skeleton and a hydrophilic group, the introduction of a biocompatible property, the preparation of a biocompatible membrane solution, and the coating of the biocompatible membrane. The present invention can effectively regulate glucose, and has high biocompatibility (long service life) as well, thereby improving the sensitivity, accuracy, reproducibility, stability, specificity and anti-interference ability in a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, prolonging the life time of the CGM, and greatly reducing the cost of the CGM.

A crosslinked protein-based separation membrane and application thereof. The separation membrane is formed by attaching a crosslinked protein nanomembrane to a porous membrane, the crosslinked protein nanomembrane is formed by crosslinking a two-dimensional nanomembrane which is formed by phase transition of a protein with a crosslinking agent, the separation membrane contains a dense surface layer and a support layer, the dense surface layer is the crosslinked protein nanomembrane, and the support layer is the porous membrane; the protein is any one of lysozyme, bovine serum albumin, insulin, and ?-lactalbumin; the crosslinked protein-based separation membrane has a good biocompatibility, may serve as a dialysis membrane for blood purification, and has a higher retention ratio for large molecular proteins.

Membranes, methods of making the membranes, and methods of using the membranes are described herein. The membranes can comprise a support layer, and a selective polymer layer disposed on the support layer. In some cases, the support layer can comprise a gas permeable polymer and hydrophilic additive dispersed within the gas permeable polymer. In some cases, the selective polymer layer can comprise a selective polymer matrix and carbon nanotubes dispersed within the selective polymer matrix. The membranes can exhibit selective permeability to gases. As such, the membranes can be for the selective removal of carbon dioxide and/or hydrogen sulfide from hydrogen and/or nitrogen.