Bibliometric survey and network analysis of biomimetics and nature inspiration in engineering science.

The field encompassing biomimetics, bioinspiration and nature inspiration in engineering science is growing steadily, pushed by exogenous factors like the search for potentially sustainable engineering solutions that might already exist in nature. With the help of information provided by a bibliometric database and further processed with a dynamic network and semantic analysis tool, we provide insight at two scales into the corpus of nature-inspired engineering field and its dynamics. At the macroscale, the Web of Science(WoS) categories, countries and institutions are ranked and ordered by thematic clusters and country networks, highlighting the leading countries and institutions and how they focus on specific topics.

Investigation of the selectivity of thrombin-binding aptamers for thrombin titration in murine plasma.

Detection of thrombin in plasma raises timely challenges to enable therapeutic management of thrombosis in patients under vital threat. Thrombin binding aptamers represent promising candidates as sensing elements for the development of real-time thrombin biosensors; however implementation of such biosensor requires the clear understanding of thrombin-aptamer interaction properties in real-like environment. In this study, we used Surface Plasmon Resonance technique to answer the questions of specificity and sensitivity of thrombin detection by the thrombin-binding aptamers HD1, NU172 and HD22.

Swimming behaviour and magnetotaxis function of the marine bacterium strain MO-1.

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) have the unique capacity to align and swim along the geomagnetic field lines downward to the oxic-anoxic interface in chemically stratified water columns and sediments. They are most abundant within the first few centimetres of sediments below the water-sediment interface. It is unknown how MTB penetrate into the sediment layer and swim in the pocket water, while their movements are restricted by the alignment along the magnetic field lines.

Impedimetric immunosensor for the detection of circulating pro-inflammatory monocytes as infection markers.

Circulating blood monocytes belong to the first line of defense against pathogens and inflammation. Monocytes can be divided into three populations defined by the expression of the cell surface molecules, CD 14 and CD 16. The CD 14(++) CD 16(-) cells, called "classical" monocytes, represent 85% to 95% of the total monocytes in a healthy person whereas CD 14(-) CD 16(+), called "proinflammatory" monocytes, are found in greater numbers in the blood of patients with acute inflammation and infectious diseases.

Capillary filling in closed end nanochannels.

We investigated the interactions between liquid, gas, and solid phases in the capillary filling process of closed-end nanochannels. This paper presents theoretical models without and with absorption and diffusion of gas molecules in the liquid. Capillary filling experiments were carried out in closed-end silicon nanochannels with different lengths.

First approach to the use of liquid crystal elastomers for chemical sensors.

Liquid crystalline thin films elastomers that are able to bind pesticides have been developed. The synthesis involves grafting mesogen and crosslinkable groups on a polysiloxane chain in the presence of a template molecule. The molecular imprinted material is obtained after thin film deposition, UV crosslinking and washing.

Characterization of recognition sites for diethyl 4-nitrobenzylphosphonate, an organophosphate pesticide analogue.

In a first step towards chemical sensors using molecular imprinted materials, the complexing characteristics of diethyl 4-nitrobenzylphosphonate, an organophosphate pesticide analogue, have been studied. Two molecules have been assessed as potential interacting moieties, specifically a fluoroalcohol and an aromatic acid. The interactions have been first characterized by regular methods, such as 1H, 31P NMR and IR spectroscopy.

Nanoscale actuation of electrokinetic flows on thermoreversible surfaces.

We report on a novel approach for controlling nanohydrodynamic properties at the solid-liquid interfaces through the use of stimuli-responding polymer coatings. The end-tethered polymers undergo a phase separation upon external activation. The reversible change in the thickness and polarity of the grafted polymers yields in a dynamic control of the surface-generated, electrokinetic phenomena.

SU-8 as a structural material for labs-on-chips and microelectromechanical systems.

Since its introduction in the nineties, the negative resist SU-8 has been increasingly used in micro- and nanotechnologies. SU-8 has made the fabrication of high-aspect ratio structures accessible to labs with no high-end facilities such as X-ray lithography systems or deep reactive ion etching systems. These low-cost techniques have been applied not only in the fabrication of metallic parts or molds, but also in numerous other micromachining processes.

A novel and simplified procedure for patterning hydrophobic and hydrophilic SAMs for microfluidic devices by using UV photolithography.

This work describes how selective patterning of hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas inside microchannels of microfluidic devices can be achieved by combining well-known chemical protocols and standard photolithography equipment (365 nm). Two techniques have been performed and compared. The first technique is based on the preparation of self-assembled monolayers of photocleavable organosilane and the second one on photoassisted grafting (365 nm) of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on a silicon or glass substrate.