Formation of Single Micro- and Nanowires with Extreme Aspect Ratios in Microfluidic Channels.

Shown here is the site-specific formation of single extraordinarily long metal-organic micro- and nanowires using a microfluidic device made of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). This approach exploits two concepts, i) the diffusion of organic precursor molecules through PDMS and ii) the use of microfluidic channels as a growth template. To initiate wire formation, metal and organic precursor solutions are filled into different supply channels that are separated by PDMS.

The Effects of Shear Force Transmission Across Vesicle Membranes.

We report a comprehensive study on mechanotransmission of shear forces across lipid bilayer membranes of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). GUVs containing fluorescent tracer particles were immobilized on a microfluidic platform and exposed to shear flows. A method was developed for the visualization of three-dimensional flows at high precision by defocusing microscopy.

Stable and Simple Immobilization of Proteinase K Inside Glass Tubes and Microfluidic Channels.

Engyodontium album proteinase K (proK) is widely used for degrading proteinaceous impurities during the isolation of nucleic acids from biological samples, or in proteomics and prion research. Toward applications of proK in flow reactors, a simple method for the stable immobilization of proK inside glass micropipette tubes was developed. The immobilization of the enzyme was achieved by adsorption of a dendronized polymer-enzyme conjugate from aqueous solution.