A PCR-free screen-printed magnetic electrode for the detection of circular RNA from hepatocellular cancer based on a back-splice junction.

Circular RNA (circRNA) has the potential to be applied to disease diagnosis and therapy. However, the currently available circRNA detection techniques are limited. This work proposes a sensitive and selective approach for circRNA detection based on gold nanoparticle-modified screen-printed magnetic electrodes (AuNPs-SPME).

Ultra-low level detection of hepatocellular carcinoma global methylation using a AuNP modified carbon fiber microelectrode.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancerous diseases, with a low 5 year survival rate. Global hypomethylation drives genomic instability, which is regarded as one biomarker for early diagnosis. Long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1) makes up around 17% of the genome, and could be regarded as a surrogate marker for global DNA methylation.

3D bimetallic Au/Pt nanoflowers decorated needle-type microelectrode for direct in situ monitoring of ATP secreted from living cells.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) plays a crucial role in energy metabolism and extracellular purinergic signaling. A 3D bimetallic Au/Pt nanoflowers decorated ATP microelectrode biosensor prepared by facile and effective template-free electrodeposition was firstly reported, realizing local detection of cellular ATP secretion. The ATP biosensor was developed by co-immobilization of glucose oxidase and hexokinase, exhibiting long-term stability (79.

The label-free separation and culture of tumor cells in a microfluidic biochip.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from liquid biopsy have shown a strong correlation to the clinical outcome of cancer patients. The enumeration and cytological analysis of CTCs have attracted increasing efforts for cancer disease management amid immunotherapy and personalized medicine. However, both enumeration and cytological analysis are challenging due to the rarity of CTCs and the lack of integrated solutions for the minimal risk of cell loss in the course of CTC procurement.

A simple and low-cost screen printed electrode for hepatocellular carcinoma methylation detection.

There is a great demand for robust diagnostic and prognostic approaches for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). DNA methylation, a common epigenetic modification, has been found in many promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes. Hypermethylation of these gene promoters will repress the gene transcription and lead to the occurrence of cancers.

Layer-by-layer chitosan-decorated pristine graphene on screen-printed electrodes by one-step electrodeposition for non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide sensor.

Layer-by-layer chitosan-decorated pristine graphene on screen-printed electrodes was achieved by one-step electrodeposition method and an enzyme-free hydrogen peroxide electrochemical biosensor was fabricated for its application. Negatively charged pristine graphene absorbed with positively charged chitosan by electrostatic interactions was electrodeposited on the electrodes. The successful immobilization of pristine graphene was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical characterizations.

Isolation of cells from whole blood using shear-induced diffusion.

Extraction of cells of interest directly from whole blood is in high demand, yet extraordinary challenging due to the complex hemodynamics and hemorheology of the sample. Herein, we describe a new microfluidic platform that exploits the intrinsic complex properties of blood for continuous size-selective focusing and separation of cells directly from unprocessed whole blood. The novel system only requires routinely accessible saline solution to form a sandwiched fluid configuration and to initiate a strong effect of shear-induced diffusion of cells, which is coupled with fluid inertia for effective separation.

A flexible cell concentrator using inertial focusing.

Cell concentration adjustment is intensively implemented routinely both in research and clinical laboratories. Centrifuge is the most prevalent technique for tuning biosample concentration. But it suffers from a number of drawbacks, such as requirement of experienced operator, high cost, low resolution, variable reproducibility and induced damage to sample.

Study of the union method of microelectrode array and AFM for the recording of electromechanical activities in living cardiomyocytes.

Electrophysiology and mechanics are two essential components in the functions of cardiomyocytes and skeletal muscle cells. The simultaneous recording of electrophysiological and mechanical activities is important for the understanding of mechanisms underlying cell functions. For example, on the one hand, mechanisms under cardiovascular drug effects will be investigated in a comprehensive way by the simultaneous recording of electrophysiological and mechanical activities.

Optical fiber LPG biosensor integrated microfluidic chip for ultrasensitive glucose detection.

An optical fiber sensor integrated microfluidic chip is presented for ultrasensitive detection of glucose. A long-period grating (LPG) inscribed in a small-diameter single-mode fiber (SDSMF) is employed as an optical refractive-index (RI) sensor. With the layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique, poly (ethylenimine) (PEI) and poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) multilayer film is deposited on the SDSMF-LPG sensor for both supporting and signal enhancement, and then a glucose oxidase (GOD) layer is immobilized on the outer layer for glucose sensing.

Helminth protein vaccine induced follicular T helper cell for enhancement of humoral immunity against Schistosoma japonicum.

Protein vaccines combined with adjuvants have been widely used to induce immune responses, especially the humoral immune response, against molecular targets including parasites. Follicular T helper (Tfh) cells are the specialized providers of B-cell help, however, the induction of Tfh cells in protein vaccination has been rarely studied. Here, we report that the Schistosoma japonicum recombinant protein (SjGST-32) combined with tacrolimus (FK506) augmented the induction of Tfh cells, which expressed the canonical markers CXCR5, BCL6, and IL-21, and enhanced the humoral immune responses in BALB/c mice.