Real-Time Multi-Ion-Monitoring Front-End With Interference Compensation by Multi-Output Support Vector Regressor.

Ion-sensors play a major role in physiology and healthcare monitoring since they are capable of continuously collecting biological data from body fluids. Nevertheless, ion interference from background electrolytes present in the sample is a paramount challenge for a precise multi-ion-monitoring. In this work, we propose the first system combining a battery-powered portable multi-channel electronic front-end, and an embedded Multi-output Support Vector Regressor (M-SVR), that supplies an accurate, continuous, and real-time monitoring of sodium, potassium, ammonium, and calcium ions.

Continuous monitoring of propofol in human serum with fouling compensation by support vector classifier.

We present a new method for electrochemical sensing, which compensates the fouling effect of propofol through machine learning (ML) model. Direct and continuous monitoring of propofol is crucial in the development of automatic systems for control of drug infusion in anaesthesiology. The fouling effect on electrodes discourages the possibility of continuous online monitoring of propofol since polymerization of the surface produces sensor drift.

Boolean satisfiability in quantum compilation.

Quantum compilation is the task of translating a quantum algorithm implemented in a high-level quantum programming language into a technology-dependent instructions flow for a physical quantum computer. To tackle the large gap between the quantum program and the low-level instructions, quantum compilation is split into a multi-stage flow consisting of several layers of abstraction. Several different individual tasks have been proposed for the layers in the flow, many of them are NP-hard.

Fast Procedures for the Electrodeposition of Platinum Nanostructures on Miniaturized Electrodes for Improved Ion Sensing.

Nanostructured materials have attracted considerable interest over the last few decades to enhance sensing capabilities thanks to their unique properties and large surface area. In particular, noble metal nanostructures offer several advantages including high stability, non-toxicity and excellent electrochemical behaviour. However, in recent years the great expansion of point-of-care (POC) and wearable systems and the attempt to perform measurements in tiny spaces have also risen the need of increasing sensors miniaturization.

A novel electrochemical sensor for non-invasive monitoring of lithium levels in mood disorders.

Lithium is the main drug for the treatment of mood disorders. Due to its narrow therapeutic window, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is a norm during therapy in order to avoid adverse effects. Consequently, patients are obliged to frequent check-ups in hospitals to determine their serum concentration and optimize accordingly the drug dose.

Towards Ultrasound Everywhere: A Portable 3D Digital Back-End Capable of Zone and Compound Imaging.

Ultrasound imaging is a ubiquitous diagnostic technique, but does not fit the requirements of the telemedicine approach, because it relies on the real-time manipulation and image recognition skills of a trained expert, called sonographer. Sonographers are only available in hospitals and clinics, negating or at least delaying access to ultrasound scans in many locales-rural areas, developing countries-as well as in medical rescue operations. Telesonography would require an advanced imager that supports three-dimensional (3-D) acquisition; this would allow untrained operators to acquire broad scans and upload them remotely for diagnosis.

Doping-Free Complementary Logic Gates Enabled by Two-Dimensional Polarity-Controllable Transistors.

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials belonging to transition metal dichalcogenides, due to their physical and electrical properties, are an exceptional vector for the exploration of next-generation semiconductor devices. Among them, due to the possibility of ambipolar conduction, tungsten diselenide (WSe) provides a platform for the efficient implementation of polarity-controllable transistors. These transistors use an additional gate, named polarity gate, that, due to the electrostatic doping of the Schottky junctions, provides a device-level dynamic control of their polarity, that is, n- or p-type.

A Differential Electrochemical Readout ASIC With Heterogeneous Integration of Bio-Nano Sensors for Amperometric Sensing.

A monolithic biosensing platform is presented for miniaturized amperometric electrochemical sensing in CMOS. The system consists of a fully integrated current readout circuit for differential current measurement as well as on-die sensors developed by growing platinum nanostructures (Pt-nanoS) on top of electrodes implemented with the top metal layer. The circuit is based on the switch-capacitor technique and includes pseudodifferential integrators for concurrent sampling of the differential sensor currents.

The memristive effect as a novelty in drug monitoring.

Nanoscale devices exhibiting memristive properties show great potential in a plethora of applications. In this work, memristive nanowires are presented for the first time as ideal candidates for absolutely novel, ultrasensitive, highly specific and selective drug-biosensors, also paving the way for real-time monitoring applications, in coupling with the restoration properties of DNA-aptamers. The hysteretic properties exhibited by the hereby-presented special nanodevices, modified via surface treatments, are leveraged along the complete cycle consisting of DNA-aptamer immobilization, target binding, and DNA-aptamer regeneration for successful and effective detection of Tenofovir, an antiviral drug for HIV treatment, in buffer as well as in non-diluted human serum.

A bimetallic nanocoral Au decorated with Pt nanoflowers (bio)sensor for HO detection at low potential.

In this work, we have developed for the first time a method to make novel gold and platinum hybrid bimetallic nanostructures differing in shape and size. Au-Pt nanostructures were prepared by electrodeposition in two simple steps. The first step consists of the electrodeposition of nanocoral Au onto a gold substrate using hydrogen as a dynamic template in an ammonium chloride solution.

Efficient Sample Delay Calculation for 2-D and 3-D Ultrasound Imaging.

Ultrasound imaging is a reference medical diagnostic technique, thanks to its blend of versatility, effectiveness, and moderate cost. The core computation of all ultrasound imaging methods is based on simple formulae, except for those required to calculate acoustic propagation delays with high precision and throughput. Unfortunately, advanced three-dimensional (3-D) systems require the calculation or storage of billions of such delay values per frame, which is a challenge.

Scaling trends and performance evaluation of 2-dimensional polarity-controllable FETs.

Two-dimensional semiconducting materials of the transition-metal-dichalcogenide family, such as MoS and WSe, have been intensively investigated in the past few years, and are considered as viable candidates for next-generation electronic devices. In this paper, for the first time, we study scaling trends and evaluate the performances of polarity-controllable devices realized with undoped mono- and bi-layer 2D materials. Using ballistic self-consistent quantum simulations, it is shown that, with the suitable channel material, such polarity-controllable technology can scale down to 5 nm gate lengths, while showing performances comparable to the ones of unipolar, physically-doped 2D electronic devices.

Enzymatic and Nonenzymatic Electrochemical Interaction of Abiraterone (Antiprostate Cancer Drug) with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Bioelectrodes.

Unexplored electrochemical behavior of abiraterone, a recent and widely used prostate cancer drug, in interaction with cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is investigated in this work. The results reported in this work are significant for personalized medicine and point-of-care chemical treatment, especially to improve the life expectancy and quality of life of patients with prostate-cancer. To this purpose, enzymatic and nonenzymatic electrochemical biosensors were developed and characterized with different concentrations of abiraterone.

Polarity control in WSe2 double-gate transistors.

As scaling of conventional silicon-based electronics is reaching its ultimate limit, considerable effort has been devoted to find new materials and new device concepts that could ultimately outperform standard silicon transistors. In this perspective two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS2 and WSe2, have recently attracted considerable interest thanks to their electrical properties. Here, we report the first experimental demonstration of a doping-free, polarity-controllable device fabricated on few-layer WSe2.

Label-Free Ultrasensitive Memristive Aptasensor.

We present the very first worldwide ever-reported electrochemical biosensor based on a memristive effect and DNA aptamers. This novel device is developed to propose a completely new approach in cancer diagnostics. In this study, an affinity-based technique is presented for the detection of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) using DNA aptamers.

Bubble electrodeposition of gold porous nanocorals for the enzymatic and non-enzymatic detection of glucose.

Au nanocorals are grown on gold screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) by using a novel and simple one-step electrodeposition process. Scanning electron microscopy was used for the morphological characterization. The devices were assembled on a three-electrode SPE system, which is flexible and mass producible.

A CMOS Amperometric System for Multi-Neurotransmitter Detection.

In vivo multi-target and selective concentration monitoring of neurotransmitters can help to unravel the brain chemical complex signaling interplay. This paper presents a dedicated integrated potentiostat transducer circuit and its selective electrode interface. A custom 2-electrode time-based potentiostat circuit was fabricated with 0.

Fast synthesis of platinum nanopetals and nanospheres for highly-sensitive non-enzymatic detection of glucose and selective sensing of ions.

Novel methods to obtain Pt nanostructured electrodes have raised particular interest due to their high performance in electrochemistry. Several nanostructuration methods proposed in the literature use costly and bulky equipment or are time-consuming due to the numerous steps they involve. Here, Pt nanostructures were produced for the first time by one-step template-free electrodeposition on Pt bare electrodes.

Electrochemical biochip for applications to wireless and batteryless monitoring of free-moving mice.

A multi-sensing platform for applications in wireless and batteryless monitoring of free-moving small animals is presented in this paper. The proposed platform hosts six sensors: four biosensors for sensing of both disease biomarkers and therapeutic compounds, and two further sensors (T and pH) for biosensor calibration. Electrodeposition of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) and the subsequent function-alization with proper enzymes is used to assure sensitivity and specificity in electrochemical biosensing.

Efficient voltammetric discrimination of free bilirubin from uric acid and ascorbic acid by a CVD nanographite-based microelectrode.

We report a novel electrochemical sensor based on nanographite grown on platinum microelectrodes for the determination of bilirubin in the presence of normal concentrations of albumin. The albumin is a protein with an intrinsic ability to bind the bilirubin therefore reducing the concentration of the free electroactive metabolite in human fluids. In addition, the proposed device permits the discrimination of free bilirubin from two interferents, uric acid and ascorbic acid, by the separation of their oxidation peaks in voltammetry.