A flexible and stretchable photonic crystal film with sensitive structural color-changing properties for spoiled milk detection.

This study proposes a flexible and stretchable 3D polymer film with photonic crystals for the visible detection of spoiled milk. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) was used as the substrate for the photonic crystal structure. The back barrier layer with a regular array of nanohemispheres of anodic aluminum oxide film was used as a template for electroforming a nickel mold.

Surface plasmon-enhanced fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman scattering dual-readout chip constructed with silver nanowires: Label-free clinical detection of direct-bilirubin.

It has been found that the direct/total bilirubin ratio (D/T-BIL) is related to the survival rate of COVID-19 pneumonia. The presence of an excessive amount of bilirubin in human blood also causes liver and neurological damage, leading to death. Therefore, upon considering the adverse impact of the presence of excessive bilirubin in human blood, it has become highly imperative to detect bilirubin in a fast and label-free manner.

A simple electrochemical immunosensor based on a gold nanoparticle monolayer electrode for neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin detection.

An electrochemical immunosensor for the accurate detection of cat neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in urine samples based on an electrode with a monolayer of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was proposed in this study. To fabricate the sensing electrode, a nickel mold with concave micron hemisphere array was prepared and then used to transfer the micron hemispherical structure onto a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film using the hot embossing technique. A gold thin film was sputtered onto the micron hemispherical structure array, after which 1,6-hexanedithol and AuNPs were uniformly deposited on the PET membrane to form a sensing electrode.

Genetically Modified Soybean Detection Using a Biosensor Electrode with a Self-Assembled Monolayer of Gold Nanoparticles.

In this study, we proposed a genosensor that can qualitatively and quantitatively detect genetically modified soybeans using a simple electrode with evenly distributed single layer gold nanoparticles. The DNA sensing electrode is made by sputtering a gold film on the substrate, and then sequentially depositing 1,6-hexanedithiol and gold nanoparticles with sulfur groups on the substrate. Then, the complementary to the CaMV 35S promoter (P35S) was used as the capture probe.

Detection of Amyloid-β(1-42) Aggregation With a Nanostructured Electrochemical Sandwich Immunoassay Biosensor.

Amyloid-β(1-42) [Aβ(1-42)] oligomer accumulations are associated with physiologic alterations in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we demonstrate that a nanostructured gold electrode with deposited gold nanoparticles, induced via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), may be used as an Aβ(1-42) conformation biosensor for the detection of Alzheimer's disease. Monoclonal antibodies (12F4) were immobilized on self-assembled monolayers of the electrochemical sandwich immunoassay biosensor to capture Aβ(1-42) monomers and oligomers.

Neutral Nonenzymatic Glucose Biosensors Based on Electrochemically Deposited Pt/Au Nanoalloy Electrodes.

Background: Type I diabetes occurs when the pancreas can only make limited or minimal insulin. Patients with type 1 diabetes need effective approaches to manage diabetes and maintain their blood-glucose concentration. Recently, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been used to help control blood-glucose levels in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Electrochemical Detection of Electrolytes Using a Solid-State Ion-Selective Electrode of Single-Piece Type Membrane.

This study aimed to develop simple electrochemical electrodes for the fast detection of chloride, sodium and potassium ions in human serum. A flat thin-film gold electrode was used as the detection electrode for chloride ions; a single-piece type membrane based solid-state ion-selective electrode (ISE), which was formed by covering a flat thin-film gold electrode with a mixture of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and ion-selective membrane (ISM), was developed for sodium and potassium ions detection. Through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square-wave voltammetry (SWV), the detection data can be obtained within two minutes.

Dual-acting antibacterial porous chitosan film embedded with a photosensitizer.

This study proposes to develop a dual-acting antibacterial film of porous chitosan (Cs) embedded with small molecular compound, which possesses photosensitive characteristics with bactericidal efficacy, to promote the accelerated recovery of infectious wounds. The Cs/small molecular compound (Cs-cpd.2) dressing was prepared using the freeze-drying method.

Micropatterned topographies reveal measurable differences between cancer and benign cells.

During metastasis, cancer cells migrate away from the primary tumor-site, encountering different microenvironment topographies that may facilitate or inhibit cancer cell adherence and growth; those relate to sites of invasion and seeding. To evaluate topography effects, poly-lactic-poly-glycolic (PLGA) gels are generated as flat substrates, porous, or with rectangular microchannels of varying widths (5-100 µm) and depths (10/20 µm). The topography effect on time-dependent adherence, proliferation, morphology, alignment and long-term structural development of metastatic breast-cancer and benign cells are evaluated; adherence at short time-scales (3 h) is compared to developed morphologies and multicellular structures (>2 days) indicating function.

Green extraction of healthy and additive free mitochondria with a conventional centrifuge.

In this research, we propose a novel centrifugal device for the massive extraction of healthy mitochondria with a centrifuge used in general laboratories within 30 minutes. The device mainly consists of two key components. One component is a microfluidic device, which is fabricated by photolithography, nickel electroforming, and polydimethylsiloxane casting, for the efficient disruption of the cell membrane.

Organic small molecule for detection and photodegradation of mitochondrial DNA mutations.

A detection and degradation platform was developed to optically quantify the 6-enolate, 8-keto-dG, an important tautomer of mitochondrial mutated DNA 8-oxo-dG. We first found that 6-enolate, 8-keto-dG offers particular fluorescence emission under the conditions between pH ∼ 7 and ∼11. Thus, a mitochondria-targeting photosensitizer NV-12P was prepared to offer simultaneously photoinduced electron transfer and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) with 6-enolate, 8-keto-dG.

Comparative Study of Electrochemical Sensors Based on Enzyme Immobilized into Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules and into Chitosan Gel.

The characteristics of an electrochemical biosensor based on a Prussian-blue screen-printed electrode containing glucose oxidase incorporated into polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PMC) are considered. PMC with the embedded enzyme were formed using sodium polystyrene sulfonate and poly(allylamine hydrochloride). The characteristics were compared with those of the enzyme immobilized in chitosan gel.

Bioelectrochemical Properties of Enzyme-Containing Multilayer Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules Modified with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes.

This work investigated changes in the biochemical parameters of multilayer membrane structures, emerging at their modification with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The structures were represented by polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PMCs) containing glucose oxidase (GOx). PMCs were made using sodium polystyrene sulfonate (polyanion) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (polycation).

Flexible Photonic Crystal Material for Multiple Anticounterfeiting Applications.

In this study, a nanoimprinting method was introduced to fabricate polycarbonate films with transparent and flexible photonic crystal (FPC) structures. The fabricated flexible polymer films display a full-color grating because of the nanohemispherical structures on the surface. Through the Bragg diffraction formula, it was confirmed that the FPC polymer films transfer a part of the light energy to the second-order diffraction spectrum.

Control of cell proliferation by a porous chitosan scaffold with multiple releasing capabilities.

The aim of this study was to develop a porous chitosan scaffold with long-acting drug release as an artificial dressing to promote skin wound healing. The dressing was fabricated by pre-freezing at different temperatures (-20 and -80 °C) for different periods of time, followed by freeze-drying to form porous chitosan scaffolds with different pore sizes. The chitosan scaffolds were then used to investigate the effect of the controlled release of fibroblast growth factor-basic (bFGF) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) on mouse fibroblast cells (L929) and bovine carotid endothelial cells (BEC).

Fabrication of a reticular poly(lactide-co-glycolide) cylindrical scaffold for the development of microvascular networks.

The microvascular network is a simple but critical system that is responsible for a range of important biological mechanisms in the bodies of all animals. The ability to generate a functional microvessel not only makes it possible to engineer vital tissue of considerable size but also serves as a platform for biomedical studies. However, most of the current methods for generating microvessel networks use rectangular channels which cannot represent real vessels and have dead zones at their corners, hence hindering the circulation of culture medium.

Nerve guidance conduit with a hybrid structure of a PLGA microfibrous bundle wrapped in a micro/nanostructured membrane.

Nerve repair in tissue engineering involves the precise construction of a scaffold to guide nerve cell regeneration in the desired direction. However, improvements are needed to facilitate the cell migration/growth rate of nerves in the center of a nerve conduit. In this paper, we propose a nerve guidance conduit with a hybrid structure comprising a microfibrous poly(lactic--glycolic acid) (PLGA) bundle wrapped in a micro/nanostructured PLGA membrane.

An endothelial cultured condition medium embedded porous PLGA scaffold for the enhancement of mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation.

In this study, we have developed a microporous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffold that combines a continuous release property and a three-dimensional (3D) scaffolding technique for the precise and efficient formation of endothelial cell lineage from embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Eight PLGA scaffolds (14.29%, 16.

Delayed grafting for banked skin graft in lymph node flap transfer.

Over the last decade, lymph node flap (LNF) transfer has turned out to be an effective method in the management of lymphoedema of extremities. Most of the time, the pockets created for LNF cannot be closed primarily and need to be resurfaced with split thickness skin grafts. Partial graft loss was frequently noted in these cases.

Polymerase chain reaction-free detection of hepatitis B virus DNA using a nanostructured impedance biosensor.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-free technique for the effective detection of genomic length hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA is described in this study. The honeycomb-like barrier layer of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) film having a uniform nanohemisphere array was used as the substrate of the sensing electrode. A 30-nm gold film was sputtered onto the AAO barrier layer surface as the electrode, followed by electrochemical deposition of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on the hemisphere surface.

The combined transverse upper gracilis and profunda artery perforator (TUGPAP) flap for breast reconstruction.

Background: Surgical options for breast reconstruction include alloplastic and autogenous reconstructions. In autologous cases where the abdomen is not a suitable primary donor site, secondary donor sites such as the thigh or buttock are considered. The aim of this report is to describe a novel approach, the combined transverse upper gracilis and profunda artery perforator (TUGPAP) flap, aimed at medium to large volume breast reconstruction, with a single donor site used per breast.

Development of double-generation gold nanoparticle chip-based dengue virus detection system combining fluorescence turn-on probes.

A sensing platform, combined amino acid labeling kit and a double-generation gold nanoparticle (DG-AuNP) chip, was designed to prove the existence of weak but crucial binding between the DV (dengue virus) and its CLEC5A receptor. At first, we have designed a kit combining the novel fluorescence turn-on sensors for lysine, arginine and cysteine amino acids. Advantages of this kit are that emission on-off switching can increase the signal-to-noise ratio and the virus must be fluorescently labelled with sufficient numbers of fluorophores because the lysine, arginine and cysteine residues of viral proteins are labelled simultaneously.

Association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the MD-2 Gene Promoter Region With Der p 2 Allergy.

Purpose: Sensitization to house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) is a considerable risk factor for the progression of allergic disease. The group 2 allergen from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Der p 2, is considered a major one in patients with specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) to Der p 2. Der p 2 has structural homology with myeloid differentiation 2 (MD-2), which is involved in the lipopolysaccharide-binding component of the Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway and the development of inflammation.

Special Issue on "MEMS/NEMS Fabricated Tissue Scaffolding Devices".

Over the past decade, tissue engineering in the field of medicine has proven to provide alternative therapies for tissue or organ implants, especially providing a functional implantation and avoiding immune rejection of tissues and organs. [..