Bioactive micropatterned platform to engineer myotube-like cells from stem cells.

Skeletal muscle has the capacity to repair and heal itself after injury. However, this self-healing ability is diminished in the event of severe injuries and myopathies. In such conditions, stem cell-based regenerative treatments can play an important part in post-injury restoration.

A Soft Polydimethylsiloxane Liquid Metal Interdigitated Capacitor Sensor and Its Integration in a Flexible Hybrid System for On-Body Respiratory Sensing.

We report on the dual mechanical and proximity sensing effect of soft-matter interdigitated (IDE) capacitor sensors, together with its modelling using finite element (FE) simulation to elucidate the sensing mechanism. The IDE capacitor is based on liquid-phase GaInSn alloy (Galinstan) embedded in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfludics channel. The use of liquid-metal as a material for soft sensors allows theoretically infinite deformation without breaking electrical connections.

Direct Preparation of Carbon Nanotube Intramolecular Junctions on Structured Substrates.

Leveraging the unique properties of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) intramolecular junctions (IMJs) in innovative nanodevices and next-generation nanoelectronics requires controllable, repeatable, and large-scale preparation, together with rapid identification and comprehensive characterization of such structures. Here we demonstrate SWNT IMJs through directly growing ultralong SWNTs on trenched substrates. It is found that the trench configurations introduce axial strain in partially suspended nanotubes, and promote bending deformation in the vicinity of the trench edges.

Sequence-dependent electrical response of ssDNA-decorated carbon nanotube, field-effect transistors to dopamine.

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-based field-effect transistors (FETs) have been explored for use as biological/chemical sensors. Dopamine (DA) is a biomolecule with great clinical significance for disease diagnosis, however, SWCNT FETs lack responsivity and selectivity for its detection due to the presence of interfering compounds such as uric acid (UA). Surface modification of CNTs using single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ssDNA) renders the surface responsive to DA and screens the interferent.

Effect of channel length on the electrical response of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors to deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization.

A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) in a field-effect transistor (FET) configuration provides an ideal electronic path for label-free detection of nucleic acid hybridization. The simultaneous influence of more than one response mechanism in hybridization detection causes a variation in electrical parameters such as conductance, transconductance, threshold voltage and hysteresis gap. The channel length (L) dependence of each of these parameters necessitates the need to include them when interpreting the effect of L on the response to hybridization.

Identification of apnea during respiratory monitoring using support vector machine classifier: a pilot study.

To determine the use of photoplethysmography (PPG) as a reliable marker for identifying respiratory apnea based on time-frequency features with support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The PPG signals were acquired from 40 healthy subjects with the help of a simple, non-invasive experimental setup under normal and induced apnea conditions. Artifact free segments were selected and baseline and amplitude variabilities were derived from each recording.