Design and Fabrication of Micro Saw Enabling Root-Side Cutting of Bone.

A novel micro saw was fabricated using a combination of photolithography and electroplating techniques, resembling a miniature timing belt with sideways blades. The rotation or oscillation direction of the micro saw is designed to be perpendicular to the cutting direction so that transverse cutting of the bone is attainable to extract a preoperatively planned bone-cartilage donor for osteochondral auto-graft transplantation. The mechanical property of the fabricated micro saw obtained using the nanoindentation test shows that the mechanical properties of the micro saw are almost an order of magnitude higher than bone, which indicates its potential bone-cutting application.

Self-Assembled 1-Octadecanethiol Membrane on Pd/ZnO for a Selective Room Temperature Flexible Hydrogen Sensor.

A layer of self-assembled 1-octadecanethiol was used to fabricate a palladium (Pd)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle-based flexible hydrogen sensor with enhanced response and high selectivity at room temperature. A palladium film was first deposited using DC sputtering technique and later annealed to form palladium nanoparticles. The formation of uniform, surfactant-free palladium nanoparticles contributed to improved sensor response towards hydrogen gas at room temperature.

A Carbon Nanotube-Metal Oxide Hybrid Material for Visible-Blind Flexible UV-Sensor.

Flexible sensors with low fabrication cost, high sensitivity, and good stability are essential for the development of smart devices for wearable electronics, soft robotics, and electronic skins. Herein, we report a nanocomposite material based on carbon nanotube and metal oxide semiconductor for ultraviolet (UV) sensing applications, and its sensing behavior. The sensors were prepared by a screen-printing process under a low-temperature curing condition.

Microfluidic Devices Developed for and Inspired by Thermotaxis and Chemotaxis.

Taxis has been reported in many cells and microorganisms, due to their tendency to migrate toward favorable physical situations and avoid damage and death. Thermotaxis and chemotaxis are two of the major types of taxis that naturally occur on a daily basis. Understanding the details of the thermo- and chemotactic behavioral response of cells and microorganisms is necessary to reveal the body function, diagnosing diseases and developing therapeutic treatments.

Thermocapillarity in Microfluidics-A Review.

This paper reviews the past and recent studies on thermocapillarity in relation to microfluidics. The role of thermocapillarity as the change of surface tension due to temperature gradient in developing Marangoni flow in liquid films and conclusively bubble and drop actuation is discussed. The thermocapillary-driven mass transfer (the so-called Benard-Marangoni effect) can be observed in liquid films, reservoirs, bubbles and droplets that are subject to the temperature gradient.

Co-Ni alloy nanowires prepared by anodic aluminum oxide template via electrochemical deposition.

The alloy nanowires are more prospective magnetic and shape memory materials. Fabrication of binary or more alloy nanowires using electrochemical deposition process is generally challenging due to the different synthesis conditions of individual elements. In the present work, binary NiCo alloy nanowire arrays have been fabricated by electrochemical deposition using anodic aluminum oxide template medium technique.

A micropump controlled by EWOD: wetting line energy and velocity effects.

A Laplace pressure gradient between a droplet and a liquid meniscus was utilized to create an on-demand constant flow rate capillary pump. Electrowetting on dielectric was implemented to induce the pressure gradient in the microchannel. For an initial droplet volume of 0.