Bi-metallic electrochemical deposition on 3D pyrolytic carbon architectures for potential application in hydrogen evolution reaction.

3D printing has emerged as a highly efficient process for fabricating electrodes in hydrogen evolution through water splitting, whereas metals are the most popular choice of materials in hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) due to their catalytic activity. However, current 3D printing solutions face challenges, including high cost, low surface area, and sub-optimal performance. In this work, we introduce metal-deposited 3D printed pyrolytic carbon (PyC) as a facile and cost-effective HER electrode.

Biomineralization of Electrospun Bacteria-Encapsulated Fibers: A Relevant Step toward Living Ceramic Fibers.

Living ceramic materials are proposed as high-performance engineered living materials due to their expected properties, including improved mechanical stability and performance, which could impact a wide range of applications across various fields. Particularly, living ceramic fibers are anticipated to exhibit even superior mechanical and structural properties, considering their fibril nature. This work presents the foundation for developing the family of living ceramic fibers.

Enhanced Performance of Laser-Induced Graphene Supercapacitors via Integration with Candle-Soot Nanoparticles.

Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has been emerging as a promising electrode material for supercapacitors due to its cost-effective and straightforward fabrication approach. However, LIG-based supercapacitors still face challenges with limited capacitance and stability. To overcome these limitations, in this work, we present a novel, cost-effective, and facile fabrication approach by integrating LIG materials with candle-soot nanoparticles.

Bio-based epoxy vitrimer with inherent excellent flame retardance and recyclability via molecular design.

The development of biobased fire-safe thermosets with recyclability heralds the switch for a transition towards a circular economy. In this framework, we introduced a novel high-performance bio-epoxy vitrimer (named GVD), which was fabricated by forming a crosslinking network between bio-epoxy glycerol triglycidyl ether (Gte), varying amounts of reactive flame-retardant agent 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) (0-7 wt%) and a vanillin-based hardener (VA) with imine bonds. For instance, the epoxy vitrimer GVD5, featuring a DOPO content of 5 wt%, achieved a V-0 rating in the vertical burning test (UL-94) and obtained a limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 31 %, surpassing the performance of pristine epoxy.

Microarchitected Compliant Scaffolds of Pyrolytic Carbon for 3D Muscle Cell Growth.

The integration of additive manufacturing technologies with the pyrolysis of polymeric precursors enables the design-controlled fabrication of architected 3D pyrolytic carbon (PyC) structures with complex architectural details. Despite great promise, their use in cellular interaction remains unexplored. This study pioneers the utilization of microarchitected 3D PyC structures as biocompatible scaffolds for the colonization of muscle cells in a 3D environment.

The ethics of engineered living materials.

Engineered living materials (ELMs) combine living and non-living entities. Their associated ethical concerns must be addressed to promote safety, promote sustainability, and regulate societal impacts. This article identifies key ethical and safety issues by reflecting on fundamental ethical principles.

Paper-based multiplex biosensors for inexpensive healthcare diagnostics: a comprehensive review.

Multiplex detection is a smart and an emerging approach in point-of-care testing as it reduces analysis time and testing cost by detecting multiple analytes or biomarkers simultaneously which are crucial for disease detection at an early stage. Application of inexpensive substrate such as paper has immense potential and matter of research interest in the area of point of care testing for multiplexed analysis as it possesses several unique advantages. This study presents the use of paper, strategies adopted to refine the design created on paper and lateral flow strips to enhance the signal, increase the sensitivity and specificity of multiplexed biosensors.

Quantifying Deformation and Migration Properties of U87 Glioma Cells Using Dielectrophoretic Forces.

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumors. To design effective treatment strategies, we need to better understand the behavior of glioma cells while maintaining their genetic and phenotypic stability. Here, we investigated the deformation and migration profile of U87 Glioma cells under the influence of dielectrophoretic forces.

Evaluating carbon-electrode dielectrophoresis under the ASSURED criteria.

Extreme point-of-care refers to medical testing in unfavorable conditions characterized by a lack of primary resources or infrastructure. As witnessed in the recent past, considerable interest in developing devices and technologies exists for extreme point-of-care applications, for which the World Health Organization has introduced a set of encouraging and regulating guidelines. These are referred to as the ASSURED criteria, an acronym for Affordable (A), Sensitive (S), Specific (S), User friendly (U), Rapid and Robust (R), Equipment-free (E), and Delivered (D).

Electrospun carbon nanofibre-assisted patterning of metal oxide nanostructures.

This work establishes carbon nanofibre-mediated patterning of metal oxide nanostructures, through the combination of electrospinning and vapor-phase transport growth. Electrospinning of a suitable precursor with subsequent carbonization results in the patterning of catalyst gold nanoparticles embedded within carbon nanofibres. During vapor-phase transport growth, these nanofibres allow preferential growth of one-dimensional metal oxide nanostructures, which grow radially outward from the nanofibril axis, yielding a hairy caterpillar-like morphology.

Comparing Carbon Origami from Polyaramid and Cellulose Sheets.

Carbon origami enables the fabrication of lightweight and mechanically stiff 3D complex architectures of carbonaceous materials, which have a high potential to impact a wide range of applications positively. The precursor materials and their inherent microstructure play a crucial role in determining the properties of carbon origami structures. Here, non-porous polyaramid Nomex sheets and macroporous fibril cellulose sheets are explored as the precursor sheets for studying the effect of precursor nature and microstructure on the material and structural properties of the carbon origami structures.

Analysis of U87 glioma cells by dielectrophoresis.

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most aggressive and invasive brain cancer consisting of genetically and phenotypically altering glial cells. It has massive heterogeneity due to its highly complex and dynamic microenvironment. Here, electrophysiological properties of U87 human glioma cell line were measured based on a dielectrophoresis phenomenon to quantify the population heterogeneity of glioma cells.

Fabrication of High Surface Area Microporous ZnO from ZnO/Carbon Sacrificial Composite Monolith Template.

Fabrication of porous materials from the standard sacrificial template method allows metal oxide nanostructures to be produced and have several applications in energy, filtration and constructing sensing devices. However, the low surface area of these nanostructures is a significant drawback for most applications. Here, we report the synthesis of ZnO/carbon composite monoliths in which carbon is used as a sacrificial template to produce zinc oxide (ZnO) porous nanostructures with a high specific surface area.

Carbon-Based Materials for Articular Tissue Engineering: From Innovative Scaffolding Materials toward Engineered Living Carbon.

Carbon materials constitute a growing family of high-performance materials immersed in ongoing scientific technological revolutions. Their biochemical properties are interesting for a wide set of healthcare applications and their biomechanical performance, which can be modulated to mimic most human tissues, make them remarkable candidates for tissue repair and regeneration, especially for articular problems and osteochondral defects involving diverse tissues with very different morphologies and properties. However, more systematic approaches to the engineering design of carbon-based cell niches and scaffolds are needed and relevant challenges should still be overcome through extensive and collaborative research.

Carbon fiber/microlattice 3D hybrid architecture as multi-scale scaffold for tissue engineering.

Multiscale 3D carbon architectures are of particular interest in tissue engineering applications, as these structures may allow for three-dimensional cell colonization essential for tissue growth. In this work, carbon fiber/microlattice hybrid architectures are introduced as innovative multi-scale scaffolds for tissue engineering. The microlattice provides the design freedom and structural integrity, whereas the fibrous component creates a cellular microenvironment for cell colonization.

Polyaramid-Based Flexible Antibacterial Coatings Fabricated Using Laser-Induced Carbonization and Copper Electroplating.

A method for the fabrication of flexible electrical circuits on polyaramid substrates is presented based on laser-induced carbonization followed by copper electroplating. Locally carbonized flexible sheets of polyaramid (Nomex), by laser radiation, create rough and highly porous microstructures that show a higher degree of graphitization than thermally carbonized Nomex sheets. The found recipe for laser-induced carbonization creates conductivities of up to ∼45 S cm, thereby exceeding that observed for thermally pyrolyzed materials (∼38 S cm) and laser carbon derived from Kapton using the same laser wavelength (∼35 S cm).

Facile template-free synthesis of multifunctional 3D cellular carbon from edible rice paper.

Edible rice paper wrapper is found to be an interesting precursor of a porous and light-weight carbon material. During pyrolysis, material samples show significant differences in length change, displaying typical 20-25% shrinking in the in-plane directions, and strongly expanding (up to 500%) across their out-of-plane direction. This results in a template-free synthesis of a 3D network of cellular carbon material.

Characterization of the Dielectrophoretic Response of Different Candida Strains Using 3D Carbon Microelectrodes.

Bloodstream infection with fungal cells remains one of the most life-threatening complications among hospitalized patients around the world. Although most of the cases are still due to , the rising incidence of infections caused by other strains that may not respond to traditional anti-fungal treatments merits the development of a method for species-specific isolation of . To this end, here we present the characterization of the dielectrophoresis (DEP) response of , and We complement such characterization with a study of the cells morphology.

Automated "pick and transfer" of targeted cells using dielectrophoresis.

Selective manipulation of single cells is an important step in sample preparation for biological analysis. A highly specific and automated device is desired for such an operation. An ideal device would be able to selectively pick several single cells in parallel from a heterogeneous population and transfer those to designated sites for further analysis without human intervention.

Nondimensional Streaming Dielectrophoresis Number for a System of Continuous Particle Separation.

Cell sorting methods are required in numerous healthcare assays. Although flow cytometry and magnetically actuated sorting are widespread techniques for cell sorting, there is intense research on label-free techniques to reduce the cost and complexity of the process. Among label-free techniques, dielectrophoresis (DEP) offers the capability to separate cells not only on the basis of size but also on their membrane capacitance.

Dielectrophoretic characterization and separation of monocytes and macrophages using 3D carbon-electrodes.

Monocyte heterogeneity and its prevalence are revealed as indicator of several human diseases ranking from cardiovascular diseases to rheumatoid arthritis, chronic kidney diseases, autoimmune multiple sclerosis, and stroke injuries. When monocytes and macrophages are characterized and isolated with preserved genetic, phenotypic and functional properties, they can be used as label-free biomarkers for precise diagnostics and treatment of various diseases. Here, the dielectrophoretic responses of the monocytes and macrophages were examined.

Quantitative Investigation for the Dielectrophoretic Effect of Fluorescent Dyes at Single-Cell Resolution.

Most of the microscopy-based, quantitative assays rely on fluorescent dyes. In this study, we investigated the impact of fluorescent dyes on the dielectrophoretic response of the mammalian cells. The dielectrophoretic measurements were performed to quantify whether the fluorescent dyes alter the dielectrophoretic properties of the cells at single-cell resolution.

Dielectrophoretic Separation of Live and Dead Monocytes Using 3D Carbon-Electrodes.

Blood has been the most reliable body fluid commonly used for the diagnosis of diseases. Although there have been promising investigations for the development of novel lab-on-a-chip devices to utilize other body fluids such as urine and sweat samples in diagnosis, their stability remains a problem that limits the reliability and accuracy of readouts. Hence, accurate and quantitative separation and characterization of blood cells are still crucial.