An Innovative AI-based primer design tool for precise and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

As the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, it leaves behind the serious concern that future, even more disruptive pandemics may eventually surface. One of the crucial steps in handling the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was being able to detect the presence of the virus in an accurate and timely manner, to then develop policies counteracting the spread. Nevertheless, as the pandemic evolved, new variants with potentially dangerous mutations appeared.

Optimal self-assembly of lipid nanoparticles (LNP) in a ring micromixer.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for RNA and DNA delivery have attracted considerable attention for their ability to treat a broad range of diseases and to vectorize mRNA for COVID vaccines. LNPs are produced by mixing biomolecules and lipids, which self-assemble to form the desired structure. In this domain, microfluidics shows clear advantages: high mixing quality, low-stress conditions, and fast preparation.

Freeze-Dried Microfluidic Monodisperse Microbubbles as a New Generation of Ultrasound Contrast Agents.

We succeeded in freeze-drying monodisperse microbubbles without degrading their performance, that is, their monodispersity in size and echogenicity. We used microfluidic technology to generate cryoprotected highly monodisperse microbubbles (coefficient of variation [CV] <5%). By using a novel retrieval technique, we were able to freeze-dry the microbubbles and resuspend them without degradation, that is, keeping their size distribution narrow (CV <6%).

Dendritic growth of protein gel in the course of sweat pore plugging by aluminium salts under physiological conditions.

Are aluminium ions unavoidable in antiperspirants? To answer this question, we present confocal microscopy images of dendritic plugs appearing in sweat flowing across a microfluidic channel in the presence of aluminium salts. By comparing with numerical simulations, we identify the mechanisms forming this structured protein gel inside the pore.

Real time observation of the interaction between aluminium salts and sweat under microfluidic conditions.

Aluminium salts such as aluminium chlorohydrate (ACH) are the active ingredients of antiperspirant products. Their mechanism of action involves a temporary and superficial plugging of eccrine sweat pores at the skin surface. We developed a microfluidic system that allows the real time observation of the interactions between sweat and ACH in conditions mimicking physiological sweat flow and pore dimensions.