Fast self-assembly kinetics of quantum dots and a dendrimeric peptide ligand.

Engineered peptide ligands with exceptionally high affinity for metal can self-assemble with nanoparticles in biological fluids. A high-affinity dendrimeric peptide ligand for CdSe-ZnS quantum dots (QDs) exhibited very fast association kinetics with QDs and reached equilibrium within 2 s. Here, we have combined a droplet-based microfluidic device with fluorescence detection based on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to provide subsecond resolution in dissecting this fast self-assembly kinetics in solution.

Measuring rapid kinetics by a potentiometric method in droplet-based microfluidic devices.

Droplets containing RNA and Mg(2+) were generated in microfluidic channels. By integrating a group of pneumatic valves and phase separation channels in the microfluidic system, the rapid RNA-Mg(2+) binding kinetics was studied by measuring the Mg(2+) ion concentration using an ion-selective electrode.

Measuring rapid enzymatic kinetics by electrochemical method in droplet-based microfluidic devices with pneumatic valves.

This paper describes a droplet-based microfluidic chip with pneumatic valves for measuring millisecond enzyme kinetics using amperometric detection method. Aqueous streams containing reactants were injected to an oil flow to form droplets, and each droplet represented one microreactor. Pneumatic valves were used to control the moving distance and in turn the reaction time of the droplets.

Copper catalyzing growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes on substrates.

Metallic copper, which is normally considered as a contaminant in the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), was found to be an efficient catalyst to grow SWNTs under suitable conditions. It showed very high catalytic activity for the growth of both random SWNT networks and horizontally aligned SWNT arrays. Especially, high-quality SWNT arrays were obtained when monodispersed copper nanoparticles were used.