On monocytes and lymphocytes biolens clustering by in flow holographic microscopy.

Live cells act as biological lenses and can be employed as real-world optical components in bio-hybrid systems. Imaging at nanoscale, optical tweezers, lithography and also photonic waveguiding are some of the already proven functionalities, boosted by the advantage that cells are fully biocompatible for intra-body applications. So far, various cell types have been studied for this purpose, such as red blood cells, bacterial cells, stem cells and yeast cells.

On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface.

The self-propulsion of bodies floating in water is of great interest for developing new robotic and intelligent systems at different scales, and whenever possible, Marangoni propulsion is an attractive candidate for the locomotion of untethered micro-robots. Significant cases have been shown using liquid and solid surfactants that allow an effective propulsion for bodies floating on water to be achieved. Here, we show for the first time a strategy for activating a twofold functionality where the self-propulsion of a floating body is combined with the formation of a polymer thin film at the water surface.

Optical-force-controlled red-blood-cell microlenses for subwavelength trapping and imaging.

We demonstrate that red blood cells (RBCs), with an adjustable focusing effect controlled by optical forces, can act as bio-microlenses for trapping and imaging subwavelength objects. By varying the laser power injected into a tapered fiber probe, the shape of a swelled RBC can be changed from spherical to ellipsoidal by the optical forces, thus adjusting the focal length of such bio-microlens in a range from 3.3 to 6.

TiO-Based Nanostructures, Composites and Hybrid Photocatalysts.

The field of materials sciences has always been strongly interconnected with the most significant technological developments in the modern era, and such an interconnection is absolutely evident at least since the 1950s revolution of electronics and microelectronics, driven by advances in the science of semiconductors [...

Monitoring of the copper persistence on plant leaves using pulsed thermography.

Copper-based fungicides are largely used in agriculture in the control of a wide range of plant diseases. Applied on plants, they remain deposited on leaf surfaces and are not absorbed into plant tissues. Because of accumulation problems and their ecotoxicological profiles in the soil, their use needs to be monitored and controlled, also by using modern technologies to better optimize the efficacy rendering minimum the amount of copper per season used.

Speeding up reconstruction of 3D tomograms in holographic flow cytometry deep learning.

Tomographic flow cytometry by digital holography is an emerging imaging modality capable of collecting multiple views of moving and rotating cells with the aim of recovering their refractive index distribution in 3D. Although this modality allows us to access high-resolution imaging with high-throughput, the huge amount of time-lapse holographic images to be processed (hundreds of digital holograms per cell) constitutes the actual bottleneck. This prevents the system from being suitable for lab-on-a-chip platforms in real-world applications, where fast analysis of measured data is mandatory.

Plasmonic Metasurfaces for Specific SERS Detection of Shiga Toxins.

The interest in the development of nanoscale plasmonic technologies has dramatically increased in recent years. The photonic properties of plasmonic nanopatterns can be controlled and tuned via their size, shape, or the arrangement of their constituents. In this work, we propose a 2D hybrid metallic polymeric nanostructure based on the octupolar framework with enhanced sensing property.

Lipid droplets as endogenous intracellular microlenses.

Using a single biological element as a photonic component with well-defined features has become a new intriguing paradigm in biophotonics. Here we show that endogenous lipid droplets in the mature adipose cells can behave as fully biocompatible microlenses to strengthen the ability of microscopic imaging as well as detecting intra- and extracellular signals. By the assistance of biolenses made of the lipid droplets, enhanced fluorescence imaging of cytoskeleton, lysosomes, and adenoviruses has been achieved.

Label-Free Assessment of the Drug Resistance of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Cells in a Microfluidic Holographic Flow Cytometer Boosted through Machine Learning.

About 75% of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients suffer from relapsing and develop drug resistance after primary chemotherapy. The commonly used clinical examinations and biological tumor tissue models for chemotherapeutic sensitivity are time-consuming and expensive. Research studies showed that the cell morphology-based method is promising to be a new route for chemotherapeutic sensitivity evaluation.

LSPR immuno-sensing based on iso-Y nanopillars for highly sensitive and specific imidacloprid detection.

Imidacloprid is the most widely used insecticide in agriculture and its intensive use over the last 30 years has caused a global concern due to its potentially toxic effects on the ecosystem. Considering the recent scientific interest in novel simple methods for imidacloprid analysis, we propose a label-free sensitive and specific localised surface plasmon resonance system for the detection of the insecticide based on 2D nanostructured metasurfaces with highly performing plasmonic properties. The specificity of the sensor proposed was achieved by covalent bio-functionalization of the metasurface using a smart and easy one-step procedure mediated by carbon disulphide.

Dehydration of plant cells shoves nuclei rotation allowing for 3D phase-contrast tomography.

Single-cell phase-contrast tomography promises to become decisive for studying 3D intracellular structures in biology. It involves probing cells with light at wide angles, which unfortunately requires complex systems. Here we show an intriguing concept based on an inherent natural process for plants biology, i.

Plasmonic Metasurfaces Based on Pyramidal Nanoholes for High-Efficiency SERS Biosensing.

An inverted pyramidal metasurface was designed, fabricated, and studied at the nanoscale level for the development of a label-free pathogen detection on a chip platform that merges nanotechnology and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Based on the integration and synergy of these ingredients, a virus immunoassay was proposed as a relevant proof of concept for very sensitive detection of hepatitis A virus, for the first time to our best knowledge, in a very small volume (2 μL), without complex signal amplification, allowing to detect a minimal virus concentration of 13 pg/mL. The proposed work aims to develop a high-flux and high-accuracy surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) nanobiosensor for the detection of pathogens to provide an effective method for early and easy water monitoring, which can be fast and convenient.

Three-Dimensional Quantitative Intracellular Visualization of Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles by Tomographic Flow Cytometry.

Interaction of nanoparticles (NPs) with cells is of fundamental importance in biology and biomedical sciences. NPs can be taken up by cells, thus interacting with their intracellular elements, modifying the life cycle pathways, and possibly inducing death. Therefore, there is a great interest in understanding and visualizing the process of cellular uptake itself or even secondary effects, for example, toxicity.

Axisymmetric bare freestanding films of highly viscous liquids: Preparation and real-time investigation of capillary leveling.

Hypothesis: Thin liquid films are important in many scientific fields. In particular, films with both the surface layers exposed to a different fluid phase, known as freestanding films, are relevant in the ambit of foams and emulsions. Hence, there is a great interest in developing novel techniques allowing to form large and stable freestanding liquid films and to follow their dynamics.

SERS Biosensor Based on Engineered 2D-Aperiodic Nanostructure for In-Situ Detection of Viable Bacterium in Complex Matrix.

is a foodborne pathogen globally affecting both the economy and healthcare. Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) nano-biosensing can be a promising strategy for its detection. We combined high-performance quasi-crystal patterned nanocavities for Raman enhancement with the use of covalently immobilized Tbilisi bacteriophages as high-performing bio-receptors.

An Interesting Molecule: γ-Aminobutyric Acid. What Can We Learn from Hydra Polyps?

Neuronal excitability is controlled primarily by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the central and peripheral nervous systems of vertebrate as well as invertebrate organisms. Besides its recognized neurotransmitter functions, GABA also plays a fundamental role in neurogenesis and synaptogenesis during embryonic development. In addition, GABAergic mechanisms are also involved in disorders of various peripheral tissues, ranging from diabetes to hypothyroidism to inflammatory responses.

Charge Carrier Processes and Optical Properties in TiO and TiO-Based Heterojunction Photocatalysts: A Review.

Photocatalysis based technologies have a key role in addressing important challenges of the ecological transition, such as environment remediation and conversion of renewable energies. Photocatalysts can in fact be used in hydrogen (H) production (e.g.

Cell nucleus as endogenous biological micropump.

Micropumps can generate directional microflows in blood vessels or bio-capillaries for targeted transport of nanoparticles and cells in vivo, which is highly significant for biomedical applications from active drug delivery to precision clinical therapy. Meanwhile, they have been extensively used in the biosensing fields with their unique features of autonomous motion, easy surface functionalization, dynamic capture and effective isolation of analytes in complex biological media. However, synthetic devices for actuating microflows, including pumps and motors, generally exhibit poor or limited biocompatibility with living organisms as a result of the invasive implantation of exogenous materials into blood vessels.

Exploiting a holographic polarization microscope for rapid autofocusing and 3D tracking.

We report a fast autofocusing and accurate 3D tracking scheme for a digital hologram (DH) that intrinsically exploits a polarization microscope setup with two off-axis illumination beams having different polarization. This configuration forms twin-object images that are recorded in a digital hologram by angular and polarization multiplexing technique. We show that the separation of the two images on the recording plane follows a linear relationship with the defocus distance and indicates the defocus direction.

Compact off-axis holographic slide microscope: design guidelines.

Holographic microscopes are emerging as suitable tools for diagnostics and environmental monitoring, providing high-throughput, label-free, quantitative imaging capabilities through small and compact devices. In-line holographic microscopes can be realized at contained costs, trading off complexity in the phase retrieval process and being limited to sparse samples. Here we present a 3D printed, cost effective and field portable off-axis holographic microscope based on the concept of holographic microfluidic slide.

Active thermography for real time monitoring of UV-B plant interactions.

Although Ultraviolet-B (UV-B)-plant interactions have been extensively analysed in the past years, many physiological aspects of the complex plant response mechanisms still need to be elucidated. Depending on the energy dose, this part of the electromagnetic spectrum can induce detrimental or beneficial effects in plant and fruit. In the present work, active thermography is used to analyse in real time the response of plants under different doses of artificial UV-B.

Luminescent -Iridium(III) Complex Based on a Bis(6,7-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline) Platform Featuring an Unusual cis Orientation of the CN Ligands: From a Theoretical Approach to a Deep Red LEEC Device.

By pursuing the strategy of manipulating natural compounds to obtain functional materials, in this work, we report on the synthesis and characterization of a luminescent cationic iridium complex (-), designed starting from the catecholic neurotransmitter dopamine, exhibiting the unusual cis arrangement of the CN ligands. Through an integrated experimental and theoretical approach, it was possible to delineate the optoelectronic properties of -. In detail, (a) a series of absorption maxima in the range 300-400 nm was assigned to metal-to-ligand charge transfer and weak and broad absorption maxima at longer wavelengths (400-500 nm) were ascribable to spin-forbidden transitions with a mixed character; (b) there was an intense red phosphorescence with emission set in the range 580-710 nm; and (c) a highest occupied molecular orbital was mainly localized on the metal and the 2-phenylpiridine ligand and a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital was localized on the NN ligand, with a Δ set at 2.

Assembling and rotating erythrocyte aggregates by acoustofluidic pressure enabling full phase-contrast tomography.

The combined use of ultrasound radiation and microfluidics is a promising tool for aiding the development of lab-on-a-chip devices. In this study, we show that the rotation of linear aggregates of micro-particles can be achieved under the action of acoustic field pressure. This novel manipulation is investigated by tracking polystyrene beads of different sizes through the 3D imaging features of digital holography (DH).

Large oncosomes overexpressing integrin alpha-V promote prostate cancer adhesion and invasion via AKT activation.

Background: Molecular markers for prostate cancer (PCa) are required to improve the early definition of patient outcomes. Atypically large extracellular vesicles (EVs), referred as "Large Oncosomes" (LO), have been identified in highly migratory and invasive PCa cells. We recently developed and characterized the DU145R80 subline, selected from parental DU145 cells as resistant to inhibitors of mevalonate pathway.