Colour-barcoded magnetic microparticles for multiplexed bioassays

Vaporchromic Domino Transformation and Polarized Photonic Heterojunctions of Organoplatinum Microrods

Photonic heterostructures with codable properties have shown great values as versatile information carriers at the micro- and nanoscale. These heterostructures are typically prepared by a step-by-step growth or post-functionalization method to achieve varied emission colors with different building blocks. In order to realize high-throughput and multivariate information loading, we report here a strategy to integrate polarization signals into photonic heterojunctions. A U-shaped di-Pt(II) complex has been assembled into highly polarized yellow-phosphorescent crystalline microrods (Y-rod) by strong intermolecular Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt interaction. Upon end-initiated desorption of the incorporated CH2Cl2 solvents, the Y-rod is transformed in a domino fashion into tri-block polarized photonic heterojunctions (PPHs) with alternate red-yellow-red emissions or red-phosphorescent microrods (R-rods). The red emissions of these structures are also highly polarized; however, their polarization directions are just orthogonal to those of the yellow phosphorescence of the Y-rod. With the aid of a patterned mask, the R-rod can be further programmed into multi-block PPHs with precisely controlled block sizes by side-allowed adsorption of CH2Cl2 vapor. X-ray diffraction analysis and theoretical calculations suggest that the solvent-regulated modulation of the crystal packing and excited-state property is critical for the construction of these PPHs.

One-pot microfluidic fabrication of micro ceramic particles

In the quest for miniaturization across technical disciplines, microscale ceramic blocks emerge as pivotal components, with performance critically dependent on precise scales and intricate shapes. Sharp-edged ceramic microparticles, applied from micromachining to microelectronics, require innovative fabrication techniques for high-throughput production while maintaining structural complexity and mechanical integrity. This study introduces a "one-pot microfluidic fabrication" system incorporating two device fabrication strategies, "groove & tongue" and sliding assembling, achieving an unprecedented array of microparticles with diverse, complex shapes and refined precision, outperforming traditional methods in production rate and quality. Optimally designed sintering profiles based on derivative thermogravimetry enhance microparticles' shape retention and structural strength. Compression and scratch tests validate the superiority of microparticles, suggesting their practicability for diverse applications, such as precise micromachining, sophisticated microrobotics and delicate microsurgical tools. This advancement marks a shift in microscale manufacturing, offering a scalable solution to meet the demanding specifications of miniaturized technology components.

Simplifying complexity: integrating color science for predictable full-color and on-demand persistent luminescence using industrial disperse dyes

Developing color-tunable ultralong room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials with variable afterglow is essential for applications in displays, sensors, information encryption, and optoelectronic devices. However, designing full-color ultralong RTP for persistent luminescence remains a significant challenge. Here, we propose a straightforward strategy to achieve predictable full-color afterglow using readily available disperse dyes in polymeric systems, via the phosphorescence resonance energy transfer (PRET) process. We incorporated the unconventional luminophore tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED) into polyurethane (PU) to create a polymer host with green afterglow. By adding three typical disperse dyes as guests, we achieved a modulated afterglow covering the full visible light spectrum. Leveraging PRET processes between TAED and the disperse dyes, we achieved a prediction accuracy of 88.89% for afterglow color, surpassing well-developed coloration dye systems. This work thus introduces a novel method to obtain easily predictable ultralong RTP emission and establishes an on-demand design strategy for constructing disperse dye-based full-color afterglow, effectively linking fundamental color science to practical customization.

Design and batch fabrication of anisotropic microparticles toward small-scale robots using microfluidics: recent advances

Small-scale robots with shape anisotropy have garnered significant scientific interest due to their enhanced mobility and precise control in recent years. Traditionally, these miniature robots are manufactured using established techniques such as molding, 3D printing, and microfabrication. However, the advent of microfluidics in recent years has emerged as a promising manufacturing technology, capitalizing on the precise and dynamic manipulation of fluids at the microscale to fabricate various complex-shaped anisotropic particles. This offers a versatile and controlled platform, enabling the efficient fabrication of small-scale robots with tailored morphologies and advanced functionalities from the microfluidic-derived anisotropic microparticles at high throughput. This review highlights the recent advances in the microfluidic fabrication of anisotropic microparticles and their potential applications in small-scale robots. In this review, the term 'small-scale robots' broadly encompasses micromotors endowed with capabilities for locomotion and manipulation. Firstly, the fundamental strategies for liquid template formation and the methodologies for generating anisotropic microparticles within the microfluidic system are briefly introduced. Subsequently, the functionality of shape-anisotropic particles in forming components for small-scale robots and actuation mechanisms are emphasized. Attention is then directed towards the diverse applications of these microparticle-derived microrobots in a variety of fields, including pollution remediation, cell microcarriers, drug delivery, and biofilm eradication. Finally, we discuss future directions for the fabrication and development of miniature robots from microfluidics, shedding light on the evolving landscape of this field.

Mixed-Layered Lead Halide Frameworks with High Stability and Efficient Room-Temperature Phosphorescence

Room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials play a crucial role in optical anticounterfeiting science and information security technologies. Ionically bonded organic metal halides have emerged as promising RTP material systems due to their excellent self-assembly and unique photophysical property, but their intrinsic instability largely hinders their advanced practical applications. Herein, we employ a coordination-driven synthetic strategy utilizing organocarboxylates for the synthesis of two isostructural layered lead halide frameworks. The frameworks adopt a new mixed-layered topology, consisting of alternating [Pb10X9]11+ (X = Cl-/Br-) layers and [Pb6XO3]11+ (X = Cl-/Br-) layers that are coordinatively sandwiched by organocarboxylate layers. The frameworks exhibit long-lived green afterglow emission with the long lifetime of up to 45.89 ms and the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of up to 43.13%. The Pb2+-carboxylate coordination accelerates the metal-to-ligand charge transfer from the light-harvesting lead halide layers to the phosphorescent organic component, promoting efficient spin-orbit coupling and intersystem crossing. Moreover, the coordination networks exhibit good structural robustness under ambient conditions for at least 12 months, as well as stability in boiling water, acidic and basic aqueous environments. The highly efficient afterglow and high structural integrity enable multiple anticounterfeiting applications across diverse chemical environments.

Stopping Microfluidic Flow

A cross-comparison of three stop-flow configurations-such as low-pressure (LSF), high-pressure open-circuit (OC-HSF), and high-pressure short-circuit (SC-HSF) stop-flow-is presented to rapidly bring a high velocity flow O(m s-1) within a microchannel to a standstill O(µm s-1). The performance of three stop-flow configurations is assessed by measuring residual flow velocities within microchannels having three orders of magnitude different flow resistances. The LSF configuration outperforms the OC-HSF and SC-HSF configurations within a high flow resistance microchannel and results in a residual velocity of <10 µm s-1. The OC-HSF configuration results in a residual velocity of <150 µm s-1 within a low flow resistance microchannel. The SC-HSF configuration results in a residual velocity of <200 µm s-1 across the three orders-of-magnitude different flow resistance microchannels, and <100 µm s-1 for the low flow resistance channel. It is hypothesized that residual velocity results from compliance in fluidic circuits, which is further investigated by varying the elasticity of microchannel walls and connecting tubing. A numerical model is developed to estimate the expanded volumes of the compliant microchannel and connecting tubings under a pressure gradient and to calculate the distance traveled by the sample fluid. A comparison of the numerically and experimentally obtained traveling distances confirms the hypothesis that the residual velocities are an outcome of the compliance in the fluidic circuit.

Continuous-Wave Pumped Monolayer WS2 Lasing for Photonic Barcoding

Micro/nano photonic barcoding has emerged as a promising technology for information security and anti-counterfeiting applications owing to its high security and robust tamper resistance. However, the practical application of conventional micro/nano photonic barcodes is constrained by limitations in encoding capacity and identification verification (e.g., broad emission bandwidth and the expense of pulsed lasers). Herein, we propose high-capacity photonic barcode labels by leveraging continuous-wave (CW) pumped monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2) lasing. Large-area, high-quality monolayer WS2 films were grown via a vapor deposition method and coupled with external cavities to construct optically pumped microlasers, thus achieving an excellent CW-pumped lasing with a narrow linewidth (~0.39 nm) and a low threshold (~400 W cm-2) at room temperature. Each pixel within the photonic barcode labels consists of closely packed WS2 microlasers of varying sizes, demonstrating high-density and nonuniform multiple-mode lasing signals that facilitate barcode encoding. Notably, CW operation and narrow-linewidth lasing emission could significantly simplify detection. As proof of concept, a 20-pixel label exhibits a high encoding capacity (2.35 × 10108). This work may promote the advancement of two-dimensional materials micro/nanolasers and offer a promising platform for information encoding and security applications.

Multiplex Aptamer-Based Fluorescence Assay Using Magnetism-Encoded Nanoparticles for Simultaneous Detection of Multiple Pathogenic Bacteria

Multiplex assay has emerged as a robust and versatile method for the simultaneous detection of multiple analytes in a single test. However, challenges in terms of poor accuracy and complexity remained. In this work, we developed a multiplex aptamer-based fluorescence assay using magnetism-encoded nanoparticles for the simultaneous detection of multiple pathogenic bacteria. The encapsulation of different amounts of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in zeolitic imidazolate framework-90 (ZIF-90) leads to the formation of Fe3O4@ZIF-90 (FZ) composites with distinct magnetism strengths. By functionalizing a specific aptamer on the surface of the FZ composites, target bacteria can be specifically and precisely separated from a mixed sample in a sequential manner. This property allows for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of multiple target bacteria by using a single-color fluorescence label, thereby resulting in minimal spectral crosstalk interference and improved accuracy. The successful determination of multiple bacteria in contaminated milk samples demonstrates the applicability of this multiplex assay in complex biological matrices. Compared to conventional multiplex fluorescence assays, this approach offers distinct advantages of simplicity, efficiency, and implementation. We believe that this study can provide valuable insights into the development of the multiplex assay while introducing a new method for the simultaneous detection of multiple bacteria.

2D Hierarchical Microbarcodes with Expanded Storage Capacity for Optical Multiplex and Information Encryption

The design of nanosegregated fluorescent tags/barcodes by geometrical patterning with precise dimensions and hierarchies could integrate multilevel optical information within one carrier and enhance microsized barcoding techniques for ultrahigh-density optical data storage and encryption. However, precise control of the spatial distribution in micro/nanosized matrices intrinsically limits the accessible barcoding applications in terms of material design and construction. Here, crystallization forces are leveraged to enable a rapid, programmable molecular packing and rapid epitaxial growth of fluorescent units in 2D via crystallization-driven self-assembly. The fluorescence encoding density, scalability, information storage capacity, and decoding techniques of the robust 2D polymeric barcoding platform are explored systematically. These results provide both a theoretical and an experimental foundation for expanding the fluorescence storage capacity, which is a longstanding challenge in state-of-the-art microbarcoding techniques and establish a generalized and adaptable coding platform for high-throughput analysis and optical multiplexing.

Fluorescence Bar-Coding and Flowmetry Based on Dark State Transitions in Fluorescence Emitters

Reversible dark state transitions in fluorophores represent a limiting factor in fluorescence-based ultrasensitive spectroscopy, are a necessary basis for fluorescence-based super-resolution imaging, but may also offer additional, largely orthogonal fluorescence-based readout parameters. In this work, we analyzed the blinking kinetics of Cyanine5 (Cy5) as a bar-coding feature distinguishing Cy5 from rhodamine fluorophores having largely overlapping emission spectra. First, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) solution measurements on mixtures of free fluorophores and fluorophore-labeled small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) showed that Cy5 could be readily distinguished from the rhodamines by its reversible, largely excitation-driven trans-cis isomerization. This was next confirmed by transient state (TRAST) spectroscopy measurements, determining the fluorophore dark state kinetics in a more robust manner, from how the time-averaged fluorescence intensity varies upon modulation of the applied excitation light. TRAST was then combined with wide-field imaging of live cells, whereby Cy5 and rhodamine fluorophores could be distinguished on a whole cell level as well as in spatially resolved, multiplexed images of the cells. Finally, we established a microfluidic TRAST concept and showed how different mixtures of free Cy5 and rhodamine fluorophores and corresponding fluorophore-labeled SUVs could be distinguished on-the-fly when passing through a microfluidic channel. In contrast to FCS, TRAST does not rely on single-molecule detection conditions or a high time resolution and is thus broadly applicable to different biological samples. Therefore, we expect that the bar-coding concept presented in this work can offer an additional useful strategy for fluorescence-based multiplexing that can be implemented on a broad range of both stationary and moving samples.

Lithographically defined encoded magnetic heterostructures for the targeted screening of kidney cancer

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the 7th commonest cancer in the UK and the most lethal urological malignancy; 50% of all RCC patients will die from the condition. However, if identified early enough, small RCCs are usually cured by surgery or percutaneous procedures, with 95% 10 year survival. This study describes a newly developed non-invasive urine-based assay for the early detection of RCC. Our approach uses encoded magnetically controllable heterostructures as a substrate for immunoassays. These heterostructures have molecular recognition abilities and embedded patterned codes for a rapid identification of RCC biomarkers. The magnetic heterostructures developed for this study have a magnetic configuration designed for a remote multi axial control of their orientation by external magnetic fields, this control facilitates the code readout when the heterostructures are in liquid. Furthermore, the optical encoding of each set of heterostructures provides a multiplexed analyte capture platform, as different sets of heterostructures, specific to different biomarkers can be mixed together in a patient sample. Our results show a precise magnetic control of the heterostructures with an efficient code readout during liquid immunoassays. The use of functionalised magnetic heterostructures as a substrate for immunoassay is validated for urine specimen spiked with recombinant RCC biomarkers. Initial results of the newly proposed screening method on urine samples from RCC patients, and controls with no renal disorders are presented in this study. Comprehensive optimisation cycles are in progress to validate the robustness of this technology as a novel, non-invasive screening method for RCC.

Communicating Supraparticles to Enable Perceptual, Information-Providing Matter

Materials are the fundament of the physical world, whereas information and its exchange are the centerpieces of the digital world. Their fruitful synergy offers countless opportunities for realizing desired digital transformation processes in the physical world of materials. Yet, to date, a perfect connection between these worlds is missing. From the perspective, this can be achieved by overcoming the paradigm of considering materials as passive objects and turning them into perceptual, information-providing matter. This matter is capable of communicating associated digitally stored information, for example, its origin, fate, and material type as well as its intactness on demand. Herein, the concept of realizing perceptual, information-providing matter by integrating customizable (sub-)micrometer-sized communicating supraparticles (CSPs) is presented. They are assembled from individual nanoparticulate and/or (macro)molecular building blocks with spectrally differentiable signals that are either robust or stimuli-susceptible. Their combination yields functional signal characteristics that provide an identification signature and one or multiple stimuli-recorder features. This enables CSPs to communicate associated digital information on the tagged material and its encountered stimuli histories upon signal readout anywhere across its life cycle. Ultimately, CSPs link the materials and digital worlds with numerous use cases thereof, in particular fostering the transition into an age of sustainability.

Silicon microfabrication technologies for biology integrated advance devices and interfaces

Miniaturization is the trend to manufacture ever smaller devices and this process requires knowledge, experience, understanding of materials, manufacturing techniques and scaling laws. The fabrication techniques used in semiconductor industry deliver an exceptionally high yield of devices and provide a well-established platform. Today, these miniaturized devices are manufactured with high reproducibility, design flexibility, scalability and multiplexed features to be used in several applications including micro-, nano-fluidics, implantable chips, diagnostics/biosensors and neural probes. We here provide a review on the microfabricated devices used for biology driven science. We will describe the ubiquity of the use of micro-nanofabrication techniques in biology and biotechnology through the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio devices for cell sensing applications, intracellular devices, probes developed for neuroscience-neurotechnology and biosensing of the certain biomarkers. Recently, the research on micro and nanodevices for biology has been progressing rapidly. While the understanding of the unknown biological fields -such as human brain- has been requiring more research with advanced materials and devices, the development protocols of desired devices has been advancing in parallel, which finally meets with some of the requirements of biological sciences. This is a very exciting field and we aim to highlight the impact of micro-nanotechnologies that can shed light on complex biological questions and needs.

Highly Flexible Deep-Learning-Based Automatic Analysis for Graphically Encoded Hydrogel Microparticles

Graphically encoded hydrogel microparticle (HMP)-based bioassay is a diagnostic tool characterized by exceptional multiplex detectability and robust sensitivity and specificity. Specifically, deep learning enables highly fast and accurate analyses of HMPs with diverse graphical codes. However, previous related studies have found the use of plain particles as data to be disadvantageous for accurate analyses of HMPs loaded with functional nanomaterials. Furthermore, the manual data annotation method used in existing approaches is highly labor-intensive and time-consuming. In this study, we present an efficient deep-learning-based analysis of encoded HMPs with diverse graphical codes and functional nanomaterials, utilizing the auto-annotation and synthetic data mixing methods for model training. The auto-annotation enhanced the throughput of dataset preparation up to 0.11 s/image. Using synthetic data mixing, a mean average precision of 0.88 was achieved in the analysis of encoded HMPs with magnetic nanoparticles, representing an approximately twofold improvement over the standard method. To evaluate the practical applicability of the proposed automatic analysis strategy, a single-image analysis was performed after the triplex immunoassay for the preeclampsia-related protein biomarkers. Finally, we accomplished a processing throughput of 0.353 s per sample for analyzing the result image.

Encoded Fusion-Mediated MicroRNA Signature Profiling of Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles for Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (tEVs) are important cancer biomarkers for cancer screening and early diagnosis. Multiplex detection of miRNAs in tEVs facilitates accurate diagnosis but remains a challenge. Herein, we propose an encoded fusion strategy to profile the miRNA signature in tEVs for pancreatic cancer diagnosis. A panel of encoded-targeted-fusion beads was fabricated for the selective recognition and fusion of tEVs, with the turn-on fluorescence signals of molecule beacons for miRNA quantification and barcode signals for miRNA identification using readily accessible flow cytometers. Using this strategy, six types of pancreatic-cancer-associated miRNAs can be profiled in tEVs from 2 μL plasma samples (n = 36) in an isolation-free and lysis-free manner with only 2 h of processing, offering a high accuracy (98%) to discriminate pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis, and healthy donors. This encoded fusion strategy exhibits great potential for multiplex profiling of miRNA in tEVs, offering new avenues for cancer diagnosis and screening.

Responsive Magnetic Nanocomposites for Intelligent Shape-Morphing Microrobots

With the development of advanced biomedical theragnosis and bioengineering tools, smart and soft responsive microstructures and nanostructures have emerged. These structures can transform their body shape on demand and convert external power into mechanical actions. Here, we survey the key advances in the design of responsive polymer-particle nanocomposites that led to the development of smart shape-morphing microscale robotic devices. We overview the technological roadmap of the field and highlight the emerging opportunities in programming magnetically responsive nanomaterials in polymeric matrixes, as magnetic materials offer a rich spectrum of properties that can be encoded with various magnetization information. The use of magnetic fields as a tether-free control can easily penetrate biological tissues. With the advances in nanotechnology and manufacturing techniques, microrobotic devices can be realized with the desired magnetic reconfigurability. We emphasize that future fabrication techniques will be the key to bridging the gaps between integrating sophisticated functionalities of nanoscale materials and reducing the complexity and footprints of microscale intelligent robots.

Directional Self-Assembly of Facet-Aligned Organic Hierarchical Super-Heterostructures for Spatially Resolved Photonic Barcodes

Organic multicolor heterostructures with spatially resolved luminescent colors and identifiable patterns have exhibited considerable potential for achieving micro-/nanoscale photonic barcodes. Nevertheless, such types of barcodes reported thus far are exclusively based on a single heterostructure with limited coding elements. Here, a directional self-assembly strategy is proposed to achieve high-coding-capacity spatially resolved photonic barcodes through rationally constructing organic hierarchical super-heterostructures, where numerous subheterostructure blocks with flat hexagonal facets are precisely oriented with their specific facets via a reconfigurable capillary force. The building blocks were prepared through a one-pot sequential heteroepitaxial growth, which enables the effective modulation of the structural and color characteristics in coding structures. Significantly, a directional facet-to-facet attraction between particles via facet registration leads to the formation of well-defined 1D super-heterostructures, which contain multiple coding elements, thus providing a good platform for constructing the high-coding-capacity photonic barcodes. The results may be useful in fabricating organic hierarchical hybrid super-heterostructures for security labels and optical data recording.

Organic‒inorganic semi-interpenetrating networks with orthogonal light- and magnetic-responsiveness for smart photonic gels

Living matter has the ability to perceive multiple stimuli and respond accordingly. However, the integration of multiple stimuli-responsiveness in artificial materials usually causes mutual interference, which makes artificial materials work improperly. Herein, we design composite gels with organic‒inorganic semi-interpenetrating network structures, which are orthogonally responsive to light and magnetic fields. The composite gels are prepared by the co-assembly of a photoswitchable organogelator (Azo-Ch) and superparamagnetic inorganic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂). Azo-Ch assembles into an organogel network, which shows photoinduced reversible sol-gel transitions. In gel or sol state, Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ nanoparticles reversibly form photonic nanochains via magnetic control. Light and magnetic fields can orthogonally control the composite gel because Azo-Ch and Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ form a unique semi-interpenetrating network, which allows them to work independently. The orthogonal photo- and magnetic-responsiveness enables the fabrication of smart windows, anti-counterfeiting labels, and reconfigurable materials using the composite gel. Our work presents a method to design orthogonally stimuli-responsive materials.

Microdroplet-Facilitated Assembly of Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence-Encoded Microparticles with Non-interfering Color Signals

Encoded microparticles (EMPs) have shown demonstrative value for multiplexed high-throughput bioassays such as drug discovery and diagnostics. Herein, we propose for the first time the incorporation of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) dyes with low-cost, heavy metal-free, and long-lived luminescence properties into polymer matrices via a microfluidic droplet-facilitated assembly technique. Benefiting from the uniform droplet template sizes and polymer-encapsulated structures, the resulting composite EMPs are highly monodispersed, efficiently shield TADF dyes from singlet oxygen, well preserve TADF emission, and greatly increase the delayed fluorescence lifetime. Furthermore, by combining with phase separation of polymer blends in the drying droplets, TADF dyes with distinct luminescent colors can be spatially separated within each EMP. It eliminates optical signal interference and generates multiple fluorescence colors in a compact system. Additionally, in vitro studies reveal that the resulting EMPs show good biocompatibility and allow cells to adhere and grow on the surface, thereby making them promising optically EMPs for biolabeling.

I-LIFT (image-based laser-induced forward transfer) platform for manipulating encoded microparticles

Encoded microparticles have great potential in small-volume multiplexed assays. It is important to link the micro-level assays to the macro-level by indexing and manipulating the microparticles to enhance their versatility. There are technologies to actively manipulate the encoded microparticles, but none is capable of directly manipulating the encoded microparticles with homogeneous physical properties. Here, we report the image-based laser-induced forward transfer system for active manipulation of the graphically encoded microparticles. By demonstrating the direct retrieval of the microparticles of interest, we show that this system has the potential to expand the usage of encoded microparticles.

Optimization and fabrication of programmable domains for soft magnetic robots: A review

Driven by the aim of realizing functional robotic systems at the milli- and submillimetre scale for biomedical applications, the area of magnetically driven soft devices has received significant recent attention. This has resulted in a new generation of magnetically controlled soft robots with patterns of embedded, programmable domains throughout their structures. This type of programmable magnetic profiling equips magnetic soft robots with shape programmable memory and can be achieved through the distribution of discrete domains (voxels) with variable magnetic densities and magnetization directions. This approach has produced highly compliant, and often bio-inspired structures that are well suited to biomedical applications at small scales, including microfluidic transport and shape-forming surgical catheters. However, to unlock the full potential of magnetic soft robots with improved designs and control, significant challenges remain in their compositional optimization and fabrication. This review considers recent advances and challenges in the interlinked optimization and fabrication aspects of programmable domains within magnetic soft robots. Through a combination of improvements in the computational capacity of novel optimization methods with advances in the resolution, material selection and automation of existing and novel fabrication methods, significant further developments in programmable magnetic soft robots may be realized.

Rapid parallel generation of a fluorescently barcoded drop library from a microtiter plate using the plate-interfacing parallel encapsulation (PIPE) chip

In drop-based microfluidics, an aqueous sample is partitioned into drops using individual pump sources that drive water and oil into a drop-making device. Parallelization of drop-making devices is necessary to achieve high-throughput screening of multiple experimental conditions, especially in time-sensitive studies. Here, we present the plate-interfacing parallel encapsulation (PIPE) chip, a microfluidic chip designed to generate 50 to 90 μm diameter drops of up to 96 different conditions in parallel by interfacing individual drop makers with a standard 384-well microtiter plate. The PIPE chip is used to generate two types of optically barcoded drop libraries consisting of two-color fluorescent particle combinations: a library of 24 microbead barcodes and a library of 192 quantum dot barcodes. Barcoded combinations in the drop libraries are rapidly measured within a microfluidic device using fluorescence detection and distinct barcoded populations in the fluorescence drop data are identified using DBSCAN data clustering. Signal analysis reveals that particle size defines the source of dominant noise present in the fluorescence intensity distributions of the barcoded drop populations, arising from Poisson loading for microbeads and shot noise for quantum dots. A barcoded population from a drop library is isolated using fluorescence-activated drop sorting, enabling downstream analysis of drop contents. The PIPE chip can improve multiplexed high-throughput assays by enabling simultaneous encapsulation of barcoded samples stored in a microtiter plate and reducing sample preparation time.

Magnetic-Field-Driven Reconfigurable Microsphere Arrays for Laser Display Pixels

Reconfigurable microlaser arrays are essential to the construction of display panels where the individual pixel should be highly tunable in resonance mode, optical polarization, and lasing wavelength upon external control signals. Here we demonstrate a facile yet reliable approach to fabrication of organic microlaser pixels, in which the assembly of microsphere arrays on each pixel is controlled according to the near-field magnetostatic confinement. The geometrical configuration of diamagnetic microspheres could be readily modulated with the near-field potential traps by using the external field to alternate the saturation magnetization of the underneath micromagnet. The motion of microspheres can be modulated among several states upon applied field, and the reconfigurable microsphere array is thus achieved with high spatial precision and rapid temporal response. Moreover, both isolated and coupled spheres serve as low-threshold microlasers with tunable optical resonance modes, whereas the switching between the vertical and horizontal alignments of coupled spheres manipulates the polarization of lasing outputs. By repeating the magnetostatic confinement on the same substrate, the full-color laser display pixels with magnetically tunable color expression capability are successfully achieved.

Continuous resin refilling and hydrogen bond synergistically assisted 3D structural color printing

3D photonic crystals (PCs) have attracted extensive attention due to their unique optical properties. However, fabricating 3D PCs structure by 3D printing colloidal particles is limited by control of assembly under a fast-printing speed. Here, we employ continuous digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing strategy with hydrogen bonds assisted colloidal inks for fabricating well-assembled 3D PCs structures. Stable dispersion of colloidal particles inside UV-curable system induced by hydrogen bonding and suction force induced by continuous curing manner cooperatively realize the simultaneous macroscopic printing and microscopic particle assembly, which endows volumetric color property. Structural color can be well regulated by controlling the particle diameter and printing speed, through which various complex 3D structures with desired structural color distribution and optical light-guide properties are acquired. This 3D color construction approach shows great potential in customized jewelry accessories, decoration and optical device preparation, and will innovate the development of structural color.

Development of a Simple Fabrication Method for Magnetic Micro Stir Bars and Induction of Rotational Motion in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

A magnetic micro stirrer bar (MMSB) is used in the mixing operation of microfluidic devices. We have established a low-cost and easy method to make MMSBs using magnetic (neodymium magnets, magnet sheets) or non-magnetic powders (SUS304) as materials. We demonstrated three kinds of MMSB have respective advantages. To confirm the practical use of this MMSB, a cell suspension of the motile unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was stirred in microwells. As a result, the number of rotating cells increased with only one of the two flagella mechanically removed by the shear force of the rotating bar, which facilitates the kinetic analysis of the flagellar motion of the cell. The rotational motion of the monoflagellate cell was modeled as translational (orbital) + spinning motion of a sphere in a viscous fluid and the driving force per flagellum was confirmed to be consistent with previous literature. Since the present method does not use genetic manipulations or chemicals to remove a flagellum, it is possible to obtain cells in a more naturally viable state quickly and easily than before. However, since the components eluted from the powder material harm the health of cells, it was suggested that MMSB coated with resin for long-term use would be suitable for more diverse applications.

Flow lithography for structured microparticles: fundamentals, methods and applications

Structured microparticles, with unique shapes, customizable sizes, multiple materials, and spatially-defined chemistries, are leading the way for emerging 'lab on a particle' technologies. These microparticles with engineered designs find applications in multiplexed diagnostics, drug delivery, single-cell secretion assays, single-molecule detection assays, high throughput cytometry, micro-robotics, self-assembly, and tissue engineering. In this article we review state-of-the-art particle manufacturing technologies based on flow-assisted photolithography performed inside microfluidic channels. Important physicochemical concepts are discussed to provide a basis for understanding the fabrication technologies. These photolithography technologies are compared based on the structural as well as compositional complexity of the fabricated particles. Particles are categorized, from 1D to 3D particles, based on the number of dimensions that can be independently controlled during the fabrication process. After discussing the advantages of the individual techniques, important applications of the fabricated particles are reviewed. Lastly, a future perspective is provided with potential directions to improve the throughput of particle fabrication, realize new particle shapes, measure particles in an automated manner, and adopt the 'lab on a particle' technologies to other areas of research.

One-step assembly of barcoded planar microparticles for efficient readout of multiplexed immunoassay

Barcoded planar microparticles are suitable for developing cost-efficient multiplexed assays, but the robustness and efficiency of the readout process still needs improvement. Here, we designed a one-step microparticle assembling chip that produces efficient and accurate multiplex immunoassay readout results. Our design was also compatible with injection molding for mass production.

High-Order Photonic Cavity Modes Enabled 3D Structural Colors

It remains a challenge to directly print arbitrary three-dimensional shapes that exhibit structural colors at the micrometer scale. Woodpile photonic crystals (WPCs) fabricated via two-photon lithography (TPL) are elementary building blocks to produce 3D geometries that generate structural colors due to their ability to exhibit either omnidirectional or anisotropic photonic stop bands. However, existing approaches produce structural colors on WPCs when illuminating from the top, requiring print resolutions beyond the limit of commercial TPL, which necessitates postprocessing techniques. Here, we devised a strategy to support high-order photonic cavity modes upon side illumination on WPCs that surprisingly generate prominent reflectance peaks in the visible spectrum. Based on that, we demonstrate one-step printing of 3D photonic structural colors without requiring postprocessing or subwavelength features. Vivid colors with reflectance peaks exhibiting a full width at half-maximum of ∼25 nm, a maximum reflectance of 50%, a gamut of ∼85% of sRGB, and large viewing angles were achieved. In addition, we also demonstrated voxel-level manipulation and control of colors in arbitrary-shaped 3D objects constituted with WPCs as unit cells, which has potential for applications in dynamic color displays, colorimetric sensing, anti-counterfeiting, and light-matter interaction platforms.

Rapid trapping and tagging of microparticles in controlled flow by in situ digital projection lithography

Real-time and fast trapping and tagging of microfeatures, such as microparticles and cells, are of great significance for biomedical research. In this work, we propose a novel in situ digital projection lithography technology that integrates real-time, in situ generation of digital masks for particle processing and fluid control into conventional DMD-based projection lithography. With the help of image recognition technology, we rapidly resolve the information of the microparticle profile or channel location, combining the selection of existing masks of different shapes, thus enabling in situ generation of user-customized micro-trap arrays and microfilter arrays for particle trapping and tagging. The success in trapping and filtering single particles, particle arrays, and cells has indicated the promising prospects of this novel technology for broad applications in microfluidics, single-cell analysis, and early-stage disease diagnostics.

Multi-Mode and Dynamic Persistent Luminescence from Metal Cytosine Halides through Balancing Excited-State Proton Transfer

Persistent luminescence has attracted great attention due to the unique applications in molecular imaging, photodynamic therapy, and information storage, among many others. However, tuning the dynamic persistent luminescence through molecular design and materials engineering remains a challenge. In this work, the first example of excitation-dependent persistent luminescence in a reverse mode for smart optical materials through tailoring the excited-state proton transfer process of metal cytosine halide hybrids is reported. This approach enables ultralong phosphorescence and thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission colors highly tuned by modulation of excitation wavelength, time evolution, and temperature, which realize multi-mode dynamic color adjustment from green to blue or cyan to yellow-green. At the single crystal level, the 2D excitation/space/time-resolved optical waveguides with triple color conversion have been constructed on the organic-metal halide microsheets, which represent a new strategy for multi-dimensional information encryption and optical logic gate applications.

Lipophilic Magnetic Photonic Nanochains for Practical Anticounterfeiting

Magnetic photonic crystals (PCs) possess attractive magnetic orientation, flexible pattern designability, and abundant angle-dependent colors, providing immense potential in anticounterfeiting field. However, all-solid magnetic PCs-based labels generally suffer from incompatibility with screen printing techniques, and inferior environmental endurance and mechanical properties. Herein, by developing a selective concentration polymerization method under magnetic field (H) in microheterogenous dimethyl sulfoxide-water binary solvents, individual tens-of-micrometer-length lipophilic magnetic photonic nanochains (PNCs) of full-width at half-maxima below 30 nm are fabricated, which, after simply dispersed in solvent-free cycloaliphatic epoxy resin, can be formulated as photonic inks to print robust anticounterfeiting labels through an H-assisted screen-printing technology. The as-printed labels possess vivid optically variable effects (OVEs) associated with the spatial distribution of H directionality, which are easy to identify by the naked eye but difficult to imitate and duplicate, while they show excellent environmental resistance and mechanical properties, promising practical applications in banknotes and high-grade commodities. The polymerization mechanism of the lipophilic PNCs is elucidated, and the OVEs are deciphered in numerical simulation. Besides an efficient way to build organic-inorganic hybrid nanostructures, the work provides advanced structural color pigments to achieve the practical application of magnetic PCs in such an anticounterfeiting field.

Long-Lived Organic Room-Temperature Phosphorescence from Amorphous Polymer Systems

Long-lived organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have recently drawn extensive attention because of their promising applications in information security, biological imaging, optoelectronic devices, and intelligent sensors. In contrast to conventional fluorescence, the RTP phenomenon originates from the slow radiative transition of triplet excitons. Thus, enhancing the intersystem crossing (ISC) rate from the lowest excited singlet state (S₁) to the excited triplet state and suppressing the nonradiative relaxation channels of the lowest excited triplet state (T₁) are reasonable methods for realizing highly efficient RTP in purely organic materials. Over the past few decades, many strategies have been designed on the basis of the above two crucial factors. The introduction of heavy atoms, aromatic carbonyl groups, and other heteroatoms with abundant lone-pair electrons has been demonstrated to strengthen the spin-orbit coupling, thereby successfully facilitating the ISC process. Furthermore, the rigid environment is commonly constructed through crystal engineering to restrict intramolecular motions and intermolecular collisions to decrease excited-state energy dissipation. However, most crystal-based organic RTP materials suffer from poor processability, flexibility, and reproducibility, becoming a thorny obstacle to their practical application.Amorphous organic polymers with long-lived RTP characteristics are more competitive in materials science. The intertwined structures and long chains of polymers not only ensure the rigid environment with multiple interactions but also protect triplet excitons from the surroundings, which are conducive to realizing ultralong and bright RTP emission. Exploring the fabrication strategies, intrinsic mechanisms, and practical applications of organic long-lived RTP polymers is highly desirable but remains a formidable challenge. In particular, intelligent organic RTP polymer systems that are capable of dynamically responding to external stimuli (e.g., light, temperature, oxygen, and humidity) have been rarely reported. To develop multifunctional RTP materials and expand their potential applications, a great amount of effort has been expended.This Account gives a summary of the significant advances in amorphous organic RTP polymer systems, especially smart stimulus-responsive ones, focusing on the construction of a rigid environment to suppress nonradiative deactivation by abundant inter/intramolecular interactions. The typical interactions in RTP polymer systems mainly include hydrogen bonding, ionic bonding, and covalent bonding, which can change the molecular electronic structures and affect the energy dissipation channels of the excited states. An in-depth understanding of intrinsic mechanisms and an extensive exploration of potential applications for excitation-dependent color-tunable, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-activated, temperature-dependent, water-responsive, and circularly polarized RTP polymer systems are distinctly illustrated in this Account. Furthermore, we propose some detailed perspectives in terms of materials design, mechanism exploration, and promising application potential with the hope to provide helpful guidance for the future development of amorphous organic RTP polymers.

Multicolour Fluorescence Based on Excitation-Dependent Electron Transfer Processes in o-Carborane Dyads

Organic materials with excitation wavelength-dependent (Ex-de) emission are highly attractive for anticounterfeiting, optoelectronics and bioassay applications; however, the realization of Ex-de fluorescence, independent of aggregation states, remains a challenge. We herein report a photoinduced electron transfer (PeT) strategy to design Ex-de fluorescence materials by manipulating the relaxation pathways of multiple excited states. As expected, the o-carborane dyad presents a clear Ex-de fluorescence colour in the aggregated states, resulting from the tunable relative intensity of the dual-fluorescence spectra. Taking TP[1]B as an example, the amorphous powders emitted bright blue-violet, white and yellow colours under 390 nm, 365 nm and 254 nm UV illumination, respectively. Importantly, multicolour, flexible and transparent films as well as an anticounterfeiting application using this o-carborane dyad are demonstrated.

Recent Advances in Polymer Additive Engineering for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Hydrogels

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer materials that provide a wide range of physicochemical properties as well as are highly biocompatible. Biomedical researchers are adapting these materials for the ever-increasing range of design options and potential applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. Along with innovative hydrogel polymer backbone developments, designing polymer additives for these backbones has been a major contributor to the field, especially for expanding the functionality spectrum of hydrogels. For the past decade, researchers invented numerous hydrogel functionalities that emerge from the rational incorporation of additives such as nucleic acids, proteins, cells, and inorganic nanomaterials. Cases of successful commercialization of such functional hydrogels are being reported, thus driving more translational research with hydrogels. Among the many hydrogels, here we reviewed recently reported functional hydrogels incorporated with polymer additives. We focused on those that have potential in translational medicine applications which range from diagnostic sensors as well as assay and drug screening to therapeutic actuators as well as drug delivery and implant. We discussed the growing trend of facile point-of-care diagnostics and integrated smart platforms. Additionally, special emphasis was given to emerging bioinformatics functionalities stemming from the information technology field, such as DNA data storage and anti-counterfeiting strategies. We anticipate that these translational purpose-driven polymer additive research studies will continue to advance the field of functional hydrogel engineering.

A bioinspired, electroactive colorable and additive manufactured photonic artificial muscle

Structural coloration in biomimetic nanostructures has remarkable application potential in vivid display devices, but their color change effect is still insufficiently competitive towards biology. Inspired by the feather color change of a hummingbird, a new methodology for coloration is proposed. A structure-colorable flexural artificial muscle (FlexAM) is developed by integrating a view-angle dependent photonic diffraction grating pattern and voltage-actuated dielectric elastomers as an electroactive entity via laminated object additive manufacturing. A multi-physics model is developed which guides the FlexAM to harness the view-angle dependence for the new coloration strategy. The electro-mechanochromic performances are experimentally characterized to verify the prediction of the multi-physics model. An ultrafast coloration in the FlexAM with an advancing figure-of-merit at a color-shift rate of 2.814 nm ms^-1 is realized, in addition to an excellent fatigue resistance up to 10 000 cycles. A photonic display with arrayed FlexAM elements is designed, which can be used to display numbers and letters. The current research offers an advanced artificial muscle towards active photonic and visible strain sensing.

Reversible Photo-Induced Reshaping of Imprinted Microstructures Using a Low Molecular Azo Dye

A blend of low molecular azo glass (AZOPD) and polystyrene (PS) were used for the systematic investigation of photo-induced stretching and recovery of nanoimprinted structures. For this purpose, light and heat was used as recovery stimuli. The AZOPD/PS microstructures, fabricated with thermal nanoimprint lithography (tNIL), comprises three different shapes (circles, crosses and squares) and various concentrations of AZOPD fractions. The results show a concentration-dependent reshaping. Particularly the sample with 43 w-% of the AZOPD fraction have shown the best controllable recovery for the used parameters. A possible explanation for shape recovery might be the stabilizing effect of the PS-matrix.

Laterally Engineering Lanthanide-MOFs Epitaxial Heterostructures for Spatially Resolved Planar 2D Photonic Barcoding

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) heterostructures with domain-controlled emissive colors have shown great potential for achieving high-throughput sensing, anti-counterfeit and information security. Here, a strategy based on steric-hindrance effect is proposed to construct lateral lanthanide-MOFs (Ln-MOFs) epitaxial heterostructures, where the channel-directed guest molecules are introduced to rebalance in-plane and out-of-plane growth rates of the Ln-MOFs microrods and eventually generate lateral MOF epitaxial heterostructures with controllable aspect ratios. A library of lateral Ln-MOFs heterostructures are acquired through a stepwise epitaxial growth procedure, from which rational modulation of each domain with specific lanthanide doping species allows for definition of photonic barcodes in a two-dimensional (2D) domain with remarkably enlarged encoding capacity. The results provide molecular-level insight into the use of modulators in governing crystallite morphology for spatially assembling multifunctional heterostructures.

A Variable Height Microfluidic Device for Multiplexed Immunoassay Analysis of Traumatic Brain Injury Biomarkers

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, partially due to the lack of sensitive diagnostic methods and efficacious therapies. Panels of protein biomarkers have been proposed as a way of diagnosing and monitoring TBI. To measure multiple TBI biomarkers simultaneously, we present a variable height microfluidic device consisting of a single channel that varies in height between the inlet and outlet and can passively multiplex bead-based immunoassays by trapping assay beads at the point where their diameter matches the channel height. We developed bead-based quantum dot-linked immunosorbent assays (QLISAs) for interleukin-6 (IL-6), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) using DynabeadsTM M-450, M-270, and MyOneTM, respectively. The IL-6 and GFAP QLISAs were successfully multiplexed using a variable height channel that ranged in height from ~7.6 µm at the inlet to ~2.1 µm at the outlet. The IL-6, GFAP, and IL-8 QLISAs were also multiplexed using a channel that ranged in height from ~6.3 µm at the inlet to ~0.9 µm at the outlet. Our system can keep pace with TBI biomarker discovery and validation, as additional protein biomarkers can be multiplexed simply by adding in antibody-conjugated beads of different diameters.

Random access DNA memory using Boolean search in an archival file storage system

DNA is an ultrahigh-density storage medium that could meet exponentially growing worldwide demand for archival data storage if DNA synthesis costs declined sufficiently and if random access of files within exabyte-to-yottabyte-scale DNA data pools were feasible. Here, we demonstrate a path to overcome the second barrier by encapsulating data-encoding DNA file sequences within impervious silica capsules that are surface labelled with single-stranded DNA barcodes. Barcodes are chosen to represent file metadata, enabling selection of sets of files with Boolean logic directly, without use of amplification. We demonstrate random access of image files from a prototypical 2-kilobyte image database using fluorescence sorting with selection sensitivity of one in 10⁶ files, which thereby enables one in 10^6N selection capability using N optical channels. Our strategy thereby offers a scalable concept for random access of archival files in large-scale molecular datasets.

Photopatterned microswimmers with programmable motion without external stimuli

We introduce highly programmable microscale swimmers driven by the Marangoni effect (Marangoni microswimmers) that can self-propel on the surface of water. Previous studies on Marangoni swimmers have shown the advantage of self-propulsion without external energy source or mechanical systems, by taking advantage of direct conversion from power source materials to mechanical energy. However, current developments on Marangoni microswimmers have limitations in their fabrication, thereby hindering their programmability and precise mass production. By introducing a photopatterning method, we generated Marangoni microswimmers with multiple functional parts with distinct material properties in high throughput. Furthermore, various motions such as time-dependent direction change and disassembly of swimmers without external stimuli are programmed into the Marangoni microswimmers.

Highly Magnetized Encoded Hydrogel Microparticles with Enhanced Rinsing Capabilities for Efficient microRNA Detection

Encoded hydrogel microparticles mounting DNA probes are powerful tools for high-performance microRNA (miRNA) detection in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and multiplex detection capability. However, several particle rinsing steps in the assay procedure present challenges for rapid and efficient detection. To overcome this limitation, we encapsulated dense magnetic nanoparticles to reduce the rinsing steps and duration via magnetic separation. A large number of magnetic nanoparticles were encapsulated into hydrogel microparticles based on a discontinuous dewetting technique combined with degassed micromolding lithography. In addition, we attached DNA probes targeting three types of miRNAs related to preeclampsia to magnetically encoded hydrogel microparticles by post-synthesis conjugation and achieved sensitivity comparable to that of conventional nonmagnetic encoded hydrogel microparticles. To demonstrate the multiplex capability of magnetically encoded hydrogel microparticles while maintaining the advantages of the simplified rinsing process when addressing multiple samples, we conducted a triplex detection of preeclampsia-related miRNAs. In conclusion, the introduction of magnetically encoded hydrogel microparticles not only allowed efficient miRNA detection but also provided comparable sensitivity and multiplexed detectability to conventional nonmagnetic encoded hydrogel microparticles.

Functional Micro-/Nanomaterials for Multiplexed Biodetection

When analyzing biological phenomena and processes, multiplexed biodetection has many advantages over single-factor biodetection and is highly relevant to both human health issues and advancements in the life sciences. However, many key problems with current multiplexed biodetection strategies remain unresolved. Herein, the main issues are analyzed and summarized: 1) generating sufficient signal to label targets, 2) improving the signal-to-noise ratio to ensure total detection sensitivity, and 3) simplifying the detection process to reduce the time and labor costs of multiple target detection. Then, available solutions made possible by designing and controlling the properties of micro- and nanomaterials are introduced. The aim is to emphasize the role that micro-/nanomaterials can play in the improvement of multiplexed biodetection strategies. Through analyzing existing problems, introducing state-of-the-art developments regarding relevant materials, and discussing future directions of the field, it is hopeful to help promote necessary developments in multiplexed biodetection and associated scientific research.

Multispectral upconversion nanoparticles for near infrared encoding of wearable devices

Individual recognition technology such as iris recognition and bar coding has been extensively investigated for non-face-to-face authorization. However, there are still strong unmet needs for facile, rapid, and robust individual recognition. Here, we developed multispectral transparent films of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) for near-infrared (NIR) encoding of wearable devices including contact lenses and patch devices. A multispectral UCNP film in a contact lens showed various luminescence colors of patterns under 980 nm NIR light irradiation and each color could be assigned to a specific code by RGB value analysis. The encoded film of UCNPs in the contact lens was successfully decoded by the RGB value analysis with a charge coupled digital (CCD) camera. Furthermore, the UCNP barcode film could be applied in the form of attachable barcode patches onto various substrates like porcine skin and paper currency. Taken together, we could confirm the feasibility of multispectral UCNP transparent films as a facile individual recognition platform for non-face-to-face authorization.

Multispectral transparent films of upconversion nanoparticles are developed for near-infrared encoding of wearable devices including contact lenses and patch devices.