Portable in situ temperature-dependent spectroscopy on a low-cost microfluidic platform integrated with a battery-powered thermofoil heater

Phenothiazine Derivatives as Small-Molecule Organic Cathodes with Adjustable Dropout Voltage and Cycle Performance

Compared with conventional inorganic materials, organic electrodes are competitive candidates for secondary battery cathodes due to their resourcefulness, environmental friendliness, and cost-effectiveness. Much effort is devoted at the level of chemical structure, while ignoring the impact of molecular aggregation on battery behavior. Herein, this work designs a series of organic molecules with two electrochemically active phenothiazine groups linked by different lengths of alkyl chain to regulate molecular symmetry and crystallinity. The results emphasize the equally important role of molecular aggregation and chemical structure for battery performance. Among them, 2PTZ-C7H14|Li cell exhibits the most impressive cycle and rate performance. At the high rate of 50 C, it can still deliver a capacity of 63.4 mA h g-1 and 74.5% capacity retention after 10 000 cycles. Besides, the dropout voltage of 2PTZ-C9H18|Li cell is only 52 mV, which is among the lowest reported for lithium-organic batteries to the best of the author's knowledge.

Microfluidics Coupled Mass Spectrometry for Single Cell Multi-Omics

Population-level analysis masks significant heterogeneity between individual cells, making it difficult to accurately reflect the true intricacies of life activities. Microfluidics is a technique that can manipulate individual cells effectively and is commonly coupled with a variety of analytical methods for single-cell analysis. Single-cell omics provides abundant molecular information at the single-cell level, fundamentally revealing differences in cell types and biological states among cell individuals, leading to a deeper understanding of cellular phenotypes and life activities. Herein, this work summarizes the microfluidic chips designed for single-cell isolation, manipulation, trapping, screening, and sorting, including droplet microfluidic chips, microwell arrays, hydrodynamic microfluidic chips, and microchips with microvalves. This work further reviews the studies on single-cell proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, and multi-omics based on microfluidics and mass spectrometry. Finally, the challenges and future application of single-cell multi-omics are discussed.

A three-in-one microfluidic droplet digital PCR platform for absolute quantitative analysis of DNA

Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) technology has found widespread applications in the ultrasensitive analysis of nucleic acids, where integrated ddPCR platforms with the capability of sample dispersion, followed by in situ amplification and data analysis, are highly expected. However, current integrated ddPCR platforms are usually limited by either difficultly mass-produced materials or lack of integrated control instruments, restricting their practical application. This paper proposes an integrated three-in-one ddPCR platform with high user-friendliness and practicability, which is composed of an easy-to-use chip and a matching control instrument. The chip was made of thermally resistant and easily mass-produced polycarbonate (PC) material, and the benchtop control instrument was designed to perform droplet generation, in situ amplification, and fluorescence reading. The droplet generation and in situ heating on the chip were well characterized. Finally, the performance of the platform was validated through the analysis of the EGFR L858R mutation in lung cancer. The proposed three-in-one ddPCR platform shows great practicability in ultrasensitive nucleic acid testing. By virtue of its sensitivity, practicability, and cost-effectiveness, the ddPCR can serve as a universal detection platform for monitoring nucleic acid in the fields of tumor diagnosis, pathogen detection, and prenatal diagnosis.

Breaking the clean room barrier: exploring low-cost alternatives for microfluidic devices

Microfluidics is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses both science and engineering, which aims to design and fabricate devices capable of manipulating extremely low volumes of fluids on a microscale level. The central objective of microfluidics is to provide high precision and accuracy while using minimal reagents and equipment. The benefits of this approach include greater control over experimental conditions, faster analysis, and improved experimental reproducibility. Microfluidic devices, also known as labs-on-a-chip (LOCs), have emerged as potential instruments for optimizing operations and decreasing costs in various of industries, including pharmaceutical, medical, food, and cosmetics. However, the high price of conventional prototypes for LOCs devices, generated in clean room facilities, has increased the demand for inexpensive alternatives. Polymers, paper, and hydrogels are some of the materials that can be utilized to create the inexpensive microfluidic devices covered in this article. In addition, we highlighted different manufacturing techniques, such as soft lithography, laser plotting, and 3D printing, that are suitable for creating LOCs. The selection of materials and fabrication techniques will depend on the specific requirements and applications of each individual LOC. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the numerous alternatives for the development of low-cost LOCs to service industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, and biomedicine.