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Rapid isolation and identification of pneumonia associated pathogens from sputum samples combining an innovative sample preparation strategy and array-based detection
With this study, an innovative and convenient enrichment and detection strategy for eight clinically relevant pneumonia pathogens, namely, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is introduced. Bacteria were isolated from sputum samples with amine-modified particles exploiting pH-dependent electrostatic interactions between bacteria and the functionalized particle surface. Following this, an asymmetric polymerase chain reaction as well as subsequent stringent array-based hybridization with specific complementary capture probes were performed. Finally, results were visualized by an enzyme-induced silver nanoparticle deposition, providing stable endpoint signals and consequently an easy detection possibility. The assay was optimized using spiked samples of artificial sputum with different strains of the abovementioned bacterial species. Furthermore, actual patient sputum samples with S. pneumoniae were successfully analyzed. The presented approach offers great potential for the urgent need of a fast, specific, and reliable isolation and identification platform for important pneumonia pathogens, covering the complete process chain from sample preparation up to array-based detection within only 4 h.With this study, an innovative and convenient enrichment and detection strategy for eight clinically relevant pneumonia pathogens, namely, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is introduced. Bacteria were isolated from sputum samples with amine-modified particles exploiting pH-dependent electrostatic interactions between bacteria and the functionalized particle surface. Following this, an asymmetric polymerase chain reaction as well as subsequent stringent array-based hybridization with specific complementary capture probes were performed. Finally, results were visualized by an enzyme-induced silver nanoparticle deposition, providing stable endpoint signals and consequently an easy detection possibility. The assay was optimized using spiked samples of artificial sputum with different strains of the abovementioned bacterial species. Furthermore, actual patient sputum samples with S. pneumoniae were successfully analyzed. The presented approach offers great potential for the urgent need of a fast, specific, and reliable isolation and identification platform for important pneumonia pathogens, covering the complete process chain from sample preparation up to array-based detection within only 4 h.
Label free sensing of creatinine using a 6 GHz CMOS near-field dielectric immunosensor
In this work we present a CMOS high frequency direct immunosensor operating at 6 GHz (C-band) for label free determination of creatinine. The sensor is fabricated in standard 0.13 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS process. The report also demonstrates the ability to immobilize creatinine molecules on a Si3N4 passivation layer of the standard BiCMOS/CMOS process, therefore, evading any further need of cumbersome post processing of the fabricated sensor chip. The sensor is based on capacitive detection of the amount of non-creatinine bound antibodies binding to an immobilized creatinine layer on the passivated sensor. The chip bound antibody amount in turn corresponds indirectly to the creatinine concentration used in the incubation phase. The determination of creatinine in the concentration range of 0.88–880 μM is successfully demonstrated in this work. A sensitivity of 35 MHz/10 fold increase in creatinine concentration (during incubation) at the centre frequency of 6 GHz is gained by the immunosensor. The results are compared with a standard optical measurement technique and the dynamic range and sensitivity is of the order of the established optical indication technique. The C-band immunosensor chip comprising an area of 0.3 mm2 reduces the sensing area considerably, therefore, requiring a sample volume as low as 2 μl. The small analyte sample volume and label free approach also reduce the experimental costs in addition to the low fabrication costs offered by the batch fabrication technique of CMOS/BiCMOS process.
Pronounced ductility in CuZrAl ternary bulk metallic glass composites with optimized microstructure through melt adjustment
Microstructures and mechanical properties of as-cast Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 bulk metallic glass composites are optimized by appropriate remelting treatment of master alloys. With increasing remelting time, the alloys exhibit homogenized size and distribution of in situ formed B2 CuZr crystals. Pronounced tensile ductility of ∼13.6% and work-hardening ability are obtained for the composite with optimized microstructure. The effect of remelting treatment is attributed to the suppressed heterogeneous nucleation and growth of the crystalline phase from undercooled liquid, which may originate from the dissolution of oxides and nitrides as well as from the micro-scale homogenization of the melt.
Multilevel HfO2-based RRAM devices for low-power neuromorphic networks
Training and recognition with neural networks generally require high throughput, high energy efficiency, and scalable circuits to enable artificial intelligence tasks to be operated at the edge, i.e., in battery-powered portable devices and other limited-energy environments. In this scenario, scalable resistive memories have been proposed as artificial synapses thanks to their scalability, reconfigurability, and high-energy efficiency, and thanks to the ability to perform analog computation by physical laws in hardware. In this work, we study the material, device, and architecture aspects of resistive switching memory (RRAM) devices for implementing a 2-layer neural network for pattern recognition. First, various RRAM processes are screened in view of the device window, analog storage, and reliability. Then, synaptic weights are stored with 5-level precision in a 4 kbit array of RRAM devices to classify the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (MNIST) dataset. Finally, classification performance of a 2-layer neural network is tested before and after an annealing experiment by using experimental values of conductance stored into the array, and a simulation-based analysis of inference accuracy for arrays of increasing size is presented. Our work supports material-based development of RRAM synapses for novel neural networks with high accuracy and low-power consumption. © 2019 Author(s).
Strong Wet and Dry Adhesion by Cupped Microstructures
Recent advances in bio-inspired microfibrillar adhesives have resulted in technologies that allow reliable attachment to a variety of surfaces. Because capillary and van der Waals forces are considerably weakened underwater, fibrillar adhesives are however far less effective in wet environments. Although various strategies have been proposed to achieve strong reversible underwater adhesion, strong adhesives that work both in air and underwater without additional surface treatments have yet to be developed. In this study, we report a novel design - cupped microstructures (CM) - that generates strong controllable adhesion in air and underwater. We measured the adhesive performance of cupped polyurethane microstructures with three different cup angles (15, 30, and 45°) and the same cup diameter of 100 μm in dry and wet conditions in comparison to standard mushroom-shaped microstructures (MSMs) of the same dimensions. In air, 15°CM performed comparably to the flat MSM of the same size with an adhesion strength (force per real contact area) of up to 1.3 MPa, but underwater, 15°CM achieved 20 times stronger adhesion than MSM (∼1 MPa versus ∼0.05 MPa). Furthermore, the cupped microstructures exhibit self-sealing properties, whereby stronger pulls lead to longer stable attachment and much higher adhesion through the formation of a better seal. © 2019 American Chemical Society.
Fulleretic well-defined scaffolds: Donor–fullerene alignment through metal coordination and its effect on photophysics
Herein, we report the first example of a crystalline metal–donor–fullerene framework, in which control of the donor–fullerene mutual orientation was achieved through chemical bond formation, in particular, by metal coordination. The 13C cross‐polarization magic‐angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and time‐resolved fluorescence spectroscopy were performed for comprehensive structural analysis and energy‐transfer (ET) studies of the fulleretic donor–acceptor scaffold. Furthermore, in combination with photoluminescence measurements, the theoretical calculations of the spectral overlap function, Förster radius, excitation energies, and band structure were employed to elucidate the photophysical and ET processes in the prepared fulleretic material. We envision that the well‐defined fulleretic donor–acceptor materials could contribute not only to the basic science of fullerene chemistry but would also be used towards effective development of organic photovoltaics and molecular electronics.
Stimuli‐responsive microjets with reconfigurable shape
Flexible thermoresponsive polymeric microjets are formed by the self‐folding of polymeric layers containing a thin Pt film used as catalyst for self‐propulsion in solutions containing hydrogen peroxide. The flexible microjets can reversibly fold and unfold in an accurate manner by applying changes in temperature to the solution in which they are immersed. This effect allows microjets to rapidly start and stop multiple times by controlling the radius of curvature of the microjet. This work opens many possibilities in the field of artificial nanodevices, for fundamental studies on self‐propulsion at the microscale, and also for biorelated applications.
Phonon-Polaritonic Bowtie Nanoantennas: Controlling Infrared Thermal Radiation at the Nanoscale
A conventional thermal emitter exhibits a broad emission spectrum with a peak wavelength depending upon the operation temperature. Recently, narrowband thermal emission was realized with periodic gratings or single microstructures of polar crystals supporting distinct optical modes. Here, we exploit the coupling of adjacent phonon-polaritonic nanostructures, demonstrating experimentally that the nanometer-scale gaps can control the thermal emission frequency while retaining emission line widths as narrow as 10 cm-1. This was achieved by using deeply subdiffractional bowtie-shaped silicon carbide nanoantennas. Infrared far-field reflectance spectroscopy, near-field optical nanoimaging, and full-wave electromagnetic simulations were employed to prove that the thermal emission originates from strongly localized surface phonon-polariton resonances of nanoantenna structures. The observed narrow emission line widths and exceptionally small modal volumes provide new opportunities for the user-design of near- and far-field radiation patterns for advancements in infrared spectroscopy, sensing, signaling, communications, coherent thermal emission, and infrared photodetection. © 2017 American Chemical Society.
Roles of hydrogenation, annealing and field in the structure and magnetic entropy change of Tb-based bulk metallic glasses
The reduction of open-volume regions in Tb-based metallic glass (MG) by annealing and hydrogen charging was found to rearrange the atomic structure and tune the magnetic behaviors. After crystallization, the magnetic structure and magnetic entropy change (MEC) alters due to the structural transformation, and a plateau-like-MEC behavior can be obtained. The hydrogen concentration after charging at 1mA/cm2 for 576 h reaches as high as 3290 w-ppm. The magnetization behavior and the MEC change due to the modification of the exchange interaction and the random magnetic anisotropy (RMA) upon hydrogenation. At low temperatures, irreversible positive MEC was obtained, which is related to the internal entropy production. The RMA-to-exchange ratio acts as a switch to control the irreversible entropy production channel and the reversible entropy transfer channel. The field dependence of the MEC is discussed in term of the competition among Zeeman energy, exchange interaction and RMA.
Ultra-wide bandgap, conductive, high mobility, and high quality melt-grown bulk ZnGa2O4 single crystals
Truly bulk ZnGa2O4 single crystals were obtained directly from the melt. High melting point of 1900 ± 20 °C and highly incongruent evaporation of the Zn- and Ga-containing species impose restrictions on growth conditions. The obtained crystals are characterized by a stoichiometric or near-stoichiometric composition with a normal spinel structure at room temperature and by a narrow full width at half maximum of the rocking curve of the 400 peak of (100)-oriented samples of 23 arcsec. ZnGa2O4 is a single crystalline spinel phase with the Ga/Zn atomic ratio up to about 2.17. Melt-grown ZnGa2O4 single crystals are thermally stable up to 1100 and 700 °C when subjected to annealing for 10 h in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres, respectively. The obtained ZnGa2O4 single crystals were either electrical insulators or n-type semiconductors/degenerate semiconductors depending on growth conditions and starting material composition. The as-grown semiconducting crystals had the resistivity, free electron concentration, and maximum Hall mobility of 0.002–0.1 Ωcm, 3 × 1018–9 × 1019 cm−3, and 107 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. The semiconducting crystals could be switched into the electrically insulating state by annealing in the presence of oxygen at temperatures ≥700 °C for at least several hours. The optical absorption edge is steep and originates at 275 nm, followed by full transparency in the visible and near infrared spectral regions. The optical bandgap gathered from the absorption coefficient is direct with a value of about 4.6 eV, close to that of β-Ga2O3. Additionally, with a lattice constant of a = 8.3336 Å, ZnGa2O4 may serve as a good lattice-matched substrate for magnetic Fe-based spinel films.