| 1. |
- Lee, Seung Joon, et al.
(författare)
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Microslit on a chip: A simplified filter to capture circulating tumor cells enlarged with microbeads
- 2019
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 14:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microchips are widely used to separate circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood by virtues of sophisticated manipulation for microparticles. Here, we present a chip with an 8 µm high and 27.9 mm wide slit to capture cancer cells bound to 3 µm beads. Apart from a higher purity and recovery rate, the slit design allows for simplified fabrication, easy cell imaging, less clogging, lower chamber pressure and, therefore, higher throughput. The beads were conjugated with anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecules (anti-EpCAM) to selectively bind to breast cancer cells (MCF-7) used to spike the whole blood. The diameter of the cell-bead construct was in average 23.1 µm, making them separable from other cells in the blood. As a result, the cancer cells were separated from 5 mL of whole blood with a purity of 52.0% and a recovery rate of 91.1%, and also we confirmed that the device can be applicable to clinical samples of human breast cancer patients. The simple design with microslit, by eliminating any high-aspect ratio features, is expected to reduce possible defects on the chip and, therefore, more suitable for mass production without false separation outputs.
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| 2. |
- Ogasawara, Hirohito, et al.
(författare)
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X-ray free electron laser studies of electron and phonon dynamics of graphene adsorbed on copper
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physical Review Materials. - 2475-9953. ; 7:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report optical pumping and x-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory free electron laser that probes the electron dynamics of a graphene monolayer adsorbed on copper in the femtosecond regime. By analyzing the results with ab initio theory we infer that the excitation of graphene is dominated by indirect excitation from hot electron-hole pairs created in the copper by the optical laser pulse. However, once the excitation is created in graphene, its decay follows a similar path as in many previous studies of graphene adsorbed on semiconductors, i.e., rapid excitation of strongly coupled optical phonons and eventual thermalization. It is likely that the lifetime of the hot electron-hole pairs in copper governs the lifetime of the electronic excitation of the graphene.
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| 3. |
- Shin, Hyun Young, et al.
(författare)
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Cell Seeding Technology for Microarray-Based Quantitative Human Primary Skeletal Muscle Cell Analysis
- 2019
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Ingår i: Analytical Chemistry. - : AMER CHEMICAL SOC. - 0003-2700 .- 1520-6882. ; 91:22, s. 14214-14219
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pipetting techniques play a crucial role in obtaining reproducible and reliable results, especially when seeding cells on small target areas, such as on microarrays, biochips or microfabricated cell culture systems. For very rare cells, such as human primary skeletal muscle cells (skMCs), manual (freehand) cell seeding techniques invariably result in nonuniform cell spreading and heterogeneous cell densities, giving rise to undesirable variations in myogenesis and differentiation. To prevent such technique-dependent variation, we have designed and fabricated a simple, low-cost pipet guidance device (PGD), and holder that works with hand-held pipettes. This work validates the accuracy and reproducibility of the PGD platform and compares its effectiveness with manual and robotic seeding techniques. The PGD system ensures reproducibility of cell seeding, comparable to that of more expensive robotic dispensing systems, resulting in a high degree of cell uniformity and homogeneous cell densities, while also enabling cell community studies. As compared to freehand pipetting, PGD-assisted seeding of C2C12 mouse myoblasts showed 5.3 times more myotube formation and likewise myotubes derived from PGD-seeded human primary skMCs were 3.6 times thicker and 2.2 times longer. These results show that this novel, yet simple PGD-assisted pipetting technique provides precise cell seeding on small targets, ensuring reproducible and reliable high-throughput cell assays.
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| 4. |
- Amann-Winkel, Katrin, et al.
(författare)
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Liquid-liquid phase separation in supercooled water from ultrafast heating of low-density amorphous ice
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent experiments continue to find evidence for a liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) in supercooled water, which would unify our understanding of the anomalous properties of liquid water and amorphous ice. These experiments are challenging because the proposed LLPT occurs under extreme metastable conditions where the liquid freezes to a crystal on a very short time scale. Here, we analyze models for the LLPT to show that coexistence of distinct high-density and low-density liquid phases may be observed by subjecting low-density amorphous (LDA) ice to ultrafast heating. We then describe experiments in which we heat LDA ice to near the predicted critical point of the LLPT by an ultrafast infrared laser pulse, following which we measure the structure factor using femtosecond x-ray laser pulses. Consistent with our predictions, we observe a LLPT occurring on a time scale < 100 ns and widely separated from ice formation, which begins at times >1 mu s. Obtaining experimental evidence of a liquid-liquid phase transition in supercooled water is challenging due to the rapid crystallization. Here the authors drive low-density amorphous ice to the conditions of liquid-liquid coexistence using ultrafast laser heating and observe the liquid-liquid phase transition with femtosecond x-ray laser pulses.
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| 5. |
- Kim, Kyung Hwan, et al.
(författare)
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Experimental observation of the liquid-liquid transition in bulk supercooled water under pressure
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 370:6519, s. 978-982
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We prepared bulk samples of supercooled liquid water under pressure by isochoric heating of high-density amorphous ice to temperatures of 205 ± 10 kelvin, using an infrared femtosecond laser. Because the sample density is preserved during the ultrafast heating, we could estimate an initial internal pressure of 2.5 to 3.5 kilobar in the high-density liquid phase. After heating, the sample expanded rapidly, and we captured the resulting decompression process with femtosecond x-ray laser pulses at different pump-probe delay times. A discontinuous structural change occurred in which low-density liquid domains appeared and grew on time scales between 20 nanoseconds to 3 microseconds, whereas crystallization occurs on time scales of 3 to 50 microseconds. The dynamics of the two processes being separated by more than one order of magnitude provides support for a liquid-liquid transition in bulk supercooled water.
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| 6. |
- Kim, Taehoon H., et al.
(författare)
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Solenoid Driven Pressure Valve System: Toward Versatile Fluidic Control in Paper Microfluidics
- 2018
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Ingår i: Analytical Chemistry. - : AMER CHEMICAL SOC. - 0003-2700 .- 1520-6882. ; 90:4, s. 2534-2541
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As paper-based diagnostics has become predominantly driven by more advanced microfluidic technology, many of the research efforts are still focused on developing reliable and versatile fluidic control devices, apart from improving sensitivity and reproducibility. In this work, we introduce a novel and robust paper fluidic control system enabling versatile fluidic control. The system comprises a linear push-pull solenoid and an Arduino Uno micro controller. The precisely controlled pressure exerted on the paper stops the flow. We first determined the stroke distance of the solenoid to obtain a constant pressure while examining the fluidic time delay as a function of the pressure. Results showed that strips of grade 1 chromatography paper had superior reproducibility in fluid transport. Next, we characterized the reproducibility of the fluidic velocity which depends on the type and grade of paper used. As such, we were able to control the flow velocity on the paper and also achieve a complete stop of flow with a pressure over 2.0 MPa. Notably, after the actuation of the pressure driven valve (PDV), the previously pressed area regained its original flow properties. This means that, even on a previously pressed area, multiple valve operations can be successfully conducted. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an active and repetitive valve operation in paper microfluidics. As a proof of concept, we have chosen to perform a multistep detection system in the form of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with mouse IgG as the target analyte.
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| 7. |
- Ladd-Parada, Marjorie, et al.
(författare)
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Following the Crystallization of Amorphous Ice after Ultrafast Laser Heating
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-6106 .- 1520-5207. ; 126:11, s. 2299-2307
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering, we investigated the early stages (10 μs–1 ms) of crystallization of supercooled water, obtained by the ultrafast heating of high- and low-density amorphous ice (HDA and LDA) up to a temperature T = 205 K ± 10 K. We have determined that the crystallizing phase is stacking disordered ice (Isd), with a maximum cubicity of χ = 0.6, in agreement with predictions from molecular dynamics simulations at similar temperatures. However, we note that a growing small portion of hexagonal ice (Ih) was also observed, suggesting that within our timeframe, Isd starts annealing into Ih. The onset of crystallization, in both amorphous ice, occurs at a similar temperature, but the observed final crystalline fraction in the LDA sample is considerably lower than that in the HDA sample. We attribute this discrepancy to the thickness difference between the two samples.
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| 8. |
- Ladd-Parada, Marjorie, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Following the Crystallization of Amorphous Ice after Ultrafast Laser Heating
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-6106 .- 1520-5207. ; 126:11, s. 2299-2307
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering, we investigated the early stages (10 μs–1 ms) of crystallization of supercooled water, obtained by the ultrafast heating of high- and low-density amorphous ice (HDA and LDA) up to a temperature T = 205 K ± 10 K. We have determined that the crystallizing phase is stacking disordered ice (Isd), with a maximum cubicity of χ = 0.6, in agreement with predictions from molecular dynamics simulations at similar temperatures. However, we note that a growing small portion of hexagonal ice (Ih) was also observed, suggesting that within our timeframe, Isd starts annealing into Ih. The onset of crystallization, in both amorphous ice, occurs at a similar temperature, but the observed final crystalline fraction in the LDA sample is considerably lower than that in the HDA sample. We attribute this discrepancy to the thickness difference between the two samples.
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| 9. |
- Li, Yuxiang, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of backbone modification of difluoroquinoxaline-based copolymers on the interchain packing, blend morphology and photovoltaic properties of nonfullerene organic solar cells
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry C. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2050-7534 .- 2050-7526. ; 7:6, s. 1681-1689
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to understand the influence of molecular ordering and orientation on the performance of nonfullerene (NF) solar cells, we synthesized a series of difluoroquinoxaline-based alternating copolymers: starting from poly(2,2′-bithiophene-alt-(2,3-bis(3,4-bis(octyloxy)phenyl)-6,7-difluoroquinoxaline)) (PDFQx-2T), we modified the polymeric backbone by incorporating fluorine atoms (PDFQx-2T2F) or thiophene (PDFQx-3T) or a benzene ring (PDFQx-2TB) in the bithiophene comonomeric unit. The structure modification significantly affected the photovoltaic performance with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 3.95% for PDFQx-2TB:ITIC, 4.82% for PDFQx-2T:ITIC, 4.93% for PDFQx-2T2F:ITIC and 8.13% for PDFQx-3T:ITIC. The dramatic increase in the PCE of PDFQx-3T:ITIC was attributed to improvements in the short-circuit current density (J SC ) and fill factor (FF). From the resonant soft X-ray scattering and grazing incidence X-ray scattering measurements, the PDFQx-3T polymers had well-developed, face-on oriented crystallites, allowing the formation of face-to-face alignment with the face-on ordered ITIC molecules at the interfaces. Also, the PDFQx-3T:ITIC blend films exhibited well intermixed blend morphology with smaller domain spacings. These combined features contributed to efficient charge generation with the highest exciton dissociation probability among the four different polymer:ITIC systems. In addition, dominant face-on orientation of both PDFQx-3T polymers and ITIC acceptors with a balanced crystalline coherence length ratio (CCL polymer /CCL ITIC ) (0.87, based on the out-of-plane (010) diffraction peaks of PDFQx polymers and ITIC acceptors) led to a more balanced charge mobility than other blends, explaining the highest J SC and FF in the PDFQx-3T:ITIC NF devices.
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| 10. |
- Yang, Cheolhee, et al.
(författare)
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Melting domain size and recrystallization dynamics of ice revealed by time-resolved x-ray scattering
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The phase transition between water and ice is ubiquitous and one of the most important phenomena in nature. Here, we performed time-resolved x-ray scattering experiments capturing the melting and recrystallization dynamics of ice. The ultrafast heating of ice I is induced by an IR laser pulse and probed with an intense x-ray pulse which provided us with direct structural information on different length scales. From the wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) patterns, the molten fraction, as well as the corresponding temperature at each delay, were determined. The small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns, together with the information extracted from the WAXS analysis, provided the time-dependent change of the size and the number of liquid domains. The results show partial melting (~13%) and superheating of ice occurring at around 20 ns. After 100 ns, the average size of the liquid domains grows from about 2.5 nm to 4.5 nm by the coalescence of approximately six adjacent domains. Subsequently, we capture the recrystallization of the liquid domains, which occurs on microsecond timescales due to the cooling by heat dissipation and results to a decrease of the average liquid domain size.
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