From micro- to nanofabrication with soft materials

Soft materials are finding applications in areas ranging from microfluidic device technology to nanofabrication. We review recent work in these areas, discuss the motivation for device fabrication with soft materials, and describe applications of soft materials. In particular, we discuss active microfluidic devices for cell sorting and biochemical assays, replication-molded optics with subdiffraction limit features, and nanometer-scale resonators and wires formed from single-molecule DNA templates as examples of how the special properties of soft materials address outstanding problems in device fabrication.     

Long-term monitoring of bacteria undergoing programmed population control in a microchemostat

Using an active approach to preventing biofilm formation, we implemented a microfluidic bioreactor that enables long-term culture and monitoring of extremely small populations of bacteria with single-cell resolution. We used this device to observe the dynamics of Escherichia coli carrying a synthetic "population control" circuit that regulates cell density through a feedback mechanism based on quorum sensing. The microfluidic bioreactor enabled long-term monitoring of unnatural behavior programmed by the synthetic circuit, which included sustained oscillations in cell density and associated morphological changes, over hundreds of hours.     

Microfluidic large-scale integration

We developed high-density microfluidic chips that contain plumbing networks with thousands of micromechanical valves and hundreds of individually addressable chambers. These fluidic devices are analogous to electronic integrated circuits fabricated using large-scale integration. A key component of these networks is the fluidic multiplexor, which is a combinatorial array of binary valve patterns that exponentially increases the processing power of a network by allowing complex fluid manipulations with a minimal number of inputs. We used these integrated microfluidic networks to construct the microfluidic analog of a comparator array and a microfluidic memory storage device whose behavior resembles random-access memory.     

基于计算机图像技术的作物籽粒识别

图像识别技术是计算机视觉技术的重要内容之一。为了解决传统作物籽粒计数方法的不足,以水稻籽粒为试验对象,通过外部设备获取高质量的籽粒图像,利用计算机图像处理技术设计配套的软件,并改进相应的图像分割算法,可以快速准确识别出水稻籽粒数量,准确率可达98%以上。结果为计算机视觉识别技术在农业上的进一步应用奠定了理论与实践基础。     

Programmed adsorption and release of proteins in a microfluidic device

A microfluidic device has been developed that can adsorb proteins from solution, hold them with negligible denaturation, and release them on command. The active element in the device is a 4-nanometer-thick polymer film that can be thermally switched between an antifouling hydrophilic state and a protein-adsorbing state that is more hydrophobic. This active polymer has been integrated into a microfluidic hot plate that can be programmed to adsorb and desorb protein monolayers in less than 1 second. The rapid response characteristics of the device can be manipulated for proteomic functions, including preconcentration and separation of soluble proteins on an integrated fluidics chip.     

双行打塘机械的自动计数装置研发与应用

针对烟草种植中小苗膜下移栽的打塘开穴需求,研制了双行打塘机械及配套的自动计数装置,该双行打塘机械由拖拉机悬挂牵引作业时,由地轮驱动作业铁铲交替上下周期运动进行双行打塘作业,以单片机为核心的自动计数装置可以实现打塘开穴作业数目的自动计数。田间试验表明,双行打塘机械可达到烟苗移栽所需的开穴作业要求,自动计数装置可精确自动计数打塘开穴数目。     

Monolithic microfabricated valves and pumps by multilayer soft lithography

Soft lithography is an alternative to silicon-based micromachining that uses replica molding of nontraditional elastomeric materials to fabricate stamps and microfluidic channels. We describe here an extension to the soft lithography paradigm, multilayer soft lithography, with which devices consisting of multiple layers may be fabricated from soft materials. We used this technique to build active microfluidic systems containing on-off valves, switching valves, and pumps entirely out of elastomer. The softness of these materials allows the device areas to be reduced by more than two orders of magnitude compared with silicon-based devices. The other advantages of soft lithography, such as rapid prototyping, ease of fabrication, and biocompatibility, are retained.     

Continuous particle separation through deterministic lateral displacement

We report on a microfluidic particle-separation device that makes use of the asymmetric bifurcation of laminar flow around obstacles. A particle chooses its path deterministically on the basis of its size. All particles of a given size follow equivalent migration paths, leading to high resolution. The microspheres of 0.8, 0.9, and 1.0 micrometers that were used to characterize the device were sorted in 40 seconds with a resolution of approximately 10 nanometers, which was better than the time and resolution of conventional flow techniques. Bacterial artificial chromosomes could be separated in 10 minutes with a resolution of approximately 12%.     

Coding/decoding and reversibility of droplet trains in microfluidic networks

Droplets of one liquid suspended in a second, immiscible liquid move through a microfluidic device in which a channel splits into two branches that reconnect downstream. The droplets choose a path based on the number of droplets that occupy each branch. The interaction among droplets in the channels results in complex sequences of path selection. The linearity of the flow through the microchannels, however, ensures that the behavior of the system can be reversed. This reversibility makes it possible to encrypt and decrypt signals coded in the intervals between droplets. The encoding/decoding device is a functional microfluidic system that requires droplets to navigate a network in a precise manner without the use of valves, switches, or other means of external control.     

Rapid semi-quantification of triacylglycerols,phosphatidylcholines, and free fatty acids in the rice bran of one grain

We developed a microplate assay method for determining the contents of triacylglycerols(TAGs), phosphatidylcholines(PCs), and free fatty acids(FFAs) in the rice bran of one grain using enzymatic reactions. In this method, enzymes from commercially available kits were used. Optimum reaction conditions were established. It was found that Nonidet P-40 was the optimal among the three surfactants used(Triton X-100, Tween 40, and Nonidet P-40) when lipid was dissolved in a reaction solution. Using this method, it was possible to quantify TAGs, PCs, and FFAs in concentration ranges of 7–150, 5–70, and 8–200 mg L~(–1), respectively. Furthermore, when the TAG contents in the rice bran were measured, the values closely corresponded to those obtained by extracting from large amounts of rice bran. However, sufficient data on the PC and FFA contents in rice bran are not available for valid comparisons. Although this method can accurately quantify the TAG contents in the rice bran of one grain, the accuracy of the PC and FFA contents has not been verified. Hence, future study is necessary.     

Automated Counting of Rice Planthoppers in Paddy Fields Based on Image Processing

A quantitative survey of rice planthoppers in paddy fields is important to assess the population density and make forecasting decisions. Manual rice planthopper survey methods in paddy fields are time-consuming, fatiguing and tedious. This paper describes a handheld device for easily capturing planthopper images on rice stems and an automatic method for counting rice planthoppers based on image processing. The handheld device consists of a digital camera with WiFi, a smartphone and an extrendable pole. The surveyor can use the smartphone to control the camera, which is fixed on the front of the pole by WiFi, and to photograph planthoppers on rice stems. For the counting of planthoppers on rice stems, we adopt three layers of detection that involve the following：（a） the first layer of detection is an AdaBoost classifier based on Haar features;（b） the second layer of detection is a support vector machine（SVM） classifier based on histogram of oriented gradient（HOG） features;（c） the third layer of detection is the threshold judgment of the three features. We use this method to detect and count whiteback planthoppers（Sogatella furcifera） on rice plant images and achieve an 85.2% detection rate and a 9.6% false detection rate. The method is easy, rapid and accurate for the assessment of the population density of rice planthoppers in paddy fields.     

细胞内脂滴定量分析的方法比较

为找出准确定量分析细胞脂滴的方法,以猪卵母细胞为模型,利用2种非破坏性的形态学方法——三维重建分析法和平面光密度法,通过荧光染料特异性标记脂滴,对单个细胞内脂滴含量进行准确定量和对比分析。结果表明:2种方法都能根据荧光图像定量细胞内脂滴,并统计出脂滴大小、密度和分布规律等指标;随机选取100个脂滴含量不等的卵母细胞,三维重建分析法能更准确地反映样本脂滴含量变异情况(变异系数C.V.=0.86),而光密度法的C.V.=0.68;针对同一细胞不同角度的重复观察,三维重建分析法具有更好的重复性(变异系数C.V.=0.07,组内相关系数ICC0.9),而光密度法C.V.=0.37、ICC0.4。因此基于激光共聚焦扫描的三维重建法能够更准确地对细胞内的脂滴含量进行定量分析。     

植物细胞生长周期中内外源细胞激动素的变化

应用细胞同步培养技术、高压液相色谱分析（ＨＰＬＣ）和酶偶联免疫法（ＥＬＩＳＡ）分析了胡萝卜细胞在悬浮培养时生长分裂周期的变化并对内源激动素类物质（玉米素Ｚ－Ｚｅａｔｉｎ、核糖基玉米素ＺＲ－ｚｅａｔｉｎｒｉｂｏｓｉｄｅ、二氢玉米素ＤＨＺ－ｄｉｈｙｄｒｏｚｅａｔｉｎ、核糖二氢玉米素ＤＨＺＲ－ｄｉｈｙｄｒｏｚｅａｔｉｎｒｉｂｏｓｉｄｅ、异戊烯基核糖基腺嘌呤ＩＰ－ｉｓｏｐｅｎｔｅｎｙｌａｄｅｎｉｎｅ和核糖基异戊烯基腺苷ＩＰＲ－ｉｓｏｐｅｎｔｅｎｙｌａｄｅｎｉｎｅｒｉｂｏｓｉｄｅ）含量进行定量分析．从用荧光显微技术分析ＤＮＡ含量变化结果看出，附加有激动素０．１×１０－６·Ｌ－１的悬浮液中，胡萝卜细胞的分裂周期为８．５ｈ，比不加外源激素的处理短１ｈ．在无外源激素存在的情况下，细胞分裂期中内源细胞分裂素类物质除ＺＲ之外，其余的Ｚ、ＤＨＺ、ＤＨＺＲ、ＩＰ和ＩＰＲ的含量在分裂的第６．５ｈ均有一个峰值出现，ＺＲ在第４．５和８．５ｈ有峰值出现．外加细胞分裂素的处理中．Ｚ、ｉＰ和ｉＰＲ整个周期无明显含量变化，ＤＨＺ和ＤＨＺＲ在第６．５ｈ出现峰值．ＺＲ在第８．５ｈ时也出现峰值．说明附加细胞激动素可协调Ｚ．ｉＰ和ｉＰＲ的积累，加速利用?     

A mobile lab-on-a-chip device for on-site soil nutrient analysis

In this paper, a mobile sensor for on-site analysis of soil sample extracts is presented. As a versatile tool for scanning ion concentrations in liquid samples, it especially allows the analysis of NO₃, NH₄, K and PO₄. The sensor mainly consists of a microfluidic chip in which the sample ions are separated in an electric field (capillary electrophoresis) and the individual ion concentrations are detected by a conductivity measurement. For the adaption of the device to field conditions, two major concerns were addressed. Firstly, nano-porous material was used as a barrier between the sample container and the analysis channel of the microfluidic chip. This prevents pressure driven leakage of the sample into the chip due to non-horizontal orientation of the device. Secondly, a new method for the injection of the sample into the chip was used. It reduces the number of fluidic connections between chip and operation device to three instead of the commonly used four connections. The sensor performance was tested on multi-ion solutions with calibration series for NO₃, NH₄, K and PO₄. For the first on-site test, a quick soil nutrient extraction procedure with water was used. The sensor data was compared to standard laboratory results. The potential of the sensor for soil nutrient analysis is discussed together with required improvements of the sensor performance and of the nutrient extraction procedure.     

Multistep synthesis of a radiolabeled imaging probe using integrated microfluidics

Microreactor technology has shown potential for optimizing synthetic efficiency, particularly in preparing sensitive compounds. We achieved the synthesis of an [(18)F]fluoride-radiolabeled molecular imaging probe, 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG), in an integrated microfluidic device. Five sequential processes-[18F]fluoride concentration, water evaporation, radiofluorination, solvent exchange, and hydrolytic deprotection-proceeded with high radio-chemical yield and purity and with shorter synthesis time relative to conventional automated synthesis. Multiple doses of [18F]FDG for positron emission tomography imaging studies in mice were prepared. These results, which constitute a proof of principle for automated multistep syntheses at the nanogram to microgram scale, could be generalized to a range of radiolabeled substrates.     

Self-absorption correction for isotopes emitting weak beta rays

The shape of the self-absorption correction curve of beta-emitters is not universal but depends on the geometrical arrangement of the sample and counting device. This may explain why the correction factor defined by Hendler (1) is not always linearly related to the thickness of the sample.     

Bidirectional counting of single electrons

A bidirectional single-electron counting device is demonstrated. Individual electrons flowing in forward and reverse directions through a double quantum dot are detected with a quantum point contact acting as a charge sensor. A comprehensive statistical analysis in the frequency and time domains and of higher order moments of noise reveals antibunching correlation in single-electron transport through the device itself. The device can also be used to investigate current flow in the attoampere range, which cannot be measured by existing current meters.     

计算机视觉技术在水产养殖中的应用

介绍了计算机视觉技术的概念及其系统组成,综述了计算机视觉技术在鱼种及形状识别、鱼只计数、鱼体尺寸和重量测量、投饵监控和鱼的行为监测中的应用。     

Spin-torque switching with the giant spin Hall effect of tantalum

Spin currents can apply useful torques in spintronic devices. The spin Hall effect has been proposed as a source of spin current, but its modest strength has limited its usefulness. We report a giant spin Hall effect (SHE) in β-tantalum that generates spin currents intense enough to induce efficient spin-torque switching of ferromagnets at room temperature. We quantify this SHE by three independent methods and demonstrate spin-torque switching of both out-of-plane and in-plane magnetized layers. We furthermore implement a three-terminal device that uses current passing through a tantalum-ferromagnet bilayer to switch a nanomagnet, with a magnetic tunnel junction for read-out. This simple, reliable, and efficient design may eliminate the main obstacles to the development of magnetic memory and nonvolatile spin logic technologies.