A micromachined interface for airborne sample-to-liquid transfer and its application in a biosensor system

Nanoarchitectonics for Abused-Drug Biosensors

Rapid, accessible, and highly accurate biosensors for the detection of addictive and abused drugs are needed to reduce the adverse personal and societal impacts of addiction. Modern sensors that utilize next-generation technologies, e.g., nanobiotechnology and nanoarchitectonics, have triggered revolutionary progress in the field as they allow accurate detection and tracking of trace levels of major classes of drugs. This paper reviews advances in the field of biosensors for the detection of commonly abused drugs, both prescribed such as codeine and morphine, and illegal narcotics like cocaine.

A Miniature Gas Sampling Interface with Open Microfluidic Channels: Characterization of Gas-to-Liquid Extraction Efficiency of Volatile Organic Compounds

Chemosensory protein based olfactory biosensors are expected to play a significant role in next-generation volatile organic compound (VOC) detection systems due to their ultra-high sensitivity and selectivity. As these biosensors can perform most efficiently in aqueous environments, the detection systems need to incorporate a gas sampling interface for gas-to-liquid extraction. This interface should extract the VOCs from the gas phase with high efficiency and transfer them into the liquid containing biosensors to enable subsequent detection. To design such a transfer interface, an understanding of the key parameters influencing the gas-to-liquid extraction efficiency of target VOCs is crucial. This paper reports a gas sampling interface system based on a microfluidic open-channel device for gas-to-liquid extraction. By using this device as a model platform, the key parameters dictating the VOC extraction efficiency were identified. When loaded with 30 μL of capture liquid, the microfluidic device generates a gas-liquid interface area of 3 cm² without using an interfacial membrane. The pumpless operation based on capillary flow was demonstrated for capture liquid loading and collection. Gas samples spiked with lipophilic model volatiles (hexanal and allyl methyl sulfide) were used for characterization of the VOC extraction efficiency. Decreasing the sampling temperature to 15 °C had a significant impact on increasing capture efficiency, while variation in the gas sampling flow rate had no significant impact in the range between 40–120 mL min⁻¹. This study found more than a 10-fold increase in capture efficiency by chemical modification of the capture liquid with alpha-cyclodextrin. The highest capture efficiency of 30% was demonstrated with gas samples spiked with hexanal to a concentration of 16 ppm (molar proportion). The approach in this study should be useful for further optimisation of miniaturised gas-to-liquid extraction systems and contribute to the design of chemosensory protein-based VOC detection systems.

Biosensors in forensic analysis. A review

Forensic analysis is an important branch of modern Analytical Chemistry with many legal and socially relevant implications. Biosensors can play an important role as efficient tools in this field considering their well known advantages of sensitivity, selectivity, easy functioning, affordability and capability of miniaturization and automation. This article reviews the latest advances in the use of biosensors for forensic analysis. The different methodologies for the transduction of the produced biological events are considered and the applications to forensic toxicological analysis, classified by the nature of the target analytes, as well as those related with chemical and biological weapons critically commented. The article provides several Tables where the more relevant analytical characteristics of the selected reported methods are gathered.

Imaging cold molecules on a chip

We present the integrated imaging of cold molecules in a microchip environment. The on-chip detection is based on resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization, which is quantum state selective and generally applicable. We demonstrate and characterize time-resolved spatial imaging and subsequently use it to analyze the effect of a phase-space manipulation sequence aimed at compressing the velocity distribution of a molecular ensemble with a view to future high-resolution spectroscopic studies. The realization of such on-chip measurements adds the final fundamental component to the molecule chip, offering a new and promising route for investigating cold molecules.

Interfacial microfluidic transport on micropatterned superhydrophobic textile

Textile-enabled interfacial microfluidics, utilizing fibrous hydrophilic yarns (e.g., cotton) to guide biological reagent flows, has been extended to various biochemical analyses recently. The restricted capillary-driving mechanism, however, persists as a major challenge for continuous and facilitated biofluidic transport. In this paper, we have first introduced a novel interfacial microfluidic transport principle to drive three-dimensional liquid flows on a micropatterned superhydrophobic textile (MST) platform in a more autonomous and controllable manner. Specifically, the MST system utilizes the surface tension-induced Laplace pressure to facilitate the liquid motion along the hydrophilic yarn, in addition to the capillarity present in the fibrous structure. The fabrication of MST is simply accomplished by stitching hydrophilic cotton yarn into a superhydrophobic fabric substrate (contact angle 140 ± 3°), from which well-controlled wetting patterns are established for interfacial microfluidic operations. The geometric configurations of the stitched micropatterns, e.g., the lengths and diameters of the yarn and bundled arrangement, can all influence the transport process, which is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Two operation modes, discrete and continuous transport, are also presented in detail. In addition, the gravitational effect as well as the droplet removal process have been also considered and quantitatively analysed during the transport process. As a demonstration, an MST design has been implemented on an artificial skin surface to collect and remove sweat in a highly efficient and facilitated means. The results have illustrated that the novel interfacial transport on the textile platform can be potentially extended to a variety of biofluidic collection and removal applications.

An integrated QCM-based narcotics sensing microsystem

We present the design, fabrication and successful testing of a 14x14x4 mm3 integrated electronic narcotics sensing system which consists of only four parts. The microsystem absorbs airborne narcotics molecules and performs a liquid assay using an integrated quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). A vertically conductive double-sided adhesive foil (VCAF) was used and studied as a novel material for LOC and MEMS applications and provides easy assembly, electrical contacting and liquid containment. The system was tested for measuring cocaine and ecstasy, with successful detection of amounts as small as 100 ng and 200 ng, respectively. These levels are of interest in security activities in customs, prisons and by the police.

High sensitivity molecular detection with enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA)-type immunosensing

Here we describe an immunosensing method, which is designed for high sensitivity sensing of various substances utilizing specificity of antigen-antibody (ELISA-type) interaction. The building up of the nanostructured sensing interface and the immunointeraction at the surface were characterized by atomic force microscopy. The proposed design makes potentially feasible attaining ultimate single-molecule sensitivity upon optimization of the system. The first non-optimized prototype described here has already demonstrated sensitivity to the presence of dinitrophenyl (DNP) in concentrations as low as 10 pM, which is 100 times better than reported limits of detection of DNP with a traditional enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay setup.

Acoustic Wave (TSM) Biosensors: Weighing Bacteria

This chapter is focused on the development and use of acoustic wave biosensor platforms for the detection of bacteria, specifically those based on the thickness shear mode (TSM) resonator. We demonstrated the mechanical and electrical implications of bacterial positioning at the solid-liquid interface of a TSM biosensor and presented a model of the TSM with bacteria attached operating as coupled oscillators. The experiments and model provide an understanding of the nature of the signals produced by acoustic wave devices when they are used for testing bacteria. The paradox of “negative mass” could be a real threat to the interpretation of experimental results related to the detection of bacteria. The knowledge of the true nature of “negative mass” linked to the strength of bacteria attachment will contribute significantly to our understanding of the results of “weighing bacteria.” The results of this work can be used for bacterial detection and control of processes of bacterial settlement, bacterial colonization, biofilm formation, and bacterial infection in which bacterial attachment plays a role.