Quantitative and Multiplexed Chopper-Based Time-Gated Imaging for Bioanalysis on a Smartphone

Smartphones are emerging platforms for point-of-care diagnostics (POCDs), where the on-board camera is, for example, used to image fluorescence. Many laboratory instruments are capable of time-gated (TG) photoluminescence (PL) measurements─an analytical method leveraged by multiple commercial assay kits. When paired with long-lived PL emitters such as luminescent lanthanide complexes (LLCs), time-gating eliminates background from sample autofluorescence and many other sources. This capability is amenable to minimally processed samples and would thus be useful for POCDs on a smartphone-based platform. Here, we report a double-chopper design for TG PL imaging using a portable, 3D-printed, smartphone-based device. The rotation speed, dimensions, and overlap of the chopper blades and gaps set the timing parameters, with delay times on the order of hundreds of microseconds to milliseconds. The device was capable of quantitative TG imaging of PL from terbium(III) and europium(III) LLCs, including rejection of short-lived PL background from serum and tissue phantoms, spectral and temporal multiplexing, a model time-gated Förster resonance energy transfer (TG-FRET) assay, and imaging of cells. As the first smartphone-based demonstrations of these important analytical capabilities, this work is an important foundation for developing POCD methods based on TG PL imaging.

Engaging diverse patients in a diverse world: the development and preliminary evaluation of educational modules to support diversity in patient engagement research

BACKGROUND

Current practices for engaging patients in patient-oriented research (POR) result in a narrow pool of patient perspectives being reflected in POR. This project aims to address gaps in methodological knowledge to foster diversity in POR, through the co-design and evaluation of a series of educational modules for health researchers in British Columbia, Canada.

METHODS

Modules were co-created by a team of academic researchers and patient partners from hardly-reached communities. The modules are presented using the Tapestry Tool, an interactive, online educational platform. Our evaluation framework focused on engagement, content quality, and predicted behavior change. The User Engagement Scale short form (UES-SF) measured participants' level of engagement with the modules. Survey evaluation items assessed the content within the modules and participants' perceptions of how the modules will impact their behavior. Evaluation items modeled on the theory of planned behavior, administered before and after viewing the modules, assessed the impact of the modules on participants' perceptions of diversity in POR.

RESULTS

Seventy-four health researchers evaluated the modules. Researchers' engagement and ratings of module content were high. Subjective behavioral control over fostering diversity in POR increased significantly after viewing the modules.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest the modules may be an engaging way to provide health researchers with tools and knowledge to increase diversity in health research. Future studies are needed to investigate best practices for engaging with communities not represented in this pilot project, such as children and youth, Indigenous Peoples, and Black communities. While educational interventions represent one route to increasing diversity in POR, individual efforts must occur in tandem with high-level changes that address systemic barriers to engagement.

New sulfuryl fluoride-derived alkylating reagents for the 1,1-dihydrofluoroalkylation of thiols

Herein, we report a new method for the one-pot synthesis of 1,1-dihydrofluoroalkyl sulfides by bubbling sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2) through a solution of the corresponding alcohol and thiol. The reaction proceeds through a new class of bis(1,1-dihydrofluoroalkyl) sulfate reagents, to afford the desired 1,1-dihydrofluoroalkyl sulfides in 55-90% isolated yields. The bis(1,1-dihydrofluoroalkyl) sulfates are highly chemoselective for thiol alkylation, and are unreactive with competing, unprotected nucleophiles, including amines, alcohols, and carboxylic acids.