Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ahmad M. Labeeb, Yassmin A. Ward, Mohamed Fikry
Summary: This research article focuses on tunable photonic optical bandgap materials and devices based on cholesteric liquid crystals. Mixtures of different cholesteric liquid crystals were studied for their optical properties at various temperatures, with the optimum tuned bandgap observed in mixtures coded AMJ3 and AMJ4.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Kelum Perera, Nilanthi Haputhantrige, Md Sakhawat Hossain Himel, Md Mostafa, Alex Adaka, Elizabeth K. Mann, Oleg D. Lavrentovich, Antal Jakli
Summary: This work presents electrically tunable microlenses based on a polymer-stabilized chiral ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal, which exhibit unique properties and lens deformation performance different from traditional liquid crystal lenses. The technology is of great significance in various application fields.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Sha Xiong, Wenshuo Mai, Xiaofang Huang
Summary: This paper presents a tunable optofluidic splitter that utilizes refraction and reflection at the interface between laminar flows with different refractive indices. The splitting ratio of optical power can be continuously adjusted by changing the flow rates, and the split angle can be tuned by controlling the refractive index contrast. The fastest switching frequency between wave-guiding and splitting status is 1.67 Hz.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Alejandro Alonzo-Garcia, Jesus Cuevas-Martinez, Claudia del C. Gutierrez-Torres, Jose A. Jimenez-Bernal, Sergio A. Martinez-Delgadillo, Ricardo Medina-Perez
Summary: The study investigated the effects of control rod geometry on the aerodynamic forces and vortex shedding of cylindrical and square cylinders, revealing varying impacts at different angular positions.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Daniel William Davies, Sang Kyu Park, Prapti Kafle, Hyunjoong Chung, Dafei Yuan, Joseph W. Strzalka, Stefan C. B. Mannsfeld, SuYin Grass Wang, Yu-Sheng Chen, Danielle L. Gray, Xiaozhang Zhu, Ying Diao
Summary: This study reveals the prolific polymorphism of 2-dimensional quinoidal terthiophene (2DQTT-o-B) and systematically investigates 5 polymorphs, achieving a 5 orders of magnitude tuning of electron mobility and observing substantial changes in optical properties. The results suggest that these property changes may be related to the unique quinoidal to aromatic transition observed in quinoidal molecules.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lisa Thomson, Daniel McDowall, Libby Marshall, Olivia Marshall, Henry Ng, W. Joseph A. Homer, Dipankar Ghosh, Wanli Liu, Adam M. Squires, Eirini Theodosiou, Paul D. Topham, Louise C. Serpell, Robert J. Poole, Annela Seddon, Dave J. Adams
Summary: This study demonstrates the treatment of a simple dipeptide building block as a polyelectrolyte and the use of polymer physics approaches to explain self-assembly, leading to the preparation of interesting materials.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Lennart Lobitz, Hendrik Traub, Mats Overbeck, Maximilian Bien, Sebastian Heimbs, Christian Huehne, Jens Friedrichs, Peter Horst
Summary: This study examines the impact of different suction panel configurations on wing mass and load transfer for an all-electric short-range aircraft. The results show that suction panels made from Ti6Al4V offer the most robust design and significantly increase wing mass, while panels made from Nylon11CF or PU1000 do not significantly increase wing mass. However, the use of these materials raises questions about their robustness under operational conditions.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Zixuan Jia, Jialin Wu, Xiuru Wu, Qingwei Yuan, Yue Chan, Bin Liu, Jun Zhang, Sheng Yan
Summary: Haematococcus pluvialis is a valuable source of astaxanthin, which has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. Size-based microalgal separation plays an important role in the extraction of high-value algae and directed evolution. In this study, a size-tunable elasto-inertial sorting method for H. pluvialis was developed using Ecoflex ultrastretchable microfluidic devices. The effects of velocity, channel elongation, and particle size on particle migration were systematically investigated. The results demonstrated that channel elongation significantly influenced particle focusing, and the continuous regulation of sorting threshold by stretching the channel provided technical support for the extraction and directed evolution of high-yield microalgae.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Thermodynamics
A. H. Saifi, M. K. Tripathi
Summary: This study investigates the heat transfer and circulation patterns of a liquid bridge constrained between two insulated discs and surrounded by another immiscible liquid. The position of the heating or cooling ring is found to affect the heat transfer rate, with an increase observed when the ring is placed near the bottom or top disc. However, the net heat transferred is not a monotonic function of the ring position. The results provide insights into the heat transfer characteristics of such systems and have implications for various applications.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
S. D. Amar, A. Rashkovan, G. Ziskind
Summary: In this study, the flow field of a free-surface vortex in a rotating cylinder with a drain hole is investigated using numerical and analytical methods. The modified analytical model is capable of accurately predicting the free-surface profile for low rotation rates, while only numerical simulation can predict the relation between the flow field within the liquid and the free-surface profile for high rotation rates.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuanzhi Xia, Semih Sevim, Joao Pedro Vale, Johannes Seibel, David Rodriguez-San-Miguel, Donghoon Kim, Salvador Pane, Tiago Sotto Mayor, Steven De Feyter, Josep Puigmarti-Luis
Summary: Controlling the functionalization of graphene materials is crucial for their applications in electronic and optical technologies. Covalent functionalization strategies have been proposed, but none provide control over grafting density, layer thickness, and morphology. In this study, the authors demonstrate that the no-slip boundary condition in a microfluidic device allows for controlled chemical gradients on graphene with 2D and 3D control, enabling sophisticated functionalization of these technologically-relevant materials.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Baofu Ding, Yikun Pan, Zehao Zhang, Tianshu Lan, Ziyang Huang, Beibei Lu, Bilu Liu, Hui-Ming Cheng
Summary: Shape anisotropy of magnetic 2D materials determines the sensitivity of magneto-optic response, allowing for highly sensitive and tunable magneto-coloration. The relationship between magneto-optic response and material size offers new opportunities for engineerable color manipulation in various applications.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Takafumi Ishibe, Tatsuya Kaneko, Yuto Uematsu, Hideo Sato-Akaba, Motonori Komura, Tomokazu Iyoda, Yoshiaki Nakamura
Summary: This study focuses on tuning the switching temperature of thermal conductivity using liquid crystalline block copolymers with different order-order transition temperature related to the types of mesogens in the side chain. The results show that BC films exhibit reversible thermal conductivity switching behaviors and thermal conductivity variation originating from the anisotropy of the internal structures. This highlights the potential application of BCs as thermal conductivity switching materials.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yang Yang, Haoran Zhang, Xun Zhu, Rong Chen, Dingding Ye, Qiang Liao
Summary: Research on using microfluidic control for ZAB power generation shows that laminar shear stress can impact zinc electrode behavior and enhance power generation efficiency.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Keisuke Shirakura, Peter Baluk, Astrid F. Nottebaum, Ute Ipe, Kevin G. Peters, Donald M. McDonald, Dietmar Vestweber
Summary: Vascular endothelial protein tyrosine phosphatase (VE-PTP) affects endothelial barrier function by regulating Tie2 activation. High shear stress caused VE-PTP polarization and endocytosis, along with Tie2 activation, in regions with smooth flow. In regions with disturbed flow, VE-PTP remained associated with Tie2. Endothelial cells exposed to high shear stress had increased Tie2 activation and reduced macromolecular permeability. Deleting VE-PTP or inhibiting it with AKB-9785 had similar anti-atherogenic effects.
EMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Optics
Yuzhi Shi, Yongfeng Wu, Lip Ket Chin, Zhenyu Li, Jingquan Liu, Mu Ku Chen, Shubo Wang, Yi Zhang, Patricia Yang Liu, Xiaohong Zhou, Hong Cai, Wanzhen Jin, Yefeng Yu, Ruozhen Yu, Wei Huang, Peng Huat Yap, Limin Xiao, Wee Ser, Thi Thanh Binh Nguyen, Yu-Tsung Lin, Pin Chieh Wu, Jiayan Liao, Fan Wang, C. T. Chan, Yuri Kivshar, Din Ping Tsai, Ai Qun Liu
Summary: This study demonstrates a multifunctional virus manipulation technique that enables efficient trapping and manipulation of arbitrary number of viruses. Enhanced optical forces are produced by fine tuning of interference resonances in engineered arrays of nanocavities, allowing trapping and manipulation of viruses as small as 40 nm. This technique opens up new opportunities for studying virus pathogenesis and inhibitor development.
LASER & PHOTONICS REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
H. H. Zhu, J. Zou, H. Zhang, Y. Z. Shi, S. B. Luo, N. Wang, H. Cai, L. X. Wan, B. Wang, X. D. Jiang, J. Thompson, X. S. Luo, X. H. Zhou, L. M. Xiao, W. Huang, L. Patrick, M. Gu, L. C. Kwek, A. Q. Liu
Summary: Large-scale, highly integrated, and low-power-consuming hardware is crucial for optical neural networks to achieve advanced optical computing. Traditional experimental implementations have limited scalability and consume excessive power. This study proposes an integrated diffractive optical network (IDNN) that utilizes two ultracompact diffractive cells and a small number of MZIs to perform parallel Fourier transforms, convolution operations, and application-specific optical computing. The footprint and energy consumption of the IDNN scale linearly with the input data dimension, resulting in significant reductions compared to traditional MZI-based ONNs. Experimental results on MNIST and Fashion-MNIST datasets demonstrate a similar level of accuracy and approximately 10-fold reduction in footprint and energy consumption. The IDNN chip shows promising potential for scalable and low-power-consumption optical computational chips for optical artificial intelligence.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hannah M. Peterson, Lip Ket Chin, Yoshi Iwamoto, Juhyun Oh, Jonathan C. T. Carlson, Hakho Lee, Hyungsoon Im, Ralph Weissleder
Summary: This study developed a new cellular analyzer that allows high-dimensional analysis of directly harvested cells within the same day. By combining different techniques, comprehensive analysis of breast cancer samples is possible, providing a rapid, robust, and low-cost solution.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Lip Ket Chin, Huiyan Li, Jae-Hyeok Choi, Yoshiko Iwamoto, Juhyun Oh, Jouha Min, Suk Kyung Beak, Dahyeon Yoo, Cesar M. Castro, Dongyoung Lee, Hyungsoon Im
Summary: In the era of precision oncology, multicolor fluorescence imaging has become a core technology for molecular analysis of cellular and tissue specimens. Conventional staining methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming, hindering their use in resource-limited settings. This study introduces a new immunostaining method based on hydrogel stamping, which is simple, fast, and reproducible. The hydrogel stamp effectively transfers fluorescent antibodies to targets and eliminates the need for extra washing steps. This method enables high-quality immunostaining in a shorter time and with reduced antibody consumption, and has the potential for use in compact point-of-care systems for cancer diagnosis.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jin Qin, Shibin Jiang, Zhanshan Wang, Xinbin Cheng, Baojun Li, Yuzhi Shi, Din Ping Tsai, Ai Qun Liu, Wei Huang, Weiming Zhu
Summary: Metasurfaces are 2D artificial materials that can manipulate light at the subwavelength scale. Compared to traditional micro/nano-optical sensors, Metasurfaces have better performance in label-free sensing and recognition of complex samples, and also have the advantage of high integration.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
J. Luo, W. Ser, A. Liu, P. H. Yap, B. Liedberg, S. Rayatpisheh
Summary: Pathogenic microorganism detection is crucial for water quality monitoring due to their potential to cause diseases and deaths. Conventional biochemical approaches for microorganism detection have limitations such as high cost, time consumption, labor intensiveness, and chemical pollution. This paper proposes an image classification algorithm based on optofluidic images, which offers a smaller, cheaper alternative to conventional microscopes. The algorithm achieves similar or higher classification accuracy compared to existing methods while significantly reducing computational cost by using only 3 features.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Optics
Hui Zhang, Jonathan Wei Zhong Lau, Lingxiao Wan, Liang Shi, Yuzhi Shi, Hong Cai, Xianshu Luo, Guo-Qiang Lo, Chee-Kong Lee, Leong Chuan Kwek, Ai Qun Liu
Summary: This study demonstrates the capability of photonic neural networks in predicting the quantum mechanical properties of molecules and shows that multiple properties can be learned simultaneously in a photonic chip through a multi-task regression learning algorithm. It is the first application of photonics technology in machine learning for computational chemistry and molecular sciences, such as drug discovery and materials design, which is of great significance.
LASER & PHOTONICS REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lip Ket Chin, Jun-Yeong Yang, Benjamin Chousterman, Sunghoon Jung, Do-Geun Kim, Dong-Ho Kim, Seunghun Lee, Cesar M. Castro, Ralph Weissleder, Sung-Gyu Park, Hyungsoon Im
Summary: In this study, an ultrasensitive multiplexed plasmonic sensing technology was developed for rapid quantification of multiple biomarkers in point-of-care settings, which could improve the diagnosis and management of sepsis. The technology integrated chemifluorescence signal enhancement with plasmon-enhanced fluorescence detection, allowing for rapid analysis of cytokine biomarkers with high sensitivity. A plasmonic sensing chip based on nanoparticle-spiked gold nanodimple structures was also developed for direct detection of cytokines in clinical plasma samples.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Sy-Hann Chen, Yi-Wen Hong, Yuan-Fong Chou Chau, Hung Ji Huang, Hai-Pang Chiang
Summary: Silver-nanoparticles deposited on indium tin oxide (AgNPs/ITO) with different O-2-plasma treatment times are used as the anode window substrate for polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED). O-2-plasma treatment of 10 minutes results in a significantly higher current efficiency of 3.33 cd/A compared to the reference PLED (1.00 cd/A). The optimal PLED with AgNPs/ITO shows a 3.24-fold increase in mean current efficiency and a 480% enhancement in electroluminescence intensity compared to the reference PLED. O-2-plasma treatment is an easy and scalable method for optimizing the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of metal nanoparticles, making it highly suitable for optoelectronic applications.
MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE
(2023)
Article
Optics
Cong Xiong, Wei Jiang, Caoyuan Wang, Ruowei Yu, Jun He, Runxiao Chen, Xuan Li, Kang Ying, Haiwen Cai, Aiqun Liu, Limin Xiao
Summary: The nanobore fiber (NBF) is a promising nanoscale optofluidic platform with long nanochannels and unique optical properties. In this study, NBF-based fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) were introduced using femtosecond (fs) laser direct writing or ultraviolet (UV) laser phase mask techniques for the first time. The optimized UV laser fabricated FBG achieved a high reflectivity of 96.89% while preserving the open nanochannel. The NBF-based FBGs showed high potential for nanofluidic applications.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chung-Ting Chou Chao, Sy-Hann Chen, Hung Ji Huang, Yuan-Fong Chou Chau
Summary: In this study, a plasmonic metamaterial absorber (PMA) with a quintuple-band design was developed, which operates in both the near-infrared and mid-infrared regions. The absorptance of the proposed PMA for five different modes was measured to be 98.02%, 99.47%, 98.02%, 99.47%, and 96.09% respectively. The high absorptance is attributed to the hybridization of localized gap, cavity, and surface plasmon resonance, which can be explained using an inductance and capacitance circuit model. The effects of structure parameters on the absorptance spectrum were also investigated, providing valuable guidance for designing high-performance PMA.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ahmed A. Elsayed, Ahmed M. Othman, Yasser M. Sabry, Frederic Marty, Haitham Omran, Diaa Khalil, Ai-Qun Liu, Tarik Bourouina
Summary: In Raman analysis, the substrate material can enhance or interfere with the signal depending on its properties. By tilting the supporting substrate, the Raman signal of the substrate material, in this case, silicon, can be drastically reduced, making it easier to observe the target analyte, such as microplastic particles.
Review
Optics
Wei Luo, Lin Cao, Yuzhi Shi, Lingxiao Wan, Hui Zhang, Shuyi Li, Guanyu Chen, Yuan Li, Sijin Li, Yunxiang Wang, Shihai Sun, Muhammad Faeyz Karim, Hong Cai, Leong Chuan Kwek, Ai Qun Liu
Summary: Recent years have seen significant progress in quantum communication and quantum internet through the use of quantum photonic chips, which offer scalability, stability, and low cost in a compact form. This article provides an overview of the advancements in quantum photonic chips for quantum communication, including the main fabrication platforms and key components. It discusses various applications such as quantum key distribution and quantum teleportation. The article also highlights the challenges for achieving high-performance chip-based quantum communication and provides insights into future opportunities for integrated quantum networks.
LIGHT-SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Optics
Yuan Shen, Wai-Keong Mok, Changsuk Noh, Ai Qun Liu, Leong-Chuan Kwek, Weijun Fan, Andy Chia
Summary: This article proposes a new approach to quantum synchronization by using an approximate model of the Duffing-van der Pol oscillator. It captures interesting phenomena in the deep-quantum strongly nonlinear regime, such as amplitude death on resonance and nonlinearity-induced position correlations.
