Hollow Core, Whispering Gallery Resonator Sensors

A review of hollow core whispering gallery resonators (WGRs)is given. After a short introduction to the topic of whispering gallery resonators we provide a description of whispering gallery modes in hollow or liquid core WGRs. Next, whispering gallery mode (WGM) sensing mechanisms are outlined and some fabrication methods for microbubbles, microcapillaries and other tubular WGM devices are discussed. We then focus on the most common applications of hollow core WGRs, namely refractive index and temperature sensing, gas sensing, force sensing, biosensing, and lasing. The review highlights some of the key papers in this field and gives the reader a general overview of the current state-of-the-art

Review on the development of truly portable and in-situ capillary electrophoresis systems

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a technique which uses an electric field to separate a mixed sample into its constituents. Portable CE systems enable this powerful analysis technique to be used in the field. Many of the challenges for portable systems are similar to those of autonomous in-situ analysis and therefore portable systems may be considered a stepping stone towards autonomous in-situ analysis. CE is widely used for biological and chemical analysis and example applications include: water quality analysis; drug development and quality control; proteomics and DNA analysis; counter-terrorism (explosive material identification) and corrosion monitoring. The technique is often limited to laboratory use, since it requires large electric fields, sensitive detection systems and fluidic control systems. All of these place restrictions in terms of: size, weight, cost, choice of operating solutions, choice of fabrication materials, electrical power and lifetime. In this review we bring together and critique the work by researchers addressing these issues. We emphasize the importance of a holistic approach for portable and in-situ CE systems and discuss all the aspects of the design. We identify gaps in the literature which require attention for the realization of both truly portable and in-situ CE systems

Planar polymer waveguides with a graded-index profile resulting from intermixing of methacrylates in closed microchannels

Graded-index waveguides are known to exhibit lower losses and considerably larger bandwidths compared to step-index waveguides. The present work reports on a new concept for realizing such waveguides on a planar substrate by capillary filling microchannels (cladding) with monomer solution (core). A graded-index profile is obtained by intermi xing between the core and cladding material at the microchannel interface. To this end, various ratios of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and octafluoropentyl methacrylate (OFPMA) were evaluated as starting monomers and the results showed that the polymers P50:50 (50:50 MMA:OFPMA) and P0:100 (100% OFPMA) were suitable to be applied as waveguide core and cladding material respectively. Light guiding in the resulting P50:50/P0:100 waveguides was demonstrated and the refractive-index profile was quantified and compared with that of conventional step-index waveguides. The results for both cases were clearly different and a gradual refractive index transition between the core and cladding was found for the newly developed waveguides. Although the concept has been demonstrated in a research environment, it also has potential for upscaling by employing drop-on-demand dispensing of polymer waveguide material in pre-patterned microchannels, for example in a roll-to-roll environment

Stretching Micro Metal Particles into Uniformly Dispersed and Sized Nanoparticles in Polymer.

There is a longstanding challenge to disperse metal nanoparticles uniformly in bulk polymers for widespread applications. Conventional scale-down techniques often are only able to shrink larger elements (such as microparticles and microfibers) into micro/nano-elements (i.e. nanoparticles and nanofibers) without much altering their relative spatial and size distributions. Here we show an unusual phenomenon that tin (Sn) microparticles with both poor size distribution and spatial dispersion were stretched into uniformly dispersed and sized Sn nanoparticles in polyethersulfone (PES) through a stack and draw technique in thermal drawing. It is believed that the capillary instability plays a crucial role during thermal drawing. This novel, inexpensive, and scalable method overcomes the longstanding challenge to produce bulk polymer-metal nanocomposites (PMNCs) with a uniform dispersion of metallic nano-elements

Thin chalcogenide capillaries as efficient waveguides in the mid-IR - THz spectral range

We present chalcogenide glass As2Se3 capillaries as efficient waveguides in the mid-IR and THz spectral ranges. The capillaries are fabricated using a double crucible glass drawing technique. The wall thickness of the glass capillary is properly designed and controlled during drawing, and we are able to produce capillaries with different wall thickness, starting from 12 \mum and up to 130 \mum. Such capillaries show low loss properties in the whole target wavelength region. In the mid-IR range guidance is governed by Fresnel reflection and antiguidance mechanisms (ARROWs), while in the THz spectral range thin walls capillaries guide via total internal reflection

Study of macroscopic and microscopic properties of liposomes produced using microfluidic methods

For the last decades, lipid vesicles or liposomes, vesicles formed by a bilayer of amphiphilic lipids, have been used as a toy model for studying the cell membrane and for applications in cosmetics and drug delivery. Traditional methods for producing liposomes face some problems such as the heterogeneity in size and composition of the liposomes produced. A few years ago, a novel method that produces liposomes with homogeneous size and composition was developed. This novel method is based on the use of water in oil in water ultra-thin double emulsions, with lipids dissolved in the oil phase, as templates for the liposome production. These ultra-thin double emulsions are produced using glass capillary microfluidic devices. This new method for producing liposomes seems very promising, but since the liposomes are formed by the oil phase evaporation of the double emulsions, the doubt that some residual oil in the bilayer may alter the properties of the liposomes appears. In this work different phenomena and properties of liposomes that have been studied for the ones produced using conventional methods are studied for liposomes produced using microfluidic methods. The microfluidic apprOutgoin

Electrochemistry at nanoscale electrodes : individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and SWNT-templated metal nanowires

Individual nanowires (NWs) and native single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be readily used as well-defined nanoscale electrodes (NSEs) for voltammetric analysis. Here, the simple photolithography-free fabrication of submillimeter long Au, Pt, and Pd NWs, with sub-100 nm heights, by templated electrodeposition onto ultralong flow-aligned SWNTs is demonstrated. Both individual Au NWs and SWNTs are employed as NSEs for electron-transfer (ET) kinetic quantification, using cyclic voltammetry (CV), in conjunction with a microcapillary-based electrochemical method. A small capillary with internal diameter in the range 30–70 μm, filled with solution containing a redox-active mediator (FcTMA+ ((trimethylammonium)methylferrocene), Fe(CN)64–, or hydrazine) is positioned above the NSE, so that the solution meniscus completes an electrochemical cell. A 3D finite-element model, faithfully reproducing the experimental geometry, is used to both analyze the experimental CVs and derive the rate of heterogeneous ET, using Butler–Volmer kinetics. For a 70 nm height Au NW, intrinsic rate constants, k0, up to ca. 1 cm s–1 can be resolved. Using the same experimental configuration the electrochemistry of individual SWNTs can also be accessed. For FcTMA+/2+ electrolysis the simulated ET kinetic parameters yield very fast ET kinetics (k0 > 2 ± 1 cm s–1). Some deviation between the experimental voltammetry and the idealized model is noted, suggesting that double-layer effects may influence ET at the nanoscale

Integrated Lithographic Molding for Microneedle-Based Devices

This paper presents a new fabrication method consisting of lithographically defining multiple layers of high aspect-ratio photoresist onto preprocessed silicon substrates and release of the polymer by the lost mold or sacrificial layer technique, coined by us as lithographic molding. The process methodology was demonstrated fabricating out-of-plane polymeric hollow microneedles. First, the fabrication of needle tips was demonstrated for polymeric microneedles with an outer diameter of 250 mum, through-hole capillaries of 75-mum diameter and a needle shaft length of 430 mum by lithographic processing of SU-8 onto simple v-grooves. Second, the technique was extended to gain more freedom in tip shape design, needle shaft length and use of filling materials. A novel combination of silicon dry and wet etching is introduced that allows highly accurate and repetitive lithographic molding of a complex shape. Both techniques consent to the lithographic integration of microfluidic back plates forming a patch-type device. These microneedle-integrated patches offer a feasible solution for medical applications that demand an easy to use point-of-care sample collector, for example, in blood diagnostics for lithium therapy. Although microchip capillary electrophoresis glass devices were addressed earlier, here, we show for the first time the complete diagnostic method based on microneedles made from SU-8