Tumor markers: a proteomic approach

This article reviews the recently published data on the diagnosis of cancer with proteomics, including the major proteomics technologies and promising strategies for biomarker discovery and development.  Most of the tumor markers are proteins that either numerically increase in response to the alteration of cancer conditions or are produced by cancer cells. However, they are natural compounds ordinarily available in the typical cells to a little extent what are affected by increase of expression due to cancer and its intensity in blood, body fluids or tissues. Tumor markers are substances normally available in body fluids such as serum, urine, blood, and tissues that increase in the desired tissue of cancer patients. Most of tumor markers are proteins that either are produced in response to changes in cancer conditions or are made by the cancer cells. However, most of tumor markers are among the natural compounds of normal cells present in normal conditions in the cell in small amounts and are affected by increase of expression, due to cancer and their levels in the blood, body fluids or tissues

Crystalline fibres of a covalent organic framework through bottom-up microfluidic synthesis

A microfluidic chip has been used to prepare fibres of a porous polymer with high structural order, setting a precedent for the generation of a wide variety of materials using this reagent mixing approach that provides unique materials not accessible easily through bulk processes. The reaction between 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene and 1,3,5-benzenetricarbaldehyde in acetic acid under continuous microfluidic flow conditions leads to the formation of a highly crystalline and porous covalent organic framework (hereafter denoted as MF-COF-1), consisting of fibrillar micro-structures, which have mechanical stability that allows for direct drawing of objects on a surfaceFinancial support from Spanish Government (Projects MAT2013-46753-C2-1-P and CTQ2014-53486-R) and FEDER are acknowledged. A. A. and J. P. L. would like to thank the financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through the project no. 200021_16017

Exploiting Reaction-Diffusion Conditions to Trigger Pathway Complexity in the Growth of a MOF

Coordination polymers (CPs), including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), are crystalline materials with promising applications in electronics, magnetism, catalysis, and gas storage/separation. However, the mechanisms and pathways underlying their formation remain largely undisclosed. Herein, we demonstrate that diffusion-controlled mixing of reagents at the very early stages of the crystallization process (i.e., within ≈40 ms), achieved by using continuous-flow microfluidic devices, can be used to enable novel crystallization pathways of a prototypical spin-crossover MOF towards its thermodynamic product. In particular, two distinct and unprecedented nucleation-growth pathways were experimentally observed when crystallization was triggered under microfluidic mixing. Full-atom molecular dynamics simulations also confirm the occurrence of these two distinct pathways during crystal growth. In sharp contrast, a crystallization by particle attachment was observed under bulk (turbulent) mixing. These unprecedented results provide a sound basis for understanding the growth of CPs and open up new avenues for the engineering of porous materials by using out-of-equilibrium conditions

Pathway selection as a tool for crystal defect engineering: A case study with a functional coordination polymer

New synthetic routes capable of achieving defect engineering of functional crystals through well- controlled pathway selection will spark new breakthroughs and advances towards unprecedented and unique functional materials and devices. In nature, the interplay of chemical reactions with the diffusion of reagents in space and time is already used to favor such pathway selection and trigger the formation of materials with bespoke properties and functions, even when the material composition is preserved. Following this approach, herein we show that a controlled interplay of a coordination reaction with mass transport (i.e. the diffusion of reagents) is essential to favor the generation of charge imbalance defects (i.e. protonation defects) in a final crystal structure (thermodynamic product). We show that this syn- thetic pathway is achieved with the isolation of a kinetic product (i.e. a metastable state), which can be only accomplished when a controlled interplay of the reaction with mass transport is satisfied. Account- ing for the relevance of controlling, tuning and understanding structure-properties correlations, we have studied the spin transition evolution of a well-defined spin-crossover complex as a model system

Microfluidic pneumatic cages : A novel approach for in-chip crystal trapping, manipulation and controlled chemical treatment

The precise localization and controlled chemical treatment of structures on a surface are significant challenges for common laboratory technologies. Herein, we introduce a microfluidic-based technology, employing a double-layer microfluidic device, which can trap and localize in situ and ex situ synthesized structures on microfluidic channel surfaces. Crucially, we show how such a device can be used to conduct controlled chemical reactions onto on-chip trapped structures and we demonstrate how the synthetic pathway of a crystalline molecular material and its positioning inside a microfluidic channel can be precisely modified with this technology. This approach provides new opportunities for the controlled assembly of structures on surface and for their subsequent treatment

Microfluidic-assisted fiber production: Potentials, limitations, and prospects

Besides the conventional fiber production methods, microfluidics has emerged as a promising approach for the engineered spinning of fibrous materials and offers excellent potential for fiber manufacturing in a controlled and straightforward manner. This method facilitates low-speed prototype synthesis of fibers for diverse applications while providing superior control over reaction conditions, efficient use of precursor solutions, reagent mixing, and process parameters. This article reviews recent advances in microfluidic technology for the fabrication of fibrous materials with different morphologies and a variety of properties aimed at various applications. First, the basic principles, as well as the latest developments and achievements of microfluidic-based techniques for fiber production, are introduced. Specifically, microfluidic platforms made of glass, polymers, and/or metals, including but not limited to microfluidic chips, capillary-based devices, and three-dimensional printed devices are summarized. Then, fiber production from various materials, such as alginate, gelatin, silk, collagen, and chitosan, using different microfluidic platforms with a broad range of cross-linking agents and mechanisms is described. Therefore, microfluidic spun fibers with diverse diameters ranging from submicrometer scales to hundreds of micrometers and structures, such as cylindrical, hollow, grooved, flat, core–shell, heterogeneous, helical, and peapod-like morphologies, with tunable sizes and mechanical properties are discussed in detail. Subsequently, the practical applications of microfluidic spun fibers are highlighted in sensors for biomedical or optical purposes, scaffolds for culture or encapsulation of cells in tissue engineering, and drug delivery. Finally, different limitations and challenges of the current microfluidic technologies, as well as the future perspectives and concluding remarks, are presented.ISSN:1932-105

Unveiling Pathway Complexity in the Growth of a Spin-Crossover MOF via Engineered Liquid-Liquid Interfacial Reactions

Coordination polymers (CPs), including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), have recently emerged as a platform to design new materials with novel applications in fields such as electronics, magnetism, catalysis, optics and gas storage/separation. However, the pathways followed and the mechanisms underlying their formation remain largely unknown and unresolved. Accordingly, the elucidation of associated growth mechanisms remains the key obstacle in accessing new properties and functions in such materials. Herein, we demonstrate that reaction-diffusion (RD) conditions accomplished within microfluidic reaction systems can be used to uncover different crystallization pathways undertaken by spin-crossover MOFs towards their thermodynamic products. Specifically, microfluidic RD mixing (providing kinetic control) enables two peculiar nucleation-growth pathways characterized by well-defined metastable intermediates, which have never been observed in bulk environments (under thermodynamic control). Contrarily, in the latter case, crystallization by particle attachment (mesoscale assembly) is observed. These unprecedented results provide a sound basis for understanding coordination polymer growth, and open up new avenues for the engineering of advanced functional materials.</b

Microfluidic pneumatic cages: A novel approach for in-chip crystal trapping, manipulation and controlled chemical treatment

The precise localization and controlled chemical treatment of structures on a surface are significant challenges for common laboratory technologies. Herein, we introduce a microfluidic-based technology, employing a double-layer microfluidic device, which can trap and localize in situ and ex situ synthesized structures on microfluidic channel surfaces. Crucially, we show how such a device can be used to conduct controlled chemical reactions onto on-chip trapped structures and we demonstrate how the synthetic pathway of a crystalline molecular material and its positioning inside a microfluidic channel can be precisely modified with this technology. This approach provides new opportunities for the controlled assembly of structures on surface and for their subsequent treatment.Authors would like to thank the financial support from Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) through the project no. 200021_160174.Peer Reviewe

Inside Cover: Exploiting Reaction-Diffusion Conditions to Trigger Pathway Complexity in the Growth of a MOF

How do you unveil pathway complexity in a crystallization process? In their Research Article on page 15920, Alessandro Sorrenti, Marco D′Abramo, Guillermo Mínguez Espallargas, Josep Puigmartí-Luis, and co-workers show that harnessing a reaction-diffusion (RD) process within a continuous flow microfluidic device, and on a millisecond timescale, is key to enable two unprecedented nucleation-growth pathways during a MOF synthesis