An integrated Young interferometer based on UV-imprinted polymer waveguides for label-free biosensing applications

We demonstrate a polymer rib waveguide Young interferometer sensor fabricated by UV-imprinting. An inverted rib waveguide structure was utilized in order to simplify the fabrication process. In this configuration grooves are formed on the under cladding layer by UV-imprinting and core material is spin coated on top to fill the grooves. Glucose water solution was used to characterize the sensor response against ambient refractive index changes. The sensing responses correspond linearly with the refractive index change of glucose solutions with a detection limit of about 10-5. To verify the capability of the polymer sensor for biosensing, an immunoassay was performed with c-reactive protein (CRP) and human CRP specific antibody adsorbed on the waveguide surface as a receptor. The CRP solution in PBS (phosphate buffered saline) buffer with a concentration of 2 µg/ml (16 nM) resulted in an obvious response which was over a couple hundred times of the noise level. Based on these values, a detection limit of about 2.4 pg/mm2 was found for the surface sensing of molecular adsorption. With the proposed waveguide configuration, the fabrication of polymer sensors can be ultimately transferred to roll-to-roll mass production to produce low-cost disposable sensors

2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: executive summary.

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Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: executive summary.

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withdrawn 2017 hrs ehra ecas aphrs solaece expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation

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Nanopapers for organic solvent nanofiltration

Would it not be nice to have an organic solvent nanofiltration membrane made from renewable resources that can be manufactured as simply as producing paper? Here the production of nanofiltration membranes made from nanocellulose by applying a papermaking process is demonstrated. Manufacture of the nanopapers was enabled by inducing flocculation of nanofibrils upon addition of trivalent ions