A Novel Passive Phase Modulator based on LH Delay Lines for Chipless Microwave RFID Applications

This paper discusses novel techniques to overcome problems arising when porting the surface acoustic wave approach of building passive radio-frequency identification and measurement systems to the electromagnetic domain without the need of mechanical (acoustical) delay lines. These techniques include the utilization of left-handed artificial delay lines and the increase of information density by using a higher order modulation scheme. The benefit from the porting is a broader field of applications, e. g. RFID tags working at very high temperatures or in other harsh environments become possible

Structural basis for the targeting of complement anaphylatoxin C5a using a mixed L-RNA/L-DNA aptamer

International audienc

Crystal Structure of a Mirror-Image L-RNA Aptamer (Spiegelmer) in Complex with the Natural L-Protein Target CCL2

We report the crystal structure of a 40mer mirror-image RNA oligonucleotide completely built from nucleotides of the non-natural L-chirality in complex with the pro-inflammatory chemokine L-CLL2 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1), a natural protein composed of regular L-amino acids. The L-oligonucleotide is an L-aptamer (a Spiegelmer) identified to bind L-CCL2 with high affinity, thereby neutralizing the chemokine’s activity. CCL2 plays a key role in attracting and positioning monocytes; its overexpression in several inflammatory diseases makes CCL2 an interesting pharmacological target. The PEGylated form of the L-aptamer, NOX-E36 (emapticap pegol), already showed promising efficacy in clinical Phase II studies conducted in diabetic nephropathy patients. The structure of the L-oligonucleotide·L-protein complex was solved and refined to 2.05 Å. It unveils the L-aptamer’s intramolecular contacts and permits a detailed analysis of its structure–function relationship. Furthermore, the analysis of the intermolecular drug–target interactions reveals insight into the selectivity of the L-aptamer for certain related chemokines

Wireless Temperature Sensing with BST-Based Chipless Transponder Utilizing a Passive Phase Modulation Scheme

A passive wireless temperature sensor with identification capabilities based on a phase modulation scheme is discussed in this paper. The approach presented utilizes a pulse backscatter technique based on slow wave (metamaterial) transmission lines. The focus of the work are the material engineering for the temperature-sensitive element and the integration of this element into a passive phase modulation circuit and the entire sensor tag. The approach makes use of temperature-sensitive bariumstrontium-titanate thick film capacitances. The discussed principle has been experimentally verified with a prototype

Planar Microwave Sensor for Theranostic Therapy of Organic Tissue Based on Oval Split Ring Resonators

Microwave sensors in medical environments play a significant role due to the contact-less and non-invasive sensing mechanism to determine dielectric properties of tissue. In this work, a theranostic sensor based on Split Ring Resonators (SRRs) is presented that provides two operation modes to detect and treat tumor cells, exemplary in the liver. For the detection mode, resonance frequency changes due to abnormalities are evaluated, and in the treatment mode, microwave ablation is performed. The planar sensor structure can be integrated into a needle like a surgery tool that evokes challenges concerning size limitations and biocompatibility. To meet the size requirements and provide a reasonable operating frequency, properties of oval shaped SRRs are investigated. By elongating the radius of the SRR in one direction, the resonance frequency can be decreased significantly compared to circular SRR by a factor of two below 12 GHz. In order to validate the detection and treatment characteristics of the sensor, full wave simulations and measurements are examined. Clear resonance shifts are detected for loading the sensor structures with phantoms mimicking healthy and malignant tissue. For treatment mode evaluation, ex vivo beef liver tissue was ablated leading to a lesion zone 1.2 cm × 1 cm × 0.3 cm with a three minute exposure of maximum 2.1 W