Design of a low-cost, high-precision rolling nanoelectrode lithography machine for manufacturing nanoscale products

This paper presents the design of a low-cost, high-precision rolling nanoelectrode lithography (RNEL) machine, addressing the growing demand for cost-effective and high-precision nanomanufacturing processes for next-generation nanoproducts. Unlike plate-to-plate methods, the rolling stamp ensures uniform contact pressure across the entire surface of the 8-inch substrates, simplifying the separation process. However, achieving precise positioning between the rolling stamp and substrate during RNEL operations is essential, as even slight deviations can lead to significant defects in fabricated nanostructures. This poses a considerable challenge in developing an affordable, high-precision RNEL machine that meets the requirements for high-yield production, especially for SMEs. The final design adopts a four-axis fixed-gantry configuration where the X- and Y-axes are mounted separately, chosen from four candidates for the superior overall performance. The machine employs a step-and-repeat mechanism using three low-cost ball-bearing linear slides. Additionally, a flexure-based passive tilting stage with nanometre resolution is integrated into the roller unit, promoting high alignment accuracy and uniform contact. In simulations, a 5 N load at the rolling stamp's edge causes a rotation of about 0.00022 radians with only a tiny lateral deformation of 4.9 nm. While the current design achieves an RSS error of approximately 10 μm, attaining the desired sub-micron positioning accuracy requires further developments, particularly in compensating for geometric and thermal errors. Addressing these issues is the next step in our research, aiming to fulfil the precision demands of RNEL operations

Acidochromic organic photovoltaic integrated device

Tremendous efforts have been devoted to boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs) via the introduction of cathode interlayers (CILs). However, CIL materials have limited diversity and the development of multifunctional devices is largely neglected. Herein, an acidochromic organic photovoltaic integrated device is firstly proposed by introducing an acid-sensitive stimulating-reaction organic molecule as both the CIL of OSCs and the sensor of monitoring environmental acidity. The oxazolidine unit of acidochromic molecule can form a ring-opening structure after acid treatment, resulting in the remarkable color change with the direct reflection of pH value of ecological environment. The additive-free PM6:Y6 OSCs using the acidochromic molecule as the CIL achieve an excellent PCE of above 15.29 %, which is 47 % higher than that of the control device. The PCE can even maintain above 92 % after treating CIL with various strong acids (pH = 1). Moreover, the color of acidified films and the degraded performance of acidified OSCs can be easily restored by alkaline treatment. The successful application of CIL in other highly efficient photovoltaic systems proves its good universality. This work triggers the promising application of acidochromic molecules in solar cells as CIL with the additional function of recognition of acid environment

A NOVEL RHODAMINE-BASED FLUORESCENCE CHEMOSENSOR CONTAINING POLYETHER FOR MERCURY (II) IONS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION

A novel rhodamine-based Hg2+ chemosensor P2 containing polyether was readily synthesized and investigated, which displayed high selectivity and sensitivity for Hg2+. Because of good water-solubility of polyther, the rhodamine-based chemosensor containing polyether can be used in aqueous solution. The sensor responded rapidly to Hg2+ in pure water solutions with a 1:1 stoichiometry. Meanwhile, it indicated excellent adaptability and also the responsiveness

Transient stimulated Raman scattering spectroscopy and imaging

Abstract Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) has been developed as an essential quantitative contrast for chemical imaging in recent years. However, while spectral lines near the natural linewidth limit can be routinely achieved by state-of-the-art spontaneous Raman microscopes, spectral broadening is inevitable for current mainstream SRS imaging methods. This is because those SRS signals are all measured in the frequency domain. There is a compromise between sensitivity and spectral resolution: as the nonlinear process benefits from pulsed excitations, the fundamental time-energy uncertainty limits the spectral resolution. Besides, the spectral range and acquisition speed are mutually restricted. Here we report transient stimulated Raman scattering (T-SRS), an alternative time-domain strategy that bypasses all these fundamental conjugations. T-SRS is achieved by quantum coherence manipulation: we encode the vibrational oscillations in the stimulated Raman loss (SRL) signal by femtosecond pulse-pair sequence excited vibrational wave packet interference. The Raman spectrum was then achieved by Fourier transform of the time-domain SRL signal. Since all Raman modes are impulsively and simultaneously excited, T-SRS features the natural-linewidth-limit spectral line shapes, laser-bandwidth-determined spectral range, and improved sensitivity. With ~150-fs laser pulses, we boost the sensitivity of typical Raman modes to the sub-mM level. With all-plane-mirror high-speed time-delay scanning, we further demonstrated hyperspectral SRS imaging of live-cell metabolism and high-density multiplexed imaging with the natural-linewidth-limit spectral resolution. T-SRS shall find valuable applications for advanced Raman imaging

Fighting Fire with Fire: Exosomes and Acute Pancreatitis-Associated Acute Lung Injury

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a prevalent clinical condition of the digestive system, with a growing frequency each year. Approximately 20% of patients suffer from severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) with local consequences and multi-organ failure, putting a significant strain on patients’ health insurance. According to reports, the lungs are particularly susceptible to SAP. Acute respiratory distress syndrome, a severe type of acute lung injury (ALI), is the primary cause of mortality among AP patients. Controlling the mortality associated with SAP requires an understanding of the etiology of AP-associated ALI, the discovery of biomarkers for the early detection of ALI, and the identification of potentially effective drug treatments. Exosomes are a class of extracellular vesicles with a diameter of 30–150 nm that are actively released into tissue fluids to mediate biological functions. Exosomes are laden with bioactive cargo, such as lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA. During the initial stages of AP, acinar cell-derived exosomes suppress forkhead box protein O1 expression, resulting in M1 macrophage polarization. Similarly, macrophage-derived exosomes activate inflammatory pathways within endothelium or epithelial cells, promoting an inflammatory cascade response. On the other hand, a part of exosome cargo performs tissue repair and anti-inflammatory actions and inhibits the cytokine storm during AP. Other reviews have detailed the function of exosomes in the development of AP, chronic pancreatitis, and autoimmune pancreatitis. The discoveries involving exosomes at the intersection of AP and acute lung injury (ALI) are reviewed here. Furthermore, we discuss the therapeutic potential of exosomes in AP and associated ALI. With the continuous improvement of technological tools, the research on exosomes has gradually shifted from basic to clinical applications. Several exosome-specific non-coding RNAs and proteins can be used as novel molecular markers to assist in the diagnosis and prognosis of AP and associated ALI

Chip breakage in silk microfibre production using elliptical vibration turning

To overcome the precision limitation and environmental impact of current chemical-based production methods for manufacturing silk microfibres used for targeted drug delivery, this paper presents a high-precision, scalable, eco-friendly mechanical machining approach to produce such microfibres in the form of discontinuous chips obtained through elliptical vibration turning of silk fibroin film using a diamond tool. The length and waist width of fabricated microfibres can be precisely controlled. As each vibration cycle will produce one silk microfibre, complete and deterministic chip breakage becomes an essential and challenging task in this approach due to its unique two-phase structure. Thus, the hybrid FE-SPH numerical simulations and machining experiments were conducted to gain a pioneering and in-depth exploration of the chip-breaking mechanism in this process. It was found that applying a low depth ratio (ratio of the nominal depth of cut to the tool path vertical amplitude) and a high horizontal speed ratio (the nominal cutting speed versus the critical workpiece velocity) could effectively reduce the average tool velocity angle (the angle from the deepest cut to the tool exit point along the cutting direction). A smaller angle would enhance the diamond tool's shearing action and led to the reduction of hydrostatic pressure in the cutting zone and a consequent decrease in the ductility of silk fibroin due to its unique structure dominated by beta-sheet crystallites. The above adjustments collectively facilitated chip breakage. This paper, therefore, established a governing rule for the controlled and repeatable formation of microfibres based on the average tool velocity angle for the first time and revealed that the cutting chips would undergo complete and deterministic breakages once the angle approached below 22.6°. On this basis, the high-precision and scalable manufacturing of silk microfibres with precisely controllable length and waist width was ultimately achieved

In Situ Detection and Imaging of Telomerase Activity in Cancer Cell Lines via Disassembly of Plasmonic Core–Satellites Nanostructured Probe

The label-free localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) detection technique has been identified as a powerful means for in situ investigation of biological processes and localized chemical reactions at single particle level with high spatial and temporal resolution. Herein, a core–satellites assembled nanostructure of Au₅₀@Au₁₃ was designed for in situ detection and intracellular imaging of telomerase activity by combining plasmonic resonance Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy with dark-field microscope (DFM). The Au₅₀@Au₁₃ was fabricated by using 50 nm gold nanoparticles (Au₅₀) as core and 13 nm gold nanoparticles (Au₁₃) as satellites, both of them were functionalized with single chain DNA and gathered proximity through the highly specific DNA hybridization with a nicked hairpin DNA (O1) containing a telomerase substrate (TS) primer as linker. In the presence of telomerase, the telomeric repeated sequence of (TTAGGG)_<i>n</i> extended at the 3′-end of O1 would hybridized with its complementary sequences at 5′-ends. This led the telomerase extension product of O1 be folded to form a rigid hairpin structure. As a result, the Au₅₀@Au₁₃ was disassembled with the releasing of O1 and Au₁₃-S from Au₅₀-L, which dramatically decreased the plasmon coupling effect. The remarkable LSPR spectral shift was observed accompanied by a detectable color change from orange to green with the increase of telomerase activity at single particle level with a detection limit of 1.3 × 10^–13 IU. The ability of Au₅₀@Au₁₃ for in situ imaging intracellular telomerase activity, distinguishing cancer cells from normal cells, in situ monitoring the variation of cellular telomerase activity after treated with drugs were also demonstrated

Dual-Emissive Nanohybrid for Ratiometric Luminescence and Lifetime Imaging of Intracellular Hydrogen Sulfide

We design a nanohybrid for the detection of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). A phosphorescent iridium­(III) complex and a specific H₂S-sensitive merocyanine derivative are embedded into the nanohybrid. It exhibits a unique dual emission that is ascribed to the iridium­(III) complex and the merocyanine derivative, respectively. Upon addition of sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS), the emission from the merocyanine derivative is quenched, while the emission from the iridium­(III) complex is almost unchanged, which enables the ratiometric detection of H₂S. Additionally, the nanohybrid has a long luminescence lifetime and displays a significant change in luminescence lifetime in response to H₂S. Intracellular detection of H₂S is performed via ratiometric imaging and photoluminescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Compared with the intensity-based method, the lifetime-based detection is independent of the probe concentration and can efficiently distinguish the signals of the probe from the autofluorescence in complex biological samples