Search Results (1,059)

Oral diseases remain highly prevalent worldwide and require early diagnosis and continuous monitoring to improve clinical outcomes. Conventional diagnostic methods are often invasive, time-consuming, and limited in their capacity for real-time assessment, which has driven the development of biosensor technologies for point-of-care applications. Among these, cell-based biosensors utilize living cells as sensing elements capable of responding to inflammatory mediators, bacterial toxins, metabolic products, and tumor-associated biomarkers. This narrative review summarizes the principles, cell types, detection mechanisms, and applications of cell-based biosensors in oral health. The literature was identified through a structured search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using keywords related to cell-based biosensors, oral diagnostics, salivary biomarkers, periodontal disease, oral cancer, and lab-on-chip technologies. Due to the heterogeneity of biosensor designs and detection methods, the selected studies were analyzed qualitatively. Cell-based biosensors have demonstrated applications in periodontal disease detection, cariogenic biofilm monitoring, oral cancer diagnostics, cytotoxicity testing of dental materials, and salivary biomarker analysis. The integration of microfluidic and lab-on-chip systems enables real-time and multiplex detection, supporting the development of chairside diagnostic platforms in dentistry. However, challenges related to standardization, reproducibility, and clinical validation remain and must be addressed to facilitate broader implementation in routine practice. Full article

Urinary cancers present a severe clinical challenge due to high recurrence rates. Standard intravesical therapies suffer from limited efficacy because of the urinary tract’s robust physiological defenses, namely, the dynamic washout effect during voiding and highly restrictive urothelial barriers, such as the anti-adhesive glycosaminoglycan layer and intercellular tight junctions. This review aims to explore how biomimetic engineering can overcome these obstacles by transitioning drug delivery from passive carriers to active, nature-inspired systems. We conducted a comprehensive review of the recent literature focusing on biomimetic strategies for intravesical drug delivery and urinary cancer theranostics. The analyzed approaches are categorized into chemical biomimicry (such as adhesion and camouflage) and structural/functional biomimicry (including adaptive devices and microrobots). Biomimetic strategies significantly enhance targeted drug retention and tissue penetration. Chemical biomimicry, utilizing mussel-inspired catechol chemistry and cell membrane camouflage, effectively bypasses the urothelial anti-adhesive defenses and reduces the immune clearance. Structural and functional biomimicry, such as naturally derived carriers and actively propelled magnetic or biohybrid microrobots, enables the precise spatial localization and controlled payload release in dynamic fluid environments. Furthermore, lab-on-a-chip technologies and patient-derived organoids (PDOs) offer scalable platforms for screening cargo-specific efficacies and tailoring treatments, providing a crucial bridge to personalized precision medicine. Integrating nature-inspired designs with advanced nanotechnologies provides a highly promising pathway with which to overcome the mechanical and biological barriers of the urinary tract. These biomimetic innovations hold the potential to shift the therapeutic paradigm for urinary oncology, paving the way for more efficient, targeted, and personalized precision medicine. Full article

Today, microfluidics has become a revolutionary field of engineering due to its wide range of applications, including lab-on-a-chip devices, microscale biochemical reactors, drug delivery systems, and disease diagnostics. Efficient fluid mixing has been a significant challenge in these systems due to the dominance of laminar flow and low-Reynolds number conditions, where mixing relies primarily on slow molecular diffusion. It is very difficult to achieve rapid mixing and homogeneous mixing within a limited length. In this study, a bioinspired passive micromixer is developed based on the cristae architecture of mitochondria, which is known for maximizing surface area and transport efficiency in biological systems. The micromixer incorporates cristae-like microstructures within a straight microchannel to produce continuous flow deflection, stretching, and folding, thereby promoting chaotic advection without relying on external energy sources. It also includes mitochondrial granules, such as micropillars, within the channel to disrupt streamline flow. Thus, a numerical investigation was conducted to design four different micromixer geometries: conventional T-channel, and T-channels with a single, double and triple matrix of cristae. The analysis was performed in COMSOL Multiphysics, in which “Laminar flow” and “Transport of diluted species” physics were used, and a stationary study was executed. Simulations were conducted at different Reynolds numbers (Re = 0.1–100) to observe the feasibility of the proposed designs. For analysis, the mixing index and concentration profiles at the outlet and along the length were also examined. The results showed that the high cristae density channel performed well, achieving a mixing index of 95.85% at Re = 0.1 and 85.84% at Re = 100, proving that the proposed mitochondria-inspired cristae Mito-mixer delivers efficient mixing over a broad Reynolds-number range while maintaining a compact, length-efficient design. Full article

In this work, we present a numerical proof-of-concept study of a device for nanoparticle sorting, targeting size ranges relevant to exosome-like dimensions (typically 40–200 nm), which remains challenging for passive sorting techniques. The system consists of three silicon waveguides embedded in a CYTOP layer and arranged in a two-step directional-coupler configuration, integrated with a microchannel that carries a water-based buffer as the carrier fluid, transporting the suspended nanoparticles. Three-dimensional Finite Element Method (3D-FEM) simulations were performed, incorporating both optical and hydrodynamic forces to track particle dynamics within the microchannel and demonstrate controlled, size-selective particle deflection. First, numerical simulations show that nanospheres with diameters ranging from 500 nm to 700 nm can be effectively separated by the transverse trapping force at a 4:1 power-splitting ratio. Then, to extend the concept toward smaller size ranges, a bifurcated microchannel is introduced, enabling fluid-assisted transport in low-optical-field regions and allowing reliable separation of particles with smaller diameters (between 200 nm and 400 nm), accompanied by an 8:1 power-splitting ratio. These results demonstrate, within a numerical framework, the feasibility of an integrated photonic–microfluidic approach for size-selective nanoparticle sorting. The proposed strategy may support future pre-processing steps in liquid biopsy workflows, particularly for enriching nanoscale components such as exosome-sized vesicles, rather than constituting a direct diagnostic tool. Full article

Microbial contamination in aquatic environments poses severe threats to aquaculture sustainability, ecological balance and public health. Traditional culture-based detection methods, while standardized, are time-consuming and labor-intensive, often failing to meet the urgent need for rapid on-site monitoring required to prevent disease outbreaks and manage water quality effectively. By integrating latest research advances (2020–2025), this study reviews advances in rapid detection technologies for aquatic microorganisms, including the evolution of nucleic acid amplification strategies, with a focused comparison of the analytical sensitivity and field deployability of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and mainstream isothermal amplification techniques (loop-mediated isothermal amplification, LAMP; recombinase polymerase amplification, RPA). Furthermore, this study reports on the emergence of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein (Cas) systems as next-generation diagnostic tools, highlighting their integration with microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) platforms to achieve attomolar sensitivity. We also consider the application of portable nanopore sequencing for real-time pathogen identification and the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in analyzing complex diagnostic datasets. Advanced molecular methods have achieved significant reductions in time consumption—from days to less than one hour—while challenges regarding sample preparation and environmental matrix inhibition remain. The future of aquatic monitoring lies in integrated, automated systems that combine the specificity of CRISPR-Cas diagnostics with the connectivity of IoT-enabled biosensors. Comparative analysis indicates that isothermal amplification methods (LAMP, RPA) coupled with CRISPR-Cas systems offer the optimal balance of sensitivity, speed, and field deployability for point-of-care aquaculture diagnostics, while qPCR/dPCR remain indispensable for quantitative regulatory applications. We propose a structured technology selection framework to guide researchers and practitioners in choosing appropriate detection modalities based on specific sensitivity, cost, throughput, and deployment requirements. Full article

Microfluidic electrokinetic flows play a central role in applications such as lab-on-a-chip diagnostics, microelectronics cooling, and biomedical sample manipulation. These systems involve intricate heat transfer processes, including Joule heating from ionic currents, temperature-driven flow instabilities, and coupled thermal–fluid interactions, that crucially affect device performance, reliability, and scalability. Current challenges include non-equilibrium charge dynamics, incomplete thermophysical property data for complex fluids, and thermal crosstalk in integrated platforms. This review summarizes the literature published over the past 20 years, with occasional reference to earlier work, covering the fundamental mechanisms of heat generation and dissipation in electrokinetic microflows; analytical, numerical, and experimental approaches for characterizing thermal effects; and discussion on the limitations and application-driven opportunities. It also highlights open questions and future research directions and offers a comprehensive view of design principles and guidelines for developing robust, thermally optimized electrokinetic microfluidic technologies. Full article

Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) technology, long central to analog signal processing and RF filtering, is undergoing a major renewal. Driven by advances that decouple SAWs from traditional piezoelectric materials and fixed-function devices, the field is gaining unprecedented control over acoustic, optical, and electronic interactions at the micro and nanoscale. This review synthesizes these developments across four fronts: new physical mechanisms for SAW manipulation, emerging material platforms, ranging from thin films to 2D systems, along with reconfigurable device architectures and circuits, and the expanding landscape of applications they enable. Optical methods are reshaping how SAWs are generated and controlled, bypassing the limits of conventional electromechanical coupling. Coherent optical excitation of high-Q SAW cavities via Brillouin-like optomechanical interactions now grants access to modes in non-piezoelectric substrates such as diamond and silicon, while on-chip SAW excitation in photonic waveguides through backward stimulated Brillouin scattering opens new integrated sensing routes. In parallel, magneto-acoustic experiments have revealed nonreciprocal SAW diffraction from resonant scattering in magnetoelastic gratings. On the device side, ZnO thin-film transistors integrated on LiNbO₃ exploit acoustoelectric coupling to realize voltage-tunable phase shifters; UHF Z-shaped delay lines achieve high sensitivity in a compact footprint; and parametric synthesis of wideband, multi-stage lattice filters targets 5G-class performance. Atomistic simulations show that SAW propagation in 2D MXene films can be engineered via surface terminations, while aerosol jet printing and SAW-assisted particle patterning provide agile, cleanroom-light fabrication of microfluidic and magnetic components. These advances enable applications ranging from hybrid quantum systems and quantum links to lab-on-a-chip particle control, SBS-based and UHF sensing, reconfigurable RF front-ends, and soft robotic actuators based on patterned magnetic composites. At the same time, optical techniques offer non-contact probes of dissipation, and MXenes and other emerging materials open new regimes of acoustic control. Conclusively, they are transforming SAW technology into a versatile, programmable platform for mediating complex interactions in next-generation electronic, photonic, and quantum systems. Full article

Precise manipulation and directed transport of micro- and nano-particles are cornerstones of emerging lab-on-a-chip technologies. Traditional optofluidic systems that combine optical tweezers with microfluidic channels enable long-range transport. However, they rely on fixed physical boundaries that lack reconfigurability. To bridge this gap, we propose a reconfigurable virtual optical waveguide (VOW) based on a discretized beam-shaping strategy. By superposing two orthogonally polarized shaped beams, we construct interference-free optical channels without physical boundaries. This platform enables programmable transport along complex trajectories, including space-filling Hilbert curves that maximize interaction path length, and shields the transport channel from perturbations induced by surrounding particles. Crucially, the VOW offers multi-dimensional sorting capabilities: (i) it performs precise size-dependent sieving via tunable channel widths, and (ii) it functions as an intrinsic material filter by stably guiding scattering-dominated particles (e.g., gold) while rejecting gradient-dominated dielectric ones. This work establishes a versatile, contactless strategy for adaptive optical logistics and on-chip material purification. Full article

Nano-tweezers, especially those based on photonic crystals and plasmonic structures, are powerful tools for trapping, manipulating, or accelerating nano-sized objects. However, the precise control of the inter-distance between trapped nanoparticles has rarely been considered. In this paper, we propose a mirror-symmetric optical conveyor belt, in which each unit contains three graded nano-slots. Through the optimized design of spacing between these nano-slots, the structure generates multiple trapping centers, enabling wavelength-selective control over trapping positions. The results show that, through dynamically shifting excitation wavelengths, the programmable bidirectional optical manipulation of nanoparticles can be achieved. Also, the inter-distance between trapped particles can be tuned with subwavelength precision. The proposed structure provides a versatile solution for lab-on-a-chip systems, especially for systems aiming to study the interactions between objects. Full article

Lab-on-a-chip devices offer high efficiency, low volume and fast analytical measurement, but their use is still niche. A key component for these devices is the detector, and one common type of detection is fluorescence spectroscopy. However, in some cases the detector can be bulky and lose the appeal of small-footprint devices. To make lab-on-a-chip devices truly compact, detectors must also be compact. In this paper we discuss the use of simple and low-cost commercial multispectral sensors for use in lab-on-a-chip devices, more specifically for fluorescence detection, which we demonstrate to allow detection on nanomolar scale with a simple experimental setup. Full article

Measurement of material thermodynamic parameters plays a crucial role in understanding the interactions between host materials and guest species. Therefore, developing a general-purpose system for thermodynamic parameter measurement is of great significance. In this work, a complete gas–solid interface thermodynamic parameter measurement platform was developed based on isothermal adsorption and a resonant microcantilever testing platform. Unlike conventional adsorption measurement systems that rely on manual, multi-cycle adsorption–desorption processes, the proposed platform integrates an automated hardware–software architecture together with a stepwise concentration-gradient protocol and on-chip thermal desorption, enabling continuous and efficient acquisition of adsorption isotherms. The study includes: (i) construction of an improved thermodynamic parameter extraction model based on the Sips model, (ii) development of an integrated resonant microcantilever control and acquisition module using a modified Fourier algorithm, and (iii) implementation of an automated testing and data analysis software framework developed in LabVIEW based on the Queued Message Handler (QMH) architecture. The system was validated from both hardware performance and material testing perspectives using CO₂ adsorption on H-SSZ-13 as a representative case. The results show that the system achieves a maximum sampling rate of 10,000 pts (points per second), with minimum root-mean-square (RMS) noise levels of 0.0083 Hz for frequency and 0.0109 °C for temperature. The PID temperature-control settling time (0.1%) is 24.9 ms, and the frequency-response settling time (0.01%) is 9.6 ms. Thermodynamic parameters including entropy change (ΔS), enthalpy change (ΔH), and Gibbs free energy change (ΔG) were successfully extracted during CO₂ adsorption at 294.15 K under different relative uptakes. Reproducibility was verified across three independent samples, yielding a standard deviation of 9.1 J·mol⁻¹ for ΔS at 2% relative uptake and relative standard deviations of 6.85% and 8.12% for ΔH and ΔG, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed thermodynamic measurement platform features a simple architecture, superior performance, and high reproducibility in gas–solid interface thermodynamic studies, showing strong potential for future commercialization. Full article

Background/Objectives: Antibodies are a rapidly expanding field in drug discovery, but their monospecificity limits therapeutic applications, particularly in complex inflammatory diseases. Multispecific therapeutics, which combine variable regions targeting two or more antigens, offer potential advantages such as enhanced efficacy, broader target modulation, and reduced side effects. This study aimed to identify and characterize bispecific, VHH-based antibodies simultaneously targeting IL-6 and IL-17A—two key cytokines involved in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions. Methods: A phage display screening was conducted using llama-derived VHH libraries to select binders against human IL-6 and IL-17A. Binding affinities of individual VHHs and assembled bispecific constructs were assessed using Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI). Functional activity was evaluated using reporter cell lines responsive to IL-6 and IL-17A signaling. Biophysical and quality assessments of selected VHHs and bispecific antibodies were performed using the Uncle screening platform and LabChip capillary electrophoresis. Results: Several high-affinity VHH binders were identified for both IL-6 and IL-17A, and incorporated into bispecific antibody formats. The bispecific candidates exhibited simultaneous inhibition of both cytokine pathways in functional reporter assays. Biophysical characterization confirmed good stability and purity profiles for selected molecules. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility of generating stable, functional bispecific VHH-based antibodies targeting IL-6 and IL-17A. These constructs show potential as therapeutic agents for treating autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases by modulating multiple signaling pathways simultaneously. Full article

The unchecked and uncontrolled global spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria is a serious challenge to healthcare and modern medicine, and demands diagnostic approaches that are rapid, sensitive, multiplexed, and reliable in point-of-care (POC) settings. At the interface of nanomaterials and aptamer-based biosensing, significant advances have been reported. The convergence of portable electrochemical sensing technologies, smartphone-based readout systems, and artificial intelligence (AI)- and machine learning (ML)-based data analysis is also playing a significant role in advancing this area. This perspective reflects on the most recent breakthroughs and translational developments in electrochemical nano-aptasensors for MDR bacterial detection, covering diagnostic targets and translation trends, nanomaterials advancements, aptamer engineering-integration, POC strategies and microfluidics platforms, and novel multimodal strategies that enhance accuracy, reliability, and efficiency in POC testing. Moreover, limitations and knowledge gaps in this area, as well as key considerations for sustainable development, large-scale manufacturing, and deployment of integrated electrochemical nano-aptasensors, are also highlighted. Electrochemical nano-aptasensors can pave the way for the transformation of MDR bacterial diagnosis, but need coordinated translational efforts for POC diagnostic advancements towards real-world applications. Full article

Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) and microfluidic technologies are rapidly reshaping the development pipeline for nano drug delivery systems (DDSs) by enabling precise control of physicochemical properties, high-throughput screening, and integrated biological evaluation within miniaturized platforms. This review synthesizes recent advances in microfluidic principles, fabrication strategies, and sensing modalities that facilitate continuous flow synthesis, real-time characterization, and adaptive formulation of nanoparticles. We highlight how LoC-enabled systems improve monodispersity, reproducibility, and tunability of liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, and metallic nanocarriers, while providing powerful tools for assessing pharmacokinetics, drug release, and systemic responses using organ-on-chip (OoC) models. Emerging trends, including AI-driven autonomous optimization, stimuli-responsive materials, 3D-printed hybrid architectures, and self-powered portable devices, are discussed in the context of future integrated nano-pharmaceutics platforms. Despite existing challenges related to biocompatibility, standardization, data integration, and translation to industrial and clinical applications, the synergistic evolution of LoC engineering and nanomedicine holds transformative potential for personalized and next-generation therapeutic strategies. Full article

Photonic crystal waveguides (PhCWs) have emerged as a leading platform for integrated optical sensing due to their ability to engineer dispersion, enhance light–matter interaction, and exploit slow-light effects. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental physics, performance metrics, device architectures, and application domains that define the current state of PhCW-based sensing. Key mechanisms governing sensitivity, figure of merit, detection limit, and dynamic range are examined, with emphasis on the intrinsic trade-offs introduced by slow-light operation, including disorder-induced scattering, linewidth broadening, and thermal susceptibility. Advances in dispersion engineering, such as hole shifting, gentle confinement, and width modulation, are highlighted alongside novel architectures including slot PhCWs, hybrid material platforms, and plasmonic–photonic configurations. Their respective capabilities in enhancing analyte overlap, improving spectral stability, and expanding functional integration are critically assessed. Emerging applications in biochemical detection, environmental monitoring, and nanoscale particle sensing further illustrate the versatility of PhCWs within modern optofluidic and lab-on-chip systems. The review concludes by outlining key challenges and future directions, including disorder-resilient slow-light design, inverse-engineered structures, and platform-level integration, which collectively chart a path toward next-generation high-performance photonic crystal sensing technologies. Full article