Publications

Warkiani, ME, Wu, L, Tay, AKP & Han, J 2015, Large-Volume Microfluidic Cell Sorting for Biomedical Applications, Annual Reviews.
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Microfluidic cell-separation technologies have been studied for almost two decades, but the limited throughput has restricted their impact and range of application. Recent advances in microfluidics enable high-throughput cell sorting and separation, and this has led to various novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications that previously had been impossible to implement using microfluidics technologies. In this review, we focus on recent progress made in engineering large-volume microfluidic cell-sorting methods and the new applications enabled by them.

Cranfield, C, Carne, S, Martinac, B & Cornell, B 2015, 'The Assembly and Use of Tethered Bilayer Lipid Membranes (tBLMs)' in Methods in Molecular Biology, Springer New York, pp. 45-53.
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© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015. Because they are firmly held in place, tethered bilayer lipid membranes (tBLMs) are considerably more robust than supported lipid bilayers such as black lipid membranes (BLMs) (Cornell et al. Nature 387(6633): 580–583, 1997). Here we describe the procedures required to assemble and test tethered lipid bilayers that can incorporate various lipid species, peptides, and ion channel proteins.

Asadnia, M, Kottapalli, AGP, Miao, J, Warkiani, ME & Triantafyllou, MS 2015, 'Artificial fish skin of self-powered micro-electromechanical systems hair cells for sensing hydrodynamic flow phenomena', Journal of The Royal Society Interface, vol. 12, no. 111, pp. 20150322-20150322.
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Using biological sensors, aquatic animals like fishes are capable of performing impressive behaviours such as super-manoeuvrability, hydrodynamic flow ‘vision’ and object localization with a success unmatched by human-engineered technologies. Inspired by the multiple functionalities of the ubiquitous lateral-line sensors of fishes, we developed flexible and surface-mountable arrays of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) artificial hair cell flow sensors. This paper reports the development of the MEMS artificial versions of superficial and canal neuromasts and experimental characterization of their unique flow-sensing roles. Our MEMS flow sensors feature a stereolithographically fabricated polymer hair cell mounted on Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3micro-diaphragm with floating bottom electrode. Canal-inspired versions are developed by mounting a polymer canal with pores that guide external flows to the hair cells embedded in the canal. Experimental results conducted employing our MEMS artificial superficial neuromasts (SNs) demonstrated a high sensitivity and very low threshold detection limit of 22 mV/(mm s−1) and 8.2 µm s−1, respectively, for an oscillating dipole stimulus vibrating at 35 Hz. Flexible arrays of such superficial sensors were demonstrated to localize an underwater dipole stimulus. Comparative experimental studies revealed a high-pass filtering nature of the canal encapsulated sensors with a cut-off frequency of 10 Hz and a flat frequency response of artificial SNs. Flexible arrays of self-powered, miniaturized, light-weight, low-cost and robust artificial lateral-line systems could enhance the capabilities of underwater vehicles.

Bennett, R, Yakkundi, A, McKeen, HD, McClements, L, McKeogh, TJ, McCrudden, CM, Arthur, K, Robson, T & McCarthy, HO 2015, 'RALA-mediated delivery of FKBPL nucleic acid therapeutics', Nanomedicine, vol. 10, no. 19, pp. 2989-3001.
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Aims: RALA is a novel 30 mer bioinspired amphipathic peptide that is showing promise for gene delivery. Here, we used RALA to deliver the FK506-binding protein like – FKBPL gene (pFKBPL) – a novel member of the immunophilin protein family. FKBPL is a secreted protein, with overexpression shown to inhibit angiogenesis, tumor growth and stemness, through a variety of intra- and extracellular signaling mechanisms. We also elucidated proangiogenic activity and stemness after utilizing RALA to deliver siRNA (siFKBPL). Materials & methods: The RALA/pFKBPL and RALA/siFKBPL nanoparticles were characterized in terms of size, charge, stability and toxicity. Overexpression and knockdown of FKBPL was assessed in vitro and in vivo. Results: RALA delivered both pFKBPL and siFKBPL with less cytotoxicity than commercially available counterparts. In vivo, RALA/pFKBPL delivery retarded tumor growth, and prolonged survival with an associated decrease in angiogenesis, while RALA/siFKBPL had no effect on tumor growth rate or survival, but resulted in an increase in angiogenesis and stemness. Conclusion: RALA is an effective delivery system for both FKBPL DNA and RNAi and highlights an alternative therapeutic approach to harnessing FKBPL's antiangiogenic and antistemness activity.

Cai, H, An, X, Wen, S, Li, J, Zhang, G, Shi, X & Shen, M 2015, 'Facile Synthesis of Gd(OH)₃‐Doped Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles for Dual‐Mode T₁‐ and T₂‐Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Applications', Particle & Particle Systems Characterization, vol. 32, no. 10, pp. 934-943.
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The facile hydrothermal synthesis of polyethyleneimine (PEI)‐coated iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) doped with Gd(OH)3 (Fe3O4‐Gd(OH)3‐PEI NPs) for dual mode T1‐ and T2‐weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging applications is reported. In this approach, Fe3O4‐Gd(OH)3‐PEI NPs are synthesized via a hydrothermal method in the presence of branched PEI and Gd(III) ions. The PEI coating onto the particle surfaces enables further modification of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in order to render the particles with good water dispersibility and improved biocompatibility. The formed Fe3O4‐Gd(OH)3‐PEI‐PEG NPs have a Gd/Fe molar ratio of 0.25:1 and a mean particle size of 14.4 nm and display a relatively high r2 (151.37 × 10−3m−1 s−1) and r1 (5.63 × 10−3m−1 s−1) relaxivity, affording their uses as a unique contrast agent for T1‐ and T2‐weighted MR imaging of rat livers after mesenteric vein injection of the particles and the mouse liver after intravenous injection of the particles, respectively. The developed Fe3O4‐Gd(OH)3‐PEI‐PEG NPs may hold great promise to be used as a contrast agent for dual mode T1‐ and T2‐weighted self‐confirmation MR imaging of different biological systems.

Cai, H, Li, K, Li, J, Wen, S, Chen, Q, Shen, M, Zheng, L, Zhang, G & Shi, X 2015, 'Dendrimer-Assisted Formation of Fe₃O₄/Au Nanocomposite Particles for Targeted Dual Mode CT/MR Imaging of Tumors', Small, vol. 11, no. 35, pp. 4584-4593.
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Cai, M, Wei, T, Zhou, B, Tian, Y, Zhou, J, Xu, S & Zhang, J 2015, 'Analysis of energy transfer process based emission spectra of erbium doped germanate glasses for mid-infrared laser materials', Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 626, pp. 165-172.
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Er3+ activated germanate glass with good thermal stability was prepared. Bonding parameters have been calculated and the nature of ionic bonding of the germanate glass has been determined. Mid-infrared fluorescence was observed and corresponding radiative properties were investigated. For Er3+:4I11/2→4I13/2 transition, high spontaneous radiative transition probability (30.09 s−1), large emission cross section ((14.84 ± 0.10) × 10−21 cm2) and superior gain performance were obtained from the prepared glass. Besides, energy transfer processes concerning the 2.7 μm emission were also discussed in detail. According to simplified rate equation and Dexter’s theory, energy transfer microscopic parameters were computed to elucidate observed 2.7 μm emissions. Results demonstrate that the prepared germanate glass possessing excellent spectroscopic properties might be an attractive candidate for mid-infrared laser or amplifier.

Cai, M, Zhou, B, Wang, F, Tian, Y, Zhou, J, Xu, S & Zhang, J 2015, 'Highly efficient mid-infrared 2 μm emission in Ho^3+/Yb^3+-codoped germanate glass', Optical Materials Express, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 1431-1431.
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This work reports the mid-infrared emission properties around 2 μm in Ho3+/Yb3+ codoped germanate glasses. The glass not only possesses good chemical durability and good thermal stability but also has high mid-infrared transmittance around 2 μm (90%). In addition, the glass possesses considerably low OH− content (20.45 ppm) and large spontaneous transition probability (103.38 s−1) corresponding to the Ho3+:5I7→5I8 transition. Moreover, the measured lifetime of Ho3+:5I7 level is as high as 7.68 ms, and the quantum efficiency at 2 μm can reach 79.4%. The energy transfer processes of Yb3+:2F5/2 level and Ho3+:5I6 level were quantitatively analyzed according to the rate equation. Results indicate that the prepared germanate glass is a promising candidate for 2 μm mid-infrared laser materials applications.

Cai, M, Zhou, B, Wang, F, Tian, Y, Zhou, J, Xu, S & Zhang, J 2015, 'Mid-infrared emission and quantitative analysis of energy transfer processes in Er3+ doped oxyfluogermanate glasses', Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 117, no. 24, pp. 243106-243106.
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Oxyfluogermanate glasses with good thermal stability were prepared by melt-quenching method. The investigation of 2.7 μm fluorescence spectra and energy transfer mechanism was performed pumped by an 808 nm laser diode. The 2.7 μm radiative transition probability and emission cross section are 32.62 s−1 and 12.88 × 10−21 cm2, respectively. The energy transfer parameters between 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 levels were calculated by Inokuti-Hirayama and Yokota-Tanimoto's model to further elucidate 2.7 μm fluorescent behaviors. It is found that the energy transfer mechanism among Er3+ is mainly dominated by dipole-dipole interactions. Results indicate that the prepared oxyfluogermanate glass is a promising candidate for mid-infrared laser applications.

Cai, M, Zhou, B, Wang, F, Wei, T, Tian, Y, Zhou, J, Xu, S & Zhang, J 2015, 'R2O3 (R = La, Y) modified erbium activated germanate glasses for mid-infrared 2.7 μm laser materials', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-11.
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AbstractEr3+ activated germanate glasses modified by La2O3 and Y2O3 with good thermal stability were prepared. 2.7 μm fluorescence was observed and corresponding radiative properties were investigated. A detailed discussion of J–O parameters has been carried out based on absorption spectra and Judd–Ofelt theory. The peak emission cross sections of La2O3 and Y2O3 modified germanate glass are (14.3 ± 0.10) × 10−21 cm2 and (15.4 ± 0.10) × 10−21 cm2, respectively. Non-radiative relaxation rate constants and energy transfer coefficients of 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 levels have been obtained and discussed to understand the 2.7 μm fluorescence behavior. Moreover, the energy transfer processes of 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 level were quantitatively analyzed according to Dexter’s theory and Inokuti–Hirayama model. The theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the observed 2.7 μm fluorescence phenomena. Results demonstrate that the Y2O3 modified germanate glass, which possesses more excellent spectroscopic properties than La2O3 modified germanate glass, might be an attractive candidate for mid-infrared laser.

Cao, X, Tao, L, Wen, S, Hou, W & Shi, X 2015, 'Hyaluronic acid-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes for targeted delivery of doxorubicin into cancer cells', Carbohydrate Research, vol. 405, pp. 70-77.
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Chen, P, Jia, H, Zhong, Z, Han, J, Guo, Q, Zhou, J, Liu, X & Qiu, J 2015, 'Magnetic field modulated upconversion luminescence in NaYF₄:Yb,Er nanoparticles', Journal of Materials Chemistry C, vol. 3, no. 34, pp. 8794-8798.
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Magnetic field enhanced the upconversion luminescence for the enhanced energy transfer from Yb³⁺ to Er³⁺ in NaYF₄ nanoparticles.

Chen, P, Song, M, Wu, E, Wu, B, Zhou, J, Zeng, H, Liu, X & Qiu, J 2015, 'Polarization modulated upconversion luminescence: single particle vs. few-particle aggregates', Nanoscale, vol. 7, no. 15, pp. 6462-6466.
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Luminescence from crystals is often anisotropic and it leads to the polarization behavior of luminescence from single crystalline particles, as exemplified here with the upconversion luminescence from a single NaYF4 nanodisk. Nanodisk aggregates exhibit polarization dependent luminescence with different polarization degrees, which depends on the orientation and distribution of nanoparticles.

Chen, Q, Wang, H, Liu, H, Wen, S, Peng, C, Shen, M, Zhang, G & Shi, X 2015, 'Multifunctional Dendrimer-Entrapped Gold Nanoparticles Modified with RGD Peptide for Targeted Computed Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Dual-Modal Imaging of Tumors', Analytical Chemistry, vol. 87, no. 7, pp. 3949-3956.
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Cheng, R, Ou, S, Bu, Y, Li, X, Liu, X, Wang, Y, Guo, R, Shi, B, Jin, D & Liu, Y 2015, 'Starch–borate–graphene oxide nanocomposites as highly efficient targeted antitumor drugs', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 115, pp. 94855-94858.
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Novel antitumor drugs, compatible with normal cells but highly toxic against cancer cells, were prepared from starch–borate–graphene oxide (SBG) nanocomposites.

CHENG, Y, YANG, Z, LIAO, J, QIU, J, SONG, Z & YANG, Y 2015, 'Color tunable upconversion emission in CeO2:Yb,Er three-dimensional ordered macroporous materials', Journal of Rare Earths, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 599-603.
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Choudhury, MH, Ciampi, S, Yang, Y, Tavallaie, R, Zhu, Y, Zarei, L, Gonçales, VR & Gooding, JJ 2015, 'Connecting electrodes with light: one wire, many electrodes', Chemical Science, vol. 6, no. 12, pp. 6769-6776.
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The requirement of a wire to each electrode is central to the design of any electronic device but can also be a major restriction. Herein it is shown how electrodes can be connected using light such that a multielectrode device requires only a single physical wire.

Cranfield, CG, Bettler, T & Cornell, B 2015, 'Nanoscale Ion Sequestration To Determine the Polarity Selectivity of Ion Conductance in Carriers and Channels', LANGMUIR, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 292-298.
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© 2014 American Chemical Society. The nanoscale spacing between a tethered lipid bilayer membrane (tBLM) and its supporting gold electrode can be utilized to determine the polarity selectivity of the conduction of ion channels and ion carriers embedded in a membrane. The technique relies upon a bias voltage sequestering or eliminating ions, of a particular polarity, into or out of the aqueous electrolyte region between the gold electrode and the tethered membrane. A demonstration is given, using ac swept frequency impedance spectrometry, of the bias polarity dependence of the ionophore conductance of gramicidin A, a cationic selective channel, and valinomycin, a potassium ion selective carrier. We further use pulsed amperometry to show that the intrinsic voltage dependence of the ion conduction is actually selective of the polarity of the transported ion and not simply of the direction of the ionic current flow.

Davoodi, A, Maddahfar, M & Ramezani, M 2015, 'Application of mercaptoacetic acid as a capping agent, solvent, and precursor to fabricate In2S3 nanostructures', Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 22, pp. 368-372.
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Fu, F, Wen, S, Zhu, J & Shi, X 2015, 'Encapsulation of doxorubicin within lactobionic acid-modified multifunctional poly(amidoamine) dendrimers for targeted therapy of liver cancer cells', Journal of Controlled Release, vol. 213, pp. e31-e32.
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Hosseinpour-Mashkani, SM, Maddahfar, M, Sadeghinia, A & Ramezani, M 2015, 'PbSe@PbSO4 nanoparticles: sonochemical synthesis and characterization and its photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue', Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 3352-3356.
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Hou, W, Wen, S, Guo, R, Wang, S & Shi, X 2015, 'Partially Acetylated Dendrimer-Entrapped Gold Nanoparticles with Reduced Cytotoxicity for Gene Delivery Applications', Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 4094-4105.
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Jia, H, Ping, C, Xu, C, Zhou, J, Sang, X, Wang, J, Liu, C, Liu, X & Qiu, J 2015, 'Fabrication of the (Y₂O₃:Yb–Er)/Bi₂S₃ composite film for near-infrared photoresponse', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 5917-5922.
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Y₂O₃:Yb-Er/Bi₂S₃ composite films with photoactive current generation under NIR light excitation were fabricated by electro-deposition and a simple successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method.

Jing, T, Ramji, R, Warkiani, ME, Han, J, Lim, CT & Chen, C-H 2015, 'Jetting microfluidics with size-sorting capability for single-cell protease detection', Biosensors and Bioelectronics, vol. 66, pp. 19-23.
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Kabakova, I, Marpaung, D, Poulton, C & Eggleton, B 2015, 'Harnessing On-Chip SBS', Optics and Photonics News, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 34-34.
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Stimulated Brillouin scattering—a familiar nonlinear effect in macroscopic systems such as fiber optics—is finding new applications in communication, quantum manipulation and microwave filtering in an era of integrated photonics

Karnaushenko, D, Ibarlucea, B, Lee, S, Lin, G, Baraban, L, Pregl, S, Melzer, M, Makarov, D, Weber, WM, Mikolajick, T, Schmidt, OG & Cuniberti, G 2015, 'Flexible Electronics: Light Weight and Flexible High‐Performance Diagnostic Platform (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 10/2015)', Advanced Healthcare Materials, vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 1419-1419.
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Karnaushenko, D, Ibarlucea, B, Lee, S, Lin, G, Baraban, L, Pregl, S, Melzer, M, Makarov, D, Weber, WM, Mikolajick, T, Schmidt, OG & Cuniberti, G 2015, 'Light Weight and Flexible High‐Performance Diagnostic Platform', Advanced Healthcare Materials, vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 1517-1525.
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A flexible diagnostic platform is realized and its performance is demonstrated for early detection of avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H1N1 DNA sequences. The key component of the platform is high‐performance biosensors based on high output currents and low power dissipation Si nanowire field effect transistors (SiNW‐FETs) fabricated on flexible 100 μm thick polyimide foils. The devices on a polymeric support are about ten times lighter compared to their rigid counterparts on Si wafers and can be prepared on large areas. While the latter potentially allows reducing the fabrication costs per device, the former makes them cost efficient for high‐volume delivery to medical institutions in, e.g., developing countries. The flexible devices withstand bending down to a 7.5 mm radius and do not degrade in performance even after 1000 consecutive bending cycles. In addition to these remarkable mechanical properties, on the analytic side, the diagnostic platform allows fast detection of specific DNA sequences of AIV subtype H1N1 with a limit of detection of 40 × 10−12 m within 30 min suggesting its suitability for early stage disease diagnosis.

Khoo, BL, Lee, SC, Kumar, P, Tan, TZ, Warkiani, ME, Ow, SGW, Nandi, S, Lim, CT & Thiery, JP 2015, 'Short-term expansion of breast circulating cancer cells predicts response to anti-cancer therapy', Oncotarget, vol. 6, no. 17, pp. 15578-15593.
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Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are considered as surrogate markers for prognosticating and evaluating patient treatment responses. Here, 226 blood samples from 92 patients with breast cancer, including patients with newly diagnosed or metastatic refractory cancer, and 16 blood samples from healthy subjects were cultured in laser-ablated microwells. Clusters containing an increasing number of cytokeratin-positive (CK+) cells appeared after 2 weeks, while most blood cells disappeared with time. Cultures were heterogeneous and exhibited two distinct sub-populations of cells: 'Small' (≤ 25 μm; high nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio; CD45-) cells, comprising CTCs, and 'Large' (> 25 μm; low nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio; CD68+ or CD56+) cells, corresponding to macrophage and natural killer-like cells. The Small cell fraction also showed copy number increases in six target genes (FGFR1, Myc, CCND1, HER2, TOP2A and ZNF217) associated with breast cancer. These expanded CTCs exhibited different proportions of epithelial-mesenchymal phenotypes and were transferable for further expansion as spheroids in serum-free suspension or 3D cultures. Cluster formation was affected by the presence and duration of systemic therapy, and its persistence may reflect therapeutic resistance. This novel and advanced method estimates CTC clonal heterogeneity and can predict, within a relatively short time frame, patient responses to therapy.

Lai, S, Yang, Z, Wu, H, Liao, J, Qiu, J, Song, Z, Yang, Y & Zhou, D 2015, 'Effect of Zr⁴⁺ ions doping on ultraviolet long afterglowproperty in CdSiO3: Bi³⁺ phosphor powder', Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, Rapid Communications, vol. 9, no. 1-2, pp. 48-52.
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The CdSiO3: Bi3+, Zr4+ phosphor powder with ultraviolet long afterglow emission was synthesized by high temperature solid state reaction and influence of Zr4+ ions on the ultravioletlong afterglow luminescence properties wasinvestigated. The Zr4+ ions as co-dopants enhance greatly the long afterglow emission intensity and durationof CdSiO3: Bi3+ phosphor powders and theenhancement mechanismarediscussed in this paper. The ultraviolet region long afterglow phosphor powdermay find many technologically important applications in disinfectingandphoto-catalysis as the ultraviolet light source.

Lei, L, Zhou, J, Zhang, J & Xu, S 2015, 'The use of zinc ions to control the size of Yb/Er:KMnF₃ nanocrystals with single band emission', CrystEngComm, vol. 17, no. 44, pp. 8457-8462.
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A novel method to modify the size of Yb/Er:KMnF₃ NCs by introducing Zn²⁺ in the initial solution is presented, and the results can provide direct evidence for the size-dependent upconversion luminescence.

Li, D, Wen, S & Shi, X 2015, 'Dendrimer‐entrapped metal colloids as imaging agents', WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 678-690.
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This review reports the recent advances in dendrimer‐entrapped metal colloids as contrast agents for biomedical imaging applications. The versatile dendrimer scaffolds with 3‐dimensional spherical shape, highly branched internal cavity, tunable surface conjugation chemistry, and excellent biocompatibility and nonimmunogenicity afford their uses as templates to create multifunctional dendrimer‐entrapped metal colloids for mono‐ or multi‐ mode molecular imaging applications. In particular, multifunctional dendrimer‐entrapped gold nanoparticles with different surface modifications have been used for fluorescence imaging, targeted tumor computed tomography (CT) imaging, enhanced blood pool CT imaging, dual mode CT/MR imaging, and tumor theranostics (combined CT imaging and chemotherapy) will be introduced and discussed in detail. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2015, 7:678–690. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1331This article is categorized under:Diagnostic Tools > Diagnostic NanodevicesDiagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and ImagingNanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology

Li, J, Yang, Z, Shao, B, Liao, J, Lai, S, Qiu, J, Song, Z & Yang, Y 2015, 'Ag Nanoparticles‐Enhanced Photoluminescence in LaPO₄: Eu Three‐Dimensional Ordered Macroporous Films', Journal of the American Ceramic Society, vol. 98, no. 5, pp. 1562-1566.
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The three‐dimensional ordered macroporous (3DOM) LaPO4:Eu3+ films and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared via a template‐assisted process and sodium citrate reduction method, respectively. Composite systems consisting of 3DOM LaPO4:Eu3+ films and Ag NPs were obtained by adding the Ag NPs into voids of 3DOM LaPO4:Eu3+ films. The influence of Ag NPs on photoluminescence of 3DOM LaPO4:Eu3+ was investigated. The results show that photoluminescence properties of 3DOM LaPO4:Eu3+ films were enhanced after addition of Ag NPs, which was attributed to the local surface plasmons resonance effect of Ag NPs.

Li, R, Zhang, W, Su, QP, Xue, B & Sun, Y 2015, 'Structural and Functional Study of Midbody during Cytokinesis', Biophysical Journal, vol. 108, no. 2, pp. 631a-631a.
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Li, Y, Liu, Z, Zhang, Y, Su, QP, Xue, B, Shao, S, Zhu, Y, Xu, X, Wei, S & Sun, Y 2015, 'Live‐cell and super‐resolution imaging reveal that the distribution of wall‐associated protein A is correlated with the cell chain integrity of Streptococcus mutans', Molecular Oral Microbiology, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 376-383.
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SummaryStreptococcus mutans is a primary pathogen responsible for dental caries. It has an outstanding ability to form biofilm, which is vital for virulence. Previous studies have shown that knockout of Wall‐associated protein A (WapA) affects cell chain and biofilm formation of S. mutans. As a surface protein, the distribution of WapA remains unknown, but it is important to understand the mechanism underlying the function of WapA. This study applied the fluorescence protein mCherry as a reporter gene to characterize the dynamic distribution of WapA in S. mutans via time‐lapse and super‐resolution fluorescence imaging. The results revealed interesting subcellular distribution patterns of WapA in single, dividing and long chains of S. mutans cells. It appears at the middle of the cell and moves to the poles as the cell grows and divides. In a cell chain, after each round of cell division, such dynamic relocation results in WapA distribution at the previous cell division sites, resulting in a pattern where WapA is located at the boundary of two adjacent cell pairs. This WapA distribution pattern corresponds to the breaking segmentation of wapA deletion cell chains. The dynamic relocation of WapA through the cell cycle increases our understanding of the mechanism of WapA in maintaining cell chain integrity and biofilm formation.

Liao, J, Yang, Z, Sun, J, Lai, S, Shao, B, Li, J, Qiu, J, Song, Z & Yang, Y 2015, 'Preparation and Upconversion Emission Modification of Crystalline Colloidal Arrays and Rare Earth Fluoride Microcrystal Composites', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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In this paper, highly ordered crystalline colloidal arrays containing rare earth fluoride microcrystals were fabricated. The upconversion emission property of rare earth fluoride microcrystals in crystalline colloidal arrays was studied and modified. A significant suppression and enhancement of the upconversion emission from the rare earth fluorides can be observed in the regions of the photonic band gap and its band edge, respectively. The suppression or enhancement factor was shown to be related to the ordered degree of the crystalline colloidal arrays and is critical in the preparation of upconversion displays and low-threshold lasers.

Lin, G, Fomin, VM, Makarov, D & Schmidt, OG 2015, 'Supervised discriminant analysis for droplet micro-magnetofluidics', Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 457-464.
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Lin, G, Makarov, D & Schmidt, O 2015, 'Strong Ferromagnetically-Coupled Spin Valve Sensor Devices for Droplet Magnetofluidics', Sensors, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 12526-12538.
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Lin, G, Makarov, D, Medina-Sánchez, M, Guix, M, Baraban, L, Cuniberti, G & Schmidt, OG 2015, 'Magnetofluidic platform for multidimensional magnetic and optical barcoding of droplets', Lab on a Chip, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 216-224.
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A magnetofluidic platform with integrated GMR sensors is demonstrated for on-demand facile generation and high-throughput real-time decoding of droplet barcodes.

Lu, J, Chen, Y, Liu, D, Ren, W, Lu, Y, Shi, Y, Piper, J, Paulsen, I & Jin, D 2015, 'One-Step Protein Conjugation to Upconversion Nanoparticles', Analytical Chemistry, vol. 87, no. 20, pp. 10406-10413.
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The emerging upconversion nanoparticles offer a fascinating library of ultrasensitive luminescent probes for a range of biotechnology applications from biomarker discovery to single molecule tracking, early disease diagnosis, deep tissue imaging, and drug delivery and therapies. The effective bioconjugation of inorganic nanoparticles to the molecule-specific proteins, free of agglomeration, nonspecific binding, or biomolecule deactivation, is crucial for molecular recognition of target molecules or cells. The current available protocols require multiple steps which can lead to low probe stability, specificity, and reproducibility. Here we report a simple and rapid protein bioconjugation method based on a one-step ligand exchange using the DNAs as the linker. Our method benefits from the robust DNA–protein conjugates as well as from multiple ions binding capability. Protein can be preconjugated via an amino group at the 3′ end of a synthetic DNA molecule, so that the 5′ end phosphoric acid group and multiple phosphate oxygen atoms in the phosphodiester bonds are exposed to replace the oleic acid ligands on the surface of upconversion nanoparticles due to their stronger chelating capability to lanthanides. We demonstrated that our method can efficiently pull out the upconversion nanoparticles from organic solvent into an aqueous phase. The upconversion nanoparticles then become hydrophilic, stable, and specific biomolecules recognition. This allows us to successfully functionalize the upconversion nanoparticles with horseradish peroxidise (HRP) for catalytic colorimetric assay and for streptavidin (SA)–biotin immunoassays.

Maddahfar, M, Ramezani, M, Sadeghi, M & Sobhani-Nasab, A 2015, 'NiAl2O4 nanoparticles: synthesis and characterization through modify sol–gel method and its photocatalyst application', Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, vol. 26, no. 10, pp. 7745-7750.
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McClements, L, Annett, S, Yakkundi, A & Robson, T 2015, 'The Role of Peptidyl Prolyl Isomerases in Aging and Vascular Diseases', Current Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 165-179.
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Melzer, M, Karnaushenko, D, Lin, G, Baunack, S, Makarov, D & Schmidt, OG 2015, 'Direct Transfer of Magnetic Sensor Devices to Elastomeric Supports for Stretchable Electronics', Advanced Materials, vol. 27, no. 8, pp. 1333-1338.
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Melzer, M, Karnaushenko, D, Lin, G, Baunack, S, Makarov, D & Schmidt, OG 2015, 'Stretchable Electronics: Direct Transfer of Magnetic Sensor Devices to Elastomeric Supports for Stretchable Electronics (Adv. Mater. 8/2015)', Advanced Materials, vol. 27, no. 8, pp. 1306-1306.
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Merklein, M, Kabakova, IV, Büttner, TFS, Choi, D-Y, Luther-Davies, B, Madden, SJ & Eggleton, BJ 2015, 'Enhancing and inhibiting stimulated Brillouin scattering in photonic integrated circuits', Nature Communications, vol. 6, no. 1.
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AbstractOn-chip nonlinear optics is a thriving research field, which creates transformative opportunities for manipulating classical or quantum signals in small-footprint integrated devices. Since the length scales are short, nonlinear interactions need to be enhanced by exploiting materials with large nonlinearity in combination with high-Q resonators or slow-light structures. This, however, often results in simultaneous enhancement of competing nonlinear processes, which limit the efficiency and can cause signal distortion. Here, we exploit the frequency dependence of the optical density-of-states near the edge of a photonic bandgap to selectively enhance or inhibit nonlinear interactions on a chip. We demonstrate this concept for one of the strongest nonlinear effects, stimulated Brillouin scattering using a narrow-band one-dimensional photonic bandgap structure: a Bragg grating. The stimulated Brillouin scattering enhancement enables the generation of a 15-line Brillouin frequency comb. In the inhibition case, we achieve stimulated Brillouin scattering free operation at a power level twice the threshold.

Mi, N, Chen, Y, Wang, S, Chen, M, Zhao, M, Yang, G, Ma, M, Su, Q, Luo, S, Shi, J, Xu, J, Guo, Q, Gao, N, Sun, Y, Chen, Z & Yu, L 2015, 'CapZ regulates autophagosomal membrane shaping by promoting actin assembly inside the isolation membrane', Nature Cell Biology, vol. 17, no. 9, pp. 1112-1123.
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© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. A fundamental question regarding autophagosome formation is how the shape of the double-membrane autophagosomal vesicle is generated. Here we show that in mammalian cells assembly of an actin scaffold inside the isolation membrane (the autophagosomal precursor) is essential for autophagosomal membrane shaping. Actin filaments are depolymerized shortly after starvation and actin is assembled into a network within the isolation membrane. When formation of actin puncta is disrupted by an actin polymerization inhibitor or by knocking down the actin-capping protein CapZβ, isolation membranes and omegasomes collapse into mixed-membrane bundles. Formation of actin puncta is PtdIns(3)P dependent, and inhibition of PtdIns(3)P formation by treating cells with the PI(3)K inhibitor 3-MA, or by knocking down Beclin-1, abolishes the formation of actin puncta. Binding of CapZ to PtdIns(3)P, which is enriched in omegasomes, stimulates actin polymerization. Our findings illuminate the mechanism underlying autophagosomal membrane shaping and provide key insights into how autophagosomes are formed.

Nelson, L, McKeen, HD, Marshall, A, Mulrane, L, Starczynski, J, Storr, SJ, Lanigan, F, Byrne, C, Arthur, K, Hegarty, S, Ali, AA, Furlong, F, McCarthy, HO, Ellis, IO, Green, AR, Rakha, E, Young, L, Kunkler, I, Thomas, J, Jack, W, Cameron, D, Jirström, K, Yakkundi, A, McClements, L, Martin, SG, Gallagher, WM, Dunn, J, Bartlett, J, O’Connor, D & Robson, T 2015, 'FKBPL: a marker of good prognosis in breast cancer', Oncotarget, vol. 6, no. 14, pp. 12209-12223.
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FK506-binding protein-like (FKBPL) has established roles as an anti-tumor protein, with a therapeutic peptide based on this protein, ALM201, shortly entering phase I/II clinical trials. Here, we evaluated FKBPL's prognostic ability in primary breast cancer tissue, represented on tissue microarrays (TMA) from 3277 women recruited into five independent retrospective studies, using immunohistochemistry (IHC). In a meta-analysis, FKBPL levels were a significant predictor of BCSS; low FKBPL levels indicated poorer breast cancer specific survival (BCSS) (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.49, p < 0.001). The prognostic impact of FKBPL remained significant after adjusting for other known prognostic factors (HR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.07-1.45, p = 0.004). For the sub-groups of 2365 estrogen receptor (ER) positive patients and 1649 tamoxifen treated patients, FKBPL was significantly associated with BCSS (HR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.13-1.58, p < 0.001, and HR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.04-1.49, p = 0.02, respectively). A univariate analysis revealed that FKBPL was also a significant predictor of relapse free interval (RFI) within the ER positive patient group, but it was only borderline significant within the smaller tamoxifen treated patient group (HR = 1.32 95% CI 1.05-1.65, p = 0.02 and HR = 1.23 95% CI 0.99-1.54, p = 0.06, respectively). The data suggests a role for FKBPL as a prognostic factor for BCSS, with the potential to be routinely evaluated within the clinic.

Nezafat, N, Sadraeian, M, Rahbar, MR, Khoshnoud, MJ, Mohkam, M, Gholami, A, Banihashemi, M & Ghasemi, Y 2015, 'Production of a novel multi-epitope peptide vaccine for cancer immunotherapy in TC-1 tumor-bearing mice', Biologicals, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 11-17.
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SHAO, BO, YANG, Z, LI, JUN, LIAO, J, LAI, S, QIU, J, SONG, Z, YANG, Y & ZHOU, D 2015, 'PHOTONIC CRYSTAL SURFACE ENHANCED UPCONVERSION EMISSION OF YF₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ NANOPARTICLES', Surface Review and Letters, vol. 22, no. 01, pp. 1550010-1550010.
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The opal photonic crystals made of polystyrene microspheres with 155, 230, 270 or 410 nm in diameter were used to enhance upconversion (UC) emission of YF 3: Yb 3+, Er 3+ nanoparticles, respectively. The red or green UC emission of YF 3: Yb 3+, Er 3+ nanoparticles can be selectively enhanced when the red or green UC emission wavelength overlapped with the photonic bandgaps of opals, which is attributed to Bragg reflection of photonic bandgap. In addition, when the 980 nm excitation light wavelength was in the region of the photonic bandgap, red and green UC emissions of YF 3: Yb 3+, Er 3+ nanoparticles were enhanced due to the enhancement of excitation field.

Shao, Y, Zhang, L, Cui, L, Lou, W, Wang, D, Lu, W, Jin, D & Liu, T 2015, 'LIN28B suppresses microRNA let-7b expression to promote CD44+/LIN28B+ human pancreatic cancer stem cell proliferation and invasion.', Am J Cancer Res, vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 2643-2659.
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Although the highly proliferative, migratory, and multi-drug resistant phenotype of human pancreatic cancer stem cells (PCSCs) is well characterized, knowledge of their biological mechanisms is limited. We used CD44 and LIN28B as markers to screen, isolate, and enrich CSCs from human primary pancreatic cancer. Using flow cytometry, we identified a human primary pancreatic cancer cell (PCC) subpopulation expressing high levels of both CD44 and LIN28B. CD44+/LIN28B+ PCSCs expressed high levels of stemness marker genes and possessed higher migratory and invasive ability than CD44-/LIN28B- PCCs. CD44+/LIN28B+ PCSCs were more resistant to growth inhibition induced by the chemotherapeutic drugs cisplatin and gemcitabine hydrochloride, and readily established tumors in vivo in a relatively short time. Moreover, microarray analysis revealed significant differences between the cDNA expression patterns of CD44+/LIN28B+ PCSCs and CD44-/LIN28B- PCCs. Following siRNA interference of endogenous LIN28B gene expression in CD44+/LIN28B+ PCSCs, not only was their proliferation decreased, there was also cell cycle arrest due to suppression of cyclin D1 expression following the stimulation of miRNA let-7b expression. In conclusion, CD44+/LIN28B+ cells, which possess CSC characteristics, can be reliably sorted from human primary PCCs and represent a valuable model for studying cancer cell physiology and multi-drug resistance.

Shemesh, J, Jalilian, I, Shi, A, Heng Yeoh, G, Knothe Tate, ML & Ebrahimi Warkiani, M 2015, 'Flow-induced stress on adherent cells in microfluidic devices', Lab on a Chip, vol. 15, no. 21, pp. 4114-4127.
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The article describes flow-induced stress on adherent cells in microfluidics devices in light of ongoing discoveries in mechanobiology.

Shi, B & Jin, D 2015, 'Rapid detection of rare-event cell by SUPER Dots based diagnostics nano-platform', Journal of Controlled Release, vol. 213, pp. e11-e12.
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Song, B, Ye, Z, Yang, Y, Ma, H, Zheng, X, Jin, D & Yuan, J 2015, 'Background-free in-vivo Imaging of Vitamin C using Time-gateable Responsive Probe', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-10.
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AbstractSensitive optical imaging of active biomolecules in the living organism requires both a molecular probe specifically responsive to the target and a high-contrast approach to remove the background interference from autofluorescence and light scatterings. Here, a responsive probe for ascorbic acid (vitamin C) has been developed by conjugating two nitroxide radicals with a long-lived luminescent europium complex. The nitroxide radical withholds the probe on its “off” state (barely luminescent), until the presence of vitamin C will switch on the probe by forming its hydroxylamine derivative. The probe showed a linear response to vitamin C concentration with a detection limit of 9.1 nM, two orders of magnitude lower than that achieved using electrochemical methods. Time-gated luminescence microscopy (TGLM) method has further enabled real-time, specific and background-free monitoring of cellular uptake or endogenous production of vitamin C and mapping of vitamin C in living Daphnia magna. This work suggests a rational design of lanthanide complexes for background-free small animal imaging of biologically functional molecules.

Streubel, R, Han, L, Im, M-Y, Kronast, F, Rößler, UK, Radu, F, Abrudan, R, Lin, G, Schmidt, OG, Fischer, P & Makarov, D 2015, 'Manipulating Topological States by Imprinting Non-Collinear Spin Textures', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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AbstractTopological magnetic states, such as chiral skyrmions, are of great scientific interest and show huge potential for novel spintronics applications, provided their topological charges can be fully controlled. So far skyrmionic textures have been observed in noncentrosymmetric crystalline materials with low symmetry and at low temperatures. We propose theoretically and demonstrate experimentally the design of spin textures with topological charge densities that can be tailored at ambient temperatures. Tuning the interlayer coupling in vertically stacked nanopatterned magnetic heterostructures, such as a model system of a Co/Pd multilayer coupled to Permalloy, the in-plane non-collinear spin texture of one layer can be imprinted into the out-of-plane magnetised material. We observe distinct spin textures, e.g. vortices, magnetic swirls with tunable opening angle, donut states and skyrmion core configurations. We show that applying a small magnetic field, a reliable switching between topologically distinct textures can be achieved at remanence.

Wang, C, Du, W, Su, QP, Zhu, M, Feng, P, Li, Y, Zhou, Y, Mi, N, Zhu, Y, Jiang, D, Zhang, S, Zhang, Z, Sun, Y & Yu, L 2015, 'Dynamic tubulation of mitochondria drives mitochondrial network formation', Cell Research, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 1108-1120.
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Mitochondria form networks. Formation of mitochondrial networks is important for maintaining mitochondrial DNA integrity and interchanging mitochondrial material, whereas disruption of the mitochondrial network affects mitochondrial functions. According to the current view, mitochondrial networks are formed by fusion of individual mitochondria. Here, we report a new mechanism for formation of mitochondrial networks through KIF5B-mediated dynamic tubulation of mitochondria. We found that KIF5B pulls thin, highly dynamic tubules out of mitochondria. Fusion of these dynamic tubules, which is mediated by mitofusins, gives rise to the mitochondrial network. We further demonstrated that dynamic tubulation and fusion is sufficient for mitochondrial network formation, by reconstituting mitochondrial networks in vitro using purified fusion-competent mitochondria, recombinant KIF5B, and polymerized microtubules. Interestingly, KIF5B only controls network formation in the peripheral zone of the cell, indicating that the mitochondrial network is divided into subzones, which may be constructed by different mechanisms. Our data not only uncover an essential mechanism for mitochondrial network formation, but also reveal that different parts of the mitochondrial network are formed by different mechanisms.

Wang, G, Li, Y, Wang, P, Liang, H, Cui, M, Zhu, M, Guo, L, Su, Q, Sun, Y, McNutt, MA & Yin, Y 2015, 'PTEN regulates RPA1 and protects DNA replication forks', Cell Research, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 1189-1204.
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Warkiani, ME, Tay, AKP, Guan, G & Han, J 2015, 'Membrane-less microfiltration using inertial microfluidics', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 11018.
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AbstractMicrofiltration is a ubiquitous and often crucial part of many industrial processes, including biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Yet, all existing filtration systems suffer from the issue of membrane clogging, which fundamentally limits the efficiency and reliability of the filtration process. Herein, we report the development of a membrane-less microfiltration system by massively parallelizing inertial microfluidics to achieve a macroscopic volume processing rates (~ 500 mL/min). We demonstrated the systems engineered for CHO (10–20 μm) and yeast (3–5 μm) cells filtration, which are two main cell types used for large-scale bioreactors. Our proposed system can replace existing filtration membrane and provide passive (no external force fields), continuous filtration, thus eliminating the need for membrane replacement. This platform has the desirable combinations of high throughput, low-cost and scalability, making it compatible for a myriad of microfiltration applications and industrial purposes.

Warkiani, ME, Tay, AKP, Khoo, BL, Xiaofeng, X, Han, J & Lim, CT 2015, 'Malaria detection using inertial microfluidics', Lab on a Chip, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1101-1109.
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Diagnosis of malaria at the early stage of infection is challenging due to the difficulty in detecting low abundance parasites from blood.

Warkiani, ME, Wicaksana, F, Fane, AG & Gong, H-Q 2015, 'Investigation of membrane fouling at the microscale using isopore filters', Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 307-315.
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Yakkundi, A, Bennett, R, Hernández-Negrete, I, Delalande, J-M, Hanna, M, Lyubomska, O, Arthur, K, Short, A, McKeen, H, Nelson, L, McCrudden, CM, McNally, R, McClements, L, McCarthy, HO, Burns, AJ, Bicknell, R, Kissenpfennig, A & Robson, T 2015, 'FKBPL Is a Critical Antiangiogenic Regulator of Developmental and Pathological Angiogenesis', Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 845-854.
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Objective— The antitumor effects of FK506-binding protein like (FKBPL) and its extracellular role in angiogenesis are well characterized; however, its role in physiological/developmental angiogenesis and the effect of FKBPL ablation has not been evaluated. This is important as effects of some angiogenic proteins are dosage dependent. Here we evaluate the regulation of FKBPL secretion under angiogenic stimuli, as well as the effect of FKBPL ablation in angiogenesis using mouse and zebrafish models. Approach and Results— FKBPL is secreted maximally by human microvascular endothelial cells and fibroblasts, and this was specifically downregulated by proangiogenic hypoxic signals, but not by the angiogenic cytokines, VEGF or IL8. FKBPL’s critical role in angiogenesis was supported by our inability to generate an Fkbpl knockout mouse, with embryonic lethality occurring before E8.5. However, whilst Fkbpl heterozygotic embryos showed some vasculature irregularities, the mice developed normally. In murine angiogenesis models, including the ex vivo aortic ring assay, in vivo sponge assay, and tumor growth assay, Fkbpl +/− mice exhibited increased sprouting, enhanced vessel recruitment, and faster tumor growth, respectively, supporting the antiangiogenic function of FKBPL. In zebrafish, knockdown of zFkbpl using morpholinos disrupted the vasculature, and the phenotype was rescued with h FKBPL ...

Yang, M, Liang, Y, Gui, Q, Zhao, B, Jin, D, Lin, M, Yan, L, You, H, Dai, L & Liu, Y 2015, 'Multifunctional luminescent nanomaterials from NaLa(MoO4)2:Eu3+/Tb3+ with tunable decay lifetimes, emission colors and enhanced cell viability', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-12.
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AbstractA facile, but effective, method has been developed for large-scale preparation of NaLa(MoO4)2 nanorods and microflowers co-doped with Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions (abbreviated as: NLM:Ln3+). The as-synthesized nanomaterials possess a pure tetragonal phase with variable morphologies from shuttle-like nanorods to microflowers by controlling the reaction temperature and the amount of ethylene glycol used. Consequently, the resulting nanomaterials exhibit superb luminescent emissions over the visible region from red through yellow to green by simply changing the relative doping ratios of Eu3+ to Tb3+ ions. Biocompatibility study indicates that the addition of NLM:Ln3+ nanomaterials can stimulate the growth of normal human retinal pigment epithelium (ARPE-19) cells. Therefore, the newly-developed NaLa(MoO4)2 nanomaterials hold potentials for a wide range of multifunctional applications, including bioimaging, security protection, optical display, optoelectronics for information storage and cell stimulation.

Yang, ZW, Wang, YD, Liao, JY, Yang, JZ, Qiu, JB & Song, ZG 2015, 'Upconversion Emission Modification and White Light Generation in NaYF₄:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺Nanocrystals/Opal Photonic Crystal Composites', IEEE Photonics Journal, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 1-8.
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© 2009-2012 IEEE. In this paper, we fabricated NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+, Tm3+ nanocrystal/opal photonic crystal composites by depositing NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+, Tm3+ nanocrystals on the surface of opal photonic crystals, and we investigated the influence of photonic bandgaps on upconversion (UC) emission properties of NaYF4:Yb 3+, Er3+, Tm3+ nanocrystals. When the photonic bandgaps overlapped with the UC emission bands of NaYF4:Yb 3+, Er3+, Tm3+ nanocrystals on the opal photonic crystal surfaces, the suppression or enhancement of UC emissions was observed due to the Bragg reflection effect of photonic crystal, resulting in the modification of red, green, and blue UC emissions. Thus, white UC emission was realized.

Yao, Q, Li, W, Yu, S, Ma, L, Jin, D, Boccaccini, AR & Liu, Y 2015, 'Multifunctional chitosan/polyvinyl pyrrolidone/45S5 Bioglass® scaffolds for MC3T3-E1 cell stimulation and drug release', Materials Science and Engineering: C, vol. 56, pp. 473-480.
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© 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. Abstract Novel chitosan-polyvinyl pyrrolidone/45S5 Bioglass® (CS-PVP/BG) scaffolds were prepared via foam replication and chemical cross-linking techniques. The pristine BG, CS-PVP coated BG and genipin cross-linked CS-PVP/BG (G-CS-PVP/BG) scaffolds were synthesized and characterized in terms of chemical composition, physical structure and morphology respectively. Resistance to enzymatic degradation of the scaffold is improved significantly with the use of genipin cross-linked CS-PVP. The bio-effects of scaffolds on MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells were evaluated by studying cell viability, adhesion and proliferation. The CCK-8 assay shows that cell viability on the resulting G-CS-PVP/BG scaffold is improved obviously after cross-linking of genipin. Cell skeleton images exhibit that well-stretched F-actin bundles are obtained on the G-CS-PVP/BG scaffold. SEM results present significant improvement on the cell adhesion and proliferation for cells cultured on the G-CS-PVP/BG scaffold. The drug release performance on the as-synthesized scaffold was studied in a phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution. Vancomycin is found to be released in burst fashion within 24 h from the pristine BG scaffold, however, the release period from the G-CS-PVP/BG scaffold is enhanced to 7 days, indicating improved drug release properties of the G-CS-PVP/BG scaffold. Our results suggest that the G-CS-PVP/BG scaffolds possess promising physicochemical properties, sustained drug release capability and good biocompatibility for MC3T3-E1 cells' proliferation and adhesion, suggesting their potential applications in areas such as MC3T3-E1 cell stimulation and bone tissue engineering.

Zarghami, Z, Maddahfar, M & Ramezani, M 2015, 'Ag@Ag2SO4 nanoparticles: simple microwave-assistance synthesis, characterization and its co-photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue', Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, vol. 26, no. 9, pp. 6339-6343.
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Zarghami, Z, Ramezani, M & Maddahfar, M 2015, 'Facile hydrothermal synthesis, formation mechanism, and characterization of In(OH)3 nanostructures for preparation of In2O3 nanoparticles using novel starting reagents', Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, vol. 26, no. 8, pp. 5884-5891.
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Zarghami, Z, Ramezani, M & Maddahfar, M 2015, 'Simple microwave-assisted synthesis of Cu@CuSO4 as co-catalyst of TiO2 for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue', Materials Letters, vol. 152, pp. 21-24.
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Zhou, B, Shi, B, Jin, D & Liu, X 2015, 'Controlling upconversion nanocrystals for emerging applications', Nature Nanotechnology, vol. 10, no. 11, pp. 924-936.
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© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanocrystals enable anti-Stokes emission with pump intensities several orders of magnitude lower than required by conventional nonlinear optical techniques. Their exceptional properties, namely large anti-Stokes shifts, sharp emission spectra and long excited-state lifetimes, have led to a diversity of applications. Here, we review upconversion nanocrystals from the perspective of fundamental concepts and examine the technical challenges in relation to emission colour tuning and luminescence enhancement. In particular, we highlight the advances in functionalization strategies that enable the broad utility of upconversion nanocrystals for multimodal imaging, cancer therapy, volumetric displays and photonics.

Zhou, B, Wei, T, Cai, M, Tian, Y, Zhou, J, Deng, D, Xu, S & Zhang, J 2015, 'Observation of Midinfrared 4-$\mu \text{m}$ Emission in Ho³⁺-Doped Fluoroaluminate Glasses', IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 959-962.
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Ho3+ activated fluoroaluminate glasses were prepared successfully via melt-quenching method. Not only 2- and 2.85-μm emissions but also 4-μm emissions were observed for the first time by 900-nm Ti: sapphire laser pumping. The optimal midinfrared emissions were obtained when Ho3+ concentration reaches 1 mol%. Spectroscopic properties and energy transfer mechanism of Ho3+ were investigated in detail. Results indicate that the prepared glasses possess high midinfrared transmittance (90%), large emission cross sections at 2 μm (7.6 × 10-21 cm2), 2.85 μm (17.6 × 10-21 cm2), and 4 μm (6.87 × 10-21 cm2) together with superior gain properties. It is suggested that Ho3+ activated fluoroaluminate glass is an attractive candidate for midinfrared laser materials application.

Zhou, J, Chen, G, Zhu, Y, Huo, L, Mao, W, Zou, D, Sun, X, Wu, E, Zeng, H, Zhang, J, Zhang, L, Qiu, J & Xu, S 2015, 'Intense multiphoton upconversion of Yb³⁺–Tm³⁺ doped β-NaYF₄ individual nanocrystals by saturation excitation', Journal of Materials Chemistry C, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 364-369.
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We report the intense multiphoton upconversion of β-NaYF₄: Yb³⁺–Tm³⁺ individual nanocrystals benefiting from the perfect ladder-type electron configuration under saturation excitation.

Zhou, J, Xu, S, Zhang, J & Qiu, J 2015, 'Upconversion luminescence behavior of single nanoparticles', Nanoscale, vol. 7, no. 37, pp. 15026-15036.
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The angle of this review is novel because it surveys the characterization methods, photophysical phenomena, and applications of single upconversion nanoparticles.

Büttner, TFS, Hudson, DD, Kabakova, IV & Eggleton, BJ 1970, 'Phase-locked, multiwavelength, distributed feedback brillouin laser', Proceedings 2015 European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics - European Quantum Electronics Conference, CLEO/Europe-EQEC 2015.

Büttner, TFS, Hudson, DD, Kabakova, IV & Eggleton, BJ 1970, 'Phase-locked, multiwavelength, distributed feedback brillouin laser', Optics InfoBase Conference Papers.

Chung, C-Y, Warkiani, ME, Mesgari, S, Rosengarten, G & Taylor, R 1970, 'Thermoset polyester-based superhydrophobic microchannels for nanofluid heat transfer applications', SPIE Proceedings, SPIE Micro+Nano Materials, Devices, and Applications, SPIE, Sydney, AUSTRALIA.
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Kwon, T, Madziva, N, Oliveira, JD, Chandramohan, SK, Yin, L, Prentice, H, Warkiani, ME, Hamel, JFP & Han, J 1970, 'Long-term steady state perfusion culture of mammalian cells using a robust microfluidic cell retention device', MicroTAS 2015 - 19th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, pp. 108-110.
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Cell retention devices are used to retain cells in containers during perfusion culture. However, the conventional membrane-based filtration devices have challenges such as membrane fouling/clogging and increased contamination risk due to frequent filter replacements. To solve these challenges, we introduce a new microfluidic cell retention device based on inertial cell focusing. We demonstrated a long-term steady state perfusion culture of suspended CHO cells, where high density of cells (> 3×106 cells/mL) and viability (> 90%) were maintained for more than a week. Our membrane-less and clog-free cell retention device has unique advantage over the conventional filtration devices for perfusion culture.

Liu, Z, Xing, D, Peter Su, Q, Zhu, Y, Zhang, J, Kong, X, Xue, B, Wang, S, Sun, H, Tao, Y & Sun, Y 1970, 'Super Resolution Imaging and Tracking of Protein-Protein Interactions in Sub Diffraction Cellular Space', Biophysical Journal, Elsevier BV, pp. 36a-36a.
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Makarov, D, Melzer, M, Karnaushenko, D, Lin, G, Monch, I & Schmidt, OG 1970, 'Shapeable magnetic sensorics', 2015 IEEE Magnetics Conference (INTERMAG), 2015 IEEE International Magnetics Conference (INTERMAG), IEEE.
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The flourishing and eagerness of portable consumer electronics necessitates functional elements to be lightweight, flexible, and even wearable (Figure 1) [1], fulfilling the needs of soft robotics, medical implants, imperceptible and transient electronics [2-4]. Next generation flexible appliances aim to become fully autonomous and will require ultra-thin and flexible navigation modules, body tracking and relative position monitoring systems. Key building blocks of navigation and position tracking devices are the magnetic field sensors.

Merklein, M, Kabakova, IV, Buttner, TFS, Choi, DY, Luther-Davies, B, Madden, SJ & Eggleton, BJ 1970, 'Inhibiting stimulated Brillouin scattering in a highly nonlinear waveguide', Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe - Technical Digest.
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We demonstrate the inhibition of stimulated Brillouin scattering using a Bragg grating in a highly nonlinear chalcogenide rib waveguide on a chip.

Merklein, M, Kabakova, IV, Büttner, TFS, Choi, D-Y, Luther-Davies, B, Madden, SJ & Eggleton, BJ 1970, 'Inhibiting stimulated Brillouin scattering in a highly nonlinear waveguide', CLEO: 2015, CLEO: Science and Innovations, OSA, p. 2267.
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We demonstrate the inhibition of stimulated Brillouin scattering using a Bragg grating in a highly nonlinear chalcogenide rib waveguide on a chip. © OSA 2015.

Sadraeian, M, Tsutae, FM, Moreira, HHT, Araujo, APU, Guimarães, FEG & Pincus, SH 1970, 'Preparation of HIV monoclonal antibody-conjugated pulchellin in order to study its intracellular trafficking pathway in HIV-infected cells by confocal microscopy', Biophotonics South America, SPIE Biophotonics South America, SPIE.
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Shi, A, Shemesh, J, Asadnia, M, Robles, UA, Green, R, Yeoh, GH & Warkiani, ME 1970, 'A novel microfluidic patterning device for neuron-glia co-culture', MicroTAS 2015 - 19th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, pp. 633-635.
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Many biological processes in the body are regulated by synchronized activity between two cell types. To study cell-cell interactions, it is necessary to develop easy to use co-culture systems, where different cell types can be cultured within the same confined space. Designing a complete 3D biomimetic system to study these interactions in vitro requires complex protocols and use of non-conventional materials such as hydrogels. This paper reports development of a temporarily sealed microfluidic device which utilizes a novel valve design to directly and accurately co-culture two cell lines in alternating rows, allowing them to proliferate towards each other and then observe their interaction at the boundaries of their interface.

Staikopoulos, V, Jin, D, Lu, Y, Gibson, B, Reineck, P, Goldys, E, Sreenivasan, V, Jacobsen, J & Hutchinson, M 1970, 'Ultra-structural imaging in cleared mouse cns using nanoparticles', JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, 25th Biennial Meeting of the International-Society-for-Neurochemistry Jointly with the 13th Meeting of the Asian-Pacific-Society-for-Neurochemistry in Conjunction with the 35th Meeting of the Australasian-Neuroscience-Society, WILEY-BLACKWELL, AUSTRALIA, Cairns, pp. 382-382.

Zarepour, E, Hassan, M, Chou, CT, Adesina, AA & Warkiani, ME 1970, 'Reliability analysis of time-varying wireless nanoscale sensor networks', 2015 IEEE 15th International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO), 2015 IEEE 15th International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO), IEEE, ROME, ITALY, pp. 63-68.
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Zarepour, E, Hassan, N, Hassan, M, Tung Chou, C & Ebrahimi Warkiani, M 1970, 'Design and Analysis of a Wireless Nanosensor Network for Monitoring Human Lung Cells', Proceedings of the 10th EAI International Conference on Body Area Networks, 10th EAI International Conference on Body Area Networks, ICST.
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© 2015 ICST. Thanks to nanotechnology, it is now possible to fabricate sensor nodes below 100 nanometers in size. Although wireless communication at this scale has not been successfully demonstrated yet, simulations confirm that these sensor nodes would be able to communicate in the terahertz band using graphene as a transmission antenna. These developments suggest that deployment of wireless nanoscale sensor networks (WNSNs) inside human body could be a reality one day. In this paper, we design and analyse a WNSN for monitoring human lung cells. We find that respiration, i.e., the periodic inhalation and exhalation of oxygen and carbon dioxide, is the major process that inuences the terahertz channel inside lung cells. The channel is characterised as a two-state channel, where it periodically switches between good and bad states. Using real human respiratory data, we -nd that the channel absorbs terahertz signal much faster when it is in bad state compared to good state. Our simulation experiments confirm that we could reduce transmission power of the nanosensors, and hence the electromagnetic radiation inside lungs due to deployment of WNSN, by a factor of 20 if we could schedule all communication only during good channel states. We propose two duty cycling protocols along with a simple channel estimation algorithm that enables nanosensors to achieve such scheduling.