Materials Today Advances最新文献

Multiple outbreaks of fatal infectious diseases throughout history have intensified the need for early diagnostic methods to efficiently control their spread. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnosis is a sensitive, accurate, and effective method for detecting infections. However, conventional PCR-based diagnosis is slow and consumes large amounts of energy, primarily because of bulky, power-consuming thermal cyclers. Herein, we review recently published PCR-based diagnostic methods, in which plasmonic light-to-heat conversion-based thermal cyclers replace conventional ones. First, we explain the structures of recently developed rapid plasmonic-based thermal cyclers and review the various materials used. Next, we review the fabrication methods used in recent developments in rapid plasmonic thermal cyclers. Then, we discuss sustainable methods that have been and can be implemented to develop a rapid plasmonic thermal cycler. With this review, the requirements for developing a plasmonic-based sustainable PCR with high speed, accuracy, and sensitivity can be understood to contain future pandemics.

In the human brain, attention plays a crucial role in encoding information into memory. Therefore, focused attention during encoding enhances the likelihood of information being effectively encoded and stored in memory. This phenomenon is creatively replicated in our proposed synaptic devices, which regulate the forgetting curves by manipulating the gate voltage. Thus, the proposed transistor devices separate long-term memory from long-lasting memory. TiO₂-based synaptic transistors are used to replicate brain functions, from vision processing to memory retention. The photosensitive nature of TiO₂ enables the utilization of both photo- and electric stimuli. The electrical properties of the synaptic devices induced by photostimulation replicate the human-vision process, while those elicited by electric stimulation simulate memory-retention capabilities. By applying a shallow trap with a short lifetime, light stimulation can be utilized to mimic the effects of short-term memory. A deep trap with a long lifetime is employed in electrical memory to replicate the phenomena associated with persisting memory. A simulation of the MNIST recognition of an artificial neural network constructed with the measured synaptic characteristics exhibit an accuracy rate of 92.96%, which indicates that the proposed device can be successfully incorporated into neuromorphic devices.

Recent advances in biomaterials and 3D printing/culture methods enable various tissue-engineered tumor models. However, it is still challenging to achieve native tumor-like characteristics due to lower cell density than native tissues and prolonged culture duration for maturation. Here, we report a new method to create tumoroids with a mechanically active tumor-stroma interface at extremely high cell density. This method, named "inkjet-printed morphogenesis" (iPM) of the tumor-stroma interface, is based on a hypothesis that cellular contractile force can significantly remodel the cell-laden polymer matrix to form densely-packed tissue-like constructs. Thus, differential cell-derived compaction of tumor cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) can be used to build a mechanically active tumor-stroma interface. In this methods, two kinds of bioinks are prepared, in which tumor cells and CAFs are suspended respectively in the mixture of collagen and poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-methyl methacrylate) solution. These two cellular inks are inkjet-printed in multi-line or multi-layer patterns. As a result of cell-derived compaction, the resulting structure forms tumoroids with mechanically active tumor-stroma interface at extremely high cell density. We further test our working hypothesis that the morphogenesis can be controlled by manipulating the force balance between cellular contractile force and matrix stiffness. Furthermore, this new concept of "morphogenetic printing" is demonstrated to create more complex structures beyond current 3D bioprinting techniques.