微流控层流技术的研究

基于微型通道自身的层流特点而发展起来的多相层流技术,从最初的液-液微萃取开始,由于其结构加工简单、操作方便和分析功能强大,已逐渐发展成为一种加工分析方法,为微流控分析的研究应用打开了一个崭新的局面。本文概述了层流的基本原理,总结了近10年来在这方面的研究,包括层流界面间的分子扩散、转移现象和化学反应,以及层流刻蚀加工技术及其在制备纳米材料和在生命医学方面的应用。具体介绍了应用层流技术进行微芯片的加工制作,微型反应器的制备,离子、分子的分离分析,聚合物薄膜的形成和应用,微通道内有机合成反应的控制,溶液的浓度梯度控制以及在免疫检测中的应用,对细胞、生物大分子的操作控制,以及对生物试剂的预处理分析等。     

微流控层流技术的研究

基于微型通道自身的层流特点而发展起来的多相层流技术,从最初的液-液微萃取开始,由于其结构加工简单、操作方便和分析功能强大,已逐渐发展成为一种加工分析方法,为微流控分析的研究应用打开了一个崭新的局面。本文概述了层流的基本原理,总结了近10年来在这方面的研究,包括层流界面间的分子扩散、转移现象和化学反应,以及层流刻蚀加工技术及其在制备纳米材料和在生命医学方面的应用。具体介绍了应用层流技术进行微芯片的加工制作,微型反应器的制备,离子、分子的分离分析,聚合物薄膜的形成和应用,微通道内有机合成反应的控制,溶液的浓度梯度控制以及在免疫检测中的应用,对细胞、生物大分子的操作控制,以及对生物试剂的预处理分析等。     

Accurate Zygote‐Specific Discrimination of Single‐Nucleotide Polymorphisms Using Microfluidic Electrochemical DNA Melting Curves

We report the first electrochemical system for the detection of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that can accurately discriminate homozygous and heterozygous genotypes using microfluidics technology. To achieve this, our system performs real‐time melting‐curve analysis of surface‐immobilized hybridization probes. As an example, we used our sensor to analyze two SNPs in the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene, where homozygous and heterozygous mutations greatly affect the risk of late‐onset Alzheimer’s disease. Using probes specific for each SNP, we simultaneously acquired melting curves for probe–target duplexes at two different loci and thereby accurately distinguish all six possible ApoE allele combinations. Since the design of our device and probes can be readily adapted for targeting other loci, we believe that our method offers a modular platform for the diagnosis of SNP‐based diseases and personalized medicine.     

Spatially Resolved Kinetic Model of Parahydrogen Induced Polarisation (PHIP) in a Microfluidic Chip

We report a spatially resolved kinetic finite element model of parahydrogen-induced polarisation (PHIP) in a microfluidic chip that was calibrated using on-chip and off-chip NMR data. NMR spectroscopy has great potential as a read-out technique for lab-on-a-chip (LoC) devices, but is often limited by sensitivity. By integrating PHIP with a LoC device, a continuous stream of hyperpolarised material can be produced, and mass sensitivities of have been achieved. However, the yield and polarisation levels have so far been quite low, and can still be optimised. To facilitate this, a kinetic model of the reaction has been developed, and its rate constants have been calibrated using macroscopic kinetic measurements. The kinetic model was then coupled with a finite element model of the microfluidic chip. The model predicts the concentration of species involved in the reaction as a function of flow rate and position in the device. The results are in quantitative agreement with published experimental data.     

A Microfluidic Approach to Encapsulate Living Cells in Uniform Alginate Hydrogel Microparticles

A microfluidic technique is described to encapsulate living cells in alginate hydrogel microparticles generated from monodisperse double‐emulsion templates. A microcapillary device is used to fabricate double emulsion templates composed of an alginate drop surrounded by a mineral oil shell. Hydrogel formation begins when the alginate drop separates from the mineral oil shell and comes into contact with Ca²⁺ ions in the continuous phase. Alginate hydrogel microparticles with diameters ranging from 60 to 230 µm are obtained. 65% of the cells encapsulated in the alginate microparticles were viable after one week. The technique provides a useful means to encapsulate the living cells in monodisperse hydrogel microparticles.

     

基于流动池的电化学二氧化碳还原研究进展

采用电化学方法将二氧化碳（CO₂）还原转化为基础化学品或碳基燃料是目前极具前景的碳资源利用新方式. 考虑到该技术未来的发展方向和大规模应用需求,人们亟需开发具有高转化效率和高稳定性的电解设备. 在本文中,作者详细介绍了现阶段发展的两种流动池的结构特点及性能优势,阐述了每种反应体系的内在局限性, 深入分析了整个反应体系所用组件（电解池、气体扩散电极、离子交换膜）对于性能的影响. 最后,针对目前该领域存在的挑战及未来发展趋势进行了总结与展望.     

Electrochemical Characterization of Aromatic Molecules with 1,4-Diaza Groups for Flow Battery Applications

The aqueous redox flow battery is a promising technology for large-scale low cost energy storage. The rich possibilities for the tailoring of organic molecules and the possibility to discover active materials of lower cost and decreased environmental impact continue to drive research and development of organic compounds suitable for redox flow battery applications. In this work, we focus on the characterization of aromatic molecules with 1,4-diaza groups for flow battery applications. We examine the influence of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents and the effect of the relative position of the substituent(s) on the molecule. We found that electron-withdrawing substituents increased the potential, while electron-donating decreased it, in agreement with expectations. The number of carboxy-groups on the pyrazinic ring was found to have a strong impact on the heterogeneous electron transfer kinetics, with the slowest kinetics observed for pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylic acid. The stability of quinoxaline was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and in a flow cell configuration. Substitution at the 2,3-positions in quinoxaline was found to decrease the capacity fade rate significantly. Furthermore, we demonstrated how molecular aggregation reduces the effective number of electrons involved in the redox process for quinoxalines. This translates to a significant reduction of the achievable volumetric capacity at higher concentrations, yielding values significantly lower than the theoretical capacity. Finally, we demonstrate that such capacity-limiting molecular aggregation may be reduced by introducing flexible side chains with bulky charged groups in order to increase electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance.     

基于微流控双水相液滴流酶促反应的尿素检测

以简单、快速的微流控酶促反应方法实现了尿素浓度的可视化检测。 在微流控双水相液滴流动中,利用脲酶水解尿素生成碳酸铵使液滴内的中性红指示剂变色,并对液滴颜色强度进行分析来确定待测样品中尿素的浓度,检测范围可达到0~50 mg/mL。 双水相体系克服了传统油水分析检测平台生物相容性低的缺陷。 液滴流以较少的试剂消耗、极大的比表面积、微米级的扩散距离大大提高了反应速率,导致了较快的分析检测速度,将检测时间缩短为20 s左右。 为应用化学领域的尿素快速分析检测提供借鉴和参考。     

Mapping Platinum Species in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells by Spatially Resolved XAFS Techniques

There is limited information on the mechanism for platinum oxidation and dissolution in Pt/C cathode catalyst layers of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) under the operating conditions though these issues should be uncovered for the development of next‐generation PEFCs. Pt species in Pt/C cathode catalyst layers are mapped by a XAFS (X‐ray absorption fine structure) method and by a quick‐XAFS(QXAFS) method. Information on the site‐preferential oxidation and leaching of Pt cathode nanoparticles around the cathode boundary and the micro‐crack in degraded PEFCs is provided, which is relevant to the origin and mechanism of PEFC degradation.     

Advances in Electrochemical Decarboxylative Transformation Reactions

Owing to their non-toxic, stable, inexpensive properties, carboxylic acids are considered as environmentally benign alternatives as coupling partners in various organic transformations. Electrochemical mediated decarboxylation of carboxylic acid has emerged as a new and efficient methodology for the construction of carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom bonds. Compared with transition-metal catalysis and photoredox catalysis, electro-organic decarboxylative transformations are considered as a green and sustainable protocol due to the absence of chemical oxidants and strong bases. Further, it exhibits good tolerance with various functional groups. In this Minireview, we summarize the recent advances and discoveries on the electrochemical decarboxylative transformations on C−C and C−heteroatoms bond formations.     

Analysis of First-Order Reactions with Distributed Parameters

Simple methods of analysis of first-order kinetic processes controlled by distributions of parameters (activation energies and/or frequency factors) are presented. Both the isothermal and nonisothermal regimes are considered. The procedures make use of numerically calculated time derivatives of the concentrations of decaying species (reactants in the case of chemical reactions). They do not require any adjustable initial or boundary values of parameters (like concentration at the infinite time) being thus more accurate and reliable than earlier methods in which kinetic parameters were determined from the concentration, and not from its time derivative. The methods were successfully employed in analysis of the thermally driven cis–trans isomerization of a photochromic crown ether containing the azobenzene moiety incorporated in the crown.     

DNA Nanolithography Enables a Highly Ordered Recognition Interface in a Microfluidic Chip for the Efficient Capture and Release of Circulating Tumor Cells

Microfluidic chips with nano‐scale structures have shown great potential, but the fabrication and cost issues restrict their application. Herein, we propose a conceptually new “DNA nanolithography in a microfluidic chip” by using sub‐10 nm three‐dimensional DNA structures (TDNs) as frameworks with a pendant aptamer at the top vertex (ApTDN‐Chip). The nano‐scale framework ensures that the aptamer is in a highly ordered upright orientation, avoiding the undesired orientation or crowding effects caused by conventional microfluidic interface fabrication processes. Compared with a monovalent aptamer modified chip, the capture efficiency of ApTDN‐Chip was enhanced nearly 60 % due to the highly precise dimension and rigid framework of TDNs. In addition, the scaffolds make DNase I more accessible to the aptamer with up to 83 % release efficiency and 91 % cell viability, which is fully compatible with downstream molecular analysis. Overall, this strategy provides a novel perspective on engineering nano‐scaffolds to achieve a more ordered nano‐topography of microfluidic chips.     

微流控阻抗流式细胞仪在单细胞检测中的应用

单细胞水平的检测能够在细胞群中分辨出稀有的异常细胞,在生物医学领域如疾病的早期诊断和治疗评估等方面有着至关重要的作用.通过整合微流控技术、电阻抗技术与流式细胞术,微流控阻抗细胞仪能够在微流体精确操控条件下,实现流动态单细胞的连续、无损阻抗检测.与传统的单细胞检测方法相比,微流控阻抗细胞仪具有非标记、多参数、低污染和检测...     

An Easy‐to‐Machine Electrochemical Flow Microreactor: Efficient Synthesis of Isoindolinone and Flow Functionalization

Flow electrochemistry is an efficient methodology to generate radical intermediates. An electrochemical flow microreactor has been designed and manufactured to improve the efficiency of electrochemical flow reactions. With this device only little or no supporting electrolytes are needed, making processes less costly and enabling easier purification. This is demonstrated by the facile synthesis of amidyl radicals used in intramolecular hydroaminations to produce isoindolinones. The combination with inline mass spectrometry facilitates a much easier combination of chemical steps in a single flow process.     

Reversible Logic Gates Based on Enzyme‐Biocatalyzed Reactions and Realized in Flow Cells: A Modular Approach

Reversible logic gates, such as the double Feynman gate, Toffoli gate and Peres gate, with 3‐input/3‐output channels are realized using reactions biocatalyzed with enzymes and performed in flow systems. The flow devices are constructed using a modular approach, where each flow cell is modified with one enzyme that biocatalyzes one chemical reaction. The multi‐step processes mimicking the reversible logic gates are organized by combining the biocatalytic cells in different networks. This work emphasizes logical but not physical reversibility of the constructed systems. Their advantages and disadvantages are discussed and potential use in biosensing systems, rather than in computing devices, is suggested.     

Evolved Colloidosomes Undergoing Cell‐like Autonomous Shape Oscillations with Buckling

In living systems, there are many autonomous and oscillatory phenomena to sustain life, such as heart contractions and breathing. At the microscopic level, oscillatory shape deformations of cells are often observed in dynamic behaviors during cell migration and morphogenesis. In many cases, oscillatory behaviors of cells are not simplistic but complex with diverse deformations. So far, we have succeeded in developing self‐oscillating polymers and gels, but complex oscillatory behaviors mimicking those of living cells have yet to be reproduced. Herein, we report a cell‐like hollow sphere composed of self‐oscillating microgels, that is, a colloidosome, that exhibits drastic shape oscillation in addition to swelling/deswelling oscillations driven by an oscillatory reaction. The resulting oscillatory profile waveform becomes markedly more complex than a conventional one. Especially for larger colloidosomes, multiple buckling and moving buckling points are observed to be analogous to cells.     

Accelerating Electrochemical Reactions in a Voltage-Controlled Interfacial Microreactor

Microdroplet chemistry is attracting increasing attention for accelerated reactions at the solution–air interface. We report herein a voltage-controlled interfacial microreactor that enables acceleration of electrochemical reactions which are not observed in bulk or conventional electrochemical cells. The microreactor is formed at the interface of the Taylor cone in an electrospray emitter with a large orifice, thus allowing continuous contact of the electrode and the reactants at/near the interface. As a proof-of-concept, electrooxidative C−H/N−H coupling and electrooxidation of benzyl alcohol were shown to be accelerated by more than an order of magnitude as compared to the corresponding bulk reactions. The new electrochemical microreactor has unique features that allow i) voltage-controlled acceleration of electrochemical reactions by voltage-dependent formation of the interfacial microreactor; ii) “reversible” electrochemical derivatization; and iii) in situ mechanistic study and capture of key radical intermediates when coupled with mass spectrometry.