Microsolvation of phthalocyanines in superfluid helium droplets.

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the spectroscopy of molecules in superfluid helium droplets provide evidence for the key role of the first helium layer surrounding the dopant molecule in determining the molecule's spectroscopic features. Recent investigations of emission spectra of phthalocyanine in helium droplets revealed a doubling of all transitions. Herein, we present the emission spectra of Mg-phthalocyanine and of phthalocyanine-argon clusters in helium droplets, which confirm the splitting as a general effect of the helium environment. A scheme of levels is deduced from the emission spectra and attributed to quantized states of the first helium layer surrounding the dopant molecule.     

Feasibility Exploration of Laser‐based Techniques for Characterization of a Flashing Jet

Two‐phase flows hold an interest in many areas of science and engineering. In the safety field, one such topic is the accidental release of flammable and toxic pressure‐liquefied gases. In case of such a release, a flashing vapor explosion takes place resulting in a very dense two‐phase cloud. If the released substance is flammable, this cloud can be combustible and can lead to deflagration or detonation. For understanding the source processes of flashing and risk assessment, data related to cloud characteristics (i.e. droplet size, velocity etc.) is needed especially in the near region of the release. Due to the non‐equilibrium nature of the near field regions accurate data measurement is not possible with intrusive techniques. Therefore, laser‐based optical techniques (like Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Particle Tracking Velocimetry and Sizing (PTVS), Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA) etc.) present the only possibility to obtain information for particle diameter and velocity evolution in this harsh environment.     

Measurements and simulations of particle dispersion in a turbulent flow

A particle imaging technique has been used to collect droplet displacement statistics in a round turbulent jet of air. Droplets are injected on the jet axis, and a laser sheet and position-sensitive photomultiplier tube are used to track their radial displacement and time-of-flight. Dispersion statistics can be computed which are Lagrangian or Eulerian in nature. The experiments have been simulated numerically using a second-order closure scheme for the jet and a stochastic simulation for the particle trajectories. Results are presented for non-vaporizing droplets of sizes from 35 to 160 μm. The simulations have underscored the importance of initial conditions and early droplet displacement history on the droplet trajectory for droplets with large inertia relative to the turbulence. Estimates of initial conditions have been made and their effect on dispersion is quantified.     

Effects of viscosity on droplet formation and mixing in microfluidic channels

This paper characterizes the conditions required to form nanoliter-sized droplets (plugs) of viscous aqueous reagents in flows of immiscible carrier fluid within microfluidic channels. For both non-viscous (viscosity of 2.0 mPa s) and viscous (viscosity of 18 mPa s) aqueous solutions, plugs formed reliably in a flow of water-immiscible carrier fluid for Capillary number less than 0.01, although plugs were able to form at higher Capillary numbers at lower ratios of the aqueous phase flow rate to the flow rate of the carrier fluid (in all the experiments performed, the Reynolds number was less than 1). The paper also shows that combining viscous and non-viscous reagents can enhance mixing in droplets moving through straight microchannels by providing a nearly ideal initial distribution of reagents within each droplet. The study should facilitate the use of this droplet-based microfluidic platform for investigation of protein crystallization, kinetics, and assays.     

Multilayer poly(vinyl alcohol)-adsorbed coating on poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic chips for biopolymer separation

A poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic chip surface was modified by multilayer-adsorbed and heat-immobilized poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) after oxygen plasma treatment. The reflection absorption infrared spectrum (RAIRS) showed that 88% hydrolyzed PVA adsorbed more strongly than 100% hydrolyzed one on the oxygen plasma-pretreated PDMS surface, and they all had little adsorption on original PDMS surface. Repeating the coating procedure three times was found to produce the most robust and effective coating. PVA coating converted the original PDMS surface from a hydrophobic one into a hydrophilic surface, and suppressed electroosmotic flow (EOF) in the range of pH 3-11. More than 1,000,000 plates/m and baseline resolution were obtained for separation of fluorescently labeled basic proteins (lysozyme, ribonuclease B). Fluorescently labeled acidic proteins (bovine serum albumin, beta-lactoglobulin) and fragments of dsDNA phiX174 RF/HaeIII were also separated satisfactorily in the three-layer 88% PVA-coated PDMS microchip. Good separation of basic proteins was obtained for about 70 consecutive runs.     

Microdevices for manipulation and accumulation of micro- and nanoparticles by dielectrophoresis

Microfluidic devices with three-dimensional (3-D) arrays of microelectrodes embedded in microchannels have been developed to study dielectrophoretic forces acting on synthetic micro- and nanoparticles. In particular, so-called deflector structures were used to separate particles according to their size and to enable accumulation of a fraction of interest into a small sample volume for further analysis. Particle velocity within the microchannels was measured by video microscopy and the hydrodynamic friction forces exerted on deflected particles were determined according to Stokes law. These results lead to an absolute measure of the dielectrophoretic forces and allowed for a quantitative test of the underlying theory. In summary, the influence of channel height, particle size, buffer composition, electric field, strength and frequency on the dielectrophoretic force and the effectiveness of dielectrophoretic deflection structures were determined. For this purpose, microfluidic devices have been developed comprising pairs of electrodes extending into fluid channels on both top and bottom side of the microfluidic channels. Electrodes were aligned under angles varying from 0 to 75 degrees with respect to the direction of flow. Devices with channel height varying between 5 and 50 microm were manufactured. Fabrication involved a dedicated bonding technology using a mask aligner and UV-curing adhesive. Particles with radius ranging from 250 nm to 12 microm were injected into the channels using aqueous buffer solutions.     

Composite poly(dimethylsiloxane)/glass microfluidic system with an immobilized enzymatic particle-bed reactor and sequential sample injection for chemiluminescence determinations

A three-layer poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)/glass microfluidic system for performing on-chip solid-phase enzymatic reaction and chemiluminescence (CL) reaction was used for the determination of glucose as a model analyte. A novel method for the immobilization of controlled-pore-glass based reactive particles on PDMS microreactor beds was developed, producing an on-chip solid-phase reactor that featured large reactive surface and low flow impedance. Efficient mixing of reagent/sample/carrier streams was achieved by incorporating chaotic mixer structures in the microfluidic channels. A conventional sequential injection (SI) system was adapted for direct coupling with the microfluidic system, and combined with hydrostatic delivery of reagents to achieve efficient and reproducible sample introduction at 10 μl levels. A detection limit of 10 μM glucose (3σ), and a precision of 3.1% RSD (n=7, 0.2 mM glucose) were obtained using the SI-microfluidic-CL system integrated with a glucose oxidase (GOD) reactor. Carryover was <5% at a throughput of 20 samples/h.     

阵列微流控浓度梯度网络用于细胞-化学刺激反应研究

设计和制作了具有5组平行浓度梯度形成网络和30个细胞培养池的微流控芯片,该芯片集成了细胞接种、培养、梯度浓度化学刺激、标记和检测等功能单元。芯片为玻璃-PDMS杂合结构,微流控通道刻蚀于玻璃层。芯片细胞培养池设计了系列围堰结构以利于细胞贴壁。细胞接种、灌流培养和试剂引入通过外接微量注射泵控制完成。该芯片可以生成连续、稳定的平行浓度梯度。观察发现,围堰结构有利于细胞接种和生长,乳腺癌MCF-7细胞在芯片灌流培养条件下生长良好。利用该芯片检测了在接受As2O3和乙酰丝氨酸(NAC)梯度浓度刺激后乳腺癌MCF-7细胞内谷胱甘肽(GSH)水平以及细胞阿霉素敏感性的变化,分析乳腺癌细胞阿霉素敏感性与细胞内GSH水平的关系。MCF-7细胞内GSH水平的变化与刺激药物浓度呈剂量-效应依赖关系,在接受As2O3刺激后GSH水平有所下降;而在接受NAC刺激后GSH水平有所升高。MCF-7细胞阿霉素敏感性与GSH水平相关。在降低GSH水平后药物敏感性升高;而升高细胞内GSH水平后敏感性降低。这种阵列微流控浓度梯度网络可以用于高通量细胞-化学刺激反应研究,有潜力成为细胞水平大规模药物筛选的技术平台。     

芯片毛细管电泳集成电化学检测装置和4种碳纤维电极的比较研究

自行设计组装了微流控芯片安培检测系统,以自制的碳纤维微米电极、碳纤维纳米电极、单壁碳纳米管修饰的碳纤维微米电极以及碳纤维微盘电极等4种电极为检测器,采用柱末检测的模式,考察了其对儿茶酚胺类物质多巴胺与异丙肾上腺素的分离检测效果以及电极的灵敏度。结果表明,在检测电位为0.6V、0.02mol/LTris-HCl(pH8.0)为缓冲溶液的优化条件下,检测多巴胺与异丙肾上腺素的分离度分别为0.64、1.06、0.61和1.22;灵敏度(S/N=3)分别为1.7×10-7、5.9×10-8、2.3×10-8和5.3×10-7,碳纤维纳米电极同时具备了较高的分离度与灵敏度。将碳纤维纳米电极应用于测定鼠嗜铬神经细胞瘤细胞(PC12)中神经递质多巴胺,以异丙肾上腺素为内标,测得单个PC12细胞中多巴胺含量为(0.57±0.07)fmol(n=5),与文献报道值相符。     

Collisional dynamics of symmetric two-dimensional quantum droplets

The collisional dynamics of two symmetric droplets with equal intraspecies scattering lengths and particle number density for each component is studied by solving the corresponding extended Gross−Pitaevskii equation in two dimensions by including a logarithmic correction term in the usual contact interaction. We find the merging droplet after collision experiences a quadrupole oscillation in its shape and the oscillation period is found to be independent of the incidental momentum for small droplets. With increasing collision momentum the colliding droplets may separate into two, or even more, and finally into small pieces of droplets. For these dynamical phases we manage to present boundaries determined by the remnant particle number in the central area and the damped oscillation of the quadrupole mode. A stability peak for the existence of droplets emerges at the critical particle numberN_c ≃ 48 for the quasi-Gaussian and flat-top shapes of the droplets.