The unprecedented global pandemic known as SARS-CoV-2 has exercised to its limits nearly all aspects of modern viral diagnostics. In doing so, it has illuminated both the advantages and limitations of current technologies. Tremendous effort has been put forth to expand our capacity to diagnose this deadly virus. In this work, we put forth key observations in the functionality of current methods for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing. These methods include nucleic acid amplification-, CRISPR-, sequencing-, antigen-, and antibody-based detection methods. Additionally, we include analysis of equally critical aspects of COVID-19 diagnostics, including sample collection and preparation, testing models, and commercial response. We emphasize the integrated nature of assays, wherein issues in sample collection and preparation could impact the overall performance in a clinical setting.
Microfluidics technology has emerged as an enabling technology for different fields of medicine and life sciences. One such field is male infertility where microfluidic technologies are enabling optimization of sperm sample preparation and analysis. In this chapter we review how microfluidic technology has been used for sperm quantification, sperm quality analysis, and sperm manipulation and isolation with subsequent use of the purified sperm population for treatment of male infertility. As we discuss demonstrations of microfluidic sperm sorting/manipulation/analysis, we highlight systems that have demonstrated feasibility towards clinical adoption or have reached commercialization in the male infertility market. We then review microfluidic-based systems that facilitate non-invasive identification and sorting of viable sperm for in vitro fertilization. Finally, we explore commercialization challenges associated with microfluidic sperm sorting systems and provide suggestions and future directions to best overcome them.
In this study, the effect of plating current densities on self-annealing behaviors of electroplated Cu films was found to be relevant to the polarization resistance of electroplating systems. Porous films with defects occurred at low plating current density or at low polarization resistance. In contrast, dense films with small grains occurred at higher plating current density or at higher polarization resistance. However, when more current was further supplied, Cu aggregation occurred and deposited films became spongy or dendritic. We suggest that both the defects within porous films and the underlying energy of fine-grained deposits accelerated self-annealing. These two characteristics competed with each other to determine the resistivity drop by self-annealing. On the other hand, the ͑111͒ texture evolutions of deposited Cu films with an increase of plating current densities were consistent with the evolutions of resistivity and surface morphology.
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