Solution processing of metal oxide-based semiconductors is an attractive route for low-cost fabrication of thin films devices. ZnO thin films were synthesized from one-step spin coating-pyrolysis technique using zinc neodecanoate precursor. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible optical transmission spectrometry and photoluminescence spectroscopy suggested conversion to polycrystalline ZnO phase for decomposition temperatures higher than 400 °C. A 15 % precursor concentration was found to produce optimal TFT performance on annealing at 500 °C, due to generation of sufficient charge percolation pathways. The device performance was found to improve upon increasing the annealing temperature and the optimal saturation mobility of 0.1 cm 2 V −1 s −1 with I ON /I OFF ratio ~ 10 7 was achieved at 700 °C annealing temperature. The analysis of experimental results based on theoretical models to understand charge transport envisaged that the grain boundary depletion region is major source of deep level traps and their effective removal at increased annealing temperature leads to evolution of transistor performance.

Single-cell molecular tools have been developed at an incredible pace over the last five years as sequencing costs continue to drop and numerous molecular assays have been coupled to sequencing readouts. This rapid period of technological development has facilitated the delineation of individual molecular characteristics including the genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and proteome of individual cells, leading to an unprecedented resolution of the molecular networks governing complex biological systems. The immense power of single-cell molecular screens has been particularly highlighted through work in systems where cellular heterogeneity is a key feature, such as stem cell biology, immunology, and tumor cell biology. Single-cell-omics technologies have already contributed to the identification of novel disease biomarkers, cellular subsets, therapeutic targets and diagnostics, many of which would have been undetectable by bulk sequencing approaches. More recently, efforts to integrate single-cell multi-omics with single cell functional output and/or physical location have been challenging but have led to substantial advances. Perhaps most excitingly, there are emerging opportunities to reach beyond the description of static cellular states with recent advances in modulation of cells through CRISPR technology, in particular with the development of base editors which greatly raises the prospect of cell and gene therapies. In this review, we provide a brief overview of emerging single-cell technologies and discuss current developments in integrating single-cell molecular screens and performing single-cell multi-omics for clinical applications. We also discuss how single-cell molecular assays can be usefully combined with functional data to unpick the mechanism of cellular decision-making. Finally, we reflect upon the introduction of spatial transcriptomics and proteomics, its complementary role with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and potential application in cellular and gene therapy.

This is a repository copy of Identification and characterization of in vitro expanded hematopoietic stem cells.

Existing techniques for patterning metallic structures on elastomers are limited in terms of resolution, yield and scalability. The primary constraint is the incompatibility of their physical properties with conventional cleanroom techniques. We demonstrate a reliable fabrication strategy to transfer high resolution metallic structures of <500 nm in dimension on elastomers. The proposed method consists of producing a metallic pattern using conventional lithographic techniques on silicon coated with a thin sacrificial aluminium layer. Subsequent wet etching of the sacrificial layer releases the elastomer with the embedded metallic pattern. Using this method, a nano-resistor with minimum feature size of 400 nm is fabricated on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and applied in gas sensing. Adsorption of solvents in the PDMS causes swelling and increases the device resistance, which therefore enables the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Sensitivity to chloroform and toluene vapor with a rapid response (~30 s) and recovery (~200 s) is demonstrated using this PDMS nano-resistor at room temperature.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been extensively investigated for use in large‐area electronics; in particular, the solution‐processing routes have shown increasing promise towards low‐cost fabrication. However, top‐down fabrication approaches with nanoscale resolution, towards aggressively scaled device platforms, are still underexplored. This study reports a novel approach of direct‐write electron‐beam lithography (DW‐EBL) of solution precursors as negative tone resists, followed by optimal precursor processing to fabricate micron/nano‐field‐effect transistors (FETs). It is demonstrated that the mobility and current density of ZnO FETs can be increased by two orders of magnitude as the precursor pattern width is decreased from 50 µm to 100 nm. These nano‐FET devices exhibit field‐effect mobility exceeding ≈30 cm2 V−1 s−1 and on‐state current densities reaching 10 A m−1, the highest reported so far for direct‐write precursor‐patterned nanoscale ZnO FETs. Using atomic force microscopy and parametric modeling, the origin of such device performance improvement is investigated. The findings emphasize the influence of pre‐decomposition nanoscale precursor patterning on the grain morphology evolution in ZnO and, consequently, open up large‐scale integration, and miniaturization opportunities for solution‐processed, high‐performance nanoscale oxide FETs.