Keywords:Thread-based microfluidics Point-of-care Cotton Colorimetric Electrochemical A B S T R A C T Over the past decades, researchers have been seeking attractive substrate materials to keep microfluidics improving to outbalance the drawbacks and issues. Cellulose substrates, including thread, paper and hydrogels are alternatives due to their distinct structural and mechanical properties for a number of applications. Thread have gained considerable attention and become promising powerful tool due to its advantages over paper-based systems thus finds numerous applications in the development of diagnostic systems, smart bandages and tissue engineering. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive review articles on the topic of thread-based microfluidics have been published and it is of significance for many scientific communities working on Microfluidics, Biosensors and Lab-on-Chip. This review gives an overview of the advances of thread-based microfluidic diagnostic devices in a variety of applications. It begins with an overall introduction of the fabrication followed by an in-depth review on the detection techniques in such devices and various applications with respect to effort and performance to date. A few perspective directions of thread-based microfluidics in its development are also discussed. Thread-based microfluidics are still at an early development stage and further improvements in terms of fabrication, analytical strategies, and function to become low-cost, low-volume and easy-to-use pointof-care (POC) diagnostic devices that can be adapted or commercialized for real world applications.

Ice propagation is of great importance to the accumulation of ice/frost on solid surfaces. However, no investigation has been reported on the tuning of ice propagation through a simple coating process. Herein, we study the ice propagation behavior on polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) surfaces coated with the layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition approach. We discover that ice propagation is strongly dependent on the amount of water in the outermost layer of PEMs, that is, the ice propagation rate increases with the amount of water in the outermost layer. The ice propagation rate can be tuned by up to three orders of magnitude by changing the polyelectrolyte pairs, counterions of the outermost polymer layer, or the salt concentration during the preparation of PEMs. Because the simple, versatile, and inexpensive LBL deposition approach is generally applicable to almost all available surfaces, the PEM coatings can tune ice propagation on a wide range of substrates.

Using molecular simulation techniques based on a coarse-grained, bead-spring model, we examined the static and dynamic properties of linear perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) in a nanoscale lubricant film on a solid wall. The conformation of the PFPEs, as predicted by the anisotropic radius of gyration, exhibits an oblate structure near the wall, but recovers a spherical shape as the distance from the wall increases. The density profile of the functional end groups for the PFPE molecules shows a characteristic oscillation as a function of the distance from the wall, indicating molecular layering. We also used the simulated surface morphology to examine the PFPE film roughness. Our preliminary dynamic simulations indicate that the wall interaction produces an anisotropy in the self-diffusion coefficient.

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Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are ubiquitous in the environment, and some of them are recognized as endocrine disruptors that cause concerns on ecosystem functioning and public health. Due to the diversity of PAEs in the environment, there is a vital need to detect the total concentration of PAEs in a timely and low-cost way. To fulfill this requirement, it is highly desired to obtain group-specific PAE binders that are specific to the basic PAE skeleton. In this study, for the first time we have identified the group-specific PAE-binding aptamers via rationally designed target immobilization. The two target immobilization strategies were adopted to display either the phthalic ester group or the alkyl chain, respectively, at the surface of the immobilization matrix. The former enabled the rapid enrichment of aptamers after four rounds of selection. The top 100 sequences are cytosine-rich (44.7%) and differentiate from each other by only 1-4 nucleotides at limited locations. The top two aptamers all display the nanomolar dissociation constants to both the immobilized target and the free PAEs [dibutyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)]. We further demonstrate the applications of the aptamers in the development of high-throughput PAE assays and DEHP electrochemical biosensors with exceptional sensitivity [limit of detection (LOD), 10 pM] and selectivity (>10-fold). PAE aptamers targeting one of the most sought for targets thus offer the promise of convenient, low-cost detection of total PAEs. Our study also provides insights on the aptamer selection and sensor development of highly hydrophobic small molecules.

Bacterial cellulose/polyaniline (BC/PANI) nanocomposites display many potential applications in various fields. However, the conductivity and mechanical properties remain a challenge. Here, we developed a novel method to prepare BC/PANI nanocomposites via the chemical grafting of PANI onto epoxy modified BC (EBC), followed by the grafting of polyacrylamide (PAM). For comparison, an in situ BC/PANI sample was also prepared. The grafting reaction between PANI and EBC and the retention of PANI on EBC were confirmed by FTIR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The cross-section morphology of BC transformed into a three-dimensional and continuous network structure with the incorporation of PANI. The effects of epoxy and PAM contents on the morphology, conductivity, and mechanical properties of PANI-g-EBC and PANI-g-EBC3/PAM nanocomposites were investigated. Compared with those of the in situ BC/PANI sample, the conductivity of PANI-g-EBC increased from 0.12 to 1.08 S/cm, while the stress increased from 8.18 to 18.47 MPa. With the addition of PAM, the conductivity of PANI-g-EBC/PAM nanocomposite paper further increased to 1.43 S/cm, and the stress increased to 47.94 MPa. The conductivity of PANI-g-EBC3/PAM nanocomposites only decreased from 1.43 to 1.36 S/cm after refolding 160 times. PANI-g-EBC and PANI-g-EBC3/PAM nanofibers could be blended with conventional plant cellulose fiber to prepare flexible and high strength conductive composite paper.

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