The-state-of-the-art bio-and nanotechnology have opened up an avenue to noninvasive liquid biopsy for identifying diseases from biomolecules in bloodstream, especially DNA. In this work, we combined sequence-specific-labeling scheme using mutated clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated protein 9 without endonuclease activity (CRISPR/ dCas9) and ion concentration polarization (ICP) phenomenon as a mechanism to selectively preconcentrate targeted DNA molecules for rapid and direct detection. Theoretical analysis on ICP phenomenon figured out a critical mobility, elucidating two distinguishable concentrating behaviors near a nanojunction, a stacking and a propagating behavior. Through the modulation of the critical mobility to shift those behaviors, the C−C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) sequences were optically detected without PCR amplification. Conclusively, the proposed dCas9-mediated genetic detection methodology based on ICP would provide rapid and accurate micro/nanofluidic platform of liquid biopsies for disease diagnostics.

Over the past decade, the demand for high-performance wearable sensors has increased because of their capability for interaction with humans. Such sensors have typically been prepared on conventional substrates, such as silicon, PDMS, and copper mesh. In this work, we propose a class of wearable sensors fabricated from reduced graphene oxide (rGO) patterned paper substrates (rGO-paper). These rGO-paper sensors are highly sensitive to various deformations and capable of measuring bending and folding angles as small as 0.2° and 0.1°, respectively. We have demonstrated the applicability of these high-performance rGO-paper sensors by patterning rGO on kirigamis that can detect pulse and the motion of knees, wrists, and fingers. Finally, paper rings lined with rGO sensors were used to control a robotic hand, and an rGO-paper keyboard was used to light LEDs.

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Highly sensitive and system integrable gas sensors play a significant role in industry and daily life, and MoS2 has emerged as one of the most promising two-dimensional nanomaterials for gas sensor technology. In this study, we demonstrate a scalable and monolithically integrated active-matrix gas sensor array based on large-area bilayer MoS2 films synthesized via two-successive steps: radio-frequency magnetron sputtering and thermal sulfurization. The fabricated thin-film transistors exhibit consistent electrical performance over a few centimeters area and resulting gas sensors detect NO2 with ultra-high sensitivity across a wide detection range, from 1 to 256 ppm. This is due to the abundant grain boundaries of the sputtered MoS2 channel, which perform as active sites for absorption of NO2 gas molecules. The demonstrated active-matrix gas sensor arrays display good switching capabilities and are anticipated to be readily integrated with additional circuitry for different gas sensing and monitoring applications.

Visible light-emitting Ce-doped ZnO nanorods [NRs] without a post thermal annealing process were grown by hydrothermal method on a Si (100) substrate at a low temperature of 90°C. The structural investigations of Ce-doped ZnO NRs showed that the Ce3+ ions were successfully incorporated into the ZnO lattice sites without forming unwanted Ce-related compounds or precipitates. The optical investigation by photoluminescence spectra shows that the doped Ce3+ ions in the ZnO NRs act as an efficient luminescence center at 540 nm which corresponds to the optical transition of 5d → 4f orbitals in the Ce3+ ions. The photoluminescence intensity of the Ce-doped ZnO NRs increased with the increasing content of the Ce-doping agent because the energy transfer of the excited electrons in ZnO to the Ce3+ ions would be enhanced by increased Ce3+ ions.