Abstract: The invention relates to a reversible microfluidic chip comprising at least one lower part and at least one upper part configured to come into contact with said lower part and to close said chip, said lower part and/or said upper part comprising a microfluidic structure, and said upper part comprising at least one layer of a flexible epoxide polymer material and at least one layer of a rigid epoxide polymer material, at least one part of the flexible layer being directly in physical contact with the lower part of the chip when said chip is in the closed configuration, to the method for the fabrication thereof, to the use of said upper part in a reversible microfluidic chip, to said upper part for producing said chip, and to the uses of said chip in various applications.

Abstract: Method for producing a directed monolayer or multilayer assembly of colloidal nanoparticles attached to an electret substrate, including imparting a surface electric potential to an electret substrate according to a pattern of positive and/or negative electric charges, and contacting an electret substrate with a colloidal dispersion. The colloidal dispersion has electrically neutral or near neutral and electrically polarizable colloidal nanoparticles, and a nonpolarizing or weakly polarizing dispersion medium. The absolute value of the surface electric potential and the concentration of polarizable nanoparticles are no lower than a first surface electric potential threshold and no lower than a second concentration threshold, respectively, such as to obtain an assembly having a desired geometric shape, at least the first layer of which is compact in terms of the absence of undesired gaps having sizes greater than the size of two adjacent nanoparticles, preferably not greater than the size of one nanoparticle.

Abstract: A device to detect and quantify a force applied on a surface includes a test specimen, an electrically insulating substrate, a first electrode bound to the substrate, a second electrode, an assembly of conductive or semi-conductive nanoparticles in contact with the two electrodes, and a measurement device. The measurement device provides proportional information with respect to an electrical property of the nanoparticles assembly. The electrical property is measured between the first and second electrode. The test specimen is the nanoparticles assembly itself and the electrical property is sensitive to the distance between the nanoparticles of the assembly. The nanoparticles assembly itself is used as a test specimen and allows a force to be quantified even if the nanoparticles assembly is deposited on a rigid substrate.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing a directed monolayer or multilayer assembly of colloidal nanoparticles attached to an electret substrate, including a step (4) of imparting a surface electric potential to an electret substrate according to a pattern of positive and/or negative electric charges, and a step (6) of contacting an electret substrate with a colloidal dispersion. The colloidal dispersion comprises electrically neutral or near neutral and electrically polarizable colloidal nanoparticles, and a nonpolarizing or weakly polarizing dispersion medium.

Abstract: A device to detect and quantify a force applied on a surface includes a test specimen, an electrically insulating substrate, a first electrode bound to the substrate, a second electrode, an assembly of conductive or semi-conductive nanoparticles in contact with the two electrodes, and a measurement device. The measurement device provides proportional information with respect to an electrical property of the nanoparticles assembly. The electrical property is measured between the first and second electrode. The test specimen is the nanoparticles assembly itself and the electrical property is sensitive to the distance between the nanoparticles of the assembly. The nanoparticles assembly itself is used as a test specimen and allows a force to be quantified even if the nanoparticles assembly is deposited on a rigid substrate.

Abstract: A device for detecting and quantifying a force applied on a surface comprising a test specimen, an electrically insulating substrate, a first electrode bound to the substrate, a second electrode, an assembly of conductive or semi-conductive nanoparticles in contact with the two electrodes, and a measurement device. The measurement device provides proportional information with respect to an electrical property of the nanoparticles assembly. The electrical property is measured between the first and second electrode. The test specimen is the nanoparticles assembly itself and the electrical property is sensitive to the distance between the nanoparticles of the assembly. The invention uses the nanoparticles assembly itself as a test specimen and allows a force to be quantified even if the nanoparticles assembly is deposited on a rigid substrate.

Abstract: A method of nano-structuration of a thin film of electret polymer, called “electric nano-impression” method, in which a surface of a mould, called the structuration surface, including nanometric relief patterns, is placed in contact with at least one part of a free surface, called the treated surface of the thin film of electret polymer, nanometric patterns are formed, corresponding to the negative of the structuration patterns of the mould, in the thin film of electret polymer, by exerting a pressure of the structuration surface on the surface of the thin film of electret polymer, an electric voltage is applied between the structuration surface and the rear face of the film for a predetermined duration T2 suitable for inducing, after removal of the electric voltage applied, a differential distribution of electrostatic charges between the tops and the bottoms of the nanometric patterns formed in the thin electret polymer film.